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!

@GeorgieTheGorgeousGoat so sorry to hear things were not great this morning, poor georgiepup.

I would also agree on the see how they are with recall on any given day. I can usually tell when we hit the park whether he is compliant or not that day- some days he is clearly paying no attention even when quite close and I have the best treats so he gets a lot less freedom than in days where he is attentive as we walk to the park and checking in frequently. We practice it all the time but it's still awhile till I will be confident he won't take off sometimes!

@Doje I think bad days are common. Grannypup is 9 months now and I still have probably one bad day a week. I think it's more likely to be when I am bit stressed about something or pressed for time. I'm sure they can sense it - just like kids really

Thank you @Puppypuppypuppy for your response!

I think you are right, time will tell and he will settle, I had just posted on a very tired morning where I'm just struggling with being awake so early at the weekends!

To those saying about needing a wee, I probably should have been clearer in my original question that it isn't about that at all - He wants to be play with either us or DDog 5!! We can yep the difference between his wee cries and attention cries we would never ever leave him if he needed to go out

He is so well behaved in many other ways as he has learnt good behaviour from our older dog, I'm forgetting he's only a baby. Thanks everyone for your kind and helpful comments

Welcome newbies!

@GeorgieTheGorgeousGoat sorry to hear about pup, hope he feels better soon.

@Doje it could definitely be teeth. After me asking about the wet food / link to naughty behaviour yesterday because Sparklepup has reverted the last few days, he's been an absolute star today. He refused to go in his bed after his lunchtime walk, but then he lay down and fell asleep in the hallway so I decided that cancelled out the bed naughtiness. He's still asleep there now which is basically unheard of. I think it's his 3rd nap out of his crate and that we haven't had to enforce in the whole time we've had him.

@Puginthehouse thanks, that's really good to hear! Although not looking forward to the next two weeks now! I was more hoping for a 24hrs kinda thing! 🤣

That's interesting about only letting them off on a good day. Tbh I did that anyway today. Yesterday he was a dream off lead, but there was no way I was letting him off the long line today!!

For those interested in food, since we had about 10 days of diarrhoea in the early weeks, Dpup has been on Tails.com kibble only. I tried it because he was really fussy and I was fed up of buying bags of food he wasn't interested in. They were doing an offer which meant a month's worth cost me only £2.50 so I though I'd try it. It's probably a coincidence that his tummy got better once he was on it, but he's definitely less farty! They tell you exactly how much they should be having daily (eg, Dpup is on 270g a day) which means no big windows of 250-500g which I like.

struggling with getting into a routine now kids arent here, we had one before lockdown but they're very different now at 7 months. Im home all the time (work eves when not on furlough) but I feep guilty when I have to crate them to take ddog1 out (now the kids arent home to take them out with me)

@Doje to be fair the awful behaviour wasn't every day but it was more like he was having accidents indoors, waking up earlier and earlier plus having less naps during the day in general. It just felt so overwhelming, then add in periodic really bad days. It already feels like a distant memory.

So puppypup's results have finally come back and he has giardia. So that's what has been causing the poor little chap's bad stomach. Definitely worth doing a sample.

@GeorgieTheGorgeousGoat hope Georgiepup and you have recovered from this morning x

Sorry about Puppypup and GeorgiePup hope they’re both feeling better soon

It’s interesting to read other people’s routines. HummusPup is 5.5 months sleeps well at night but not keen on naps

Ours goes a bit like this - we’re not really in the swing of it I don’t think, maybe there’s a better way of doing things

06:30-07:00 - wake up. Bit of training, potter, play with toys, some food out of a treat ball.
08:00 - out for a walk - normally try and go somewhere fairly enclosed to practise recall etc, rest of food whilst out. Out for 30-45 minutes
08:45 - I log on to work downstairs and try and ignore pup, see if she settle herself (she doesn’t
09:30 - crate nap
11:30-12:00 - wake up. DH and I take an hour each to entertain her. Training, usually a game of find it sniffing kibble in the garden for her lunch. Usually a chew
14:00 - back in crate for a nap
16:00-16:30 - awake. I try and ignore her whilst she plays and finish work.
17:30 - another walk. Some food
19:00 - lickimat whilst we eat. Some sort of sniffy game indoors. Another chew or give her the yak bar
20:30-21:00 - falls asleep on sofa
22:00 - toilet and crate for the night

She’ll usually bark a bit halfway through her naps too. She won’t settle down during the day outside of the crate either on her own or with us, she is always on the go. She probably only gets about 14 hours sleep which seems so much less than I see recommended everywhere.

Not sure how to teach an off switch? I’ve read about capturing calmness and rewarding calm behaviour but there isn’t much to reward !!

