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!

10pm I mean

So, not bothered about cat poo or dog poo, but bird poo is apparently a go-er. 🤢

We've definitely hit adolescence, he's just wee'd up DP's back! Send help

Both the puppies love poop. If they ever have an accident you have to get there quick otherwise one of them eats it. bleugh

@C4itl we had that with puppypup who is 6 months - had two or three wet crate cushions after he was really reliable for a long time. We also went for a long time being able to leave him until 8am but he's now up and about at 7.15 almost to the minute. It all seemed to coincide with an increase in marking outside and leg cocking, so am just putting it down to that and that and accepting we will have a few blips.

My main issue now is getting him used to being left - like you @PugInTheHouse I am aiming to get in a better place with this by Easter. He's a velcro dog, no doubt about it, but he is ok when I go upstairs for short periods now and will choose to be in a room where he can't see me sometimes. So we're going slowly but in the right direction.

@c4itl @puppypuppypuppy when do they start cooking their leg? What makes them start doing that?

Is anyone's pup an erratic eater? We've moved to two meals a day now but sometimes Puppypup just isn't interested in a meal. I always thought dogs wolfed down their food at all times, but he seems to have an odd schedule.

@PugInTheHouse he just started doing it at about 5 months. We had a few wobbly attempts at first and one hilarious instance where he cocked his front leg by mistake.

@C4itl 😮 I am not looking forward to adolescence. And I've read it lasts for a year?! I'm just enjoying a stage where I can rest easy for a whole 30 minutes if I know he's done a wee and a poo, and it sounds like it's all going to descend into chaos in 6 weeks time!

Hello! Would love to join in please. We have an 11 week old pup and experiencing much the same as everyone one else. It's great to hear the words of wisdom from you all.... Will add a photo in a bit when I'm on my phone!

@Puppypuppypuppy thats hilarious, pugpup is just 5 months so will be interesting to see if/when he does it. He is marking lots when put but never cocked his leg.

@PugInTheHouse @Puppypuppypuppy he hasn’t started cocking his leg yet, but I imagine it will be very soon!

@Doje oh god I hope not! He really lured us into a false sense of security the past few weeks, I was starting to think he’d really settled down...

@Plantlover23 how old is your girl? We have the same issue with digging. She cannot have a bed that is not her crate as when she is over tired she digs them across the room! Same with blankets on the sofa. Just frantically digs. I took the plastic part of her cage out as she has a memory foam base and blankets in and this has stopped the digging in there (and the noise everytime she moved). Tried loads of nice beds downstairs but she is a nightmare so she looks hard done to without a dedicated bed!

The digging I think is them trying to get a comfy spot, but I find if HummusPup is very tired she sort of gets into a trance digging and it’s tricky to snap her out of it!!

Is anyone else working from home..? We are really struggling in the day and DH is starting a new job Monday so won’t be able to help as much. Luckily my work is pretty flexible but I’m finding it hard to concentrate. If HummusPup isn’t in her crate she will not relax and generally cause trouble if we aren’t actively playing/training. I have tried the relaxation protocol, we are doing mat training but she seems to know it’s a training session so doesn’t actually relax

Not sure how I’m going to manage a full day’s work from next week - anyone else had similar problems..? She’s 22 weeks old and I thought it would be getting slightly easier by now...

@Qwertyyui we're the same with beds - Puppypup has chewed up around three. The latest one I have confiscated as was going the same way - he currently just has a thick blanket on the floor in the kitchen and a cushion in the living room (in addition to his crate which he won't go in unless bedtime).

Thanks for starting the new thread.

Last night was a good night, Doberwow went down from 9-6

Still struggling to get her settled in her crate to leave her, she's fine during the day but the lady into crate at night is had to settle her.

My biggest bullie eats beds so he doesn't have one, he sleeps in the lounge on the sofa. The girls are currently caged. We're in the process of creating a doggy safe room so they can sleep in there without being locked in cage but there if they want it.

I've found having 3 dogs has made me super anxious about home security. Ive just bought a eufy video doorbell to give me more piece of mind.

@SpreadHummusNotHate yes I'm wfh & home schooling (only 2 days to go) and trying to look after pup! I long for his nap times and try and get as much work done as possible then. In between naps, he tends to walk around looking for what trouble he can get into. Mind we have started settle training with him and that seems to be helping. This morning I had a 2 hour work call, he started off being a terror, but then I got his treats out to get him to lie next to me and settle and after a few barks demanding treats he fell asleep as he knew I wasn't giving him anymore.

Is it selfish to miss the days you could do what you wanted, when you wanted in the house & not have to worry or be constantly thinking about pup!

I will find it very difficult leaving them when everything opens up again I reckon. At the moment I spend most of my day with them.

@Puppypuppypuppy Grannypup is a nightmare with food. In theory she eats two meals at about 11 and again around 4 to 5. She won't eat when she gets up and today so far has eaten a crust from my sandwich and some training treats on her lunchtime long walk. She hasn't eaten her 11 o clock meal. I'm just ignoring it now and letting her eat when she wants - she does get nippy and annoying when she's hungry but won't give in and eat

I have taken the lead from some of you lot and contacted a doggy day care. It’s actually the lady we’ve been using for training and just waiting for an answer. It’s a bit more complex due to his condition so not sure how she’ll feel about taking him in but I have to ask at least.

@Qwertyyui she is 15 weeks!

Taking the base of the crate out for a mattress is a good idea thank you! I need to get her a bigger crate soon so will plan for that I think.

She is exactly the same with the digging of beds anywhere else. She also chews them which is an absolute nightmare, so she doesn’t have a proper bed anywhere else 🤷🏻‍♀️

@happypuppymummy

Hello, what type of puppy do you have, I would love to see photos

@Indoctro he's lovely. And yes runny poos are normal when stressed.

Hi, hope it’s ok to join, I have a 10 week old mini schnauzer pup. She’s been with us for 2 weeks and is amazing, although very bitey when over excited! We’ve taught her to ‘sit’ for a few seconds and are working on extending it, without much luck so far. I feel like we aren’t doing anywhere near enough training or socialising though. Any tips for what we should be working on with her? I feel a bit clueless!