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....

We use a crate and it has always been downstairs but we slept downstairs with him to start with. He sleeps through now downstairs on his own (nearly 16 weeks old) but it was definitely a process of gradual retreat. It's always nice for them to have stuff like a blanket or a cuddly toy (well chocpup has both!) to cuddle in bed.

We’re also using a crate, it’s in the kitchen and pup (13 weeks, lab) has slept 10-5:30/6 for the past 2 nights.
It took 3 weeks of DH sleeping on the floor next to his crate though on a blow up air bed! He then gradually moved the air bed away, then out of sight on the sofa but still downstairs. Then came up to bed a few nights ago, first night he had to go down at 3am but the last 2 nights he’s slept through.
I hope this is it now!
He sleeps happily in the crate during the day too, altho we don’t mind him having some of his naps on the sofa. The key I think that really helped was to discourage sleeping actually ON us (well DH, I don’t let him!) because this was only reinforcing the idea that he needed that human contact to fall asleep. When we stopped that, or at least reduced it, he slept so much better in his crate.

He still eats all his meals in the crate too and I’ve made it cosy in there with vet bed, an old blanket and cushion of ours so prob had our scent on them.

DH is at home today and so I had help on the school run. Decided to carry pup with us so she could see the school & all the children. She did very well and fell straight to sleep when we got back. Much nicer than crating her and then having the crazy pup antics on our return

Picklepup is doing so well in many ways but on a lead walk she will jump and bite my legs.

Anyone have any suggestions as to what causes this and what I can do to stop it? It hurts!!

We are having bedtime issues here. mummypup sleeps absolutely fine downstairs in her crate during the day. Has plenty of zoonoses, cuddles and play in the evening then at some stage starts to get sleepy and tries to sleep. This point we retreat to bed. She has a crate upstairs aswell we just take the bed and blanket from downstairs up to keep things the same. Once we are up there she goes mental and flies around. Last night went on for two hours and I couldn’t get her to stay in her crate. Once she’s in and asleep she’s fairly good for the night. I was a mess today, so exhausted plus toilet training a toddler who is horrible at the moment. Trying to settle pup now as we are knackered and she was yawning aswell... she’s been awake since 8pm.
Any suggestions?

Hi.our gorgeous puppy is five months old tomorrow. We also have a 2.5 year old dog which seemed to have helped us to train our puppy. The older dog chewed the hole house as a puppy. We have a dining table and chairs with teeth marks in and we've had to replace skirting boards etc .
We had a new kitchen fitted in March this year , so with this in mind we decided to crate train Daisy (the puppy) and it's not been too bad . The first week someone slept downstairs with her to let her out for the toilet . We then got a very cheap baby monitor and whoever had it went down when she cried at 3 am for a wee. We only used it for a few weeks then she started sleeping through.
My sil gets up at 5 am for work and both dogs are taken from their cosy beds for a walk whether they want to or not . Then it's back to bed for them until I get up around 7am . Daisy copies our big dogs behaviour so toilet training is going well and I can't remember the last accident . She still tries to bite us but when she does we say 'no biting , kisses only ' and she then licks us instead .
I agree with lots of posters , it is like having a baby . We decided on getting another dog because our first dog went over rainbow bridge last year and we didn't want our other dog to be on her own . Winnie loves the puppy and they do everything together here is a photo of Daisy the cockapoo

mummyme87 I’m no expert, but could the transition between being downstairs and going upstairs be causing pup to get a second wind? Could someone sleep downstairs with pup for a while and slowly retreat out? That’s what we did and our pup (13 weeks) has slept in his crate all night for the past 3 nights.

Here's a stupid question... do you all let your puppies out loose in the garden?
We initially (pre-vaccinations) just carried VeryGrumpyPup out to a playpen for toilet tips. Now we go on the lead - but I worry this is creating bad associations with the lead, dragging him out in miserable weather etc. I worry that if I just let him loose in the garden, we just won't come back to me (and sometimes there is a time deadline on things).
What do you all do?

@verygrumpyoldwoman I don't think it's a stupid question at all! Unfortunately our garden isn't safe in that it has a public right of way that runs along the bottom of it - so we only take the puppy out on a lead. If it's a quick wee at 3am I must admit I have been taking him without out but only because he isn't particularly interested in being outside. We got a harness for him as he was also dragging on his collar and it's been much better since then.