@Doje

😫 Just had an 'incident' in the park. Dpup was off lead (his recall's not great, but we were with a dog friend that he follows around, well, like a puppy) and he suddenly ran off to see a dog in the middle of the field. I had seen it, but thought it was a squirrel... 😳 Dpup has NEVER gone up to another dog, he's usually terrified! So he goes up, the other dog wants to play and DPup runs away yelping and making a noise I've never heard before! I shout an apology, and the other lady shouts back, "It's ok, he's REALLY well socialised" #smugface

HOW?! I just don't get how to do this?! He's better meeting dogs off the lead so he doesn't feel trapped. But if he's off the lead I have absolutely no control?

Anyone cracked this? What's the best way to introduce dogs? I seem to have a very nervous dog, who is suddenly getting brave?! Or maybe not after this experience....

This is where a long line comes in. They take a bit of getting used to so practice with one somewhere quiet to begin with. Do not let your puppy get away with running up to other dogs- stop it now before it becomes a habit. Teach him to stay close to you (use high value treats, ask for eye contact sit him if it helps) whilst another dog passes by and teach him that not all dogs are for greeting and he shouldn’t expect it. This takes a while in a puppy especially if previously he has been used to greeting everyone. Also teach a release command - practice getting your puppy to stay and release with a command from that stay position and reward. I use ‘wait’ and my release command is ‘okay’ which basically means you can stop staying now. Slowly build up the time that he waits (start with just a couple of seconds). The release command in the end will be one that is used to free him to go and greet another dog. It should always be on your terms and basically he receives permission from you. This will keep him safer and means you get to suss out other dog before you allow him to greet. Personally I judge someone else with their dog and whether they appear to have awareness and control of their dog, and look at their dog’s body language. then I check to see whether the human’s body language looks like they want or don’t want their dog to greet and whether they are getting a lead back on which is a good clue. If you can ask whether it’s okay if your dog greets before letting him. So many dogs are not friendly with strange dogs and many do not like puppies and can mean your puppy ends up having some negative first experiences. Good luck with your puppy and enjoy.

@familychallenge

I would also agree on the see how they are with recall on any given day. I can usually tell when we hit the park whether he is compliant or not that day- some days he is clearly paying no attention even when quite close and I have the best treats so he gets a lot less freedom than in days where he is attentive as we walk to the park and checking in frequently. We practice it all the time but it's still awhile till I will be confident he won't take off sometimes!

To be honest if he seems to be having a day where he is in higher drive or arousal do not let off the lead. Every time your puppy gets to ignore you your recall word loses value and respect. The other option so he gets some freedom in this situation is a long line. If your recall word loses value it’s time to start recall training from scratch, back to the back yard using a new word. Good luck.

@Iootraw1 the trainer we worked with said similar. She obviously works with lots of dogs and won't let them off the long line unless they are ready. She said gets a lot of pups coming to her who have pretty much no recall but the owners kind of wing it. I think a lot of pups are off really young with little recall. We had an incident last week where pugpup was on the lead as we had just got into the park and 3 much bigger dogs who were off lead approached him. The owner was half heartedly calling them back but they all kept jumping round him. Luckily they weren't aggressive but it was quite intimidating.

We are perhaps a bit over cautious woth him so didnt let him off the lead at 4 months but we felt the long line gave him so much freedom but also kept him safe and protected other dogs who may be nervous.

I am not suggesting anyone on here wings it or is being irresponsible. Just relaying what the trainer has said to us from her experiences.

after a good weekend (apart from the car sick) and a pretty good day star pup has just disgraced himself shooting down the garden and up the river bank after the arsehole cat and refusing to come back/let me catch him while arsehole cat watched from the garden wall now pups thoroughly over excited and flying round the house like a dervish. thankfully hes not gone bitey yet.

We have been complete wimps about recall and ours hasn't been off lead yet. We're practising on a gradually longer lead but there's nowhere secure near us that I would feel safe letting him go. That unfortunately means all his meetings with other dogs have been on lead and he's still getting very overexcited every time.

Loads to catch up on here - thanks for more "it'll get better" stories, and sorry to the people and pups who've had bad days.
After three perfectly self-routined babies who slept more than I ever thought possible, I'm a bit shocked by CondiPup's lack of naps, and am a little edgy reading about all of your routines. Something to work towards I guess.
Your comments have also spurred me into action with finding a trainer to bridge this gap until puppy classes start in April. There just seems to be so much stuff I can Get Wrong.

I agree with everyone else that it does get a lot easier. Frenchpup can now go 4 hours between wees, and sleeps through the night. She naps on us or on her bed. Her recall is pretty good (unless the cats are out) and she has calmed down on the biting front.

However - I fear the teenager in her is coming out. She lept up onto the kitchen counters today. I turned my back for 1 second and she was standing on the kitchen counters!! She got straight of when I yelled (in a growly voice) at her and looked very appologetic but still!!!
She's only 6 months and not yet fully grown. How can she jump so high?

@Frenchfancy pugpup is the same, he will not go after a dog if I tell him not too (off lead, on lead he will pull towards them regardless of what I say) but if the cats are there he just goes to chase them. Its a nightmare. If I tell him before he sets off to chase then he will just sit and watch them but if he clocks them first thats it and he won't come back.

