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

Ah she's so gorgeous @BlondieJ! I liked a few of the McCann videos and then one of them was really odd. Can't remember which it was, but one of the methods I was uncomfortable with and can't remember why. I like Kikopup and the Battersea Way for helpful videos.

That's a good point about other options @BiteyShark thanks. I'm hoping I wouldn't need a back up sitter if I did pick sitter 2 and she was ill, she has her husband at home and also her mum around locally if ever she couldn't do it herself, and apparently they are all comfortable with larger and strong dogs and her mum also has a secure garden and secure field close by. Then there's also sitter 1 or the daycare if other backups are needed. I didn't feel this worried putting my actual children in daycare

Hi all
Hope all is well. Can I join in? Our pup Luna is 11 weeks and so far she has been really good. But she is getting very bitey and it's really wearing me down. She is also jumping up. Do they grow out of it or do we have to train it out? Also I've read on here about antler chews, are they suitable for an 11 week old pup or do we wait until her baby teeth have fallen out?
Feeling a bit low today as she has really gone for me with the biting all day.

Hi @coolmum123

I’m having the exact same problem with my 2 week old and there have been some great tips on page 15 in reply to me.

This afternoon when the kids came home from school I kept a “house lead” on her so that I could get a hold of her and calm her down. She seemed a lot calmer when I did this.
We still had a couple of episodes today where she got a hold of my jumper, but I calmly got her off and walked out of the kitchen and closed the door, after 30 seconds I went in and she sat there looking all sad and sorry and then was gentle for awhile.

I’ve just come upstairs with my youngest 2 and husband and eldest are downstairs and things have been calmer tonight than last night so that’s good.

I

@coolmum123 we had antlers at that age. The jumping up I'm afraid is likely to continue. Dpup is now coming up to 15 weeks and if anything, his jumping is worse than it was before. I think the key is ignoring snd not giving attention (difficult as the automatic position is give attention to get them to stop!). If it's any consolation, on our walks, we bump into 2 puppies who are 18 months old and they are still being trained out of jumping!

@BlondieJ I also use a lead indoors when the kids are around. Makes it so much easier. Although actually I didn't put it on tonight so maybe that's a sign of improvement. Definitely needed in a morning while getting ready for school though as it's just chaos

I've signed up to the "sexier than a squirrel" programme as it's on offer for £27. It's basically 25 days of games to play to improve engagement and recall. Only on day 3 but pup seems to like the games. I'm still nowhere near letting her off lead though - I just don't think she'd come back!!

Our pup is a serial nipper and biter. We’ve had him 4 weeks now and have got into the flow of things (somewhat).
His trigger time’s are especially when our children come home from school so we have frozen kongs to hand.
Today for our dinner we had bacon, swede, potatoes, peas and carrots. I stuffed some leftovers into some kongs and put them in the freezer for him for tomorrow.
When the kids come in the door I give pup one to keep him occupied and that tends to keep his jaws off the kids while they can walk in, say hello to him and go about their business peacefully
The antlers were great but now realised pup has little interest in them so have changed to bully sticks and these buy us a good 45mins of chewing time
Someone somewhere recommended the easy peasy puppy squeezey book which we found really good.
He still has his nippy and biting moments but they’ve definitely decreased in the past week or so
The only thing is all the distractions I use are food orientated! He’ll be fat as a fool come springtime but they say the treats will decrease once they get the hang of it- I can only hope so

I do think teething is a big part of it as it does lessen once their adult teeth come through. Our puppy is worse in the morning when we all getting ready to go out, but luckily he is very chilled in the evenings now.

I am feeling a bit despairing this am. I find it impossible to get anything done around pup. At the moment he is confined to living room area with gates - house is mostly open plan downstairs. If I go in the kitchen (where he can hear me v easily) he cries and scrabbles at the gate which divides the rooms. If I take him in with me he zooms up and down between kitchen and hall getting way too over excited and uncontrollable - plus I can't do anything and also keep an eye on him. He has a playpen in the living room but doesn't like being shut in there even with food and toys, if I am out of his eye line. When he is asleep he sleeps so lightly that if I move he follows me., then flops down next to me.

How do you all manage it? He's just about 3 months now.

At the moment he's destroying an amazon box - but when I put said box in the kitchen he had no interest as far more exciting smells around

@Puppypuppypuppy ours is open plan and pup is 12 weeks too.

We have crate and pen in the kitchen diner then a divider up into the lounge so in the day, pup stays in the kitchen diner. Do you have the radio on? I always have it on so when she’s asleep other sounds don’t necessarily wake her (although she does always hear the dishwasher open and come bounding up!) My pup is fine in the pen as long as she has a lickimat or Trixie snake etc to keep her occupied. DH takes her out in the buggy around 8am and our early mornings are quite busy with kids around, going to school etc so she’s quite tired by 9am and usually sleeps the rest of the morning bar a loo break.

