Puppy Survival Thread - April

[Doje]

Starting a new thread....

@Hamnan84 I know exactly what you mean about it seeming nasty, I felt the same to begin with. It does get better. Just be really consistent and pup will learn

I'm at the end of my rope with the car chasing. I've been trying for weeks and getting nowhere. I think it might be time to call in the professionals. How do you go about finding a good trainer?

@Hightideattheseaside You got through the night so you're not failing. Week 1 is survival mode. She'll settle down. Ours didn't sleep in large chunks for a few weeks, it was all naps, even overnight. Try not to put the light on or be fun at night, up quietly and out to the toilet and then be boring. Everything I've read suggests that if they cry they need you, so be there for them. Wait for a break in the whining then let her out though or you do risk her thinking crying gets her what she wants. Quiet cuddles and reassurance overnight though, don't play with her. I don't think you should second-guess your routine at this stage, it's early days and she's probably just a bit worried.

@Sparkle79 are you a member of Dog Training Advice and Support on Facebook? You have to read a few guides before they approve you, then you can ask questions when posting is on. They also have a guide on how to find a trainer. It's a fantastic resource!

we really found the enforced naps lifesavers. I can't remember the stat now but someone will (!) but I think at the age yours are, they should be sleeping something like 20 hours

have you got chew toys? that's the other thing that helps. Every dog likes different ones so it's worth trying a few.

@EmzBPupMum we haven't done that her recall stuff is v good

@Hightideattheseaside we stuck to the Happy Puppy Book religiously as we’ve never had a dog before- I’d def recommend it. Didn’t feed after 7pm, when taking out at night no playing-just quietly out for toilet then back in again so that it teaches them it’s night time. Sometimes easier said than done though! We also have a blanket draped over the crate. Then we stretched the night time toilet trips by 15 mins each night so eventually she went to 7am. It does get easier!

Meanwhile weepup is now 5 months and has regressed with the slipper biting , hoping it’s teething as it’s getting very wearing again.

Everyone struggling with biting, this was us 10 days ago...,,
Puppy is now 16 weeks and we've turned a corner (though by no means perfect)
What majorly helped us was changing our toys - I attached lines to some soft toys and moved them quickly along the floor to get puppy to chase and tug. I thought I had long toys before (raggy rope toys etc) but she just went for our hands as there was no distance between hand and toy. Now, as the toy is at the end of a rope, she just goes for the toy. It has been a game changer.
Biting at other times, I take as a form of communication and try and figure out what she's trying to tell me. I don't always get it, but I try.
We also have a stair gate separating kitchen and family room, I close that between us if she's trying to bite. Just 10 seconds or so, no telling off or anything, it just breaks the cycle.
I was at my wits end, it does get better!

@happypuppymummy thanks, yes I'm on there and have followed similar threads but the things suggested just don't seem to be working.

@Sparkle79 it's also worth checking if there's anyone in your area registered with these guys I think abtc.org.uk/

Ah that's a shame @Sparkle79 .
They do have a guide on how to find a reputable Trainer, what to look for etc
Good Luck - I'm sure you'll get there. My parents had this issue with their Border Collie 20 years ago. I think they used aversive methods, which obviously isn't recommended at all now. However, they did get there, and he matured into the perfect dog, absolutely gorgeous and no trouble at all.

@WeeM they get a huge set of molars around 6 months so we found the chewing got worse and then once those were in, it got a lot better. You're nearly there!

@Sparkle79 I posted on our local area FB page for people to give recommendations TBH, I thought that way people will only recommend if they actually think the people are good. A lot of them were closed, not even doing 1:1s but there were a few that were. I then looked at their social media pages to see what videos they had on there etc.

I hadn't actually thought of going on the dog training FB page to check the info on there.

@Sparkle79 we used a trainer local to us but she also does online classes, one of the puppies in our group had the same issue with chasing cars, bikes, people on a walk and the owner posted a video a few weeks after the training session and her puppy was just sat at the side of the road watching the cars go by!

