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

Hi all, I was reading the previous thread and thought I should actually join in this one as we picked up our new puppy last Friday, he’s a very endearing miniature poodle, he’ll be 9 weeks old on Wednesday. So far I am severely sleep deprived but he is totally worth it. The kids absolutely adore him, the cats are decidedly less keen though! He has his second jabs booked in on the 23rd so not long til we’ll be able to take him out for a walk.

The toilet training is going relatively well, this is definitely not the ideal weather for hanging around outside a lot though, especially at 4am! He didn’t get on at all well in the crate (he literally whined and howled all night in it on the first night home, and there was wee and poo everywhere), so since then we’ve left the crate open and just closed the pen he’s in and he’s been fine. I have however been sleeping on the floor of the sitting room with him and really need to try and get back to my own bed, I’m going to try and move the mattress to the other side of the room tonight and see how that goes. I’ve never attached a picture to a post before so am not sure this is going work.

Whataroyalannoyance no not a lost cause a all, what absolute rubbish! All of the older rescue dogs and retired greyhounds would be truly up the creek if that were the case.

I didnt get PoleDog until he was 15 weeks old, he had been returned to his breeder due to sudden ill health of the new owner and it hasnt held him back at all, he is very well trained. I was due to have a puppy from the breeders next litter (Ive had a few pups from her now), but I am not keen on the puppy phase, so offered to have PoleDog instead to shave a few weeks off it .

What a handsome chap 2catsand2kids he is lovely!!

Pugpup is 11weeks now, has his 2nd jabs next Monday. Cant wait to take him out especially as vet advised not to even go in the garden as we have lots of foxes who poo in it!

He is brilliant at sleeping, 1st night at 8 weeks slept 4 hrs, we woke him then he went 4 more hours after a wee/poo. He generally goes over 6 hours now. He's great toileting, he goes on a pee pad at the back door, even if he's playing he will stop still and run over there to go. He does have the odd accident, some days none, some days maybe 3. He can sit and wait for treats, we are working on paw at the moment. He doesnt recognise his name i dont think yet.

We have 2 issues, biting is awful but we know its normal, the antler has helped but every now and then he catches you wrong and it hurts (he's only tiny so its not dangerous)

Other issue is now and then he will wake up at 430ish (from 10) but sometimes he poos before we get him up. He sleeps next to me so I hear him quickly I think. Sometimes he just moves about and squeaks in the night and just settles so I think maybe if I hear him stir and its around 4am maybe I just need to get him up. His crate is probably too big but he loves it so I am reluctant to put a separator in. It is not every night so I am guessing eventually he will just hold it longer?

@PoleToPole which puppy playpen did you get? I'm not create training by either so was thinking of getting one for pup.

I have been lurking but just had to respond to onvacation. We have the loudest, wildest children and I was convinced that we would generate a bonkers puppy. It hasn’t at all. She is so chilled and calm I can scarcely believe it. She is over 4 months now so I really think that is her personality. Everyone jokes that it was time I got an easy one. She is confident but just very, very easy. Fingers crossed it works the same way for you.

@XiCi we got this one, I think its the same anyway, we`re not in the UK but I found it on Amazon UK. PolePup is a teeny thing though, so if your pup is bigger you may need a bigger size. I like that it has a tray as PolePup loves to splash his paws in his water bowl

www.amazon.co.uk/Doggy-Style-Heavy-Whelping-Medium/dp/B01B4UC4VW/ref=sr_1_15?dchild=1&keywords=puppy+playpen+plastic&refresh=1&tag=mumsnetforu03-21&qid=1607980413&sr=8-15

Thank you PoleToPole

They are brilliant, its nice for PoleDog too as I can put PolePup in the playpen while I groom/cuddle him, and he gets some 1:1 time to himself.

You`re welcome

GeorgiePup and CatsPup are so very gorgeous!

PoleToPole omg 14 week mini poodle boy here too. Is he by any chance black & from a litter of five little boys?

Onvacation yup, the puppy session will be all about training you.
It was great for us, we're not v experienced, and it's helped Vanpup be safe and kept us a bit saner in those early weeks I think.
A lot of it really is common sense and overoverlapped with Easy Peasy book (Steve Mann), only thing our trainer doesn't agree with is Mr Mann's method of keeping crate in the owners bedroom. But I guess it sort of depends of the layout of your home. We've been really lucky with crate training and night sleep.
I feel like so much has happened in the philosophy around dog behaviours and training; good things, from when, say, my parents generation had dogs. I do get annoyed when (older bloke ) friends are unneccessarily rough with Vanpup and thinks it's funny when he gets over excited.
It's a bit like kids really, you do what you think is best, but there are some very good guidelines to help everyone have a better time of it.

P.S: Here's Vanpup a few weeks ago.

@VanellopeVonSchweetz99 I think 90% of the advice I have read says to keep crate in the bedroom to help with toilet training in the early days. It makes complete sense IMO. I guess whatever works is good though!

I know people who get a big crate and put a pee pad in one side of it and never get up in the night, they still have pups that are completely house trained during the day. I think so many different methods must work.

In terms of crate training about 90%of what I've read in English says crate in bedroom. Interestingly about 90% of what I've read in French says crate never in bedroom. The theory being it sets pup up for separation anxiety later if pups don't sleep alone.