Being a pug I dont think there is any chance of him jumping on the kitchen counter however he is a bizarrely good climber so I have spotted a way he may well be able to climb up there soon

Re wees, exactly as everyone said on here, the toileting completely clicked even after a regression. Now he goes about 10-12 hours at night with no wee and probably about every 4 hours in the day time, sometimes longer. He also asks to go which is great. It felt at one stage like it would never happen.

@morethanacondiment it is so good to read those stories isn't it, I am sure its the only thing that got me through and the fact they were true and it has got better definitely helps

Pugpup still loves sleeping on the back of the sofa, tonight was really funny as he slid in between the sofa back and the back cushions and was just stuck there with his 'arms' poking out. I laughed before I helped him

I’m so hoping the stories are true 😂 I feel we have a way to go still. He was an angel at the weekend with various family members. So placid and lovely. At home he then turned normal again lol. He’s 14 weeks now! We’re being very strict with crate training so he’s in and out a lot in the day but I long for the day he will decide to just chill out and nap next to me on the sofa. Did you guys who are a few months ahead start noticing that gradually?

Petal is a far better sleeper than either of my children (I do think I’m due a decent one!) and also seems to be blessed with the ability to crash out anywhere although I do try to get her to have her longer naps in her pen so I can leave her alone without worrying.
She’s been like this since we got her (now 17 weeks) and I’m hoping it continues!

@PugInTheHouse I think we might be winging it a bit with recall 😬 she tends to stay close and keeps coming back without being called and we do practise calling her but I couldn’t guarantee she’d come back if she se someone she wanted to say hello to. We’re fairly lucky in the field we take her I can usually spot potential distractions from a distance and put her back on lead (whereupon she pulls and charges around like a demon🙄)
We’re in the process of measuring up for a perfect fit harness and once we’ve got that will do some work on the long line.
Full on teething here now-lots of little bleeding gaps poor thing!

@petalpup pugpup is the same, will sleep anywhere. He was so tired today when he came back from being with the dog walker/trainer (he won't sleep at her house, he apparently sits there waiting for her to teach him stuff haha) he was sat in the forecourt whilst she was telling me what they'd been doing and he just went to sleep on the concrete outside. Then tonight he fell down between the sofa back and cushion yet again and just stayed asleep upright

Sounds like you are doing well off lead. The thing is we are in a busy city, we don't really have fields at all, a couple of really large commons but all near main roads so parks are the only place to go and even then its busy, so we are getting lots of practice in with distractions but there is often no opportunity to spot the distraction first so I guess we have to be more certain that dogs will come back. Being a clingy little thing he stays close by mostly and waits to say hi to other dogs, will even come back 'mid play' which surprises me. I very much doubt at 17 weeks he would have though. He is 6 months on the 27th.

May I join?

DP had a Golden retriever from before we met and we now have a 10 week old lab. I haven’t been through the puppy training like he has. I’m finding it quite exhausting tbh!

Where do you all put your pup to sleep?

I’ve put a crate in our room enclosed in a spacious pen with the floor inside the pen covered in puppy pads. The smell of poos at 3am wake me up gagging!
Our bedroom is three flights up. I’m tempted to keep Dpup downstairs but we’ve only had him for 3 weeks.

@Brazilianut

May I join?

DP had a Golden retriever from before we met and we now have a 10 week old lab. I haven’t been through the puppy training like he has. I’m finding it quite exhausting tbh!

Where do you all put your pup to sleep?

I’ve put a crate in our room enclosed in a spacious pen with the floor inside the pen covered in puppy pads. The smell of poos at 3am wake me up gagging!
Our bedroom is three flights up. I’m tempted to keep Dpup downstairs but we’ve only had him for 3 weeks.

Welcome to the thread! I’m fairly new to it too...wish I’d found it earlier! Weepup is a 4 month old pug and, when awake, is absolutely non stop .

We got her at 8 weeks and for the first 5 nights we had her in crate in our room. Took her out after 3 hours for toilet at first then extended it by 15 mins each night-she now sleeps for 8 hours. After the 5 nights we moved the crate into kitchen and she didn’t bat an eyelid. We’ve got a camera on her so we will know if she barks.

@Brazilianut It is exhausting, I was surprised how difficult I found the early puppy stage. Our pup sleeps in a crate downstairs. For the first three weeks we slept on the couch near her until she got settled in. Best thing to do is ditch the puppy pads and get up a few times through the night to take him out to the toilet. We were up at least once a night for almost two months but she sleeps all night now.

@Brazilianut welcome to the thread! I agree with @ashmts , for your sleep and sanity with waking up to poos in your room at 3am, taking pup out a few times during the night would be much better. Set an alarm so you wake up before them, twice in the night should probably be enough.

Plantpup was only 14 weeks when she started reliably sleeping through the night pretty much daily, so I had it much easier than others in terms of how long it took but it would’ve been worth it either way!