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

Rosie did a wee and a poo outside last night with me! So happy about that. She was cold and shivery though and got the hiccups soon after!

Bedtime was fine and I only got up with her once in the night.

Dh cant doesn’t have the same success as me with the outdoor pooping. (Smug)

I did the cooked chicken thing as a treat which she adores! Thanks whomever said that.

we are starting to see the same dogs on our walk which is lovely - I am going earlier now because it is busy here and I think what he struggled to cope with was the extremely busy pavement yesterday (he is just not used to it) so he was much better this morning on the way out but still pulling like a lunatic on the way back. Doesn't actually matter how much we stop tbh, I think this is his way but there was an improvement. I am always full of hope! He still zig zags though following his nose. I actually can't wait to get back to dp's house for the dog's sake as he can run off the lead there which he needs.

@Atalune good job! not much better than a good outdoor poo

@HappyThursdays re the nail cutting, I asked our 1-1 trainer and he said he always recommends leaving it to professionals. I did buy some clippers but as Pup has black nails I haven't dared to! Booked her into the groomer tomorrow and hoping they do reopen in Dec.

Our group class at Dog's Trust has sadly been cancelled due to lockdown, it will now be online only. Absolutely gutted, I loved our first class and was so looking forward to actually being around other humans and for puppy to see other puppies! Being in the Manchester area and self-employed with a business that closed down, I've seen nobody except my 'bubble' since March :(

Hi @LittlePoot!

Sorry ive been so quiet on here recently, life just seems to have gotten in the way!

No in laws are still at mine 😪😪😪! the solicitor further up the chain had paperwork sitting on their desk for 6 weeks and its only when my mother in law said she was considering pulling out of the sale they got their arse in gear and all being well should have a date this week..... its been 4 months and its slowly driving me round the twist!

On pup note Bunglepup is 20 weeks old now and seems to be settling down now... his toileting is loads better and he didnt have an accident all week last week so fingers crossed it has clicked!
We have put him to bed in our room (i know the one thing i was adamant on not doing!) and he sleeps so much better...no accidents in the night either and he sleeps from 10 til about 6... i just couldnt take anymore sleepless nights and cracked at 3am one morning!

Hows your pup doing? how are you?

im so glad we have the pups to take out during lockdown #2! it might keep me sane lol!

Hi everyone, can I join please? Here's a pic of our little devil angel, he's brand new, not quite 9 weeks!

He's sleeping lots which is awesome, as when he's awake he's mental, particularly in the mornings. This morning I had him outside four times in the first hour, wee and/or poo outside each time, but still 2x accidents in the kitchen. And I had to yelp at him to get him to let go of my finger at one point, no squeaky toy redirection would work . Needless to say "drop" is the first command I'm working on!

I've tried to take him out a couple of times in a shoulder bag to get him (and me!) out of the house, but he just wriggled, shivered and whimpered - should I give up and wait until he's had his jabs and can go out on the lead, or is it worth persevering? We have a garden so can manage with that for a few weeks I guess...

It's lovely to see the pics of all your pups, I've been lurking since the start of the thread, looking forward to hearing how everyone else gets on!

Can people share their morning routine?

It was absolute chaos here this morning while I try get the kids ready for school and the pup
Is zooming around going crazy. I had thought things were getting better last week but this morning was awful. I'm not really feeling the love at the moment, it's all such hard work

lyraa we have that bed, and a yellow lab! Ours is 17 weeks now. We didn’t bother taking him out the house until he’d had his full set of jabs, and even now he only goes round the block, but we are looking to take him to woods/ beach soon.

Our school morning routine: kids up at 6 (their choice not mine!) they get pup out the crate, give him a bit of fuss. Me or DH goes downstairs to make coffee, pup comes back upstairs with us and lays on our bed either chewing on a toy or he falls back asleep.
Then we get up at 7ish, I usually have a shower while DH takes pup downstairs for his breakfast. Pup then has to stay downstairs so he mooches about, jumps on the sofa, goes out for a wee, stares intently while I make the kids lunches!
That’s about it til I leave to take kids to school, pup goes in his crate with a carrot around 8:30, DH is working from home and then pup goes to sleep til 10/10:30.
Hope that helps!

he's gorgeous @lyraa!

@newpup123 I come down at 6am normally and let him out for a wee. I then make myself a coffee and he snuggles down with me - sometimes he goes back to sleep but normally he just likes a cuddle. I take him out for a walk around 7/730am - usually about 30 mins (but that's not 30 mins of walking, that's 30 mins to walk what i would walk in about 10 mins). If we are at dp's place, he does a proper walk in the morning off the lead. We then come back and he has his breakfast around 745/8am and then he potters around and goes back to sleep. This is usually his longest sleep stretch of the day (which is perfect timing as I then start work!).