@HappyThursdays @coolmum123 I was speaking to a friend yesterday about the jumping up as Retrieverpup is getting so big now I do need to sort it. She said with her goldens, she pushes them down gently but firmly on their shoulders coupled with a command like ‘sit’. I tried it in the garden yesterday, pup tried biting my hands and was clearly annoyed I was taking charge but in fairness, I think she did get the idea. I rewarded for the sit and today she’s been much less jumpy first thing although she’s been asleep since the kids went to school so will have to see how she is later on.

@Retrievemysanity that’s basically what I was saying up thread about what the dog whisperer says. You need to show who is alpha.

that's interesting @Retrievemysanity. I've also noticed dpup does it when he's tired. I've just forced him to have a nap now for example as he was acting like a loon. It's taken him 30 seconds to fall asleep so he was clearly exhausted! I will try that pushing down and see how we get on.

@Puppypuppypuppy dpup is coming up to 15 weeks I've just realised! he is not allowed upstairs but has the run of the kitchen/living room downstairs and now we have fully puppy proofed all the gates in the garden, we let him out in the garden if he gets too much inside (or he sits at the door and waits for us to open it). But I do enforce naps still (like now) and we are trying to get into a routine. The difficult thing for us now is the timing of the afternoon walk. We walk him at 730am (they are only quick at this age but he loves them and they tire him out!), then he has breakfast when we get back. Lunch at 12 and we try and walk him before it's dark but as both of us are working, that doesn't always work out.

I do think getting into a routine helps and probably helps them too.

pup also sleeps with one eye open basically - like I really need a wee now but he's so fast asleep on the floor next to me, i know if I get up, he'll wake up again so I'd rather just suffer a bit so he's not overtired all afternoon! he will go and sleep in his bed though but sometimes he prefers flopping on the floor for naps

btw the cows ears from Fresco Dogs arrived BLEURGH!!!

I got ones with hair/gristle and then some plain rabbit ears (with no hair etc.)

he immediately took the hairy one and was so excited he howled at the door till I let him out and then he buried it fgs so that didn't work for his chewing (but it's made him so excited)

the rabbit one, he did chew, but he also actually ate it bleurgh and it probably took him 30 mins so I guess that's something! it definitely occupied him for a while!

we had a bad training day today. Trying to teach wait and he gets really bolshy. Wait appears to make him furious and he throws himself everywhere in complete annoyance that he's not getting the treat. I am starting to think the bolshy behaviour is starting already! I did the training in the afternoon and I am wondering if it would be better in the morning when he's had a huge long sleep!

Not a great day here either.

Took pup to school drop this morning and she went crazy on the way home - biting my legs and wouldn't calm down. I ended up wrapping the lead round lampposts on the way home just to keep her away from my legs. So embarrassing.

I just feel like the weight of the world is on my shoulders and there is so much to do.

@newpup123

Not a great day here either.

Took pup to school drop this morning and she went crazy on the way home - biting my legs and wouldn't calm down. I ended up wrapping the lead round lampposts on the way home just to keep her away from my legs. So embarrassing.

I just feel like the weight of the world is on my shoulders and there is so much to do.

😔 no advice clearly, but just sending you a virtual hug! Sometimes writing it all down and having a rant or getting It off your chest makes you feel better! I feel very much like I did after my 3rd child. The nice moments are filled with love, then there are the what the F moments where i just cry and think why have I done this to myself, my life was good and I’ve ruined it 😬

We definitely have more luck with training around lunchtime when she’s had a nice long nap in the morning.
The afternoons are getting a little better. The evening she is just loco! It’s as if the red mist descends on her. Husband actually said today that he can see her eyeballing him and if he makes eye contact she’ll go for him! Like she wants a fight!

The house lead is a real life saver around the kids. We even had a few nice moments when she was nice and calm, I had a loose hold on her and one at a time they came over with a toy and gave her a stroke and she gave them a lick.

@BlondieJ the evenings are when we give Retrieverpup a big chew like a pizzle or cows ear while we watch tv. It’s made a massive difference to her red mist! And earlier I put some treats in an egg box for her to rip and find.

@BlondieJ exactly. Although to be honest my life was hard enough - work, 2 young kids & a very ill DH. I wonder what I was thinking sometimes 🤨

Pup has diarrhoea again this evening. It had got better over last couple of weeks. I am still being quite careful about what she has to eat as I don't think she has a very strong stomach. Definitely limits the options for distraction too. She has a chewy braid thing now that seems to be entertaining her for a while

My day perked up a bit yesterday after I decided to just go for it with the treats and stop worrying about upset stomachs. I did lots of rewarding for quite and calm behaviour and sitting nicely on the floor while I got on with things and it seemed to work - and no explosions so far either. This morning we've switched it up a bit and I have taken him for a walk first thing, as he was much calmer and more settled after going out yesterday. I also went out last evening and spent a fortune on new chewy toys for him which are keeping him occupied and a big new comfy bed to try and encourage him to stay in it and asleep!

what are the pizzles everyone talks about?

Pizzles are dried bulls penises - gross, smelly but much prized by my pup and a guarantee of at least 1 hours peace

Can I ask how much your pup eats?
Ours is nearly 4 months and for the past 3-4 days he has eaten very little of his actual feed
I thought perhaps it was because he was getting treats throughout the day while training but even in the mornings he seems to have no interest
Anyone experience similar?