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....

Morning!

Babble ask the breeder to supply a weeks worth of the raw feed and for the supplies contact details. My boys are on natures menu frozen turkey puppy chunks.

Bigger pup has 7 chunks 3 times a day and smaller boy has 5. I had vomit issues when I switched over because they loved it so much (they were on dry kibble before I switched them at 10 weeks) I bought a lick mat and I spread their food on to that so they lick it up rather than gobble it and it gives me rest bite so I can read the thread and post!

Pups are now 12 weeks old and after breakfast we are off to the village playing field for some off lead time. I was so nervous yesterday but they were so good I’m going to be brave and do it again. I’d prefer to run them separately but the whole house asleep...

dragons do you have a crate? I just pop mine in their with a yak stick each and go and do what I need to do, just time it so they have eaten, had a play and run around a chance for a wee and then go.

We have also been watching dogs behaving Hadley although I don’t agree with his techniques but it’s good to see the bad behaviour. Our trainer is with us on the 26th September!

@GazingAndGrazing we have a small crate upstairs in our bedroom but the pen is in the kitchen/ dining room. A small crate looks too small for when he isn’t sleeping? He will need a bigger one at some point anyway so having the bigger one downstairs makes sense for when he transitions downstairs. I thought the pen would last beyond 12 weeks but it’s really not very strong compared to a cocker who is just looking over and not even trying to break free!

Yep, we had a pen and by 11 weeks they knew if they ran into it or jumped at it it would move with them

Try bringing the smaller one down and using that as he knows it’s for sleeping in. Be confident you have worn him out and stick to your guns!

We have just got back from a field run. I met a friend with her adult spaniel and the boys had great fun. I’m such an anxious person, I can’t believe I’ve got them off lead at 12 weeks!

@GazingAndGrazing - that's really amazing about the off lead stuff - well done! Do they come back when you call or just not stray far from you? I'm not sure I'll be brave enough to try this. Although given that the lead seems to be the best chew toy known to man, I might have to!

The sooner you let them off the better. They stick with you when little. You can call their name and give treats, give treats every time they look at you, treat before let off lead, treat when put back on lead. Letting them off at 12 weeks has loads of advantages. Obviously you need to be in a park or somewhere away from roads.

We’re obviously lucky with our pup as he’s 15 weeks seems fine in pen still. He weighs 10kg so he’d easily be able to move it- but not even tried yet!

We have a large field next to us so he’s off lead a lot. Interestingly he tends to just follow us so recall isn’t really tested. I’d like him to run away from us a bit more partly to wear himself out and partly so I can test recall. Any ideas?

@Riverhousepuppy yes we use butternut and are generally really happy with it. Juiceypup won't eat the chicken or turkey though. And we tried the new fish one, he liked it but I won't order it again as it absolutely STINKS. My kitchen ponged!

pupsters you can do things like:-

1. Get them to do a sit and stay for as long as they can while you slowly walk away backwards and then call/whistle and treat.

1. Suddenly turn without calling their name so they can't assume you will walk in one line or where the path is. This is great for recall as they keep an eye on you and never assume you will run after them.

1. Run away and treat.

1. Suddenly dive behind a tree/bush and call them and treat.

[quote LittlePoot]@GazingAndGrazing - that's really amazing about the off lead stuff - well done! Do they come back when you call or just not stray far from you? I'm not sure I'll be brave enough to try this. Although given that the lead seems to be the best chew toy known to man, I might have to![/quote]
I took a box of treats to rattle and our clicker with me. I don’t think they would come if I called them back yet, far to interested in playing so my friend called her dog back and they followed.

I also did the running away trick which worked. I have order to 6ft long leads though just in case something spooks them or I need to stop them.

Watching them run around and play bow massively took my nerves away, give it a try in a nice big field.

Using a long lead, do you walk somewhere on a short lead then switch over? Or drive somewhere? I’ve ordered a long lead as I think it’ll be good for my anxious soul but we are taking him to the woods later and plan to let him off. Thanks for the tips @BiteyShark we’ll be using those ideas

I drive even though it’s not far so they can have a full 15 minutes running around playing - the walk would take up some of that time there and back if that makes sense?

