Puppy Survival Thread - December

[Hellin301]

Day 5 of new puppy and I’m wondering what possessed me to go through all this he’s a little devil at times, most of the time actually with odd moments of cuteness

Waves @Riverhousepuppy . So lovely to hear from you and hear how well it's going!

Yes happy Christmas all

@HappyThursdays Thank you! That's made me feel so chuffed I'd say we're about 95% there, I still feel like I need to manage her a bit and prompt her to go out regularly. But she's started asking to go out when she needs (throws herself at the back door as a subtle hint) and we've had hardly any accidents over the last couple of weeks.

You were brave attempting a tree we didn't even bother. I'm taking her to my SIL's house tomorrow and I can only imagine the carnage, we've totally managed her environment here but she'll have more or less free reign there tomorrow. Hoping a big walk and a cow ear will be the key.

@GeorgieTheGorgeousGoat I don't know tbh, I give mine cardboard and paper to rip up all the time and judging by the amount on the floor not much gets eaten! Maybe a small bit of paper and a chew stick so he gets the fun of destruction and something nice to chew on??

[quote Doje]@Myrabbit79 I'm using cream cheese in DDogs kong which is working. Definitely recommend freezing it too! [/quote]
I think we'll go for this, he loves cheddar so sure it'll be a hit.

@Redandblue11

Just a quick to say happy Christmas 🎄 to all and your gorgeous pups 😀 I hope we can all do presents and xmas dinner with no major pup catastrophes

@MyRabbit79, there are quite a few kongs on my local pet shop. Can you not find any at all? I assume you are uk based?

We only have one small pet shop within easy reach (no car and not leaving him for long at the moment) and they don't have any. Partner is the one who was looking online so I need to check too - bet they'll be in stock somewhere!

How did everyone get on yesterday? We had a great day! She was so excited to see everyone and to be in a different house. She just loved the fact that there was so much going on. Cow ear was deployed during the main course and kept her occupied for most of dinner. She refused to sleep though, she was up from 9am-10pm with only one nap about 2-3pm. No biting though, even when she must have been overtired, although we did have two accidents inside which I'm putting down to tiredness and us taking our eye off the ball for too long. She's sleepy today, must be exhausted. I just love her so much and I can't believe I'm saying that when about 6 weeks ago I was on this thread at the end of my tether!

We had a surprisingly good day too! I was actually dreading how it was going to be, but it turned out fine. In the morning I distracted Pup with a many layered wrapped box containing a dental stick, 2 new squeaky balls and scraps of paper which kept her happy in the garden while the kids opened their presents. Later we all had a walk and then she did a good nap while my mum came round, kids had more presents. Then during the Christmas dinner Pup was awake but enjoyed a trachea and bully stick in the lounge on her own while we were eating and relaxing. It was a huge achievement! Usually we can't leave her alone at all. My mum brought Pup a Santa tug toy, but she got the head off and squeaker out within 10 mins - so watch out anyone else who has one similar! Her favourite things were 2 sprout toys I got from the Fetch website, she loves them, can't seem to destroy them and has also been dropping them so I can play with her - she never, ever drops anything! So all in all a great Xmas day for us considering what I expected.

We are allowed to take pugpup walking from Tuesday, really can't wait. he is doing so well with toilet training, he hasn't had any accidents for well over a week but now we have to get him going outside.

I have mentioned before that our vet advised against the garden due to foxes till a week after 2nd jabs so we have been a bit frustrated but he has picked up the toileting so quick (pretty much within a week of him coming home at 8 weeks) so hopefully he will adjust well enough especially if he is out for walks as he seems to learn fast.

How on earth did people manage last night with the pups that are still having to go outside for wees in the night? The storm was pretty awful here!

When did your pups sleep completely through till morning every night?

Pugpup had a good night last night, slept 830-1045, we purposely made enough noise to disturb him for a wee before taking him upstairs, he then went till 630. He went back to sleep for half hour after that but is starving by 7. He usually wakes at 515/530 though, sometimes won't have a poo as well as a wee so then wakes about 6ish for poo then back to bed till 7. Not sure how to resolve that.

Also, will it always be us waking up at 7? Do they sleep in later ever? He has his last meal at 730 so I am wondering if that is too early and hes too hungry in the morning?

We were also wondering that about the early mornings? We’re taking it in turns but seem to be permanently sleep deprived at the moment. We’ve had him 4 weeks.

We took GeorgiePup out on the long line today to see what his recall was like. He was amazing! Even when another dog and family came over to play I could call him over successfully when I wanted to test his recall with distractions. They were so impressed with him and said it was great for 13 weeks so that boosted our confidence. We also spent a bit of time just walking around not engaging with him to see if he’d follow and stay close and he did. I was so impressed.

Toilet training is also going well here, aside from Christmas Day but that would have been our fault. Lots of things were different and we probably didn’t watch him enough. So pleased it’s going well for you too @PugInTheHouse!

@GeorgieTheGorgeousGoat thats great re the recall. I dont think pugpup will be that good, hes very easily distracted, he is easy to train, picks up little tricks in minutes but if he is determined to do something I feel there is no stopping him!

You might be surprised, I certainly was. If you don’t have a long line I would definitely get one, we have a 20m one for a tiny cockerpoo but I know they do longer. He really loved that extra bit of freedom too.

We have an extending lead but not sure how long it is. Will see how it goes Tuesday - exciting!!

Extending leads are not recommended instead of long lines as they work by the dog pulling so it teaches dog that pulling is OK.

