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

@GeorgieTheGorgeousGoat we get zoomies occasionally. I've noticed it's on days where she's had less exercise or hasn't been to daycare to play with other dogs so has more energy to use up. It's definitely happening less frequently now we can take her out for walks, maybe twice a week rather than twice a day!

We tried a walk this morning but she cried the whole time and I had to carry her. I think it's the weather, it's been really cold and icy here. Can anyone recommend coats/jackets that are easy to put on? She's bad enough with the harness, I can't imagine getting her into something with legs. And does anyone use paw balm? Her wee feet were freezing and I'm worried about her walking on grit.

Georgie, oh this am at 5.30 am taking pup to toilet in the miserable weather and coming back to a overly excited pup made me think ... why did I do this? Then I remind myself that is a stage and we need patience.
That it will all be worth it, and I am so glad we have him specially at the moment when is all so gloom out there.
Mine got the zomies this evening too, today he had a very exiting day with new things ... so I wonder if it was a way to let his steam/nervous energy out. Noisy bin collection, next door dog barking at him, two sets of separate visitors in the garden , the last one with younger children trying to play with him, going into town ... I might have overdone it , he is 9 weeks.

spreadhunmus what breed is your pup?
Mine at 9 weeks has pretty good naps , some that last an hour but if I am working in the kitchen I ignore him , he pretty much stirs around , wanders around and settles again by himself for another 40 min or so.
The first few days I would sit quietly near his crate and not have eye contact and say calmly shhhh , stroke him gently and he would go back. Now I don’t do that but he seems to put himself back if he wakes up too soon. Not sure if helps.

Yes I think I easily forget the good bits about him. He will be easily trainable, I already have 3/4 good commands from him. He’s doing reasonably well with toilet training, good in the car, fun to play with, sleeps well. The bloody nipping feels so personal too, I know it’s not but I have to get over that. We’ve started time outs with him which are have some impact.

Busy day for you @Redandblue11 ! We took him out to collect dd. He saw cars and strangers and excited kids, and another dog! They weren’t close but he wasn’t bothered by anything which was great. We also got stuck in traffic and he just snoozed through it.

@GeorgieTheGorgeousGoat one of the things that really struck me during my reading about puppies is the importance of trying to avoid being too predictable. The advice was saying that, for example, if the dog gets a walk every time you put her lead on then it learns to be over excited whenever you pick up the lead. Apparently that can be the root of all sorts of behaviour issues.

So anyway, this is a long winded way of saying that it doesn't matter you have nowhere to go in the car. Just going out there, turning the engine on and then getting back out again is an experience in itself. Then sometimes go for a drive round the block and end up back at home. Then sometimes drive to a shop and leave pup on their own for 5 mins before coming back and driving home again. Basically break it all down into tiny steps and avoid being too predictable.

Same goes for stuff in the house.... pick up the lead, put your shoes on, then sit down and have a cup of tea. Take the dog straight from crate to walk. Or make her sit and watch you all get ready. Go out the front door and come straight back in the back door.

Basically there's loads of random activities you can do in lockdown that all will add up to showing pup what normal life looks like and that novelty is ok

Last night was odd, couldn't get pup to wee before bed (quite often he doesn't but still goes to sleep for a reasonable time) he promptly wee'd in his crate again. Twice in a row. So odd. He had a restless night too.

He has been good today though so hopefully just a bad night. Cat #1 is in the room with him more often, still won't get to close but not running away. He even slept on my bed last night next to the crate so i think its a bit of progress, even stayed there when I got up with pup for a wee when usually he would run away. Cat #2 is more scared but is getting braver. They are not angry or hissing so I think it will just take time. I am not pushing it with them as there is no rush and to be honest the older the pup gets the less hectic he'll be I guess.

I just had to share this pic as he looks so cute . . .

Laytonpup is 16 weeks and can do sit, paw, down, roll over( well, sort of), leave but only if it is not something she likes, drop commands. What can I teach her next?
We can't take her to puppy classes due to various reasons.
I have watched couple of YouTube videos but find it overwhelming. The dogs shown in those videos are all trained to do whatever they want them to do.

What about heel, wait, come, lay down?

Pup is 9 weeks. He will sit for a treat he seems too crazy to teach drop as he just wants to chew whatever toy he has. My boys finish school next week so I have said they need to start teaching him some stuff. My 12 yo suggested lay, stay, I thought they were sensible suggestions, my 14 yo said he wants to teach him to backflip

What age should they be able to be properly achieve commands such as lay, wait etc?

We are doing, sit, wait, stay, down and wee 😄

She can do come, wait ( sometimes if it is not waiting for food ) and lay down.
How do you teach them to do heel?

