Puppy survival thread *September!*

[JuiceyBetty]

Can't believe we're in September now, our babies are growing up!

Newbies always welcome especially if they come bearing photos....

@TrufflePioneer oh crikey I think this might be what my pup is heading for! He is 6 months now and being a bit of an adolescent at times - just started this week. Please join the thread and let me know how it goes. I've read that all you can do is take a step backwards with training etc.

Morning all
River pup slept from 9.30 in her crate til 3am, then up for a wee, back to crate then continued whining then took her back out and big poo. Then bit more whining and then she slept til 5.40 so that is progress from 4.45am. She also ate her breakfast today as just hadnt seemed interested in eating but had loved having her kibble as training treats. Dh snored for the other hours of the night
School run today so going to put on around her crate and ds1 will monitor from afar as he is not back at school til next week. Fingers crossed. I have no strategy apart from lickimat and out.

@Riverhousepuppy that sounds good about the night! Hope school run goes well.

We had a good night, pup slept from 10-5.30! Has already had 2 wees on the kitchen floor even though she'd just been outside for a wee so not sure what's going on with that. She's responding well to her name which is great and has now seen our 2 cats a few times without freaking out too much. Still desperately trying to destroy our internet box at all times though and has started randomly barking at the kids.

Her new favourite spot on our tv unit

morning all,

haven't posted for a while but have been reading.

hi to everyone with new puppies and @TrufflePioneer with your teenager. Oh dear - I was hoping it might get easier but it sounds like not.

Things had started to calm down a bit here and we were feeling much more positive about pistachiopup. But we've been back at work this week after a week off last week and everything seems to have gone backwards. She's been a nightmare the last 2 days and I'm back to thinking "what on earth have we done; I don't think I can do this".

She's gone back to jumping up and biting clothes, biting generally, ate poo again on the walk this morning (after weeks of just ignoring any we came across), waking at 6am or earlier (after weeks of 7.30am wake ups), not sleeping during the day and demanding attention all the time.

Not going to lie, I'm struggling again and pining after my old lovely, calm, peaceful life. Not feeling v positive about dog ownership at the moment - think your post might tip me over the edge @TrufflePioneer! When does it get easier?????

Aah, all these beautiful little pups! I miss the teeny tiny stage...only for looks, mind...

@OliveButler do you think Sexier than a Squirrel is worth doing then? I've got the leash off, game on already, I wonder how different it is? Leash off, game on would probably be brilliant if I actually had time to do the games. I don't know where the time goes some days.

@Annasgirl, how was last night? Any better?

@TrufflePioneer sounds like things get worse before they get better again? My friend has a puppy a few months older than mine (mine is very nearly 5 weeks) and is finding her hard work again. I feel like we're in a relatively calm interim place at the moment, not perfect at all, but so much easier than the first few months...but it's all going to fall apart again, isn't it?! Please keep posting so we know what we're in for.

DS went back to school yesterday so I moved the crate into the front room (now that it doesn't resemble an explosion in a toy factory, which is how it's looked since lockdown started). Oh the difference for me! I can now get on and potter about in the back room and kitchen whilst he's napping and not disturb him. He seems perfectly happy there, still runs into his crate at the sight of a kong, although the first time he did look as if he were going to settle under the piano (which is now where his crate used to be in the back room). I bought into the whole idea of putting a crate in the heart of the house so pup felt part of family and not excluded, but honestly think it would've been better to have had it out of the way in the front room all along, for both his benefit and my sanity!

Hope everyone has a good day today.

*my pup is 5 months not 5 weeks!

And as if to prove my point, Owlpup currently napping in crate in front room and I've managed to take in the Tesco delivery without him even stirring. He's usually in the crate in the back room and would wake up instantly at the knock on the door and then get more and more cross that I'm walking backwards and forwards past him with bags of food on my way to the kitchen.

How old is pistachiopup now @pistachioicecream? Hope she settles again soon for you.

Oh gosh sorry, didn't mean to throw anyone into disarray!

I will be back to post more later, work calls but I'll explain what's been happening. Suffice to say, late last night when the pup had been rampaging around our sitting room ALL FUCKING EVENING FOR 3 HOURS DH remarked that it looked like we'd been hit by a tornado.