I don't think it makes any difference to toilet training tbh, French pup is in the hallway and I have to go through there to get outside. Don't fancy having to carry her downstairs in the dark. Don't want her in the bedroom because I don't like company when I'm intimate with DH.

I am able to leave Frenchpup with no problems (I would admit to going back to wotk part time but that would get me kicked off MN so I won't)

We have GeorgiePup’s crate downstairs but with a baby monitor set up so we can hear him but he isn’t disturbed by us. We’ve not had any problems and it suits us as Dh is a shift worker so we don’t have a solid routine as far as bedtimes go. GeorgiePup does though, he always goes in it at 10pm.

@GeorgieTheGorgeousGoat We're similar (shift working DP and dog goes to bed at 10pm) but her crate is in our living room as we don't have a lot of space downstairs and the issue we've hit is that she'll go to bed happily as long as we go to bed too. The other night we tried to sit and watch TV while she lay in her crate and she went wild! Have you had any issues with this? I don't want to get into the routine of being trapped upstairs once it hits 10pm. We're going back to basics with the crate training and hoping it helps, just wondered how others get on having them downstairs sleeping while you're still up. We hadn't even realised this would be a problem as we've been so shattered up till now bed at 10pm was ideal!

The other problem I'm having is she's bonded so strongly to DP. Last night he was cooking dinner and shut the door (cos there were onions/knives/oven) and she sat and cried at the door for him. When he's out of the house she sometimes looks for him, crying up the stairs or going out in the garden to check if he's there. And he's a shift worker so inevitably there are going to be times when it's just me and her. Is it just a case of persevering till she'll sit happily with me too? I think it's just cos he's more fun, will run about with her and throw her about and I've been doing all the work on keeping her calm and settling. But it hurts my feelings if I'm honest!

VanellopeVonSchweetz99 Oh!!! VanPup is gorgeous!!! No, PolePup is cream and was the only boy with four sisters.

So like you it’s not been a problem so far as we’ve been so tired and gone to bed at 10pm regardless and DH had annual leave to settle GeorgiePup in. Last night he finished at 10pm and got home about 10.30pm, our teen stayed up to bridge the gap and he crates him around 11pm instead. GeorgiePup sleeps in the sitting room (out of crate) from around 8.30pm anyway so I don’t think he will really be affected by very slightly different routines. It’s what happens in our house and like our children when they were small, I hope he will adjust, fingers crossed. Could you put a blanket over the crate or move him to the kitchen maybe?

Similar to you guys as well, DH is the fun one and I am the disciplinarian! We also have three older children who are very hands on and so he doesn’t really look for or cry for anyone. Because I’m doing the bulk of the training I am armed with chicken most of the time so he’s happy to come running

I am dreading leaving pugpup as hes very clingy, definitely need to start doing it sooner rather than later though, how did you all start? At what age?

That was going to be my next question @PugInTheHouse Definitely need advice on this too! GeorgiePup is 11.5 weeks now.

He knows if I move from the sofa if he's asleep and shouts at me. In the evening from 830 he goes to sleep properly and nothing wakes him up then though!

I cleaned his wrinkles today and he was in a mood so went into his crate to hide and show his disgust!! He was not happy

Pugpup sounds absolutely hilarious PugInTheHouse. I also need advice about how to build up leaving pup. He's 12 weeks now and as I'm working from home has never been on his own. He'll wimper at the door if I shut him in a room just for 5 minutes.

I have left PolePup already, but he isnt the least bit phased by it as we have PoleDog, so hes not actually alone. I am now building up to taking them out for a bit separately, so that PolePup does get used to being alone, and the fact that sometimes they can`t always be together.

With some of the fosters I have had with severe separation anxiety, and with my own dogs as pups I have started by making sure they are 100% confident, settled and happy in the house, and doing lots and lots of confidence building.
I also do this before I do any socialisation too, as I really do not feel that throwing a dog in at the deep end when they are scared of water and expecting them to swim is a good idea. As a very respected trainer once said to me, one bad experience negates a hundred good ones, build confidence first so that they have something to fall back on.
In my experience, they do bounce back better from negative experiences if you have taken the time to build their confidence first.

Then I would take them out in the car to the petrol station, so that they could see me get out, get petrol and then go in and pay for the petrol. I would do this a once every three days or so, and then go to a corner shop and nip in for a newspaper with them left in the car.

Gradually I would up the time left alone in the car (in appropriate weather of course!) until they were happy for 30 minutes, always leaving an old t shirt of mine with them.

Next I would try it in the house, so go outside to get the mail/prune a bush/just stand around outside a window where they could see me for five mins. Do that a few times, then I would be outside for five mins where they couldn`t see me, and gradually build up the time that way.

I also always use a cue, so I say "back in a minute" so that they don`t suddenly realise that I am not there, which was a huge issue for some of my fosters.

@GeorgieTheGorgeousGoat Ah bribery, maybe I need to start that The kitchen is too small for a crate but we can try putting a blanket over. We've tried that during the day and it didn't go too well but if she's ready for bed she might accept it. She's just so nosy and has absolute FOMO. Yesterday DP left her in the living room and went for a bath and ten minutes later she barged in on him. So she's jumped a room divider, navigated a stairgate (i.e. DP didn't lock it but isn't admitting it), ran upstairs and pushed a door open. She's something else. Just when you think you've cracked managing her she finds some other way to thwart you.