Puppy Survival Thread - January - February

[C4itl]

Continuing on the thread from www.mumsnet.com/Talk/the_doghouse/4105422-Puppy-Survival-Thread-December?pg=28 before we hit the message limit

@PugInTheHouse we try and take Happy once a day to a park where we know other dogs are off the lead so that he can run around with other dogs and get rid of some energy. Have you got somewhere enclosed near you where he could run around? You might find other puppies there so he could have some real play experience!

On another note, we managed to get some Nina ottoson toys that someone recommended on another thread. One is a wobble bowl where they have to wobble it to get the food out and another puzzle where they have to lift lids and slide things. Am now kicking myself that we didn't get them sooner as they occupied Happy for ages today! Finally something other than a chew or a plastic bottle that he likes playing with inside!

I didn't actually know of the enclosed place near me and I'm not on Facebook but I got a friend of mine who is on Facebook to ask on a local dog walkers group where people were taking puppies to run around and they recommended it so if you're on Facebook, it might be worth seeing if someone knows somewhere local to you

Thanks @HappyThursdays I definitely need to try that, I have avoided places like that as hes been such a nightmare eating everything off the floor and 2 dogs have become seriously ill after eating cannabis in the local park but he's been much better this week so I think he'll be OK now.

We tend to let Dpup 'zoom it out' but if he gets bitey afterwards we relocate to the kitchen and if that doesn't work he goes in his crate, and will then settle. We'll then take him back into the living room (generally where he has his zoomies) and he'll flop in there.

@Doje the living room is also our zoomies location! I wonder why that is

I think we are going backwards in all areas now. Pugpup has been great at night since 8 weeks, now coming up 20 weeks and he is waking so early. He seems to be refusing to poo before bed so last poo is 8pm, this morning it was 445 when he stirred but I could sshh him back but by 545 he was whining, put him out for a poo then tried to get him back to bed. He went off for the odd minute or two then DH got up with him at 620. There was me wondering how we could stretch him from just before 7am a week ago and now it's awful. Its been like this since the weekend.

We are catching wees outside now but he's not asking. I am tired and fed up. Struggling with work and him (stupidly thought it would be ok by now, which it was till 3 weeks ago). I am guessing 3 weeks ago everyone was home still so was easier and perhaps I didn't realise.

Feeling sorry for myself which is stupid but I guess thats lack of sleep.

Ah @PugInTheHouse. Don’t despair. I’m sure they are like kids and their progress goes backwards and then forwards again.
Positive that you are catching wees. I think I read that it’s not actually ideal for them to ask to go out-better if they learn to do it when you take them so that you are in control and you’re not having to let them out every time they fancy a sniff in the garden!
Can you juggle his meal times a bit?

Would he poo if you took him for a little walk before bed? My mum always takes her dog for a ‘poo walk’ if he hasn’t done one. I always thought she was crazy but now I see why! Never thought I’d become someone who obsessed over whether the dog had had a poo 😂. Old dog had them as and when and I can only remember him waking us up in the night a couple of times when he had an upset stomach. (Old dog has achieved ‘perfect angel’ status since he died especially in comparison to Petal but I’m sure he had his moments too 😂)

@Petalpup yes I was thinking that about meal times, I think he is on the late side for his last meal (730) so I think we need to bring it forward, that way he may go to toilet before bed. He was always going about 1030/11 up till the weekend and to be fair doesnt go for about 10 hrs after but its the wrong time 10 hrs after 8pm

Yes a walk could possibly work, its difficult to know really. We could end up outside for ages for him still not to go and have to get up early also or we could just take him up, have a slightly earlier night and get up early. I am hoping changing his meal time might resolve things.

@PugInTheHouse A walk is a good suggestion, think it's meant to get things moving in a way that pottering about the garden doesn't. Probably worth a try. Ours eats at random times, last night she didn't want dinner but at half 10 when I was putting her to bed she decided she wanted to eat it. I was a bit worried what that might mean for poos but she seems to have developed bowel control and slept through. Hopefully soon it won't be such an issue for you.

Could there be a reason he's waking so early, other than needing the toilet? Is the room too light, is someone making noises or snoring, does someone get up to use the toilet and wake him? Is he going to bed too early or having more daytime naps than he needs? Just some thoughts but I think some dogs just are early risers unfortunately.

@Petalpup We have a previous dog who has achieved sainthood as well. I was complaining to my daughter about new pups nippiness and remarked that old dog was never like that - DD vehemently denied this and said that she was "a bitey little fucker" I think we only remember the good bits

@ashmts I don't think its the bowel control that's the issue, he has food at 730, poo within half hour then goes best part of 10 hrs without going. I am not sure re waking, I do wonder if he is going to sleep too early, I dont think he's being disturbed although that is possible. He is doing slightly longer walks now so I think he is falling asleep earlier than usual in the evenings so maybe that's it. Its so hard to know what it actually is. I think I might try half hour earlier dinner and keeping him awake longer.

Its so typical if we have ended up with an early rising pup just as our boys have become teenagers and sleep in

Solidarity @PugInTheHouse
I am also currently trying to work from home including live meetings with children...which plant pup either decides to whine through or chew my socks

I know she is much younger than your pup but she has her dinner at around 5pm, then just a small snack a biscuit or similar at about 8 so she doesn’t get hungry in the night. Seems to be working ok, she is now waking up once at around 1am which for her age isn’t so bad. I am an early riser though so not as impacted when she wakes up at 5:30!