How are you all doing with feeding? Puppythursday literally wants to eat anything other than what's in his bowl. Socks/stones/moss/leaves argh! We are going to have to seriously puppy proof this house - I found him with a lump of coal this morning . And yes it is definitely like having a baby!

@PicklePorkPie Grannypup had form for doing exactly the same. I used to pick her up and carry for a few steps and then try again. 3 strikes and she was carried home and no more walk. She seems to have got the message now and only occasionally does this

@PicklePorkPie

Picklepup is doing so well in many ways but on a lead walk she will jump and bite my legs.

Anyone have any suggestions as to what causes this and what I can do to stop it? It hurts!!

I'm no expert but I've read online about training them to walk nicely inside the house first. Basically drop treats in front of them every few steps. I'm going to practice this week ahead of first walks at the end of the week.

Did everyone employ professional dog trainer for assistance or go to puppy classes. Or go it alone?

grannycake andnewpup thank you. I'll try those.
I think we might also be doing too much and go back to v short walks and more off lead.

This is Pippin. 10 week old naughty hobbit!
Sleeps all night, to terrorise all day.

I like the action pic @gokusgirl! Also really love your ring.

How's everyone getting on? Pup is doing well, she's approaching 14 weeks now and I've noticed a definite improvement and calming down with the biting and jumping up when we are at home. When out though she still wants to be friends with everyone and will sulk if I don't let her jump around crazily! Because my DS and DD are self isolating our trainer hasn't been round and it's been a very dull weekend. Currently chucking it down again (surprise, Manchester so of course) so postponing our lunchtime walk til it's slightly less soggy. Been working on 'stay' and 'drop' but Pup doesn't give 2 hoots and is not getting it at all.

@newpup123 I'm doing 6 weeks with a trainer and I've also booked a course of group classes with the Dog's Trust for next month. Pup is our first dog and I have no prior experience so didn't want to go it alone.

However it seems we are probably going to have harsher lockdown rules announced so I'm not sure those group lessons will happen. They said it'll change to online if strict lockdown happens for all businesses which I'm a bit gutted about - I was so looking forward to leaving the house and seeing actual people in real life!

We’re 14 weeks old today! Pup has had his last lot of jabs today so that’s done now til next year.

He’s enjoying his daily walks, absolutely think it’s helping with his sleep which has, touch wood, been great the last 4/5 nights sleeping right through. Even slept til 6:15 this morning which was later than the kids!

@puppygalore

I like the action pic *@gokusgirl*! Also really love your ring.

How's everyone getting on? Pup is doing well, she's approaching 14 weeks now and I've noticed a definite improvement and calming down with the biting and jumping up when we are at home. When out though she still wants to be friends with everyone and will sulk if I don't let her jump around crazily! Because my DS and DD are self isolating our trainer hasn't been round and it's been a very dull weekend. Currently chucking it down again (surprise, Manchester so of course) so postponing our lunchtime walk til it's slightly less soggy. Been working on 'stay' and 'drop' but Pup doesn't give 2 hoots and is not getting it at all.

I need to see that improvement! We're only on 11 weeks but the kids are suffering with the constant jumping and feet biting. I'm doing all the usual stuff - telling them to freeze, not dance around, distract with a toy, reward when she's calm etc. But there are still some annoying times when she just won't stop. My back is killing from bending over all the time.

Please tell me it's going to be worth it!

It will get better I'm sure newpup!

Our setup is probably not ideal for other families, but I'll put it here in case it helps anyone else who is reading. Basically we've just all been basically staying apart which has definitely helped, our lounge is now really pup's room (kitchen/diner/upstairs belongs to the cats ) and we have all moved upstairs whenever pup is napping, as I find a well rested Pup is much less of an arse! Then when she's awake it's mostly just me with her supervising, or training and playing. I found that she is much better when there's only me, it seems DH and the DC just (unintentionally) drive her wild with excitement. Even when the kids are sitting quietly it's just too much for Pup!

