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 it’s the only explanation, must be part of their plan

@PugInTheHouse glad you’re feeling more positive about it all

@Plantlover23 The Secret Life of Pets is definitely based on a true story

Its been a long few weeks with the toileting and still not there yet but definitely on the way, am annoyed as we really were complacent as he seemed to pick it up so quickly. He is great with the bell to go out (for poos 100% of the time, wees not so much but he is waiting at the door) but we are usually watching him anyway, today he had a wee when he woke up but didn't poo then when I was making a coffee I couldn't see him but heard him ring the bell and he went running straight out there so it's definitely been worth it for us.

It feels like if its not one thing its another though, DH works shifts at the weekend so up at 4am, he has had a few weeks off and prior to that pugpup didn't hear him most of the time but this weekend it has woken him up. Yesterday he needed a poo at 4am (we were expecting it as last one was 7am) but after that he cried for 45 mins as could hear DH, today he woke up but didn't need the toilet but cried in his crate for 45 mins anyway. I was next to him in bed so he knew I was there. No idea how to sort that issue out. I think DH is off again next weekend but he is likely to be doing those extra shifts till covid is over as he needs the 2nd job as he works in hospitality.

The positive to that was that after that he slept till 7am so a more reasonable start I guess.

I cant really help with that Alonglongway but your puppy is very very cute! What is the toy next to them?

Only thing i used to do for one of my DSs as he hated teething gel straight on his gums so I used to put it on his dummy (i know not really advised) but perhaps you could apply it on a rubber chew toy or something? I dont know how strict the instructions are for it though.

Cantepup is arriving Friday! We’ve got her a playpen with room for a bed, water bowl and toys. The Easy Peasy Puppy Squeezy author says you should make the puppy’s den the best place to be, which we are doing. But then he also says take the whole den upstairs for bedtime. The thing is huge and there’s no way I’m going to want to disassemble it every night! If we just take her bed upstairs at night is that going to undermine our efforts to get her comfy in her den?

@Canteloupe33 Have you considered crate training? I’m sure you have but just in case you haven’t - I was in a very similar situation!

I wasn’t planning to crate train plantpup to begin with and had what sounds like an identical setup to you with a pen, bed etc but quickly faced the same issues with you with moving it around the house. Plantpup also very quickly realised that she could stand up against the pen and attempted jumping a handful of times...so I was a little concerned about her attempting an escape What breed is cantepup? Of course if she’s tiny the escape won’t be an issue And you can buy tops for them to prevent it, but it’s worth bearing in mind as I never thought she’d try that!

@PugInTheHouse I honestly it all boils down to the fact they get FOMO! Plantpup gets it so badly. If she can hear something going on that she’s not part of I do not hear the end of it with the crying, whining etc. It’s crazy because I thought she’d be more upset and anxious if she was properly alone but she doesn’t seem anywhere near as bothered! It’s much more the case if she thinks something is going on without her and sounds like pugpup was similar this morning. Not sure I have any suggestions on how to help as haven’t figured it out myself just yet...but solidarity as always!

@Canteloupe23 we felt the same! There was no way I was lugging that thing upstairs at night! Instead, we put the crate in the lounge and slept next to him in there. It was about a week before he stopped weeing overnight (regularly, I am still up in the night sometimes) and I moved back to my own bed.

@Plantlover23 definitely, they also pick up little routines so quickly so usually DH gets up in the mornings with him during the week so given that he can't tell the time I wonder if he thinks he should be getting up too

@Canteloupe33 we have 2 identical crates, one in the lounge and one upstairs as it was a pain keep taking it up and down, especially when I was on my own at the weekends. We didn't have a playpen though so I am not sure how it would work switching them from one to the other day/night.

Thanks @Plantlover23 @doje @PugInTheHouse - I like the idea of cantepup having somewhere where she can be happy and safe when we can’t give her 100% supervision, which is why I chose a big pen.