The wee shite is only 6kgs. He's gone to the dog walker today, thank God.

Daisy slept in her crate last night with only one little bark. We had started getting her used to going in and sleeping there yesterday and when she came to the door we opened it. So she seems more settled and I hope she keeps this up - then I can let her sleep there while I walk my DS to school. At the moment I’m taking the dog and son in the car and he walks in alone from the car park as we don’t take the dog out.

She's 18 weeks now @OwlInAnOakTree Just been a bad couple of days I hope.

We were meant to start puppy training sessions on 20th August but my husband caught covid so we all had to self-isolate for 2 weeks! Because we were going to miss the first 2 weeks of the programme we had to move to the next one and so now don't start until 1st October. She'll be 22 weeks by then which seems late but can't be helped.

We have been doing training but some of it sticks more than other bits. Drop it and leave it are really hit and miss !

Anyway - glad your new crate position is working for you @OwlInAnOakTree Sounds like you've done so well with crate training. Brilliant that he'll sleep in there whilst you're pottering around. Another thing we've failed at dreadfully. Pistachiopup doesn't sleep in her crate during the day and actually only "fake sleeps" - she's currently "asleep" on the sofa in the office next to my desk - but if I leave the room she'll be up instantly to follow me.

@Annasgirl sounds like your crate training is going well too. That's great.

Hope the school runs have gone well for everyone. We still have never left pistachiopup on her own which is another disaster ahead we'll have to deal with. Sigh.

Having put the crate on ebay and rearranged the kitchen back to normal I'm now seriously thinking of going back a step and using thr carte again for timeout

Well my dh did the school run this morning whilst I was at work and apparently chocpup was snoozing in the crate when they got back. He’d had a kong and it’s only a half hour round trip or so so I think successful first properly left alone session! What cameras do you all use to keep an eye on your pups? Think we need one. One with a phone app maybe?

muck we mostly used our crate for timeouts, sleeping and being safe. Never used it for leaving him and ditched the whole thing by the time he was 1 year old when he was past any difficult stage. I think crates are useful but you need to find what works best but I think ours was tolerated easily because it was massive for his size and therefore it was just a secure area which could be replicated without a crate iykwim.

Chocolate I have an ieGeek camera off amazon. Very cheap, streams to the phone and is still going strong after a few years.

Yes we had a good result last night but she is stuck to me like glue this morning😂 I still haven’t had a shower. I tried putting her in the crate to sleep with the door open but she just ran out and over to me. DS is great at it so hopefully if I fail, he will persevere this afternoon.

Can I ask a weird question- what do you do about the smell of you dog? Our dog is really cute but also smelly - as in smells like a dog. Having never had a dog, I really want to give her a bath but the breeder and vet said only once per 6 weeks😱

Sounds like a great improvement @Annasgirl, hope it continues.

@pistachioicecream self isolation must have been tough with a puppy. Hope you DH is ok now. I honestly think we just got very lucky with the crate training. He was like your pup with his 'fake sleeping'...one eye and one ear constantly open and he'd jump up and follow us if we moved. So I decided on day 3 that he was going to have to nap in the crate. I completely cover it because otherwise he doesn't settle in there either and I leave the radio on in the room he's in so he can't hear us elsewhere quite so easily. If he can't hear us, he just settles down for a sleep after he's finished his kong. If he can hear us, he complains a bit because he thinks he's missing out on something. I honestly don't think I would have coped with him and a young child if we hadn't used a crate. The crate and the fact he is a good sleeper are probably the only reasons I survived the first two months.

@muckandnettles sounds like a place for timeouts might be a good idea once adolescence hits?!

@Chocolateandamaretto I keep thinking about a camera but because we cover the crate I wouldn't get to see anything anyway, but I'd love to see what he was up to. In the early days we'd listen by the patio door when we left and when we came back to see if he was crying/barking...he never was, so I'm just assuming the best...

