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!

@PugInTheHouse hope the night went well...Legopup has always slept in the crate overnight with no issues but resists daytime 'alone time' which we've been doing to smooth the eventual return to the office. Even if he is exhausted or already dozing he resists sleeping in there during the day. I must admit your update sent a shiver down my spine...sleep (for us too) is so important!

@Doje thank you, it was 'interesting'.

There was literally good, bad and ugly all in one night

Took him up about 10, we were shattered after the night before and he was starting to fall asleep after being quite hectic during the evening so thought no point in letting him fall asleep just to wake him in an hour to take him up.

At first he just sat down and was quite chilled, I told DH to watch him while I went for a wee, I came back and he was up on our bed asleep . I put him back on the floor and he seemed to settle straight away but within 10 mins or so he was standing up holding onto the side of the bed.

The Bad - This basically went on till 130am. Standing up with paws on our bed, then settling for a minute, constantly till 1ish, during this time he ripped up one of the pee pads we had hidden under the blankets also. Then at 1 he starting whining a little bit so I thought it would get worse but he eventually did settle, from what I could see he slept next to his crate, I think the whining was more sleepy noises.

The Good - I think he just slept till 645, didn't hear him at all so guessing he was quiet. Also, all the time he wasn't asleep he wasn't barking and crying.

The Ugly - When DH took him downstairs just before 7am we found he had done a massive wee, no idea when, it was right next to the crate so it can't have been early in the night as that was where he slept mostly. Obviously it was on the part with no pee pad as he'd ripped that one up. To be honest I can live with that, it is probably all really confusing for him, usually in the crate we know when he needs a wee as that's when he cries.

@PugInTheHouse aw its all new for him, all in all bar the weeping and standing by your bed for so long it seems it wasn’t as bad an experience as it could have been!

@Brazilianut yes it went on a bit long but it did feel more positive than the night before. I was surprised he didn't actually try to jump onto the bed. I was just consistent in telling him to get down for a while then when I realised he wasn't actually going to jump up I ignored him. I felt calmer as he wasn't crying and barking.

yes I'd say that's pretty good for the 1st night Hopefully each time he'll improve a bit more (and you all get some more sleep!)

@GooodMythicalMorning I hope so too!

it's good he didn't end up on your head @PugInTheHouse

Happy had another spell of vomiting last night - i had gone to bed and dd is home from university so she dealt with it! She didn't think he was unwell, just over excited from seeing her and ds back and he had his worming tablet yesterday which often makes him a bit sick (he's certainly not showing any other signs of being sick and he is a dog that gets over excited). LOOK AWAY IF SQUEAMISH but she went to get a cloth to tidy it up and while she went to get one, he ate all the vomit, promptly vomited it up again and then ate it again fgs!

he is such a pain to walk at the moment because of his teenager recall. It's such a shame as his recall was perfect at 6 months and we are going to be 8 months this week and it's like starting all over again argh! he's on a long lead but because of that, he can't run with his mates, which he absolutely hates! Pls send me inner strength!

Mine ate her sick yesterday too.

My girls are about to hit 8 months and I think one of them is about to come into season, she's been peeing a lot and her lady area is massive. She seems a bit off sorts as well. Not had a female puppy before so bit nervous about it.

Thanks @HappyThursdays

They are constantly worrying us, pugpup seems to have a cough to go with his sneezes now. I will call the vet tomorrow if it carries on bless him.

Such a shame re the walking. I have heard so many people talk about the recall regressing, I had no idea how common it was.

@HappyThursdaysim sorry but that made me laugh so much. Sparklepup ate his vomit too, it was like watching one of those boomerang clips

@PugInTheHouse glad your night wasn't as bad as it could have been. I think we need to ditch the crate overnight but just can't bring myself to yet.

The ugly here is the biting at the moment. He's completely regressed. It's different to the early days because it doesn't really hurt, it's more for attention or in frustration but I worry that it's a sign he will be an aggressive dog.