We’ve been offered crates by other people, which we could use upstairs, but they are tiny - the bed we have bought wouldn’t fit in there. And I kind of think if the bed is cosy and familiar from downstairs there’s no need to have her enclosed in the bedroom? I hope I don’t regret that assumption! And then we transition her to sleeping in the same bed but downstairs in the pen...?

I don’t want to sleep downstairs with her - it’s complicated by the fact that my DD will want to do that too and I worry about the impact on her sleep, since she already suffers migraines pretty much every day and disturbed sleep is a well-known trigger. So the plan is cantepup comes up to our bedroom in her bed, DD sleeps on an air bed for the first few nights but hopefully is back to her own bedroom by the time half term is over.

Re the pen, she’s a labradoodle but the pen is pretty tall - I don’t think she will be able to climb out.

I hope this will work!

Just to answer your question re crate training @plantlover23 yes that’s the plan but with a pen instead of a crate - it’s the same minus the roof. But I just worry that the nighttime plans might undermine the training...

I am surprised at how high pups can jump, pugpup is tiny but has been able to jump up on the sofa easily for weeks, he has tiny legs

Crates are supposed to be small, it is a safe den like space for them and also one that they cant form a toileting area in one side then sleep in the other. There is lots of evidence that crates are a happy place for dogs, especially to help anxiety when they are alone.

I get they arent for everyone but I don't think a pup would be unhappy because its a small space. I am not sure it makes a difference re the night time crate though, I imagine they differentiate the night time sleep from day time crate time. Pugpup runs into the crate automatically if I even pick up a kong or lickimat. At night time he goes straight into the crate and lays down to sleep, he rarely does that in the day (although we do put him in for naps sometimes). So I think you'll probably be ok as its a different training.

@Canteloupe33 plantpup is smaller than a labradoodle and the pen I had was over waist height on me - didn’t stop her trying! It can be quite dangerous if they try to jump over as they can get their paws stuck and all sorts. It’s just worth keeping in mind especially if you’re planning on using it as a safe space for her when you’re not actually in the house in future

Oh dear now I’m worried about the jumping - might need to buy a roof..,

Hi guys hoping I can join! We got our little puppy just over a week ago! He’s 9 weeks now. He’s a handful but so cute.

I felt so overwhelmed and guilty the first week or so, please tell me I’m not alone! I feel like it will get better and it just get better but I’m not sure when!

Do any of you guys have any WFH tips to entertain pup whilst you have to be on calls? I have a busy few weeks coming up with work so want to make sure I’m prepared

Also, we’re setting alarms to get him up at night but wondering if we should just wait for him to wake us to wee? Currently going 3-ish wake ups a night for toilet breaks. He’s in a crate by us.

Hi @LondonPupMum we started setting an alarm when we got pugpup at 8 weeks, we only set it once in the night, 4 hours after going to bed but he was always fast asleep so after a few friends saying to leave in we did. He went to bed in crate at 11pm, naturally woke about 430 then went through till 7ish. After a while he just went longer and longer. He's never woken more than once between 1030/11pm and 7am. We put him for a wee before going up.

Re working from home i am not sure, pugpup sleeps a lot still, if desperate I give him a lickimat with peanut butter, if he's awake but quite chilled I'll sit him next to me whilst I'm working.

I’ve spent quite a few work calls playing tug with petal under the table.
She also likes cream cheese spread on a flannel-that takes a while to lick off or her food hidden in an amazon box or envelope.
She’s pretty good generally though and just snoozes under my chair.

Hi I need help. Brought lovely putpup, labradoodle, home 9 days ago. She is 10 weeks. I am having major puppy blues. I thought I'd done enough research, but it's all a blur.
We have a room set aside for her, with a pen and a crate. She sleeps reasonably well at night. Husband settles her in around 10pm. I get up with her at 6.15. She has weed in her pen and sometimes pooed. Mostly on a puppy pad. She is reasonably reliable at toileting in the garden. We take her on her harness and give her treats. She seems hungry, despite giving her the recommended amount of kibble.
She struggles to settle in the day for naps, although it varies. We both wfh and are homeschooling. But oddly the week was better than the weekends.
I am feeling really awful. She is lovely but I feel so trapped and regret getting her.

