Puppy Survival Thread - March - April

[PugInTheHouse]

Just starting a new thread before we run out on www.mumsnet.com/Talk/the_doghouse/4141698-Puppy-Survival-Thread-January-February

Welcome to everyone trying to survive the puppy days!

@Caplin be careful with what you leave him with alone though! We left ours with a pig ear once when we went out for 25 mins and came back and sounded like he was choking. Scary moment! I’ve made some frozen bone broth muffins, and will use a stuffed kong if I go out again. Think trick is timing too so they fall asleep after eating it

@LondonPupMum thanks for the heads up! He is a greedy thing and just gulps things so always a worry!

My bil gives his pugs these stick things but im sure they're rawhide which I don't think is good. we gave ddog1 one once when we didnt know better and he choked and then vomited every where.

I managed to walk both girls and it was relatively nice compared to trying to walk them both normally.

Has anyone else's pup started to pant as they get older? We're on about 17 weeks and we noticed he started opening his mouth when on walks and we thought he was thirsty as he was pulling so much. It's now evolved into tongue out panting and he's doing it in the house too when he's been dashing around.

We've had a bad couple of days with puppypup. he's had on and off runny poos for a couple of weeks, was checked by vet and had some probiotics and thought all settling down, but has ramped up to full diarrhoea, and was up three times in the night with him - including an impromptu bath in the early hours. I definitely had not factored this into dog ownership!

Oh heck @Puppypuppypuppy, that's bringing back some bad memories for me. The waking up in the night to a whimper, going downstairs to the kitchen and then the smell that hits you. 🤢 And I'll not forget the dread of him pooing on a walk and not knowing if you'll be able to clear up after him very well or not. 😫 We used to take out a bottle of squirty water to attempt to wash it away.

Have you got him on chicken and rice? Dpup's tummy took about 10 days to get better, but it felt like a lot longer!

That sounds awful puppypuppy.
@MyRabbit79 panting can be a sign of stress or anxiety in dogs, but can also be a sign that they are happy. www.thesprucepets.com/puppy-panting-2804787

Frenchpup seems to be turning into a teenager. She is deliberately ignoring me and being naughty. I am not really enjoying her at the moment.

If it's any consolation @Frenchfancy , happy is a proper teenager now too! You can actually see him weigh up whether to bother to listen to us or not! Argh!

@MyRabbit79 happy now pants a lot more than he did when he was younger. We take water with us on his longer walks or warmer days. Worth asking the vet at next check up if you're worried though. Is your pup dry fed or wet fed? Because they do need more water with dry food and I often wonder if happy drinks enough especially as it gets a bit warmer

@MyRabbit79 - mine does this, usually accompanied by a crazy glint in her eye, zooming around, barking at everything - am hoping it’s just a phase

[quote Frenchfancy]That sounds awful puppypuppy.
@MyRabbit79 panting can be a sign of stress or anxiety in dogs, but can also be a sign that they are happy. www.thesprucepets.com/puppy-panting-2804787[/quote]
I'd seen this when I googled it earlier, I wondered if sometimes on his walks it's anxiety but it's definitely not that when he's home. And tbh he's so excited on his walks I doubt it is most of the time.

@HappyThursdays

If it's any consolation *@Frenchfancy* , happy is a proper teenager now too! You can actually see him weigh up whether to bother to listen to us or not! Argh!

@MyRabbit79 happy now pants a lot more than he did when he was younger. We take water with us on his longer walks or warmer days. Worth asking the vet at next check up if you're worried though. Is your pup dry fed or wet fed? Because they do need more water with dry food and I often wonder if happy drinks enough especially as it gets a bit warmer

Good point, he is dry fed. He doesn't drink much in the mornings but we make sure he does before and after walks, and we often stop by a communal water bowl. We've just got one of the use doggy bottles too so will start using that.

[quote SpreadHummusNotHate]@MyRabbit79 - mine does this, usually accompanied by a crazy glint in her eye, zooming around, barking at everything - am hoping it’s just a phase [/quote]
Ha ha me too! Especially after today when he's been really bitey and unmanageable.