@Sparkle79 I spent most of the night worrying about it as I feel so safe with him in there, for instance thinking I won't be able to go for a wee in the night as he'll jump on the bed when I'm gone and hurt himself getting down or if we go away overnight somewhere with him he won't be in the safe space of the crate but i had to remind myself that he will be older and calmer by then so it won't be an issue.

We will be keeping it during the day to leave him as he would chew everything.

HummusPup is 6 months old now, sometimes I think we’ve made lots of progress other times still despairing!

The good: sleeps well at night in a crate downstairs from about 10-7 we are very lucky with this! Smart, quick learner on many things and generally seems happy

The bad: biting has got worse again, it’s not proper biting and doesn’t hurt but I don’t like it and not sure why she’s still doing it now she has her adult teeth?

Will not settle during the day unless we crate her, cover the crate and leave the room - I don’t know to improve this or teach her an off switch..

The ugly: Jesus Christ the barking. Barks all the time, a lot of the time for attention. Barks at any chew we give her now which is very annoying because that used to buy us 10 minutes peace!
Recall isn’t great and lead walking is awful so that’s fun twice a day!

But when she lets out the BIG SIGH when she has finally finished terrorising us for the evening and lies down on her mat to snooze I love her

@PugInTheHouse I will be following your progress with your nighttime sleeping! I’d like to do something with Plantpup in the not too distant future I think, I think she’d be much more inclined to jump on the bed though...

Plantpup is almost 5 months now!

The good;
She has finally acquired an off switch - she will crash out and nap on the sofa, floor or her mat whenever she is sleepy. Often now this can be for a couple of hours day or night, it has improved things so much. She is still sleeping amazingly in the night and I’ve even managed to get a few lie ins - on Sunday she slept/chilled out happily 10pm - 9am!

The bad;
Whilst she has been teething her eating has become fussier and fussier, some days she has barely eaten much at all and she is already quite skinny hoping it picks up when she’s finished getting her adult teeth through

The ugly;
She follows me everywhere. Toilet, shower, the other side of the room. Occasionally she will take herself off to sleep in another room (usually to cool down) which is huge progress but generally this is our biggest issue. If I shut the door and don’t let her follow me she cries and cries and then alert barks at any sounds she hears. Not ideal!

@SpreadHummusNotHate I that's interesting that hummuspup has starting biting again and sounds the same as Sparklepup where it doesn't really hurt and it feels like he's not trying to hurt us. They're a similar age so hopefully it's an age thing and will stop soon

@SpreadHummusNotHate I am feeling very much the same. We seem to get to a week where things are really good and then something else goes wrong. Sleeping was always our good thing so I am gutted that's gone wrong.

@Plantlover23 is she still in a crate at night? If so then I would leave it as long as possible. I was hoping pugpup would always be ok in it as he really seemed to settle well there at night, I am a bit gutted he's now not. He definitely is inclined to jump on the bed, its the first thing he did but I just kept telling him not to and amazingly he didn't, I really wasn't expecting that, he's very strong willed.

I am totally dreading going to bed to be honest, I remember feeling this way when DS1 was a baby, he was a dreadful sleeper and the anxiety before going up not knowing how bad the night would be was horrible. I am hating the evenings too, DH is working in the office, the kids disappear and I am left up and down as he wants to go in and out the garden constantly.

Pugpup generally follows me everywhere too, when I was doing a lot of stuff in and out of the rooms he eventually stopped following me which was good and he has now started to stay in the lounge when I'm in the kitchen sometimes.

@PugInTheHouse yes she is still in her crate and seems quite content in there at the moment, so definitely going to try and drag it out a bit longer! I need to get a bigger one for her which is worrying me slightly in case she doesn’t take to the bigger one or suddenly decides she hates it!

Oh @PugInTheHouse I completely get that going to bed dread. Hope you have a successful night.

