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

Pup hated being left in the crate but now he has free roam of downstairs we can leave him safely for 2 hrs (we all work full time but often different shifts so someone able to come home for half the day). Making progress on loose lead walking until we are nearly home then he pulls like mad ! He is jumping up alot at the mo - especially when we are preparing food and he barks lots when people come to the door. But at 5 months its all still a work in progress. The good definitely out weighs the bad.

@HappyThursdays he’s happy sleeping in the kitchen during the day whilst we’re in the front room with the gate open as he can just walk in when he wakes up and go to the back door for a wee, the panic seems to start once the gate is closed when he’s awake. I think the treats need to come out tomorrow with rewards for being quiet behind the gate!

he sounds like a proper little character @C4itl, not that that helps you!

yes I think a lot of treats for being a very good boy behind the gate!

or would it be possible for him to have the run of more than the kitchen? maybe he's worried about not getting to the back door for his wee?

we thought we would shut dpup in the kitchen but actually he was happier having the run of the kitchen and the front room. He often sleeps where I sit on the couch - I think he likes the smell and we're more often in this room so he can smell us more. Though I have no idea if that theory is utter bollocks and he just liked a bit more space!

@HappyThursdays the plan is to let him have full use of downstairs once he’s old enough, but at the minute I don’t think we could trust him not to destroy the sofa I think he probably would sleep better in there as he seems to like sleeping under the couch at the minute

@C4itl I think it's also worth considering the opposite- giving him less space to wreck things and pace around looking for you. If you can work on crate games and getting him comfortable in there then that would be a safe place to leave him and also less likely to wee.

Newpup is 16 weeks and still pretty bitey. Goes for shoes / ankles and can jump/snap for treats if in a giddy mood. Frustrating

Havent been on for a while but hello all old and new. Love to see the tax on this thread ;-)
Riverpup is 20 weeks now and biting has stopped so much. She also responds well to leave it too which we did loads in the early days and now it has clicked so I think it has shown me the importance of persevering with riverpup.
I have been leaving her a bit too but also going upstairs to do stuff. I walk her, feed her, take her out for poo and wee then leave her to settle herself and sleep whilst I get on.i think that has been good for her and me as I can go upstairs and do stuff without a crying sad face at the bottom of the stairs.
She does still jump up at people which I am trying hard to stop but it's really difficult.
We are a bit behind @triskirun99 who has been a beacon of light my whole journey. Riverpup is so much easier than a few weeks ago when she was a biting pooing monster. Hang in there,it sucks but then you turn a corner and their whole body wags just to be with you and your workd adjusts to a new normal but with pup. Riverhouse is a bit like it was before but with riverpup here as opposed to riverpup consuming every single moment. From 9 weeks to 20 so much has changed and we adore her and her us.
Now to work on that jumping again

@Riverhousepuppy do you think you did anything in particular to stop the biting? I'm worried I'm not doing the right thing. E

Responses here can vary depending on situation - sometimes I can tell she's going to start and a "ah ah" sound can distract her onto something else. Sometimes I have a toy within reach and she will switch to that. Obviously I stop her immediately / take her away from the kids if she does it to them but I suspect their shrieking and jumping around actually makes it worse. If she keeps coming back fr more I put her outside / in another room for a minute or so. Lead inside also helps but I don't want to get too reliant on that.

Morning
We tried loads of stuff, redirection, toys, commands to sit, controversially vicks vapour rub, ah ah etc but I whilst i think sone of that worked i think that it was her losing teeth and growing out of it that made the biggest difference. You are doing all the right things but I believe time is the biggest factor. I think the other things add up and help but it is a teething thing. If she has a little moment of it then leave it is enough to stop now.
In the worst bits it was absolutely awful and I just thought what have we done. The only other thing that I think might have accelerated her stopping was by her starting doggy daycare twice a week, she seemed a bit less bitey the day after but I think that's because she had been biting ears and playing like that all day.
It will definitely get better, I was so worried and hated it so much and my husband looked like he had his arms through glass windows. Ds7 was scared of her as she couldnt leave his slippers and legs alone, ds13 who had been desperate for her declared he didnt like her and was a cat person. Now they talk about when they didnt like her and that she isnt bitey now.
You are doing great, hang in there, this too shall pass xxx

if it's any consolation @newpup123, thursdaypup is also still very bitey (and I think they are a similar age).