@Putyourdamnshoeson. The puppy blues are really common, it’s a huge disruption, your sleep is being affected. It’s normal.

I was ready to redone ours in the first couple of weeks. She’s a year now,well behaved, gentle, good recall and completely house trained. And we adore her.

There’s a Facebook group called dog training advice and support that is brilliant for puppy advice.

Also download the happy puppy book.

He shouldn’t be pooing in his crate or pen, you need to take them out to wee and poo half hour the are awake, after playing and after a nap.

In the night they’ll need to go out last thing then once or twice overnight.

You could put them in a bigger pen to sleep overnight with puppy pads, or leave them in the kitchen with pads on the floor. But I found it easier to have her by me and she let me know she needed to go out. Whizz downstairs, in garden, back upstairs, no playing or interaction.

She started to sleep through quite quickly.

Start with little bits of trading too, settle, sit etc. Get a snuffle mat, or treats in old toilet rolls in a box, or wrapped in newspaper. If they are being manic, they need to nap...so in crate with blankets over top, or in their bed or chair.

They need way more sleep than you or they think.

It’s much easier when you can take them out.

But the first 2. To 3 weeks is very hard!

@Putyourdamnshoeson I felt exactly like this after having plantpup for a week or so It’s incredibly overwhelming, especially if you’re also trying to wfh and homeschool!

Have you given her a Kong or something like that for her daytime naps? What has saved my sanity has been having really structured nap times for plantpup. I pop her in her crate with a Kong or (more recently) her lickimat and 9 times out of 10 she will fall asleep for an hour or two and it gives me that bit of a break in the day.

She is 11 weeks, we follow a schedule roughly like:
5am - wake up, toilet, snack in crate
7:30am - proper wake up, breakfast, bit of playtime
8:45 - nap time in her crate
10:30 - usually training time as she is awake and peckish so keen to work for food
11:00 - lunch time - early but she seems to like it!
12ish - nap time
14:00 - bit more playtime, started using this as afternoon walk time now she can go out
15:00 - nap in her crate
16:30 - dinner time, bit of playtime or extra training time
17:30 - nap time
18:45 - playtime
19:45 - last playtime, small snack before bed
20:00ish - bedtime
She then sleeps through until about midnight and then until 5

It has helped HUGELY to know I will have set times where she will be sleeping and I will get a bit of a break to get things done or just chill.

Plantpup nipped my step dad today and drew blood (first time) so I’m pretty sad about that and it’s not all sunshine. But if he listened to my suggestions of how to deal with her nipping likely wouldn’t have happened! Still not even close to ideal and feeling pretty terrible about it

@Plantlover23 don’t feel bad, I soon learnt that other family members tend not to listen to a word you say when you say ‘stand up, ignore him, don’t give him attention if he tries to bite you, etc’ and they just think ‘OMG A PUPPY’ so if they get bitten it’s on them

@Putyourdamnshoeson I felt exactly the same when I got C4pup, enforced naps are 100% the saviour! Pup is now 5 months old and we get around 1 hour 30 of play out of him before he goes into beast mode and needs to nap for an hour or so. We haven’t crate trained so I just sit at the kitchen table and ignore him when he starts going crazy and he eventually climbs into his bed and goes to sleep.

Hang in there, once they can go for walks it’s a lot easier too!

I could cry with relief to hear that you havent crate trained tbh. I am stressing so badly that we are doing it 'wrong' even when it is working.

@C4itl this helped! The guilt is still pretty strong though I feel so much like her behaviour is my responsibility and he then refused to pet her goodbye because ‘she bit him’. I want them to love each other But you are right if he had listened probably wouldn’t have happened! Or at least would definitely not happen again.