Puppy Survival Thread - April

[Doje]

Starting a new thread....

@EmzBPupMum If he's 6 months can you not take him on the school run? I'd worry leaving him to howl might set you back and make things difficult in the long run.

Things are okay here, she seems to have stopped chasing lights and reflections. We've managed to leave her for short periods but DP has taken the lead on that cos he's braver than me. We didn't need to do the few seconds at a time, she was ridiculously clingy when she was younger but as she's got older she's not as worried if we leave. So DP has been leaving her for 10 mins+ at a time for a wee while. I collected her from daycare on Monday and popped her in her crate with a Kong and went to an exercise class for an hour, first time I've personally ever left her in for more than 10 mins or so. It went absolutely fine. Think I found it harder than her, I've got bloody separation anxiety! She was exhausted from daycare though and often naps when she gets home, if she wasn't tired I think she'd have kicked up a fuss.

Lead walking is still a disaster. I know it's a process but ugh it just feels like we'll never get there. Face to face puppy class at the weekend was rubbish again, but I've signed up for post-lockdown classes with our Zoom trainer and I'm looking forward to them. She's going to tackle bars and restaurants, settling for picnics, dealing with crowds and public transport, and visitors to the home. Her puppy classes were fantastic so I have high hopes.

@ashmts unfortunately my DD school doesn't allow dogs on the premises which is only reason I don't take him up with us.

It's crazy as we just lost our old dog last year, and I don't remember this while leaving thing being so hard when he was a puppy!

@Turquoisesol well you have all made me feel much less alone and more normal so I hope this thread is doing the same for you. Hugs and for everyone!

Thank you mrsrandallfraser I do feel less alone. I feel like I can’t admit in real life what is happening so I come on here to have a bit of a moan !

Petal let herself down yesterday . There is a very elderly man who walks his daughter’s spaniel on the field near us. We always worry he’ll be pulled over as the spaniel just pulls and twirls around.
Anyway-petal spotted them from the other side of the field before I did and charged over. She’s never gone that far away. By the time I caught up the spaniel had wrapped his long line round the man in a bid to play with her and she was far too excited to recall.
In a bid to distract her I picked up a water bottle from nearby on the ground and threw it for her (she didn’t even notice)
Then I realised it was the old man’s and he had dropped it in the melee so I felt like an utter wierdo for flinging an old man’s water bottle

Oh can I join please? Snooppup is 7mths. He’s never been left alone, has started guarding things he shouldn’t have, training has gone backwards and we’re losing hope! Otherwise he’s an absolute sweetheart and we can’t imagine life without him.

“Then I realised it was the old man’s and he had dropped it in the melee so I felt like an utter wierdo for flinging an old man’s water bottle”

Rofl.. sorry, but that’s actual hilarious... I do stuff like that...

@SnoopDogisamenace
“has started guarding things he shouldn’t have”

That you might want to get a professional to help with, it can be a really hard one to deal with.

@tabulahrasa

“Then I realised it was the old man’s and he had dropped it in the melee so I felt like an utter wierdo for flinging an old man’s water bottle”

Rofl.. sorry, but that’s actual hilarious... I do stuff like that...

@SnoopDogisamenace
“has started guarding things he shouldn’t have”

That you might want to get a professional to help with, it can be a really hard one to deal with.

Don’t! I was mortified .

www.preventivevet.com/dogs/resource-guarding-in-dogs

I was reading above article earlier on resource guarding which I thought was really good
It’s obviously quite a complicated thing to deal with

@tabulahrasa @Petalpup we’ve been in contact with the trainer we took him too and she’s going to come to our house to work on the guarding. He wouldn’t even do what he was told today for sausage!

@Turquoisesol yes I’d read that article too. The difference with Snooppup is he’ll let us hand fed him, take his toys to play and he’s not a bit bothered. It’s only if he’s got something that isn’t his when we have a problem ie my sons homework, tissues, something that’s been dropped by accident.

Oh that is tricky . I have no experience myself as turquoisepup is only 13 weeks. I hope it gets better x

And of course the issue with stuff they shouldn’t have is that he’s right, you do want to take it off him...

@HappyThursdays I'd be really annoyed if my friend said that about my dog! Unless they meant it in a sympathetic way. I have a friend with a 6 year old bichon-poodle cross and he's never said anything negative, been really supportive, but I do get the impression he thinks I've bitten off more than I can chew with a spaniel. His dog is super laid back, has been left alone for hours at a time from a very young age, and doesn't need a lot of exercise. But (imo) he's also quite poorly socialised, grumpy around other dogs and doesn't get much stimulation. My friend got a new partner who has a German shepherd and he had to go to live with his mum as friend's dog was too grumpy. So I'll take a dog that's hard work but super friendly and active and engaged any day. I feel an affinity with you and Happy cos mine's a WCS too and they sound pretty similar.

