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!

Pugpup has now decided he doesnt want to sleep in the evenings, wants to go in and out of the garden and pull everything out of the recycling box. This is the last 3 nights. I feel so on edge in the evenings now it was so nice with him going to sleep about 8/830 and we'd have some nice quiet time

@GeorgieTheGorgeousGoat

It’ll get better. I also felt like this last week and was tearful for a few days but tonight we had such a lovely time with pup, I actually commented to DP he’s worth it.

It just shows you’re wanting to do your best by pup but also give yourself a break too if needed.

@GeorgieTheGorgeousGoat how is Georgiepup? They have put you through the mill so far

Thanks @doje - Doboopup doesn’t often settle for a nap of her own accord so we usually enforce it in the crate - just don’t want be popping her off for a nap if she isn’t ready!

Not counting chickens but this has been the first day for weeks with no indoor wees by Legopup - either fluke or we've cracked it....let's see what happens tomorrow

Sparklepup had diarrhoea for a few days so we have just been giving him chicken and rice for about 24 hours. He hasn't had a poo all day. Has anyone else found this after diarrhoea and doing plain food for a while?

This week -
Monday seizure and back on 2nd medication for 48hrs
Tuesday stressful vet visit
Wednesday off the 2nd medication again
Thursday Dh dropped his lead (accidentally!)!a few doors away from our house on main road and he ran home
Friday- we found an ibuprofen in his mouth, ds1 must have dropped. It was unbroken thank goodness and ds1 is devastated.

I know none of that is GeorgiePup’s fault but my goodness my heart is in my mouth and my blood pressure is through the roof.

Bless you @GeorgieTheGorgeousGoat , fingers crossed the weekend is a little less stressful and more restful!

For those of you with 4/5 month old pups...bit of an unpleasant question...but how often do your pups poo in a day? I am struggling with attempting to figure out roughly how many times Plantpup ‘should’ go. She’s always had a bit of A dodgy belly on and off so it’s hard to tell if she’s in the ‘normal’ bracket or not. I know all of them will be different and there’ll be variation but a ballpark idea would be helpful to know if she’s fairly normal or all over the place

@Plantlover23 usually I'd say 4-5 times. But today 0 Been a nice break from picking up poo but I'd quite like him to poo tomorrow

@GeorgieTheGorgeousGoat poor you, sounds like a tough week

@GeorgieTheGorgeousGoat I find it very stressful too, although we haven't had to deal with half of what you have. I'm an anxious person too and I find it really difficult. I was signed off work with stress in the early puppy days, DP and I both had physical health worries too right when the dog arrived and it was all too much. Every time pup has a new scratch or bump on her skin I worry. I've still not let her off lead without DP being there cos I keep thinking she'll run off (even though I actually think she'd be fine). It's very overwhelming. It is purely my anxiety though, most of my concerns aren't based on much. It must be similar to having children though? (I don't have any) You must constantly worry about them, or does it get easier over time?

@Georgie that sounds like a very stressful week!

@Plantlover23 DPup poos 2-3 times a day. Usually first thing I'll take him 'around the block' for a poo walk, then again when we go out mid-morning. He'll sometimes do another when we go out in the afternoon, and again sometime when we do a 'poo walk' at about 6.30pm. Usually it's one or the other.

@GeorgieTheGorgeousGoat that sounds like a hugely stressful week. Hope the weekend is a bit more restful for you all.

@Plantlover23 pugpup goes probably 5 times a day. He is only on 2 meals a day but still seems to go a lot.

Oh, @GeorgieTheGorgeousGoat, what a week You're due for an easy time soon. Let that pup know!

Thanks all for the chew and toy recommendations. Doberwow has some interesting stuff to play with now.

The biting is still there, but no where near as bad. You were of course all right about the over stimulated and tiredness.

Doberwow has her second jab on Monday, so she'll be out walking soon.

@GeorgieTheGorgeousGoat sorry you've had such a poor week, such a worry for you.

