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

Oh and the biting has massively improved thanks to everyone's tips. He loves his antler and i just keep telling him no biting and giving him the toy. This usually works for him trying to bite your hands/body, nothing stops him with feet but today I kept pulling him away and telling him not to and he stopped, I tested him by walking away (he usually chases and bites) and he just walked with me without biting, I tried that a few times so hopefully we are getting somewhere.

@Islandoftheapes sorry, I think I’ve misunderstood you then. I thought you wanted him to settle outside the crate?

@Islandoftheapes if you mean you’ll always be there with pup but just don’t want a crate in whatever room you’re in, then to train a settle elsewhere, you get a bed or mat in the room you want, throw a treat on, as soon as their feet land on bed or mat you click or use a marker word and treat to reinforce. I get pup to lie as she knows that command then drop treats in between her paws. You can train ‘go to bed’ or ‘go to mat’ etc. If your pup likes a pizzle or ear or antler you could try that on the bed/mat and see if that keeps pup on there. Not sure if that’s what you mean?

@PugInTheHouse so jealous!!!

GeorgiePup has definitely calmed down a notch now he can go outside. Still has his mad half hour when overtired but really has helped.

Just thought I'd share Frenchpup in her crate this evening.

@Frenchfancy OMG
I want them
Is that a kitten so they are used to each other? I would absolutely love to have a cat that is that friendly with pup.
But my elderly boy cat might have a heart attack if I get another pet . It was only him for years and now he has to share the house with redpup.

Yes, a kitten we got 2 weeks before Frenchpup. They are best friends.

We adopted our pup at 15 weeks for the same reasons (first owners couldn't cope and didn't have the time so only kept him for 2 weeks). I agree it's rubbish that they're untrainable by then! I grew up in a family that adopted rescue dogs who were usually at least 2 years old and usually had learned some bad habits which they had to unlearn, they were all lovely dogs after some hard work. Ignore those puppy trainers, you'll be fine. We have had KiloPup for 5 days and already he's learning not to bite shoes (previous owners allowed this). We found that he has been understandably anxious after moving homes three times and so lots of reassurance, praise and reinforcement is working well. Don't give up!

(sorry all that was meant to be a reply to a previous post a few pages back that I didn't manage to attach properly! )

@Retrievemysanity yes sorry, just want him to settle outside of crate with us there - seems strange locking him in crate when watching tv or working, would be nicer for all to have him out. We've tried the dropping treats on his bed but the minute we stop hes jumping up at the sofa or barking at us for attention. We're going to try again tonight......

@Islandoftheapes if we are sat still and not getting up and down pugpup will happily sleep wherever he lands in the lounge but if we are making tea or in and out the room then he will only settling his crate with the door shut.

I went out last night and left DH and the kids with him, he cried for 25 mins at the door after I left, they couldn't settle him but then DH took him into the hall to show him I wasn't there and he then settled and went to sleep till I came back. This does not bode well for leaving him completely.

Same, once we settle down to watch tv and just have the lamps or low lighting on, GeorgiePup will just settle down or self soothe with some chew toys and fall asleep. It’s almost never in his bed and absolutely never chooses the crate but he’s quite happy under our feet or next to the fireplace. During the day, the house might be too busy for him to settle so we put him in the kitchen but due to layout he can still see and hear us but settles if he’s tired.

Hello, I lost the old thread! Hope all pups are doing well.

Any toy ideas for letting Pup entertain herself? I'm sick of wasting money on things that she plays with once then ignores. I'm exhausted constantly playing tug and she's gone off bully sticks and pizzles too which were our failsafe when I wanted 10 mins to myself! She's almost 6 months and quite a strong chewer.

@puppygaloremy pup is only 12 weeks but other than the antler the best thing to occupy him is a cuddly reindeer that is the same size as him or an empty plastic drinks bottle. He plays with it for ages chasing it round the floor. Actual toys have a lower amount of interest for him

I am hoping we can have puppy classes in January ! Tier 4 now

Empty fizzy water bottles are great toys.

Hello all, puppy is now 9 1/2 weeks and we had our best night yet last night, he slept from 9.30pm until 6.15am, hurrah! The toileting is still rather hit and miss but mainly more hit. We had a dog trainer come round to our garden yesterday for 90 minutes which was fantastic. Neither myself or dh have ever owned a dog before and although we’ve read a couple of books it gave us loads more confidence about what we should be doing, I would definitely recommend it if that’s an option. The puppy was so exhausted afterwards he slept for most of the rest of the day! I was really looking forward to starting puppy classes in January but am thinking they probably won’t be happening now which is a bit gutting.

The thing we’ve discovered which keeps puppy entertained for longest is pigs ears, one ear has lasted three days and he will spend ages chewing it.

Well things were going amazingly with Xi pup. Sleeping through the night, toilet training going really well and then time came for his first walk. I had visions of me just slipping the lead on and us trotting off for a nice little walk to the park but didn't even get out the door. He went absolutely apeshit when the lead went on. Any attempt to move him and he went absolutely crazy. Has this happened to anyone else? Any advice at all really welcome!

I think that can be quite common for first time walks! Ours were very tricky. We used high value treats and low expectations.

Thanks for the suggestions. She just destroys soft toys or else wants me to play tug with them, so spends time shoving them into my legs and accidentally nipping me. She also savages homemade enrichment toys like water bottles, cardboard etc so I'm at a bit of a loss!

Lots of treats putting lead on then take it off again. Keep doing this a few times, then leave lead on while pup wnaders round the house. Then do the same in the garden. The pick up the lead but still in house/garden.

So, VacationPup arrived early - as a result of Tier 4. We picked him up at 9.45pm! Cried in the car, and needed lots of snuggles, and a hand reassuring him for the journey, but no sickness. Settled in his crate by about 12.45am, but struggled to sleep (even if exhausted). Awake at 8.30am - had done a wee in his bed (I'm guessing DH didn't hear his wake up call), but outside to do a poo. Played outside (he LOVED the garden), but didn't want to eat his kibble. Back into his crate for a snooze at about 10am. But he was struggling to sleep. He fell asleep, on and off, but at 3pm he seemed a bit more awake but was still in his crate (having missed breakfast and lunch). We tempted him out with kibble, and he ate some and drank a little. And then went to play in the garden. He LOVES the garden. He played and bounced, and ran around with the football, and jumped up (need to work on that) on the children, and went to the loo, and had a wonderful time. Came in, he cried. So he went back out and played some more, went to the loo again, and came in. A little cuddle, but then straight back into his crate and zonked out.

He has eaten very little so far (food is what the breeder was feeding him) - is this unusual for day 1?

Really usual not to eat for the first few days. GeorgiePup was fussy and picked and nibble at his food and now 3 weeks in gobbles up everything we give him (and it shows )

And he’s gorgeous! It told me a few moments to work out which one was him

Totally normal not to eat, Frenchpup didn't eat for days.

We are looking after a German Shepherd for the holidays. He arrived yesterday. Next to Frenchpup he is huge. She hasn't really interacted with other dogs so this is in at the deep end socialisation. My house is chaos. We have 2 kittens ourselves and GSD came with another kitten. Along with my dcs and my niece who is her for 3 weeks we now have 5 adults(and 1 teenager), 4 French hens, 3 kittens, 2 dogs, and a partridge in a pear tree.