The freeze stuff etc didn't work with my DC either. DD was a statue every time while pup barked or leaped around which was great, but DS just panicked, shrieked, flapped, ran away so undoing everything me and DD practised. I still try to remind him to stand still, but I'm also consistently rewarding Pup's calm behaviour after watching Kikopup 'capturing calm' video, plus working out what toys and treats are irresistible and also knowing her tiredest/calmest times. Once pup started being calmer around just me I then had DH around more in the lounge, then only just this week had DD sitting with us a bit more. She is younger but far braver than DS, so she's happy to be a guinea pig - but we only have her in the lounge when pup is knackered, calm and engaged with her favourite chewy things. My hope is the more DH and DC are starting to be gradually present in the room, pup will associate them with feeling calm and relaxed and getting her tasty chews. I know that when she is overtired she jumps up at even me and gets extra nippy, so I make sure that we generally stick to 1.5 hours awake then crated for nap. That has definitely helped reduce biting and being rough.

I also let her do some biting of my hands when she wakes up from a nap as she's less aggressive then, but at no other times whatsoever. She knows that No and Ah-ah mean she's getting too rough and at that point I'll introduce a chew toy, mostly she changes to licking me and rolls over for a tummy scratch. However just a few weeks ago I would never have thought this would ever be possible and my hands have been totally shredded so many times!

@puppygalore that's not too dissimilar to what I'm doing. Pup is in the kitchen/conservatory. Children are in the lounge! Obviously the kids come in to play when she's calm and ok to engage. They also come in to eat / do school work but they must stay at the table & not dance around as it sends pup crazy (still working on this!) Mine definitely gets more bitey when she's tired too. Luckily she appears very happy with her crate and we have no issues there.

@newpup123 you've got a cocker haven't you? We also do and I can't believe how much nipping and chewing he's doing. We got him a puppy nylabone and things are so much better. He loves burying it but most of the time he's chewing it. He wasn't v interested in Kongs. We got it from pets at home but there were basically 3 puppy bones in a pack with different softness and he's on the 'starter' bone. We are going to get another one as this one is see through and he keeps losing it! I've also ordered some other puppy bones that arrive today and I'll let you know if they work!

When he nips hard now, we leave the room. That seems to impact him. He's also far far worse if he hasn't had a rest. When dp's kids came round this weekend, it was much worse as they over excite him (not deliberately).

I can't wait till he can go for walks as I think he needs the stimulation! He's still waking once in the night to pee and he does a huge poo at 5am argh!

Morning all. Riverpup is now almost 16 weeks and the biting is much better, so there is light at the end of the tunnel. She still bites a bit but so so much less. We tried so many different things but what seemed to work for us was time, as in she has started to grow out if it, giving her loads of different things to chew, she has a vast collection of vile dead things and is always getting something disgusting to chew on from her box of chews, we would always give her a toy or chew if possible and we all know the phrase "divert and distract", acceptance, sadly puppies are bitey monsters and it is horrible but knowing it us a phase helps a bit and finally vicks vapour rub, we used that on slipper tops, legs and hands where she bit/bites most of all and that seems to definitely help, it stinks but better than being bitten imo. I dont know if any of that helps, I had terrible puppy blues during her worst biting stage and she still does it now but much less. Really hoping we are getting towards the end of it all. It is so frustrating, I had one pair of Jean's I was washing and wearing which were ragged but I have stopped wearing them now. I still wouldnt wear a maxi skirt or flappy trousers around her yet but hoping for that next summer.
Hope that helps a little bit x

Hello all we have a 8 week old new puppy. I’ve never had my own dog before although had dogs as a kid. Stupid new owner q about kongs and likimats. What do you put on/ in them? And how much? Pup is on food from breeders still and don’t want to upset his tummy. Really want him to settle with something for a few minutes!

We soak his kibble in water to make it mushy, fill the kong then freeze it. Then when we’re ready to give it to him we smear a bit of peanut butter over the hole.

As above, or a bit of yoghurt or squeeze cheese. Ours liked carrots and broccoli when little, frozen carrots too. She still likes a bit of chopped cooked carrot.

Frozen tea towel.

Empty egg cartons with a bit of food in would keep her quiet while she worked it out. Or a box with scrunched up newspaper with some treats in.