Puppy survival thread October/November!

[HappyThursdays]

hello all - will hopefully link from the old one!

just realised we'll all have fireworks night to get through shortly. Went out for a walk with dpuppy who is getting much better at walking though we met a big dog which scared him a lot! We can only get him into puppy classes in November which is a shame but at least it's something

Here is butter wouldn't melt in my naughty mouth!

Our lead walking is getting marginally better but Recall appears to have disappeared . In fact he knows now that we recall him to put the lead on at the end of a walk and he now actively runs away. We have work to do!

He has also started that nipping at ankles/jumping up at the end of a walk. Today I went to answer the gate to a courier and he jumped up and pulled down my leggings  as he is so strong now - right down to my knees so my knickers were on show 

@Retrievemysanity your pup is gorgeous! And I love the little harness!

Glad the walks went well @Atalune and @Puppypuppypuppy

I hope the poorly pups are better!

Ha ha, lots of treats! She was terrified at first but someone said to take her out every day in it so that is what we did. Treat when approaching car, treat when turning on engine and treat on arrival. Seems to have worked. Still a bitey little wotsit at home though!

@HappyThursdays - so so cute

So happy to find this thread. We brought our puppy home last week and it has been a bit tough going - he is a great dog but I am struggling with toilet training and trying to work from home, feeling like I am in the garden waiting for him to go to the toilet than anything else.

Any tips on how to encourage him to go?

Picture of our little Leo - he is a german shepherd mix

He’s so so sweet!

We have cooked shredded chicken and we treat treat treat for going outside and doing business. We take pup out 1st thing in the morning for a long time (10 mins) for a good sniff and wee/etc. Then we go out again in half an hour as pup needs to go again! We praise and treat like made and walk round the garden saying “go outside, go wee wee go poo poo” on repeat.

We then take her out at 10pm then again at 1030/11 and for the last 2 nights not accidents!

Then we just watch for sniffing/hiding behaviour and go out as needed. Probably every 90 mins.

The cooked chicken pup finds delicious and is really keen to get a treat of that.

He’s beautiful @SolemnlySwear2010 - we are 3 weeks in with our 13 week old lab. Much better now with toileting - we probably take him out 7/8 times a day to the garden. Starting at 6.30 and ending with last toilet trip at 10 ish.
Started out with a kibble treat every time he went to the toilet outside but now don’t - just praise him. We have very, very few accidents inside - mainly if we are busy and don’t notice his signals.

Can I ask a really dim q about frozen kongs? Do you literally freeze them then give straight from the freezer? And presumably pup has to wait for whatever to unfreeze to get out? Am I mad to be worried about chocking ( this is what is scaring me off frozen carrots! ) Pup is quite little - mini poodle.

What do you put in them? Puppypup really not bothered by peanut butter at the moment. Likes cheese but am really limiting as he had too much from DH and had a bad tum. Am trying to introduce foods slowly to check what upsets and doesn't.

Well last night was a real low point! I had to go upstairs and cry in the shower and was genuinely having a what the F have I done moment! Coco (or croco as the kids have renamed her) was just a nightmare. Biting everyone and everything in sight and wouldn’t calm down even for me and then this morning she has been nipping at me which she hadn’t done for awhile.
I’m just really fed up and when I think that we should never have got the dog then I feel so guilty and feel even worse!
If she’s not biting people she’s chewing all the skirting boards and the wall 😱

ANY biting & chewing tips would be so appreciated. TIA

@Puppypuppypuppy ours never got the frozen kongs for some reason - but you could try mashed up banana, cooked carrot (not raw, they can't really cope with raw at the moment as it will come out the other end undigested ), maybe fill it with peas and don't freeze it if you're worried especially if pup is small

@BlondieJ do you have antlers? when pup is chewy I give him one of those. I have cow's ears arriving this week and can report back on those (bleurgh). Pup is noticeably more bitey when dp's dcs are around because he doesn't sleep as much. I really think if you have dcs and he's getting very bitey, I would put him in another room or his crate and see if he will nap. I am starting to think that 75% of biting is over excitement and lack of sleep/tiredness. Do the kids know how to play with him safely? Our trainer sent a really good guide for kids with puppies if you'd like me to send it on - what they should and should not do and I think it's worth following. How old is he now? ours also gets a bit bitey when it's time for a walk and he needs a bit of outside excitement!

