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

Morning puppy people. had a good few days with Puppypup who will be 4 months on Sunday!

Big achievement this week - we went to the groomers. All you wise people were totally correct - I just handed him over and went for a nervous coffee half expecting them to call but no, he was a complete angel apparently and came out looking and smelling beautiful, having had a bath and a small puppy trim, including round his eyes so we can see his face again now!

On the training - he's half walking well on the lead and half pulling but I am still trying to boost his confidence outside so am focusing on going at his pace and letting him sniff and explore as much as he likes. We are nowhere near able to let him off the lead - I would mostly worry he would get scared and bolt off in the wrong direction. We are starting to practice recall a bit more now we have a long lead.

For those who have car problems - we have been working on this. He's now got an elevated seat which helps him see out having started him with just sitting on the seat but I think he felt a bit thrown about. We have someone travel in the back with him at the moment - we started feeding him treats constantly but now feed for nice sitting or lying down. He was actually pretty settled for the first time yesterday.

I've also got to start leaving my velcro dog. Am going to really work on this over the next few days as he currently hates it if I even go to the loo. Any tips v welcome.

@Mumof3andpup hope you're feeling a bit better. I had a massive puppymoon and then a huge crash and if I am honest I still get pangs now two months in! But I have been rubbish at getting pup used to being alone and I think if you can do that it's much easier! So start early is my advice!

We seem to have had a breakthrough on the car, I held back a small amount of kibble from lunch yesterday and then took the snuffle mat in the car seat, he was really calm, just sniffed around the snuffle mat, was calm even when the kids got in the car then dozed off on the way home.

We have had a little success with sit and wait. He will sit for treats after wees, we have moved onto saying wait and if he snaps for the treat we say wait again and he waits nicely till we give it to him. He will sit on command away from having wees too but expects a treat then too

I tried to get him to sit for his food and he did this morning but he was too hectic at lunch time. I think he will get it soon though. He seems pretty responsive.

so glad the grooming went well @Puppypuppypuppy. I know you were worried about it!

and that's good news on the car too @PugInTheHouse. He does sound very obedient!

we had a lovely time in the park today with puppy chasing his ball (we only have one tennis ball so I've desperately ordered more off amazon as we nearly lost it today!) but omg he pulled like nothing else on the way there. He had his lead on his collar and he was really trying to throttle himself and it didn't matter how many times I stopped, when we started again, he just went for it. The problem is he has learned his way to the park. He's been so good the last few days and I thought we were making progress but I now realise he was learning the route (as we've only been going to this park this week) so he's stopped concentrating on me, and is now back to concentrating in following his scent there. It's such a shame as I thought we were making some progress so now I'll have to alter our route a bit to change it up! He was good on the way home but he was tired. He's also started stopping on the way back and sitting and looking at me and expecting a treat! Argh!

pup had training tonight and apparently waltzed straight in, barked playfully at absolutely everyone and then did a massive shit right in the middle of the hall - apparently a massive, sloppy one - dp reckons his biggest ever

Argh!!

I hope you are all getting along a bit better!

I haven't been on for a few days but it's been eventful!
I accidentally fell over a dog toy and stood on pups leg on Tuesday night - I felt awful/sick and he was limping for a good 10 mins. He is fine now but god it was horrible.

He has definitely improved with toilet training and yelps to poop which is a great help to us, so we can run and open the back door. We have introduced him to the bigger part of the garden as he couldn't get up the steps and that is tiring him out for five mins per day.
We also swapped kibble to AVA and he is eating much better - along with treats of cheese!

@wineandsunshine I also hurt GeorgiePup today! He’s just come in from the garden and ran passed me as I leaned out to close the back door (outward opening door) and he must have scooted back past me and I squeezed his paw in the frame. He squealed and I opened it immediately but he ran off crying and limping. I was devastated. The kids had just come in from school, literally as it happened and it was chaos. Ds cuddled him for a bit, he was still crying and I called Dh who left work to come home. Then 5 minutes later we tried him back on his feet and he was fine! Running around like nothing had happened. They must be tough cookies.

Gross description below- don’t read if you have a sensitive stomach)

So yesterday GeorgiePup had his worming tablet, and today in his poos we have seen worms poor boy. We had no idea, I feel so sad for him. Apparently the medication doesn’t stop them getting worms but rather paralyses and sheds them, hence we’re seeing them now.

He hasn’t been out yet so don’t know how he got them

Just wanted to say thank you so much to everyone who replied for all your amazing reassurance and advice. Things feel a lot brighter tonight. I’m realising puppy needs a lot of cuddles, as well as all the play! Tonight I actually managed to cook and eat dinner, so am feeling almost triumphant! Thank you again for all your support!

@GeorgieTheGorgeousGoat our breeder told us that pups can get worms from their mother, either in utero or through the milk when nursing.

I've had my puppy for three weeks and have only just found this thread. He is 11 weeks old - a tiny JRT cross. We are a behind on the injections. The vet who did his first jab with the breeder used a vaccine that our vet doesn't use so we have had to start from scratch. So it will be another month or so before we can go for walks. In the meantime he goes out and about in a puppy sling and loves meeting people.

After lulling me into a false sense of security he has started to wake up every couple of hours through the night for a pee and gets up at 7a.m. It's like having a newborn in the house.

I am exhausted but besotted.

@IthinkIsawahairbrushbackthere welcome, I only joined myself very recently. I wonder why he has started to wake up... my pup is now sleeping pretty much 11-6 am, but you mentioning that makes me think to hold fire! Enjoy while it lasts, I am saying to myself.
Or I wonder if it can be something medical like urinary infection, is it normal to go to waking up every 2 hours?
I am thinking aloud here as I am newby in this area.