I let OwlPup off the lead today on a local wood/river walk. An elderly gent with a border collie who I've bumped in to several times now told me off for not doing it already (except for at the field when he has a long line on), so I thought I'd give it a go. To be honest, the fear of losing him is not as great as the fear of him jumping up at any people/kids he comes across because he's still a very over-enthusiastic greeter. Anyway, I did it along a stretch of path that was empty and he immediately jumped into the bloody river. I think it was about 4 minutes before I lost my nerve and put him back on the lead. Still, it was a start...

@Annasgirl you can get dog cologne type products. Basically a body spray for dogs. I've got one that smells of baby powder, not massively long lasting, but gives brief respite from doggy smells.

@Annasgirl our girl is stinky too! We did shower her on day 1 as the breeder advised us to but she still smelt right away! We are going to ask the vet next week as I've read some smells can be a sign of illness. But I think it's more just that she's our first dog and we aren't used to it.

I'm trying to get toilets onto a schedule but she is very hit and miss. All the books say different things so I'm not sure what to do. Took her out immediately after a nap, not interested. Gave her lunch and took her out immediately after, nothing. Currently watching her carefully but so far she's just playing. Trouble is she does a little whine when she's tired that's the same as her poo whine. She sniffs the floor looking for a napping spot the same way as she does when she's about to wee. So we are constantly in and out which isn't very good for getting a routine sorted!

Hi, please may I join?
We have a Labrador, he's 13 weeks old. Our first dog. We've massively failed with crate training and he's able to bust out of his puppy pen. He's no interest in Kongs or lickimats, much prefers wrecking as many household objects as possible.

His nipping seems to be calming a little, but I still have to manage the younger 2 kids running around carefully and a customer asked my husband if he'd put his arm through glass and we're a bit surprised to hear it was the work of a Labrador puppy.

Toilet training has gone well and he does sleep well albeit shuffling around in our room (which is downstairs).

He can go out for walk from Friday and I'm hoping this helps with the cabin fever as he hates the car and being carried.

Dragonpup went backwards overnight with a 4am wee trip then up at 6.40am. Cat woke at 5.20am meowing so dh is now very tired. I slept through it all after a very stressful day. Dd is poorly awaiting Covid test results and then dragonpup was totally mental this morning. He hardly napped then totally crashed at 11am... should I wake him?

My pup is 19 weeks now and Queen of the Fake Sleep . She sleeps in her crate at night and if we go out, but if we are home she tends to fake sleep and follow us around. Biting is definitely reducing and my arms/hands are free from any cuts/scratches for the first time since we had her (a victory!).

Okay the crate is off Ebay now, so I'll just see how he goes over the next few weeks. He is maybe pleased to see that it has gone...@OwlInAnOakTree I think you are right to keep it a bit longer! @BiteyShark being safe is also a big issue here as well.

@Annasgirl I'm not sure what you mean about stinky dog smell - Mucky smells like a dog but I wouldn't say it's unpleasant. His towels we use after walks stink and so does his bedding so we wash those but he just smells of clean dog really. I love how he smells and often sniff his feet if I'm near enough and it's safe to!

@DobbinReturns our previous dog was a lab and incredibly destructive around the house - but was eventually the most gorgeous dog who was very well behaved indoors. It just takes time, I'm afraid. I'm sure your pup will adore walks - I think it makes all the difference. You also see a different side of them as they run round and just basically enjoy themselves as dogs do. I love watching Mucky sniffing around catching up on his 'peemails' (got that from MN somewhere and it's a good way of thinking of all that sniffing I think!) I'm trying to get him to actually fetch a ball or a stick or anything we throw (he is a retriever) but so far no luck. I love watching dogs fetching things! Simple pleasures...

@Bethanemethane yes, Mucky does fake sleeping as well. You just think he's fast asleep and he's actually very alert and jumps up as soon as you do something vaguely interesting.

I did miss the puppy today but was actually nice to go back to work and be off puppy duty. I was very tired though so hoping for more than a 5 hr block of sleep tonight.

God I'm knackered today. Taken polka pup out 3 times then got the fear when I left him crated while I took DS to footie, so came back for him and took him up to the field. He was fine when I got back though whined as soon as he heard me 🙄
I feel like I've been on duty all day. Cleaning up poo, being bitten while working - but polka pup was lovely on his walks. It's just feeling like a big responsibility today and DH seems to have checked out of dog care somehow