@SolemnlySwear2010 what a beautiful pup!

oh and @TooExtraImmatureCheddar you have my complete sympathies on this point. I am realising having a puppy is much like having a baby in terms of the relative degree of interest partners pay in the difficult parts like toileting

@BlondieJ you watched any of the episodes of the dog whisperer with Cesar Milan? We watch that a lot in lieu of actual puppy training classes and we like his approach! Friends have recommended him too and a good friend who is a breeder uses the same techniques.

Basically you have to teach the dog who is alpha- we play tug of war and practise drop it, with lots of praise. If pup gets overly excited we stop immediately and stand up with our backs to her. Then when she is calm we praise and treat and start gain. If she is snippy and bitey at the kids ankles then we do use the neck hold.

Basically we get down on the floor with the dog, and in a file voice say “no Rosie, no biting” while holding her in a v with one hand using my hand splayed round the back of her neck with a firm hold and looking in her eyes, saying “no biting, no”. We are both flat on the floor and she calms immediately. She then gets masses of praise and the games can start again. It’s the hold and the eye contact that’s key.

The biting has all but stopped apart from in the morning when cuddles are so excitable and licky sometimes they turn mouthy. But then we just put her down on the floor and move away.

The other thing we did straight away was put our hand in her food bowl with her food so she eats around our hand. This is to stop guarding which is a nightmare.

@BlondieJ I agree with @HappyThursdays it's mostly tiredness and over excitement here. And there is a definite pattern to it I can see now - so definitely times of the day when he gets more rowdy and nippy. We just remove ourselves and give no eye contact when he does it and I think he is slowly getting the message. When we're all here in the evening it's really important to keep things calm, not too noisy and rushing around as he's really prone to it then. Like a toddler there's a definite witching hour

We also have antlers and I think he now associates with quietly chewing in his bed or on the sofa - sometimes I hold it for him instead of him sitting next to me and stealth chewing my sleeve!

@BlondieJ I feel your pain! Retrieverpup is a bitey thing too.

Antlers didn’t work for us but she will sit and chew a bulls pizzle nicely so now we do that on an evening. Last night she had one for about 45 mins. Cows ears also good. Lots of trying to catch her ‘calm moments’ in the day so dropping a treat when she’s just lying nicely etc. I pop her in her pen at our meal times just as prevention from biting the kids and having her on a lead indoors when she’s not in the pen and the kids are around also helps. She’s still hard work but I do feel a bit more in control with it. But I’m glad you’ve posted as I’ve found it really hard going .

@Puppypuppypuppy we put mashed banana in our frozen kong and sometimes some of the kong squirty stuff.

Well. ZombiePup has gone from a complete sweetheart not wanting me to go back to work Monday night... to me returning to my grandparents today (one pupsat while I took the other to a hospital appointment... and being told he had been jumping up, stealing baskets off the table.. and chewing tissues!

That being said... he was out of sorts this morning (didnt eat breakfast and very clingy to DP), and had zoomies while i was out at the hospital...

🤦🏼‍♀️🤦🏼‍♀️

Also in desperate need of a groom 😂
Photo for tax!

Kongs and Antlers took their time here, Pup likes them now but earlier on had no time for them.

I'd really like some opinions/advice from you all if you don't mind! I have to decide between a couple of dog sitters vs a doggy daycare facility as I've verbally been offered a part time job. (Hurray! But also boo as it's because my business is having to shut down.) So if you use daycare/sitters, whats anyone's thoughts about them please?

Sitter 1 - pros - lovely guy. Saw the whole downstairs and it's very puppy proof. Sort of on the way to my new workplace but probably will have bad traffic at drop off and pick up times. Has an older dog and Pup seemed to get on with her ok at yesterday's visit for a short time. However I can see her getting tetchy with Pup's bounciness and general puppy behaviours as she's over 10 and puppy is only 4 months. Cons - small garden, like postage stamp size. Pup loves being outdoors and is happiest pootling around ours. Hasn't had a puppy before but has fostered other dogs and apparently his dog is very patient with the fostered dogs. House is all white and pristine, could get wrecked but guy says he's not worried. No crate for naps so would need to take ours each day or see if she settles without (unlikely, she keeps going until told to sleep). Didn't interact much with Pup as busy keeping an eye on his dog and not sure he really knows how crazy a puppy can be!