Btw - he is gorgeous

Just sneaking in before a new thread starts. Bought our labradoodle pup home this morning

I fed him earlier last night and he slept from 11 to 5.30 and then back to sleep until 8 a.m. I need to work on his routine I think.

Loving all the puppy photos. We have a labradoodle/retriever cross- the sweetest dog you can imagine.

Pups are so like newborns, if their routine is right then they seem to sleep so much better. If pugpup sleeps in the evening from 8/830 we can wake him for a wee before we go to bed and then take him straight up to bed and he'll go till at least 5am from 1030/11. Will have a wee/poo then back to sleep till we get up.

The biting has really got to me today. My 12 yo has been really upset by it.

the biting is v hard - do you have chews? we are coming out the other end of it at the moment (19 weeks) if that gives you any hope. He's stopped eyeing up every skirting board at least and now when he goes to 'bite' us, it's mouthing rather than biting

a friend of mine tipped us off to a piece of land where more boisterous dogs go to play (as it's harder to get onto a road) and I feel we have finally found our home! He got to play with some larger dogs and some growly smaller ones, all of which does him good. He even acknowledged his whistle while playing which was great.

however his lead walking is still atrocious. And because he is huge for his age, it's getting to the point where he is almost pulling me down the street on my stomach as I can't handle holding the lead. I actually can't believe how strong he is - even the vet commented on his chest muscles. We've tried so many things but really the only thing that gets him walking normally is him being exhausted. It's not ruining it for me because i love him so much but we are desperate not to get to the stage where I can't handle him given I'm doing half his walks and I'm worried we are getting quite close to that point. On a slippery surface, he would pull me over now!

and he is brilliant when tired - constantly engages on the lead, looks up for the next cue. It's just when he's not tired, which is almost every walk on the way there that's the issue. It's pure excitement. We are working on it with the trainer but I think it will take him getting a bit older to calm down!

We have various rope toys, is there anything else you would recommend, bearing in mind he's quite small. He has stolen a cuddly reindeer from under our Christmas tree and we can often distract him with that if he's bitey but its the attacking feet etc that his hard. He has already ruined some new clothes I got for my birthdys because he just goes for you to bite. Hes so calm and cuddly most of the time but has 3 crazy times a day and its hard work. Especially as its mainly me dealing with it. My husband let's him bite etc which drives me insane as its the opposite of what I'm trying to teach.

how old is he now @PugInTheHouse

Almost 11 weeks so still little, I know its normal but I think it just upset me that my youngest was upset, he was so excited about getting a dog and I think he has taken it personally bless him.

I'm not surprised it's upsetting

www.aldi.co.uk/monster-hide-and-seek-dog-toy/p/706735412191001 this was v popular at that age. He can chew down on the little aliens in the monster and they squeak. Though they aren't chew toys so much, if he's biting and you squeeze the squeaky alien, your 12 yr old might be able to distract him. It also works for them to stick their nose and paw in and try and pull the aliens out

have a look through the other aldi toys as the ones with long legs (like octopus and unicorn if you can find them in stock are great)

we did use antlers though I know some are not in favour of them but I made sure they were a good quality - I think cow's ears might only be safe from 12 weeks so you might need to wait a bit longer for those. I would start with the ones without hair/muscle.

you can also get chewing things from pets at home shaped like bones but made of food but you'll need to watch his tummy and I think they are 12 weeks too but maybe check www.petsathome.com/shop/en/pets/lamb-and-apples-petite-4-pack-%28online-only%29

sorry to hear about your 12 yr old. Are you doing classes yet? What i found worked with dp's kids when they were getting fed up is I got the trainer to do a special class with the dcs. She was so lovely to them and really praised them and gave them confidence in handling him when he was being bitey etc. so maybe if you're in classes already or about to be, that might be an option

@PugInTheHouse, does your son leave him immediately as soon as he start to be boisterous? My DS adores redpup (coming on 11 weeks) but he now knows as soon as he gets nippy he needs to cross his arms and turn his back to him. It is hard tough.
We also use antlers, in local pet shop I found one that is puppy suitable, one side is out of the outside bone and softer and doesn’t splint.
Today we used this as well (Photo),
I keep it away and give him to chew if he starts to try to chew stuff .
Certain chews I read to keep them away, so are only brought out if he needs distraction so it is still interesting for him, sort of rotating , don’t leave it around as he looses interest.
We are also a work in progress so by no means perfect here!

Thanks @Redandblue11 I will tell DS to do that. I will pop to pets at home tomorrow also to get some chews then. I am stricter with him and move away, I guess it is easier as I am with him more often. I need to get it better before Xmas as we will have the family over including my nephew who is 8 and is quite sensitive.

We have a bitey little alligator too, 11 weeks tomorrow.

The thing I have been working on the last few days is his indoor recall- roast chicken as a high value treat. Then every time he nips someone, chews something he shouldn’t or goes somewhere he shouldn’t, I have reasonable recall to get him to come and sit in front of me. When he does grab at trouser legs and feet we know it’s sleep time! There’s no calming him down from it, he just needs sleep.

@PugInTheHouse the biting is difficult. All the resources say distract them with toys but sometimes all they want is to bite you and they won't be distracted! A dressing gown tie worked well for us. Also we put a room divider up so we could step over it and away from her when she got too wild but still dangle the toy over. Saved my sanity.

With attacking feet, I had to wear Ugg boots or wellies for the first few weeks. She was terrible for nipping ankles or pulling laces. It's totally died down now though and I can wear any shoes or slippers I like. She rarely even bites at us any more. Hope that gives you some hope.

One of the chapters in Easy Peasy Puppy Squeezy was about control and management, and limiting the damage they can do really helps, as well as being able to get away from them. Your pup might be small enough to cope with but I just needed to step away occasionally.