I'd be happy if he just stopped biting. That can be stressful. Its mainly when he's tired or excited. He's lovely the rest of the time. Every now and then he catches you and it hurts. Its like he's possessed!

He seems hungry a lot also, I know pugs can be greedy but he literally inhales his food. Its so hard to know how much to give him, the vet told us to up his breakfast and lunch by 10g and he's finishing all that too.

@SpreadHummusNotHate your puppy is so cute. What a lovely face

I have had very little sleep for 3 weeks, but I saw a shooting star at 4:15 this morning :) (while out in the freezing garden for pup toilet)

@ProfessorLayton1 We are finding heel pretty impossible - she doesn't seem to get it, and she's really bright with so much else. Hoping it will come, but we're starting with a lead now because she's had her vaccs and want to take her out. Bit jumpy, but it's a start. I'm thinking puppy books are like baby books?

@PugInTheHouse Have you tried a licki-mat when pup is over-excited? Works for us - just a small area of something nice and we take it away as soon as it's gone, so she doesn't destroy it. We also give her half a carrot from the fridge which she loves to gnaw on when wanting to chew. Quite small width, or cut down for small jaws. She can handle chomping on the broken chunks - not sure how your pug would deal with that? Would hate to suggest a potential choking hazard. I saw somewhere a suggestion of pieces of clean fabric, maybe tied in a knot, soaked in water and frozen are nice to chew on for sore gums. I let our pup mouth me a little bit so she knows what's acceptable and what's too hard, then she gets more gentle over time. She hasn't hurt the skin so far! Puppies are mouthy and bitey, so redirection is.good.

We had a lovely afternoon with pup on a long lead in the local park - he ran round with some other dogs and then we practised a bit of recall. It's ok but when other dogs are around, he's still picking going to them rather than always coming to us so we'll be on the long lead a bit longer I think - he's really quick though, outran all the adult dogs by some margin!

He's officially 4 months now - can't believe how time has flown!

He's far calmer now if it's any hope for the biters. Dp's dcs can do so much more with him now which is great and they aren't constantly asking for us to take him away. Really feels like we have a great family pet!

@HappyThursdays That's great! We went to get a Christmas tree in the car and little pup was quivering and salivating in her car crate again :( She seemed to calm in my arms, even with lots of dogs/people/cars around us, and she sat on my lap on the way home where she calmed & dozed off. Think she will need to be in the car with us now on. No puppy classes near us until early next year though - the gundog training puppy classes not until Feb - two classes before Christmas are over subscribed. That's a shame for us, but we're going to try getting her out for short walks from this weekend, and take her on school run, but avoiding the crate for now.

We had to wait ages as well @DoubleTweenQueen for the puppy classes. We have only just started. It's the walking that's been my biggest concern but it's definitely getting better (v v slowly!) but improving!

Is she in the boot in her crate? Do you think she just feels a bit too far away?

@HappyThursdays great to hear that update! Retrieverpup is 15 nearly 16 weeks and still bitey which is doing my head in, although we have had a few days here and there where it’s been better. Lots of totally dry days and down to one overnight wee (one night dry!). She’s been off lead in an enclosed hired field and in a public field and recall has been great but no distractions. She sleeps for hours after that or after a short walk so that’s good. Had a 2 hour zoom puppy class this week and trainer is coming to help with lead walking etc the next couple of weeks.

It's been lovely reading all of your updates and seeing how everyone is getting on.

Our lab puppy is 4 months now and he's fitted in to our crazy household perfectly! He still has his moments (8pm zoomies anyone!?) but is a dream with the kids so can't complain.

One question, what is everyone finding best as a training treat? When out walking just me and him kibble is enough to do little training bits but in puppy class with the other puppies around it's just not interesting enough!!

The other question I have is how on earth do you start grooming them? He thinks it's a game and tries to spin around and bite the brush!

@HappyThursdays Crate in boot, yes - and I think (hope) it is probably a separation anxiety thing. We're going to change our approach, but try and get her happier with the crate, maybe try feeding her in there without going anywhere; carry her in there only when we're coming home. Good to hear you were late with classes - ours will be 16wks+ when we get to do something, so will try to socialise gently before then.

@oneblacklab I put down some treats on the floor and brush her while she's busy. Hoping she will get used to it.

One black lab, I make training treats using either tinned fish or liver to make a “cake”. Basic recipe is 400g tinned fish (or raw liver), 2 eggs, 300g plain flour about 60 ml water. For the fish I use mackerel, sardines etc. and just mash it altogether, the liver needs a quick blitz in a processor. Bake for about 20-30 mins at 180. I then cut in to slabs and wrap to go in the freezer. It lasts for ages, is suitably smelly, fairly healthy, cheaper than bought treats, and my dog loves it. Hope that helps.

We use chicken for training. He’s not that good motivated and it’s one of the few things he loves.