We’ve had the in-laws round in the garden this evening and she was great. You could see she was trying her very hardest not to jump up when they greeted her and she amazingly kept her teeth under wraps! They played with her toys with her and then she settled down pretty well so as good as could be expected really. We’ve got quite a few garden gatherings planned so I’m hoping she is that good with all of them!

@Petalpup I almost wish he had been a rubbish sleeper from the start then hopefully he'd be improving now rather than getting worse!

The Sky engineer came round today, obviously we haven't had many people in the house so he was very excited haha. Sky engineers wear shoe coverings and also cargo pants which are apparently very exciting as there are lots of tags and pockets to play with

Yes I keep thinking that current sleep is too good to last and that tonight will be the night it all falls apart.

She has got more reluctant to go in her pen and we have quite a funny routine where she suggests places she’d rather sleep-the sofa, a cushion, one of the kids coats on the floor... and I disagree and coax her into pen. She sleeps fine after that!

DH said she was a pain while he was trying to work today. She just wanted to go in the garden all the time but would just dig when he let her out. And she did a big wee on his office carpet

I hear you all about the ups and downs! Challenge pup is 7 months now. It still varies but I think the good days are outweighing the bad, although that makes the bad days more challenging because you feel like it's back to square one. He is much more of a pleasure than when he was really little. And we have some lovely days. But I still worry about him a lot. For me it's walks that are tough- now his recall is rubbish I either feel bad he's on the lead and can't play or he's off the lead and I am on edge. Sleep and toilet are nailed, although we had another pup round who marks in the house and I worried he would follow suit but (touch wood) no sign of that yet.

The good
Sleeping and chilling out- he's never slept in a crate but he chooses sleep spots and has got much better at napping and chilling in the day. He started on my bed and now sleeps in hallways by choice - doesn't like doors closed but is relaxed and not destructive at night.
Training well when focused- seem to make faster and better progress than when he was really small when he is in the mood
Very affectionate although not a cuddly lap dog
Doing well in daycare- happy and popular

The bad
Barking- mostly alert barking but we are working on that especially as everyone is now out in neighbouring gardens and it will be a long barky summer if we don't manage that
Still chewing a lot despite many permitted chews- furniture, especially, and also digging the lawn
Reactive to guests, although he does calm down after a few minutes

The ugly
The stubbornness- he knows what commands mean, he just chooses not to obey! Recall is the worst- when he is focused it's brilliant, when he is playing I don't exist. And he has started noticing girls- we have had some full on howling when not allowed to chase a bitch in heat. He gets fixated on certain dogs and bitches and I can't get him away, and now he is more confident he goes further away. He is out of my control then so he is spending a lot of time in lead to avoid it.

This is the trouble, on the one time I decide I cant be arsed to let him out as its been 10 times in 10 mins is the time he actually wants to wee! He rang the bell twice as no one got up the first time, I had been out loads and thought someone else might bother to do it but they didn't and by the time I'd got up he'd wee'd at the back door!

A much better night here, slept downstairs on the cold kitchen tiles 10-11pm then wee and upstairs after that, settled pretty much straight away then slept till 610! I'll take that. We would have left him pottering for longer this morning but as he wee'd up there yesterday we thought it best to get him up. He seems to sleep for a minute then move to another position for a while but then finally settled directly outside his crate

Off to the vets in an hour as he seems to have developed a cough over the last couple of days!

@PugInTheHouse that's great that you had a better night. I hope it was pugpup sleeping on the cold kitchen tiles, and not you which is how I read it the first time!

Sparklepup is the same sleeping a bit then moving to another position. He has also started whining at us to move if we're on the spot he wants to sleep on the sofa. And at the moment we're so desperate for him to just settle that we get up and move so he can lie there! Never thought I'd be like that

@Sparkle79 haha, yep it was him, I could have quite happily slept there as I was so tired!!

If we are in the place pugpup wants to be in then he just sits on us, if he is sleeping on the back of the sofa he justs plonks an arm or his head on our shoulder or head if it means he is comfy.