I’ve fallen a bit behind with the thread! I am worried about leaving weepup at home alone too. We like to go out for a meal/cinema/shops whatever and at the moment I just can’t see how that is going to be possible. She will still only be happy in crate if she is actually sleeping. And once she wakes up will usually start lifting the bedding/scratching floor/chewing bars. When I’m working I have her beside me in playpen and if I leave room to go to loo or whatever she starts barking her head off and whining .

@Petalpup sorry, that must have been really stressful, and I hope the old man was ok, but it did make me chuckle! It's exactly the sort of farcical situation I always find myself in!

Stillpup got on ok-ish at his first daycare session. He was quite nervous around the other puppies. Eventually he settled down a bit and played with a dachshund puppy but he's just going to go for a couple of hours at a time until he (hopefully) settles into it. The manager has two collies of her own and, although he's only half collie, it makes me feel a bit more confident in how they'll manage him. The mixing with other dogs is my main concern at the moment. We're seeing a behaviourist in May to help with this and lead walking, just because I'm not confident in my own ability to manage this correctly and I don't want to mess him up!

Stillaliveish how old is your pup? I am worried about my pup being well socialised with others and also wondering if daycare would be a good idea

@SnoopDogisamenace pugpup does the same, I didn't really think it as being resource guarding as it's when he knows he shouldn't have something so it's like he thinks it's a game, he waits till you are near (either with it in his mouth or in between his paws) then runs away with it. If I then go to run to the fridge and say 'do you want some cheese' he drops it and sprints to me. On the times I haven't done that if I can catch him I can retrieve it and he's not agressive.

@HappyThursdays I have a feeling that one of my friends is going to say the same. She is very opinionated about everything and doesn't think there is any other way than hers. She has already said stuff about him not being left to me and a few other things (she's not necessarily wrong but our dogs are totally different breeds, personalities and obv we are in lockdown whereas her dog is about 4). She always says how good her dog is and she is really chilled, will just stick near her owners and doesn't really react to much however the dog is not very friendly, is not particularly nice to pugpup at all (snarls and barks in his face if he gets near her). I just know she will comment about him trying to pull towards dogs/people at some point and it's making me anxious lol. We are working so hard with him to sort it, he is so well trained in many ways but he is just so teenager-ish right now.

I really don't think people with older dogs (or just dogs with quiet personalities) can understand what is like having a dog during these times. My other friends dog is not quite 2 and is really struggling. She said his obendience has gone backwards and he is now barking and pulling to get to people as he is so excited, she said she feels it's due to the lockdown and lack of people socialising. I also feel that some dogs are just very sociable so it is their natural thing to want to play and be fussed over, some dogs just aren't bothered or are more shy so it may be that the opposite type of training is required but on the outside it appears that they are much calmer.

I am trying to not worry myself with it and to remember the lovely comments we have had and the good experiences.

@Turquoisesol he's only 12.5 weeks so I'm trying not to panic. It's just like @PugInTheHouse says, all dogs are different! Stillpup loves people and I have to treat him when we're on a walk to stop him jumping up at people but then I have to treat him after he shows the slightest bit of positive interest in another dog!

Can anyone recommend any safe puppy chew bones? My pup is really teething and needs something she can entertain herself with when we leave her.

Is he fearful of dogs normally? My dog is same age as yours and also a collie. She gets excited to see other dogs but we haven’t really got any dogs the same age near us to socialise her with. I didn’t know you could send them to daycare that young. My trainer told me yesterday to be very careful about any interactions with other dogs as a bad experience could really put her off and make her fearful. And it has left me in a dilemma what to do best to socialise her.

@Lizbiz89 Have you tried yak milks chews? Our puppy really loves them and chews one before going to sleep - almost like a little kid with a dummy!

@ilovesushi great idea! What brand do you buy?

Mine is a bit nervy with other dogs... I’m doing nothing in particular about it, lol.

I’m laughing because it sounds really blasé - but it’s not like that.

What I mean is, some days I purposely walk where there will be dogs, if they’re on lead he doesn’t meet them, if they’re off - I just make sure I’m right there to intervene if either he gets a bit overwhelmed or he gets too OTT and excited (both can happen)

So there’s very little chance of it being a negative experience. That’s way more important than how many dogs they actually mix with - how it actually goes.

I know one of his litter mates is going to a daycare just to mix with other dogs, but I’d worry that that environment would be too much for mine and if it went badly, which it can quickly in that sort of environment it’d actually cause issues.

Plus I still can’t drive him anywhere... so, not much option anyway, rofl.

Socialisation doesn’t mean, meet as many dogs as possible - I’ve made that mistake before, that can end badly... you want quality over quantity.