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!

@morethanacondiment good point, what breed is he?

German shorthaired pointer, @Brazilianut, so will be pony-sized soon and we definitely won't be able to escape behind the pen!
We've just given him all the food in the world (all his dinner, then a treat ball smeared in peanut butter, and a carrot, and then some tiny treats hidden in a box full of paper) and he's finally calmed down. Maybe he was just hangry? All day?!

@morethanacondiment I remember crying to DH one morning that we had bought an aggressive dog. He was hanging off school trouser legs and growling and barking and jumping at the children. We know now that it was all play and overexcited and enforced strict napping when he became like that. Now he’s very nearly 6 months and has the sweetest nature and very cuddly. He still has his moments of rough play because DH plays like that with him but when we say stop he will do so and go off and do something else.

I promise it gets better

@morethanacondiment argh!

I feel the same way with this Lab, if it’s like this now what’ll it be like when he’s much bigger and stronger

Have any of you lovely people had problems with your pups when they’re teething? I noticed the first few proper clear gaps in Plantpup’s teeth today.

She has since been completely off her dinner and not eaten a thing, I can hear her belly rumbling but she is not interested in eating wondering if the two are related possibly?

Thanks, @GeorgieTheGorgeousGoat. You just made me put him in his crate (open, with a pen) and sit with him till he settled. Those were words I needed to hear!
@Brazilianut why didn't we get sensible sized dogs?

@Morethanacondiment I had two approaches when the jaws were clamped shut.

First one, I wore clothes that were already ripped, so I'd drag myself (pup attached) to the stair gate and step over, not worrying about what was ripping. Second, have pots of trays on the counter tops and do as a PP said, chuck a handful on the floor and say 'find it', then calmly step over the stair gate.

Pots of treats (or kibble) not trays!

That's reassuring, @Doje, because I've been worrying that I've been ramping up the sensory feedback and so making it worse/fun. The force-free idea of standing still and distracting is what I want to do, but it's just impossible!
Thanks

@Morethanacondiment, yes it's great in theory isn't it! But if I stayed still DPup would find a more sensitive part and bite harder!

@morethanacondiment We have had a similar day today, and she's been unsettled and demanding more food I don't know if I should give in and she really is hungry, or is she just playing me? I'm not completely sure we're feeding the right amount to be honest.
Finally she has now crashed, but it's been a long evening......

@Plantlover23 Teething didn't seem to bother ours at all, but she had a few bouts of diarrhoea round about the time her teeth were coming through and I wondered if they were connected. Maybe plantpup has a sore stomach? Or is she on kibble? You could try moistening it in case the chewing is hurting her. If it's just the odd meal she's skipping I wouldn't panic.

Hello to all the new puppies!
For the older pups, at what age did they stop biting? We are at nearly five months and he's still a bitey monster in the evenings. Partner is worried it's beyond the normal stage now but I'm not sure. He's teething but when he bites us it seems to be mainly when he wants to play or when he needs a poo. We're doing ignoring him and timeouts if it's really bad.

We are at 4 months and still bitey @MyRabbit79...I’m hoping it’s still normal! Often with ours it’s because she’s tired and we need to crate her. She will not just fall asleep, just gets more and more manic - if we didn’t crate her I often wonder if she’d just stay awake forever .

Third night in a row for us of just messing about in the garden instead of pee/poo for last loo trip...and I stood on a slug tonight too which obviously then took her fancy . I still can’t get her back in house either-having to tempt her with a treat but she’s wise to it now so I have to lunge and grab her! Think I might really need to consider the collar and lead.

Apart from that she’s been ok. Been really good in playpen whilst I’ve been working.

@MyRabbit79

Hello to all the new puppies! For the older pups, at what age did they stop biting? We are at nearly five months and he's still a bitey monster in the evenings. Partner is worried it's beyond the normal stage now but I'm not sure. He's teething but when he bites us it seems to be mainly when he wants to play or when he needs a poo. We're doing ignoring him and timeouts if it's really bad.

Very normal and the fact that it's evenings probably means he needs a timeout and enforced snooze. Mine used to have a bitey frenzy which we could set the clock by. It continued well into his early adolescence but became less and less and we got better at realising that he needed a timeout to calm him down before he got worked up.

@morethanacondiment are you using a house line? Basically a lead with no loop on the end (I bought a cheap nylon lead and cut the handle off). That way you can control. Generally if they are getting really bitey they are tired. If they haven't slept in the last hour then sleep is needed. Pointers also need lots of mental stimulation so start training now. Sit is easy to train but really really important.

@MyRabbit79 @morethanacondiment we used various techniques mentioned already for the biting but one that also worked was using little tricks we taught him to take his mind off it. DS taught him silly stuff from 8/9 weeks as well as sit/paw, stuff like hi-five, hi-ten, spin and when he was really bitey I would ask him to do one of those, even sit is fine and then I could treat him for doing something good.

@weeM as you know we had a very stressful regression with wees outside so for a week we gave him a high value treat (cheese) for every wee outside. He didn't have it any other time. That may work, its definitely worth trying a lead. I know they aren't supposed to use collars but it'll be fine for that purpose as you need something quick and easy.

@MyRabbit79 we're nearly 6 months and still a bit bitey at times. He's been losing teeth so trying to stay positive and put it down to normal puppy behaviour rather than aggression.

@WeeM we also upped the value of the treat he gets when he comes in from the garden (sausage). Still not 100% successful but a definite improvement from the 0-10% we were averaging before.

@WeeM the other thing that sometimes works is if he's not coming in, I leave the back door open, say "come" in a really excited voice and run into the house excitedly, and out of his sight.

Thanks, @PugInTheHouse, we've got a few commands going but can definitely up that. When he's biting us, someone else can get him off by calling him brightly and getting him to follow a command, but he's dead to the person he's biting, however calm they sound.
@Frenchfancy I hadn't considered a house line because I thought he'd just insist on eating it, but I can rethink that.
Baby steps!

The mouthiness is definitely normal, some are real full on with it...

I love a house line btw, I use dead lightweight ones - I’ve got a 5m one just now so I can tie it round my waist, he can still be effectively loose in the room (big rooms) but if I need it - it’s just there.

Mine isn’t too bad... because he’s older and he was in with the rest of his litter all that time, just a bit of toe and finger nibbling. One of the few things that’s not causing major issues, lol.

But if they’re on a houseline you can get them away from kids without having to use your hands and then distract them.

It’ll be worse when they’re excited and when they’re overtired... and yes it’s normal for them still to be doing it when they’re older, it doesn’t just suddenly stop, just slowly fades out, usually around about the time they’re teenagers.

@morethanacondiment I made sure I kept a few treats in my pocket and luckily for us food trumps everything for him so as soon as I had a treat in my hands (or even pretended with a 'whats this') he would listen. We just made sure he was only rewarded for doing the command rather than stopping biting. He is 5.5 months and rarely gets bitey now (other than to my fluffy slippers)

Its funny as he seems to like spinning the most. If we are teaching him a new command or if he is unsure what we are asking him to do he will just spin. Its like he's saying WTF are you saying, i'll just spin in case its that

@WeeM yes thats the other thing that works like @Sparkle79 says, almost every time he will come in if I run in then go out of sight, or run towards him like its a game then run away.

@PugInTheHouse I think it might have been you who gave me the idea actually (thanks )