@Doje I honestly can't believe how much cleaning up I have had to do. He didn't do it in the crate but didn't manage to get outside most of the time. Poor lamb he has some paste from the vets and has been no food for most of today on vets advice. Just given him some chicken and rice so wish me luck! Am hoping the stool sample shows something as it's costing ££££

@Puppypuppypuppy I'll never forget the one he did through the bars of the crate. 😫 Cleaning the bars of the crate, plus a full bedding change and a hose down for Dpup all at 3am...DH slept on the floor of the kitchen then next night, and he was fine!

Are the vets worried for it to be costing so much? When Dpup had his dodgy tummy we were basically told to keep feeding chicken and rice and to wait it out.

I'm looking for hints and tips from those working from home too. I know he's young and it'll get better, but has anyone found anything that works well to keep them entertained? Dpup did great this morning and slept really well after a morning walk, but this afternoon only slept for 45 minutes after a lunchtime walk. And then was a pain in the arse the rest of the afternoon!

I’d go with white fish and rice over chicken if you can puppypup. Hope he’s better soon.
Just done zoom training with petal which was quite fun and she’s zonked now.

Doje-We do mix of lickmat, chews, inside of kitchen roll smeared with cheese, Amazon wrapping and a bit of ignoring-she’ll sometimes have a couple of barks or grumps but when she realises we’re not in play mode she tends to go to sleep. I think we are reasonably lucky in that respect
She also likes watching the guinea pigs for a while but realise that might not be useful for you!

@Doje tried something new this evening, and kept him busy for the best part of an hour. I got a big cardboard box and then raided the recycling bin and filled all the little boxes and bottles with bits of kibble. Tore up pages from a magazine and wrapped some bits of kibble in them, put some in the box and some in an egg box, folded over toilet rolls with kibble inside, and just sprinkled some kibble loose in the box. I did this with his entire dinner but you could probably do it with less food and it would still last as long.

@Puppypuppypuppy sounds horrid, hope pup is on the mend soon

Busy day, thanks all for the replies re the late night peeing (or lack of!) - at least I’m not alone! Our garden doesn’t really lend itself to closing off one areA but I might try and strategically place the bins or something! It’s totally wild here tonight so I’m hoping she’s not at it again later

@Puppypuppypuppy Our dpup has had diarrhoea on and off since we got her (so 8 weeks). I am so tired of cleaning it up and I’d really like to understand how she knows to go in the middle of the high street every time! We go back to chicken and rice each time...

Dpup was so good today that I thought she must be ill. But she’s back to biting everyone this evening again, so I guess she’s fine!

@Doje I work from home with dpup too. She loves her chews and can entertain herself for quite a long time burying them in the garden and digging them up again. I also find that going out into the garden and doing a new bit of training with her will give me a quiet hour or so. That said, she has also chewed through two laptop cables in the last couple of weeks...

@Sparkle79 that sounds like a good idea! We’ve done egg boxes/toilet rolls etc separately but not altogether. I’m sure it will create an almighty mess but if it tires her out I’ll take it

@Doje wfh is really difficult, much more so than I thought. We try and tire pup out before work so she sleeps a lot of the morning. Then spend our lunch breaks with her separately and normally she sleeps for a couple of hours in the afternoon. From about 3:30 onwards I try and distract with a chew before giving up for the day. The problem is when she’s awake she’s a non stop hurricane, she’s never awake but restful/playing with her toys. She will never ever lie down and nap I have to crate her for naps...

@Puppypuppypuppy hope your pup is feeling better today

Today I feel like I cant get anything done, all 3 will only settle when I'm with them otherwise they trash the room and pee everywhere. I can't wait til the conservatory is finished just so I can have an hour or two knowing the rest of the house isn't being destroyed when I leave to do something.

@SpreadHummusNotHate yes it took me almost as long to tidy up the mess but so worth it. I think he are some of the cardboard too so a bit less for me to tidy 😁

I think our puppies are a similar age, coming up to 6 months and ours has just started to be awake and not demanding our attention in the last week or so, so there is hope. If we stop playing with him he looks at us indignantly and will sometimes bark but then he'll go lie down and make find one of his chews.

I still have to crate him for naps. A couple of times he has flopped and fallen asleep in the afternoon but it's very unsettled sleep so atm it's better if we crate him.

*ate