Thanks @Plantlover23 I will definitely trying food earlier. He has his lickimat about 745/8 with a snack whilst we eat our dinner so that will help him not get hungry in the night hopefully. If only he would poo around 9ish then we could get to 7am lol.

@Puginthehouse we brought dinner forward to 5.30pm and tend to get a poo out of him, generally on a saunter around the block, about 7pm. It's definitely worth trying.

We're up here at 6.30am this week. I preferred the 7am starts!!

@Doje is 7pm the last poo he has before 630am?

Yes we do a poo walk round the block before bed too. Any time after 730pm and before we go to bed.

We have moved to 2 meals so have brought his dinner forward a bit so he's eating nearer 4pm now

@PugInTheHouse we went totally backwards with the weeing before it suddenly clicked. I had almost given up! He was something like 22weeks before we saw the light.

Thanks @HappyThursdays we are doing well catching the wees again and once you start paying attention again to when he goes it gets easier doesn't it. At least its half term in a couple of weeks so the kids are around which will help if he's still unreliable. I also have the whole week off which will be helpful.

Really enjoying all your updates and I hope that poorly puppy gets well soon.

Any thoughts on toilet bells? My thinking has gone in circles:-
-Cute idea
-Annoying
-Less annoying than barking/scratching door
-Pointless because I will be watching him like a hawk
-Cute idea
-Pointless
-Annoying
-Cute idea

ToastPup doesn't even arrive for another 10 days and I already seem to spend half my day thinking about toilet training 🤣

@QueenOfToast We use toilet bells and for us they have been invaluable as Grannypup has never barked to go outside. The outside door is in the conservatory so depending where we are in the living room we can't always see her. She got the hang odf them really quickly and at nearly 8 months old we haven't had any accidents since before Christmas.

The downside is that in the evening if she feels we are ignoring her she will ring the belsl but then refuse to go out or just walk outside and straight back in. All in all 90% of the rings are for toileting purposes and about 10% just to wind me up!

@PugInTheHouse it’s tough isn’t it, every time we think we’ve cracked it and had no accidents for a couple of weeks, I guess that’s us getting complacent!

We are having a bit of a tough time with HummusPup, she’s a clever little thing, picked up basic training very quickly (sit/down/stand/hand touch/wait etc) and is 95% of the way there with toileting. She’s pretty good overnight and now better at taking naps in her crate. When she is awake though it’s so full on, and everything seems to excite her too quickly and make her bitey.

We never feed her from a bowl (partly because I don’t know how we’d fill her awake time if she ate her meal in 10 seconds flat). She gets 2 off-lead walks a day of about 25 mins (she’s 18 weeks), plus a short lead-training pavement walk to try and train her not to pull. She gets training sessions, plays tug, lunch is normally me throwing kibble around the garden and she sniffs it out, so I think we do quite a lot with her but always open to suggestions

When she’s awake though as soon as we’re aren’t actively doing something with her she either starts biting/chewing us/climbing over the backs of the sofas/trying to get on the table/general mischief. The logical part of me knows this is just part of of having a active puppy and I don’t know any adult dogs with this little chill, but when does it calm down a bit..?! I think I naively thought there would be a few more cuddles on the sofa/few more times when pup would snooze at my feet whilst I’m working. In reality I get bites on the sofa and she never ever settles out of her crate

Sorry that has been quite the vent!

Tl:dr when will my crazy puppy settle down a bit?!

@SpreadHummusNotHate its definitely complacency on our part. Re hecticness Pugpup calmed down in the last couple of weeks. He's 20 weeks on Sunday. He is happy with his antler or messing around with a ball indoors. We do take him in the garden regularly and his uses up lots of energy sniffing and trying to eat everything he shouldn't but now in the in-between times he is much more chilled. We really noticed it last night when watching TV, he was awake but just chewing his toys.

Your pup is doing well off lead, I dont think we are anywhere close to that, I am certain he would just run off. He is so determined to get to people/dogs/scooters etc that I cannot ever imagine him being ok off lead.

@QueenOfToast we use a toilet bell, pup was doing brilliantly for a couple of weeks, using it for poos (not wees) though. We got complacent and it stopped working (lots of accidents too) so we have been back on it and he's using it again. The trainer just told us to press it and say outside every time we took him out, he picked it up quickly but also presses it to go out to play. That's fine though as doesnt matter either way. It will be useful if we have not got all eyes on him.

@PugInTheHouse thanks I am hoping things settle a bit by the time she is 6 months at least we’ll be mostly done with teething by then but then we have adolescence to look forward to

We do go to a quiet field when she is off-lead where there might be a couple of other dogs in the distance. If we went to our local park and there were kids/bikes/runners then I don’t think we’d have any chance recalling her!! We were advised to do it like this in puppy classes - let them burn off their energy off lead and train loose lead separately, otherwise walks are just frustrating for you and for pup. She is a spaniel though so wants to pull like a train if she sniffs something, perhaps your pug is better behaved on lead