I have to say though @newpup that when dp's kids are here it is far harder - he doesn't sleep as well because he keeps his ears open so I do think it is harder when you're trying to do stuff with little ones around

@puppygalore really sorry to hear about your business. Dp works in hospitality and this year has been a complete bloodbath for us

@lyraa I think we have the same dog. Bonkers this morning! Did 4 poos in the first 10 mins. 2 in the kitchen!! She's now passed out in the crate. She's gone off her toys a bit today and preferring slippers/shoes/the chair legs. She met the Tesco man and am going to take her out somewhere in a rucksack later. She has her first vet nurse trip tomorrow as she has fleas!!

Thanks everyone!

@desperatehousewife21 - he's loved the bed since the minute we get him home! Has all his naps on it, no interest in his crate when that's there - oops. In fact I ordered a half sized one to go in his crate which arrived today, so hopefully he'll be comfier at night on that.

@newpup123 - we've only had 5 mornings, but it goes something like this... Either I or DH will come down around 6:45 and take him outside for wee & poo and a bit of a run in the garden. We'll try to make coffee & breakfast for us and him which will take an age as we play with him, try to distract him from biting our ankles and watch him for toilet signs. Garden again for toilet. Try to eat breakfast, garden again. Try to eat breakfast, clean up inevitable wee accident, try to eat breakfast again... DS comes down just before 8 and will watch him whilst I grab a quick shower (DH normally gone to work by this stage). DS takes him out to the garden again. I come back down and doubtless clean up another wee accident. By 9ish he's concked out for a sleep and I cry tears of joy and have a cup of tea

I can't get over how many wees he has, it's hard work as we have metal grid steps down to our garden and have to carry him out and back in every time.

@sm40 - how old is your girl? (She's gorgeous!). Let me know how you get on with the walk in a rucksack...

@newpup123 the routine we have got into is that pup has breakfast in her snuffle mat at 7am which gives me a bit of time to do the packed lunches etc while DH sorts out the DC’s. I pop her in her pen when they come down for breakfast, today she had a Trixie snake with mashed banana in it while we ate. Then DH will take her out in the buggy while I get ready and the kids do teeth etc. I have to say, it’s a massive bonus having DH wfh as he can help out. If you don’t have another adult to help then you could still do most of these steps except maybe taking pup out.

@lyraa how cute! We have a pet buggy. Retrieverpup wasn’t sure at first but now quite enjoys it, particularly with the hood off as I don’t think she likes the feeling of being caged in. I would say keep on taking pup out, reinforcing with treats when she sees rucksack, gets in it etc just because it is great to get them out and about before they can walk and I found it helped me loads too!

Thanks @Retrievemysanity - maybe I'll give it another try in a day or two, I'd certainly like to be able to go out (I know I could just leave him in the crate for a short while of course). I didn't take any treats with me, which was a bit foolish! DS is mad keen for me to bring him to meet him on the way home from school so he can meet his friends, so it would be nice if he could get comfortable with it... I like the sound of a snuffle mat for breakfast as well, that might buy us some more time.

Thanks all. The common theme with your mornings is you get up earlier than me 😬
I am on my own in a morning so do need to get a grip. Perhaps if I get the pup out for a bit first, then come back in and get the kids moving. Urgh it's all so hard!

@lyraa bottled it and took her to the pub, whilst open, in the cat basket! My 14 y/o was not impressed when I dragged him along. We gave her some cuddles abs the bar staff loved her and then she got wriggly and we came home!
She's 8 weeks and 2 days!
Our morning sound like yours. Dh work firm home and ds still on half term but still didn't get my breakfast until 10!
What bed have you got. She doesn't like the Lidl one I got her! She has vet bed in the crate.

@newpup123 mornings are really hard! I remember posting about it in the early days but it has got easier. She wakes anywhere between 7-7.45 nowadays (so glad the 5.30-6.30 days seem to have stopped!) and H will usually take her for a walk while I get the kids ready. He was sick for about a week recently so I was doing it solo, up at 7 to walk Pup, then garden playtime while I sorted kids, then back in crate by 8.30 to take kids to school. It was tough but did get better.

@HappyThursdays sorry to hear it's been bad for you too. I had such high hopes for my business this year. And I'm now having to apply for jobs as I don't think I'll be able to get my business going again. Gutted as obv we now have Pup, I'd never have committed to getting a dog if I'd known I'd have to properly go back to work as it feels unfair her either stuck in alone with just an hour dog walk or else at a doggy daycare. I know it'll be fine and so many owners and dogs live like that, but that's not why we got a dog! Hopefully I can find something part time but it's going to be tough with so many people now applying for every single job out there.