I’ve also swapped from a a harness to a collar as I read somewhere that the harness encourages bully’s to pull when older. They are tiny now but being french bulldogs they won’t stay tiny for long (and I’m too old to be pulled about )

Last night was amazing again, pup slept 11-6.30 which is just brilliant as I was expecting solid weeks of nighttime wake ups. Not counting my chickens yet though!

Just took her for a little socialisation trip to the park, she cried in the boot crate all the way there and back but really enjoyed seeing the park itself and wasn't phased by anything. I hope car journeys get better with time! I've spent time giving her treats while she's in there, but today was the first time I drove her anywhere (except for bringing her home) and never heard her crying like that before.

Well we took chocpup off lead! We didn’t let him stray far at all so it wasn’t the bravest first attempt but it was good to know that chicken definitely holds his attention.
@puppygalore we got a seatbelt harness for chocpup and he much prefers that to being in the crate in the boot.

Thanks @Chocolateandamaretto but we will generally need all the seats for passengers so I'd like her to get used to the boot. Heartbreaking hearing her cries though.

For those of you who attend/ed puppy training classes, what age did your dogs start and have you both been enjoying them? I'm really looking forward to getting something booked! I've read 1-1 is better for very young puppies but would love to hear any other opinions about classes.

Some gorgeous pups on here! Our lab is 7 months now. Time has really flown by! It was very hard in the beginning, ours was not one of those puppies who 'just slept' . People used to say oh puppies sleep for like 20 hours a day, well ours did not! Lol she was up constantly during the night, for the first 4 weeks it was every few hours in the night for toilet breaks, then it took about 45 mins to settle her back down again! When she could go out for walks it really did help! They say you can only go out for 5 mins per month of there age for a walk. But please remember that standing in a field with a lead on, isn't walking - puppies sniffing uses alot of energy and really tired them out. Labs are known to be destructive when little, but we made sure downstairs was puppy proof, even covering the edges of the sofa in towels! We then taught 'no' and 'leave it' plus every time she played with her toy we got so excited, clapping and yays! What we didn't realize we were doing in the beginning was that when she was being good, playing with her toys or just laying down being quiet - we sat back and thought thank god! But as soon as she picked up something she wasn't supposed to we would start talking to her = giving her attention. so she was ignored for being good, but rewarded with attention for being naughty! For anyone that is struggling please keep going, honestly it does get better! And tbh with you, for us that was around 5 months old! This is our first puppy but if anyone wants any advice or just to chat or anything feel free to PM me x

I'm in such a spin - I don't think I can do this anymore!! Puppy and husband have been fast asleep all night downstairs. I only slept about three hours and have been awake getting into more and more of a state since 1.30am. Puppy is healthy, happy, totally normal. It's just me that's lost the plot. I just wish we'd never got him. I had no idea how fragile my mental state was but in just over a week, I'm completely broken. And embarrassed by that. I'm back at work today and just can't work out how to do that, the school runs, look after puppy, myself and DS. I'm thinking of contacting the breeder and see if they'd take him back but stressed out by that idea as well as I imagine they'll be furious. And DH would be gutted. Not sure about DS - he's still pretty scared of pup so might go either way. I don't know what to do

LittlePoot puppy regret is very common because it's overwhelming and time consuming and most people 'forget' how bitey and demanding puppies are.

Most of us have been there. My DH asked me many times did I want to return my puppy. But he is here and 4 years old and is our lovely faithful dog who brightens up our home.

Thank you for your kind words BiteyShark. I just feel literally broken. I think I could manage if I didn't have a child or work, but I can't make either of those go away. And if I'm this broken after one week (actually felt broken by day 2....), I can't face the six or so months it seems to be before things settle down. And I just feel embarrassed because I did this to myself by choice! What was I thinking?

I worked at home when mine was a puppy for the first few weeks but then had to go back to the office for a few days per week. It can be done but I used to work more in the evenings when DH was at home so I could concentrate.

You could pay for some puppy visits from a dog walker that could give you a few periods of time in the day when you can just focus on other things. When they are older you can think about day care to give you a few days a week to concentrate on work. I am WFH now and my dog still goes to daycare a few days so he doesn't miss out and I don't feel guilty about having to ignore him.