Happy to send you the details if you want to give them a try

Hi all, welcome to the new puppies! They sound gorgeous
Petal has just turned 5 months and is just brilliant. We are still waiting for things to go wrong as we can’t believe how lucky we’ve been!
Over the weekend we’ve had to wake her up at gone 8am after her having a last wee at 10. Having had /got 2 crap sleeping children this seems like an impossible blessing!
We took her to a friend’s house last week-first time she’s been to anyone else’s garden and she was fab-pottered around with their dog, ignored their kids and settled down brilliantly. There was one hairy moment when she got hold of their son’s comfort toy and although normally we wouldn’t chase or try to get anything out of her mouth this seemed like an emergency so there was a bit of benny hill action. Eventually we reverted to usual technique of sitting down and counting out treats which worked and no harm was done to the poor teddy
She also had her first trip to a busy park yesterday which she took in her stride and seemed to love watching everything.

Biting has reduced a lot-still tries it on when she’s over excited but stops easily.

Digging in the garden is a bit of an issue-needs constant watching and distracting if she’s out there

And she’s still sick most times she goes in the car which I’m hoping she’ll grown out of but i might speak to the vets after another week or so.

An enormous tooth fell out the other day-it was quite disconcerting!

@Sparkle79 I’m sure you’ve done this but it’s all about putting enough distance between dog and car so that they don’t react. Hard to find somewhere suitable I guess but you need to allow them to see the car, then mark and treat and v gradually get closer and try v hard not to let them come into contact with the trigger outside of those training sessions.

Maybe even try it on the tv or something first?

@happypuppymummy thanks, that's very reassuring to hear.

@Petalpup

@C4itl yes please, that also sounds very promising

@Petalpup glad Petalpup is doing so well and you got the comforter back! What's the counting out treat thing?

[quote Petalpup]@Sparkle79 I’m sure you’ve done this but it’s all about putting enough distance between dog and car so that they don’t react. Hard to find somewhere suitable I guess but you need to allow them to see the car, then mark and treat and v gradually get closer and try v hard not to let them come into contact with the trigger outside of those training sessions.

Maybe even try it on the tv or something first?[/quote]
@Petalpup Cross posted! Thanks, yes this is what I'm trying but been at it for weeks and he'll be doing really well and then goes backwards again. I think maybe I'm doing it wrong and need someone to show me.

@Petalpup I am very jealous of the calmness, pugpup is still so excited by other dogs but a lot of this is the manically sniffing their bits so it may well be an adolescent issue with him. We thave always taken him to busy places but he can be so excitable. With people he's fine but other dogs is still an issue just in the way that he is too interested. Very reactive to bikes also. Everything else is so good (other than the leaving him alone still which has gone massively backwards).

Oh my, pugpup is booked in for neuter on 10th May. I am so nervous already!

We just had cherrypup in the garden and a huge cat appeared and tried to get at him, hissing and everything! Poor wee mite was crying...worried he won't want to go back out.

@PugInTheHouse dp and I are disagreeing on the neutering at the moment - I think he should be done but dp does not grrr.

@PugInTheHouse

Oh my, pugpup is booked in for neuter on 10th May. I am so nervous already!

Oh my goodness, I'm not looking forward to getting Dpup 'done'. How old is PugPup now?

@HappyThursdays he is displaying lots of behaviours that neutering should help, incessant marking and sniffing. To the point where he is becoming stressed as he doesnt even want to play with a dog, he is literally underneath them with his whole body. It may not stop that but as hes a small breed my understanding is that 6-9 months is an appropriate time.

@doje he was 6 months on 27th March. So will be 7.5 months when he has it.

@HappyThursdays have you spoken to the vet? What are your DHs reasons for not wanting to?

It’s a little game we learnt at puppy class-you just count out a little pile of treats -counting them out loud and when puppy comes to eat them you move to a different spot and start counting them out again. It means once you start counting them out they should come and see what’s going on.
We use it for getting her in from garden sometimes or to distract her from an ill gotten gain.