Puppy Survival Thread - April

[Doje]

Starting a new thread....

Ah thanks all, you've put my mind at rest! I was feeling a bit 'aware' that Georgiepup might be a bit different even epilepsy aside. One of my friends asked if it meant he was brain damaged 🤔 and it kind of brought home the type of prejudices that people with epilepsy and other conditions must suffer. But actually, I think he's the best dog for us. I've struggled with anxiety all my life and although I would never have asked for it, it's actually made me realise I can cope with emergencies and stressful situations (not always- I have cried a lot!) and my anxiety is no worse than it was before.

I am relating to the stories of eating woes. Georgiepup is a fussy bugger! He's so suspicious of any.treat we try to give him.

Thanks lemoncake I think we may try that one

I can’t remember what Georgiepup is?...

Different breeds are really different and yeah for most people training is about getting appropriate behaviours in instead of unwanted ones.

I’ve a friend with an Akita - she literally knows her name, sit and go lie down... she’s perfect for them because they’ve never needed any other commands, she just kind of hangs round happily, not causing any issues.

I go for more active breeds, so I always end up having to do a lot of impulse control stuff and then a load of commands just to keep them busy or they’d go self employed.

He's a cockapoo! Supposed to be high energy and he can be, loves to run and play and be fussed over. But equally happy to sleep in the day. He goes to doggy day care 1 day, I childmind during the week so busy house and so when it's quiet here he just flops

Honestly @GeorgieTheGorgeousGoat I think you've done brilliantly to get him to behave how you need him to. Happy would be a disaster with a house full of small children because he's a dog that tends to over excitement and I have adult kids so he's not used to small ones. I remember at the start you saying how you needed to make sure your puppy was fine around small children - that's not something that came naturally, you did it! You've probably done so much more training with him than you realise!

Ah thanks @HappyThursdays Honestly the support I've had on this thread has been brilliant. It's such a weird club getting a puppy, I had no idea it would consume so much of my life. It's been lovely having others who understand.

Actually one thing we need to work on is barking at the front door. Any ideas?

Our camera arrived today which is exciting. It's a great picture and looking forward to trying it out. We need to start with a little 5 minute trip out eek!

Georgiethegorgeouscoat I am sure I read somewhere that a good tip is when the doorbell goes put a few treats in their crate/bed. Before you go answer the door. So they start to associate the doorbell with going to their bed for a treat instead. Not sure how easy it is to put that in to practise though

Which camera did you get @GeorgieTheGorgeousGoat? I'm thinking of getting one.

Another frustrating day with eating here. He hasn't eaten anything out of his bowl or any kibbles. He has had 200g of wet food hand fed to him by DH??? He has also had a bowl of goat's milk which he knocked back in seconds.

We tried feeding him without his tag on in case it was the dinging but that made no difference. We tried mixing cooked chicken into the food, he tried to pick the chicken out and then gave up when he realised he couldn't as it was mixed in with the wet food.

It's the Victure PC530 We had lots of recommendations and in the end I saw this on an Amazon lightening deal for £18.

We are having a nightmare with pugpup barking when we're out. Every time someone comes over or leaves, every time he sees a dog. He's never really done it before but this week its got really bad along with the marking.

@PugInTheHouse similar issue with Plantpup! It seems like it’s a thing for quite a few of us with slightly older pups at the moment. With Plantpup I think it’s nervousness, and mostly happens when people approach to talk to me. Or at unfamiliar noises in the house. I have no idea how to go about stopping it though! I can’t never meet people again

@Plantlover23 it is so embarrassing, I think pugpups is either territorial or excitement but it is every time, he was trying to run to everyone and pulling on the lead really badly. Way worse than it has been. I am going to speak to the trainer but I am guessing its an age thing.

That made me chuckle though as when I was typing territorial the first suggestion was terrorist

We did meet another pug today though, he looked identical to pugpup, they played so nicely it was brilliant to watch.

One pup is just coming out of season and the other is just coming into season which is fine, we have a nice nig garden but yesterday they were out and the next doors frenchie was going mad. Im assuming unneutered as it sounded like he was coming theough the (thick) fence at ine point so I quickly brought them in and so did lady next door. Feel like I can't take them out in the garden now 😕

Oh that sounds stressful @GooodMythicalMorning. You shouldn't feel stressed going into the garden with them, the instinct for dogs must be so strong as they seem to get completely blinded by their hormones!

I cant wait to get pugpup done next month, his behaviour is definitely considerably different this last couple of weeks. He has also started humping my leg this evening and getting very stressed when I won't let him

Thanks, yes I must admit I'll be thankful when they've been through this and spaying. At least they'll both be ready for spaying by their first birthday. Next door isnt very approachable otherwise id have let them know about the girls (they're both quite scary and confrontational.)
Im hoping they're at work tomorrow so we can use garden. I dont know what happens to their dog whilst they work.

Its so much more complicated for girls bless them having to go through all this first.

I am dreading the next few weeks whilst we wait for the op, my mum is looking after him tomorrow for the first time and I really dont want him marking all over her house!

Please can I ask for suggestions on puppy pens from anyone? @ilovesushi what pen have you got? The one we got was far too tall and the crate took up half of it so I think we need a different one.

We got rid of our pen as she just didn’t seem to settle in it. Just jumping around inside.

Can I ask how long your puppies are awake for at any given time in the day? Turquoisepup is up at about 6.30 in the morning. I put her in to crate at 8.45 when we went on school run. But I wonder if that’s too long awake for her age? I think she was in crate sleeping in off for an hour then up again

@Turquoisesol stillpup gets up for a wee at 6:30 then he's on/off napping until 8:30. He's awake for 1-2 hours at a time during the morning then has a big sleep after lunch for around 2 hours. Then he's back to his 1-2 hour awake. I know when he's tired because he gets hyper, that's when he's quarantined to the kitchen to calm down!

Thanks stillaliveish I need to establish a bit of a routine and watch the signs. She often prefers to sleep outside in the garden I find. But I was thinking maybe that isn’t such a good habit to get in to and maybe encourage her in to the crate if I can. How old is your pup?

Happy has gone out with a dog walker today. Even though dp works from home, I can see he is getting too busy to give Happy a good walk so he's gone with a walker who specifically takes them to an enclosed field with only the other dogs she walks and no one else so his dodgy recall doesn't matter and he can't bother any other dogs/people.

She's just sent a photo  - he looks like he is flying through the air because he's running so fast, I think his feet are barely touching the ground 

I feel so relieved as I was starting to really worry about the amount of time and attention he was getting during the day.

@Turquoisesol Happy likes sleeping in the garden. I think it's fine unless you want to encourage yours to only sleep in the crate? I think some dogs just enjoy being outdoors.

@Turquoisesol what dog do you have? I think the theory is they should try and nap having been awake 1-2 hours. I think some puppies have FOMO and just push themselves through that though. Does your dog get red eyes? Some of them you can tell by looking when they are exhausted! Some you can tell by their behaviour!

I would like to find a good dog Walker locally. Even though I have plenty time myself it is handy to have someone else who can do it if needed later. And get dog used to it while young.

Yes I quite like her sleeping outside it looks so peaceful. But I am just thinking the weather won’t allow for it for much of the year