@PugInTheHouse The storm was pretty bad here last night too, we've reached a stage where I just open the door and let her out though. She pees and comes back in. We went a walk yesterday during the day and got absolutely soaked, she hated every minute. So we weren't out for long and then she had far too much energy for the rest of that day. It was a long day.

She eats at 8/9am (depending on work day or day off), 1pm and 6pm and that seems to do her. She will usually get a treat/chew after dinner. I know you said pugs can gain weight easily though so maybe they get hungry quicker. I'm not sure my experience will be much help to you cos our dogs sound very different. It's difficult to get ours to nap, if anyone so much as stands up or rustles a wrapper the wee head pops up and she's awake. She's a great overnight sleeper, we've never been woken by her, although we do try to get up earlyish and she's still getting let out at 3am to go to the toilet. I do wonder if this will all change in summer when it gets light earlier. Are you a member of the Facebook group Dog Training Advice and Support? They have a unit that addresses overnight sleeping. I looked and it does say if they poo early in the morning to move their last meal later so it takes longer to be digested. If he's waking hungry try a snack for supper. And there's some about retraining their body clock by setting an alarm for just before he usually wakes and then setting it a minute later every day and gradually sleeping later. Worth a look if you're not a member.

Was going to say the same about the extendable lead, not recommended at first.

Hi all,

Hoping I can join in (there’s a bit too much to read and catch up in one go).

We have a 16 week labradoodle, she’s already massive (have no recent pics though, but have put an older one in)

She seemed to learn the game of fetch today.

@ashmts yes they do sound very different although in the day time he is a mega light sleeper too. At night he doesnt even get up for a wee till between 530 and 630 really so I guess most people consider that pretty much all night. The thing is sometimes he will have a poo before bed at 10ish but still will go at 6ish. He doesn't seem consistent with it all but we are consistent with meal times.

It is hard figuring it all out isn't it

Gah, 5am start this morning and I don't think he even needed a wee! There was no way he was going back to sleep at that time,but is now conked out in my lap at 6am. The lack of sleep is killing me.

Can I ask, does everyone take their pup out to wee on a lead? We haven't and I think we might have made a mistake.... the garden is so exciting for him and it feels like he asks to go outside just for fun. Poos (I think) are mostly cracked, but wees are very hit and miss. DPup is just over 9 weeks.

@Doje We did but that's cos we weren't 100% sure how safe or secure our garden was and she was so small (and also black so impossible to see in the dark). It was really difficult at first having to clip the lead on when she was nippy. We also only had a harness and not a collar at first which just made life unnecessarily hard for ourselves! Saying that, I think it has done us a lot of favours in the long run as she accepts the lead really well for walks now.

@Doje oh also 9 weeks is teeny. It won't be long till he's hopefully sleeping a bit better through the night and things will all feel loads better when you're getting proper sleep. Don't expect too much from him just yet with toilet training, he'll get there. It took us about 5 weeks to crack poos and maybe 8 for pees and we still have the odd accident.

Yes 9 weeks is tiny. We only cracked weeing 100% at around 19/20 weeks. Some of them just take a bit longer.

@PugInTheHouse our pup also poos first thing but it is around 7ish now. It did eventually move an hour forward and now he hangs on till he goes on his walk. You might find once he's walking regularly, his poo times shift around a bit.

Thanks @happythursdays

He actually went till 630 this morning but was a slightly later night for him, food all over the place yesterday as there was too much leftover turkey around so he was very jittery and didn't really settle until we went up to bed! We fed him a small amount quite late too as he just seemed so hungry, didn't seem to make any difference re pooing, we will be walking him from tomorrow so will see what happens.

Hello all checking in after a pretty quiet Christmas! Puppypup is 4.5 months now and continues to be a delight.

The Good:
He sleeps so well at night and doesn't get up early. This am DH got up to let him out of the crate and for a wee at 845 - but between 8 and 830 is normal.
He's starting to be much better walking on the lead. When he pulls it's normally because he's spooked and wants to head home.
He's a sensitive little soul but has started to be more interested in saying hello to other dogs rather than worried by them.
He is really good at entertaining himself and will also sit quietly on the kitchen floor watching me cook. He was a star on Christmas day and sat with a chew watching us open presents.
He has started weeing on walks! Hallelujah.
Has totally stopped chewing furniture, skirting boards etc.

The bad
Toilet training still not 100% with wees. Our cat appearing is a particular trigger so thinking some of it is territorial.
Recall is a non starter so far. I've been focusing on getting him confident outside rather than any proper training. Need to get onto this.

The ugly
He's a total velcro dog. He's never been left alone and doesn't even like it when I go to the loo. He follows me round like a shadow. I just don't know how to start sorting this one out. When DH and DD are here I can leave him but he whines for me for a good five minutes and then sits watching the door.

@Puppypuppypuppy we have a really clingy one too, he cries at the door when I leave the room. He will only sleep in the day if he can see me even if everyone else is there. Not sure how he knows when he is asleep!

He just sits watching us play board games whereas the cats sit on the board haha. He has been really good.

How do you get him to wee on walks?

Did anyone else have snow today? We did- challengepup loved it, which was a bit of a surprise given that he is such a heat loving dog!

@puginthehouse - didn't do anything re weeing on walks although I do try and encourage when there's a nice piece of grass! Just happened a couple of times a few days apart and now seems to be doing it more or less every time. We have fenced off loads of the garden here so he only has a small area for toileting in and it's not grassy - and I think they do prefer to do on soft surfaces so that might also be a factor