Do you have a hairy cow's ear? they really are the most repulsive things but have kept thursdaypup entertained for ages

I am having some success in getting him to sit when he jumps up to bite but it's still v v much a work in progress

@C4itl sorry if this is too obvious but have you got the puppy sized kong? I didn’t realise there were different sizes at first! The first time I put the banana in, Retrieverpup wasn’t that fussed but then I think I hadn’t mashed the banana up enough because the subsequent times when I mashed the banana fully and sealed the kong with peanut butter, she loved it. If yours struggles with the kong, a Trixie snake might be better. You can put the banana inside that or some squirty kong paste etc and it’s easier to get out.

@newpup123 I was so despondent about the biting here over the weekend. Had a long chat with the breeder and I’m just going to share her advice in case it helps.

So, I found the ‘ouch’ or ‘eek’ that’s often recommended, just made our pup more excited, commands like ‘sit’ had no effect when in bitey mode! Distraction was a bit hit and miss. She has a pen but we use that for our meal times and didn’t want to overuse it. Anyway, I felt overwhelmed by it all and thought maybe we were doing too many techniques and sending mixed messages but it felt like we were getting nowhere, eldest was scared, I was stressing about the other kids we have come to the house (I help out with childcare) and the atmosphere was tense.

Breeder said to do a short sharp ‘No’ almost like a bark. If she released, crack on, if she didn’t, use the index finger and thumb with palm on top of the nose to remove and then walk out of sight for a minute before returning. Everyone needs to do this and do it every single time. Only one ‘No’, don’t continually repeat and it must be a firm one at the right pitch and volume.

I was a bit sceptical but omg, early days as we started this on Sunday but it has been brilliant. We’ve seen a massive reduction in biting and when she does do it, it’s more a half hearted effort. I really hope it continues as it’s made such a difference. I took a couple of videos and sent it to the breeder both of her biting before she gave the advice and then of us doing the ‘no’. It was just super reassuring to know her biting was just play biting not aggression and to have pointers regarding the ‘no’.

@Riverhousepuppy lovely to hear how things are for your family now. Can I just ask, you said things are now pretty much as they were before and that riverpup doesn’t consume every single moment- is it harder to occupy pup now that they sleep less or do they entertain themselves better? At the mo Retrieverpup sleeps loads still and I find just about enough things to entertain her during the waking moments but not sure what I’ll do when she’s awake more!

@HappyThursdays our first walk today eek! I’m also 5 foot 6 and Retrieverpup is a big girl so a bit worried about her jumping up at others and pulling me over on the lead! Any tips for the first walk? Also, off lead, when did you do this for the first time and whereabouts? I’m so nervous about this walk!

@Retrievemysanity well the good news is that everyone is nervous for that first walk I think!

I don't know what character your puppy has. Pupthursday wants to say hello to everyone. Which means walking can take some time. I don't know where you're going for the first time but if you're going on a pavement with a lot of people, have an idea about what you will say

my tips are

1. keep pup on a very short leash so he can't run up to people and jump at them. Not everyone loves dogs and their paws are muddy in this weather and will ruin people's clothes. This can mean keeping them on a tighter leash than most other dogs but i think it's important. Also if it's a packed pavement, people's arms and legs might get close. If he's mouthy, he may expore their legs/arms so keep him close

1. children may approach him uninvited and may run at him - decide in advance if you will allow this or whether you want to try and grab the parent's attention to stop it before it happens

1. he may do a poo! which is great! but then you've got to try and pick it up and hold onto the lead. This can also be tricky so I would suggest having a loop in the end of your lead so you can hook it on your arm (halti do a lead you can hook around if you don't have one)

1. bring loads of treats, loads. More than you think!

1. if you're in a park, decide how you'll deal with other dogs. Pupthursday always wants to approach everyone but we always double check with the owners first as a lot of older dogs don't like puppies. If I take him to the park, I take him on a long lead so he can run a bit

we only let him off lead in a field here (rurally) where we know he can't get out and there is no one else around. We couldn't let him off the lead in the park in London as there are too many dogs/squirrels - he's too young really - but we let him on a long lead which he loves

btw getting a long lead is a great way to practice recall without worrying you're going to lose the puppy - i think it's made a massive difference to his training but also we have a v boisterous, energetic dog and I'm sure more passive dogs would not suit it as much! So I think you'd have to judge on the character of your dog and what you think will work!