Sitter 2 - pros - such a lovely lady. Pup was immediately at ease, following her commands. Lovely yard area to play/toilet. Literally 10 mins walk from our house so DH could sort that and it wouldn't impact on my work journey at all, and then one of us could collect later in the day. Has a spare crate so we can walk her there without lugging equipment. Lady grew up with big strong dogs so Pup strongly pulling on lead walks won't be an issue. Happy to follow our routines as Pup loves a nap and gets cranky without! Pro and con - Won't have any regular day boarders on the days Pup would be there, but might get a few drop ins. So she'll get 1-1 human attention, but maybe no dog friends. Cons - didn't get to see house, so not sure how puppy proof it is. Could be anything in there and Pup could wreck the place. Lady says it's ok!

Doggy daycare - pros - lots of doggy and puppy friends to play with. Play equipment (but looks well worn). Secure puppy proof area. Cons - no nap routine, but has a quiet area. No walks during the day, just playing. Cannot view the facility due to lockdown restrictions. Sort of on the way to work, but again would probably be bad traffic. It's closer to H's work than for me to take her, but then we'd need another boot crate for his car to enable him to help out with drop offs.

I think for my own convenience sitter 2 would be the best option as DH can help with dropping her off and I don't get my work clothes wrecked getting Pup in and out of the car, however for Pup's well-being another dog/dogs would probably be better and lots more fun. What does anyone else think? Thanks if you can help me decide. H says it's totally my decision.

So if you use daycare/sitters, whats anyone's thoughts about them please?

I use daycare but it's a dog walker who also takes one or two dogs for daycare. Sometimes mine is the only one but other times he is with a couple. It's in her home so he gets the best of both worlds and goes on walks with her when she just does group dog walking. Sometimes he gets left to snooze on the couch when she dog walks but that is fine by me as he needed to be ok left and it isn't for long and certainly much less time if he didn't go to daycare.

We did try a big daycare as a backup which sounds similar to the one you listed which was a big commercial type building with sections for different dogs and a play area. He hated it. Really didn't like the noise and apparently was really unhappy. The staff were lovely but said it would take a long time to get him used to it so we only use 'home' daycare.

Can you trial them out and see how your dog reacts because I can tell when mine wants to go back and when he doesn't.

I would use 2 @puppygalore. It sounds like puppy will love it and if she used to strong dogs, I'm sure the inside of her house will show that . And convenience is a huge thing.

I agree with @BiteyShark on the daycare - I don't know how the puppy would ever get down time in that situation and they would probably end up frazzled!

btw @BlondieJ, I never expressed my sympathies! Poor you crying in the shower! if it's any consolation, I think all of us on this thread have had those moments!

Thanks both, that really helps, I was wondering if the big daycare would just be OTT at this stage while she's still very much nap-play-walk-nap-play-sleep. Perhaps a trial as you suggest @BiteyShark. But then if she enjoys both environments I'd still be torn!

I think I'd have no concerns at all about sitter 2, except for the fact she has no dogs of her own. I feel like if I'm paying someone as I can't be with her, shouldn't Pup at least get some type of different stimulation than just 1 adult? As she has that with me all week and must be so boring! But having said that the daycare option does seem a bit much, looking at their pictures I don't see how Pup would ever get any rest. She loves her naps but they still need to be encouraged to help her switch off and not get too aggro, and I kind of think she'd maybe get lost amongst the pack. The sitter would be 1 on 1 with her which is what Pup is used to. I just don't want to be selfish because 2 is so local and convenient!

I find you need more than one option anyway. I have primary daycare and backup for holidays and illnesses.

Thank you so much for the replies!
Sometimes all you need is a good rant and people to say they’ve been through/are going through the same.

I will go and pick up some antlers tomorrow as they sound like a great chewing aid. Also ordered a kong and some dog peanut butter.

We were recommended to watch the McCann videos on YouTube and did with the children. The puppy wears a house lead and you do the hold on the collar.

My family have always had labradors and I suppose I expected a carbon copy of the ones we had... and also you look back with rose tinted glasses because we maybe had a few months of hard times but 10 years of the most wonderful dogs ever! So I need to manage my expectations.

Thanks again for the help, I’m so grateful, it has made me feel so much better.

Pic of Coco

Coco the cutie I always feel a bit daft telling people about Retrieverpup’s demonic biting because they look at the photos of her all cute and innocent looking then look back at me like I’m some kind of lunatic!