@GeorgieTheGorgeousGoat sorry you've had such a tough week. Good news that he found his house on the road though - they are clever like that! I hope you have a less stressful week coming up - I imagine as he's still growing, getting the medication right is tricky but I would hope it gets easier as his weight and size stabilise x

Thank you everyone! Seems Plantpup is pretty in line with everyone else’s pups, she seems to be at about 4 times too. I think it’s that last one before bed that keeps throwing me, it seems to have disappeared and last one seems to be at about 6/7 now so she is going about 12 hours through the night without!

@Plantlover23 exactly the same with pugpup, usually between 530 and 730pm now, mostly about 6ish. At first he would only go till about 430am so that was suddenly a shock to the system but now is going to 630/7 again.

Thank you all, you’re all so lovely and supportive even when I’ve been so needy and moany He is totally worth it of course but my goodness if I’d have known!

Poos- GeorgiePup goes approx 4 times a day. They vary in consistency! He always goes first thing, on both his walks and again at some point in the evening. He is still fed 4 times a day though, I’m dubious about changing that as he has so much else going on. Although he’s a giant fluffball, he’s actually on the skinny side underneath. When in hospital they assessed him as 3/9 on the body condition scale and his meds can increase hungry so we are using little and often to combat that instead of larger meals.

Chews- We don’t really use these fancy chews you speak of, are we the only ones? He has Good Boy stick or similar in the evening at settle down time but they are meaty and dry out so we just bin anything he doesn’t finish. He doesn’t seem overall chewy (though he likes wicker!) but maybe I should get him some now he has adult teeth? Any thoughts?

@GeorgieTheGorgeousGoat you're definitely allowed to moan - having a puppy is difficult enough, let alone one with epilepsy! He's gorgeous.

I don't know if there's any particular need to give chews, the main reasons we do are because he was teething and chewing, and to encourage him to settle. We haven't really found one he will chew that will last him a decent amount of time, until we discovered pigs ears a few days ago. But then he had diarrhoea so we've had to stop giving them. I hope it wasn't them that caused it because they kept him occupied for about 45 mins.

It’s hard going when you’ve got health issues in such a young dog... my last one had quite a few and they started as a puppy.

The chews are handy if you’ve got a chewer and it’s something to keep them busy without actually adding much extra food in because they take a while to get through.

If you’re trying to put weight on though tbh, you might be better using kongs and lickimats for that instead.

@GeorgieTheGorgeousGoat that is a tricky week, hopefully next week will be better! We’ve done a variety of chews as they are the only thing that keeps Doboopup settled when we are eating. Yak chews are a winner, and any kind of dried dead animal thing - lovely. She vomited up after duck trachea but otherwise has been fine. Frozen kongs are a big hit here too.
(She’s a lab so has never refused any kind of food or chew though....)

Hi guys Londonpup is now 15 weeks old! Things are much better now we’re in a routine and he’s getting super good at lead walking. He’s still happy to say hi to anyone that gives him attention but won’t try and pull up to people on walks now. Dogs are another story though. Also he’s great on the road walks but in the park he’s super distracted! Will get better I’m sure

We’re still not at the stage he can fully chill without an enforced nap, apart from the evening when he’s super tired, but hopefully in time. We keep hearing from friends with dogs and pups that they sleep by their feet all day but we are definitely a long way from that and hopefully soon? Who knows

Pup chooses when he wants to be bitey, some days he’s an angel and sometimes he bites 🤷‍♀️. It has gradually got better but definitely not instant!

@LondonPupMum He is so cute

@Georgie I bought the chews because everyone else I seem to know has them! The pigs ears and pizzle sticks etc. I've stayed away for a while as the vet said not anything too tough, but he's a bit older now and the ones on the Dragonfly website said puppy friendly so thought I'd give them a whirl. I'm planning on using them when I'm working to buy me an extra (half) hour or to cover a Zoom meeting. We're also trying to teach him to go to his crate when we're eating. I'm currently throwing in kibble every 30 secs which is a pain, so might use one for that too.

I made liver cake the other day too! I'm using it for recall rewards when we practice and when out and about off lead. It's been working a dream!