Also don't worry too much about all the training etc that you get told to do. When working the best thing would be to get something set up like a play pen and put puppy and toys in it by you and think of it as teaching settle. Toilet training might be a bit hit and miss depending on what work you do but again don't worry as you will get there.

Make sure others like DH pull their weight when they are at home so you get some time away from your puppy.

Above all this phase will pass.

You're so kind - thank you. I am working from home (until at least January) and so is dh. He's being amazing and doing as much as he can. Rationally, it's not difficult, in that puppy eats well, sleeps well at night, and is just normal in terms of puppy behaviour, but in reality I'm just not coping with even the simple things. I'm trying to get a visit from a 1:1 trainer to help get set up better but right now I'm struggling just to get myself out of bed and manage to get through the day. I think a puppy pen might be the way forward so I'll look into that. So far, pup has been happy in his crate at night but less keen to nap in there. We haven't left him to cry at all yet - he's been napping next to us but that stops me doing anything else. We've got hard floors and he chews all the rugs so we took them up. But it seems like he might need more comfy spots to sleep. Or do I just shut him in his crate and leave him? Or do I ask the breeder to re-home him before I lose the plot completely??

@LittlePoot we have all been where you are - if you find the July/August thread you can see me having a total meltdown on there! Puppies are hard work, I do think the majority of people envision themselves with an adult dog not a puppy and get a bit of a culture shock when they bring puppy home. We’ve had our pup for 3 weeks now and I’d say there was a straight week of “wtf have I done?” Followed by days of varying enthusiasm.
I still have good days and bad days and bad days depending on how bitey he is but it is getting better and being able to get out with him has helped enormously so it’s worth hanging on until you can walk him post jabs if you can manage that.
I think also the return to work seems overwhelming (I went back last week and kids back to school although dh works from home) but it actually really helps establish a routine for pup which makes life easier in a lot of ways.

@LittlePoot

I'm in such a spin - I don't think I can do this anymore!! Puppy and husband have been fast asleep all night downstairs. I only slept about three hours and have been awake getting into more and more of a state since 1.30am. Puppy is healthy, happy, totally normal. It's just me that's lost the plot. I just wish we'd never got him. I had no idea how fragile my mental state was but in just over a week, I'm completely broken. And embarrassed by that. I'm back at work today and just can't work out how to do that, the school runs, look after puppy, myself and DS. I'm thinking of contacting the breeder and see if they'd take him back but stressed out by that idea as well as I imagine they'll be furious. And DH would be gutted. Not sure about DS - he's still pretty scared of pup so might go either way. I don't know what to do

I had a few days where I felt broken. I couldn’t even have a shower without him crying and he wouldn’t stop biting. My DH was at work and then the pup did 2 poos in the house and I rang my DH in tears because I couldn’t even just sit down without being bitten. DH did say that was the time to rehome him if I couldn’t cope but that was never an option. I was just hormonal, tired and he wanted so much attention. It is better now. He still bites but not as much and this morning woke me up by jumping on the bed and licking my ears. He was so excited to see me after being asleep all night. When I come home his back end wiggles as he comes towards me as he is so excited and it is lovely.

This feeling will pass. As they get older and more I dependant they will do their own thing more but still come to you for comfort and cuddles.

That said, mine is currently ripping up a toilet roll and making a right mess. He doesn’t eat it just rips it apart and spreads it everywhere.

littlepoot aww, I does sound like you are struggling can you break it down to try and figure out the trigger?

I honestly can’t relate, the pu-s have had the opposite effect on my MH. How old is your pup? Getting out of the house has been a positive for me. We have just got back from a field run no one else was there ie not mother dog to play with so I ended up running up and down the playing field with the pups chasing me.

I start work at 9, working from home so I hope I’ve tired them out enough to get some work done.

Are you training at home? Big virtual hugs to you, only you know what’s best for you and I’m sure we will all be here no matter what you decide.

@LittlePoot I am so sorry you are struggling. Sending you positive thoughts. Hope you have a better day x

LittlePoot look at getting a playpen that you can open up. When they get stronger and can move the sides you can open it up and use it as a barrier to cordon off an area. I still use mine when we do work in the garden so I can keep him in a safe area.