The walk tips are useful @happythursdays.

I've just had two really terrible walks with Puppypup. We went out first thing this am (730) with me thinking it would be fairly quiet. It was not! Pup got spooked by (I think) car headlights and then some very loud glass recycling. Got himself into a right state, trembling, whimpering and I couldn't calm him at all. I picked him up - is that wrong? He's only little. We hadn't got very far and as I couldn't calm him I carried him home.

At about 10 I thought - try again. He was v excited getting the harness and lead on. Got a little way on the same route and he freaked again. Wouldn't go any further, whimpering. This time I went down to his level and calmed him enough for him to walk back home without picking him up but he went like the clappers back to our house. I am worried I have done it all wrong now and wrecked his confidence.

@HappyThursdays so helpful, thanks!

We have a country park behind our house so was going to walk there, save going in the car. She’s very friendly so probably will want to say hi to people and v cute so gets lots of attention anyway so good tip about the short leash as she’s a bouncy one and a mud magnet! Our leash does has a loop thank goodness. She hasn’t mixed with any dogs since leaving the breeders so I’m a little worried about how she’ll be. She barks at them when she’s in her buggy.

I was going to take her lunch with me and feed on the go like we’ve been doing in the garden for lead walking practice. But worried about all the acorns around though as read they’re toxic to dogs. Need to stop overthinking I think!

@Retrievemysanity I've got the red one, which I think its too big for him. I'll look into the snake toy instead!

yes I worried about acorns too but he was so busy sniffing everything and everyone that thankfully acorns weren't very interesting!

@Puppypuppypuppy I think you did fine. I know they say don't pick up but it's really hard when they are that upset and I think he needed the reassurance. Is there a bench you can go and sit on and watch the world go by so he gets used to all the noises? Feeding him treats while he listens to all the noises? It's really encouraging that he went further the second time than the first. dpup loves his walk and he still goes like the clappers home so I think that is fairly normal.

one other thing I forgot to mention is joggers and cyclists. If pup was off the lead, I know he would chase them because when they come past, he turns around 180 degrees and tries to bolt after them. Just be warned if you have an enthusiastic pup that he might do that. We've had to sit down and I give him a treat if he sits nicely and doesn't try and chase after them like a lunatic. I think if I didn't try that, if he was ever off his lead, he'd be after them like a maniac.

@newpup123 dpup bit me hard today, the hardest he's actually bitten me to date. I can still lift his mouth off me but I was in the middle of talking to someone on the phone so didn't have both hands and he was trying to get my attention. It was bloody sore and I was not very happy! His gums are really swollen today so I'm guessing teeth are coming but we are going to have to keep him away from dp's dcs while he's behaving like this

@happythursdays He's not been interested at all in treats outside but I have been reading a bit this morning and have realised that the fact he's not interested is a sign that he is slightly stressed already. I think I will take a couple of steps back and do the bench thing.

[quote Puppypuppypuppy]@happythursdays He's not been interested at all in treats outside but I have been reading a bit this morning and have realised that the fact he's not interested is a sign that he is slightly stressed already. I think I will take a couple of steps back and do the bench thing.[/quote]
Yes I agree - walks are not really for physical exercise at this stage. It's more about introducing them to the world and everything they will encounter in the future. Sitting on a bench being fed treats is a great situation to be in when you see a ambulance / motorbike / paper bag flying towards you in the wind for the very first time.

Walk survived! No acorns consumed! As anticipated, did want to greet everyone and surprisingly (to me anyway!) wasn’t interested in the food, just wanted to sniff and say hi to people. How do you deal with the jumping up? And also, wandering onto other people’s front lawns?! Bless her, she did do a wee on command and I was so excited. How my life has changed

Hi all!
Long time mumsnetter here but not been active for a while. Vanpup has been with us 3 weeks now, he is nearly 11 weeks and lovely. Sleeps well but thank GOD we didn't get a dog when the kids were younger (now 9 & 11).