[quote sm40]@lyraa bottled it and took her to the pub, whilst open, in the cat basket! My 14 y/o was not impressed when I dragged him along. We gave her some cuddles abs the bar staff loved her and then she got wriggly and we came home!
She's 8 weeks and 2 days!
Our morning sound like yours. Dh work firm home and ds still on half term but still didn't get my breakfast until 10!
What bed have you got. She doesn't like the Lidl one I got her! She has vet bed in the crate. [/quote]
Ha ha At least you got out!

I have this bed: amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00B9FEP6K/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1]]

I bought one the perfect fit for his crate, then realised I didn't want it weeing on in the night, so left it on the kitchen floor. I've now bought one half the size so that it can be half his crate with a puppy pad on the other side for accidents (we're not getting up in the night). Hopefully he'll be more cosy in his crate like that instead of a towel and dog blanket.

Hi All, mad busy last week as DC were off school so I was trying to work, entertain them and mind puppy. But it was great to be able to go and leave puppy with them if I needed to.

Daisy has really settled in here and grown (she is now 17 weeks!!!!) and we are nearly there on the toilet training. I'm hoping once we get two to three weeks straight that I can move on to other training.

One question - I have left the back door slightly open for Daisy and she goes out to pee etc herself but how can I train her to bark so that I can close the door in the winter?

Welcome aboard all newbies - I will read through later and look at your gorgeous pics.

@Annasgirl Pup just naturally gives a little bark when she's ready to come in, I've never had to train it. Usually though she'll just sit quietly and wait, she seems quite happy to wait outside come rain or shine and I keep an eye out for her. Maybe yours will do the same.

Our pup literally knocks on the back door to come in no training at all, he just knocks/ taps with his paw I don’t know how else to describe it! Obv if we don’t come within a min or so it would turn into a whine, then a bark if we left him too long but we’ve never let it get that far because there’s always one of us close by.

Our pup is up around 6, goes straight out for a wee, has breakfast then immediately out for a poo so we have an hour to chill on the sofa before I get the kids up. When the kids come down I go up and get ready for work. He gets a bit hyper when he can tell we all getting ready to leave, putting shoes on etc. We leave at 8 and he now usually comes on the school run (only a 10 min walk there and back) previously was put in crate for the 10 mins.

Hi all! Our mornings go a little like this, Dp usually gets up around 6/6:30 and goes downstairs (only recently does he actually wake pup up, looks like he’s sleeping in a bit more) and let’s him out for his morning wee and poo and if it’s nice he has a little potter about the garden while dp gets some brekkie! He has a play with his toys and a quick walk before dp leaves for work about half 7 which is when I get up and take over! I usually make a quick cuppa and have a wee play with pup before he’s back in his crate around 8/8:30 for a nap! Which is perfect for me to nip and get a quick shower before beginning wfh at 9!

We’re majorly struggling with him barking at any other dogs and occasionally people when out for walks. It’s making me so sad because I’m constantly anxious about taking him out now (I know they can feel this through the lead so I try so hard to stay relaxed but as an anxiety sufferer this is sometimes easier said than done) and I know he’s only desperate to play or say hello but he’s still such a rough wee thing when playing and unfortunately because he’s a German Sheperd people instantly think he’s aggressive.... I feel like he’s doing so well in other aspects, house trained within a week, slept through the night from around 9 weeks and he’s learnt sit, wait, lie down, give paw, drop (not always successful, particularly with leaves- what is it with puppies and leaves?!) and we’re attempting look for his walks so I know he’s doing amazingly but getting out for his walks is basically the only real time I leave the house, bar to nip to the shops, and it’s not enjoyable right now. I hope one day it’ll just click and he’ll not bark at anything that moves but it seems so far away.

Wow rant over, sorry about that!!

Newpup is trying Butternut Box food - if anyone wants a 50% discount code to try then PM me

All these early rising DHs astound me 😂 I am married but DH is chronically ill and not out of bed before 10am. It's funny how you adjust to your own "normal" and it's only when you get an insight into others lives that you realise how different we all are!

@MumofaBear wow your pup can do so much! How did you manage to train so much?!

I started with “sit” today and Rosie is also playing fetch which is hilarious as she looks like a baby deer when she runs.

More poops and wees in the garden today but 2 poops in the house.

She’s started to get a bit bitey when playing- when possible we substitute with a toy straight away. But it was either on here on somewhere else where was say “ow” take our hand/person away and look sadly at the puppy and turn away and this is working really well for an almost immediate desist.