Puppy Survival Thread - April

[Doje]

Starting a new thread....

@LittleBlueFish your pup is beautiful!

Ours is almost 11weeks too and very busy though just lovely at the same time🥰.

Can you tell me how you went about training the sit and wait? We’ve got sit cracked but his bum literally touches the ground and then he’s up again all delighted with himself for his achievement! Is it just a matter of extending out when you mark the sit or do you add “wait” as a cue too?

So much to learn. I feel like I’m the one getting the training really!

Puginthehouse you sound like you have a good set up for care of pugpup. Does the trainer come to your house with her own dogs, or just on her own? That would be very reassuring while you are away to have someone you know caring for pugpup

Oh @MrsHerculePoirot I’m so jealous!! We still have a week to go and then the wait after. It’s seriously getting me down and hightide pup is getting harder to entertain. This has been the longest three weeks of my life!

@Lizbiz89 I’m in exactly the same situation. Sending lots of sympathy. Pup is 11 weeks and gets up about 2.30 then 6. Also have a toddler who is having night tantrums so very little sleep here. I will also be totally solo with all three of them next week as husband away with work plus I have l my vacccine on Tuesday! I really hope I don’t have a bad reaction or it could end up being an utter shit show

It’s really hit me hard this week. I’m clinging to the hope things will Improve when we can take her for a walk. On the plus side she is a total sweetheart, if you ignore the ankle biting.

We've just booked dpup1 and 2 in for their spays for aug. already super nervous about it due to being bulldogs.

We've had progress with walking with the pups, weirdly its been ddog that has gone backwards with walkies and being stubborn not wanting to move but I don't know if that is cos dh is home at the moment doing a virtual first aid course so he's playing up for me as dh not out with us.

Goooodmythicalmorning what did you decide to do re timing for the spays? I am starting to give this some thought and not sure what to do

@Plantlover23 Snooppup barks at everyone but think it seems to be a warning ‘don’t come near me, I’m scared of you’ bark because his tail is between his legs and he pulls further away! We’re full on grumpy teenager 🙈 and very stubborn!

@Turquoisesol for the holiday she will come and stay at the house on her own, well with her boyfriend. It's nice as she house shares at the moment so for her she will probably enjoy having some space, we have 2 cats as well so it's handy having someone there. She doesn't have a dog that lives with her, her parents have the family dogs. In July next year she will probably take pugpup away with her to her family home, they have horses, chickens etc too and lots of fields! When she looks after him in the day time she takes him out and about and then to her house sometimes.

@Hightideattheseaside yes it's such hard work isn't it! I generally feel like I've had a third child, only this one doesn't wear nappies!!! I can handle most of it well but the lack of sleep is what's getting to me. Hope your vaccination goes well! My uncle had it and took plenty of paracetamol just in case and he felt ok. Fingers crossed our puppies start sleeping better as well!

Sounds like you found a great trainer puginthehouse

@RedLem0ns
I got her to sit then added a wait command. If she goes for the treat I say ‘uh oh’ reset her to sit and try again. As soon as there was a tiny pause I click, praise and treat. She picked it up really quickly.
I really need to start working on leave it and drop it as she’s like a walking dustbin 😂

@Turquoisesol Yes, register them. We don't intend to show archer pup, even though she is stunning, but I think it gives an extra something (plus she's got a swanky kennel name).

Husband walked her on the pavement yesterday morning and she was ok - he just waited for her when she wouldn't budge.

We are planning our first weekend away with her in our new caravan soon. Eeeekkkkk!

Can anyone recommend me a brand of chew good for puppies. Lab 11 weeks.... think something longer lasting might be useful!

Thanks @LittleBlueFish I’ll try that.

Drop it is next on the list for us- at present we use the “look something amazing (not) flapping wildly in the corner of your field of vision!” technique, but I fear he’ll be wise to that pretty soon😳

@MrsHerculePoirot I find a pigs ear good. Also bone marrow chews - got a pack from the pet shop.

Can I ask is anyone trying to not let dogs on sofas? We started trying this and it’s relentless tonight with her jumping up in them. Not sure if it is a battle we should persist with or not

Took sushi pup out for her first walk today! She had her vaccines yesterday and the vet reckoned she was good to go. He seemed aghast that we hadn't been taking her out and about feet on the ground. He seemed to think risk of disease was low in our area and importance of socialisation outweighed any risk.
So I took her out late afternoon and IT WAS GREAT!!!!! What a relief for her and me. We have both been going stir crazy. I remembered why we wanted a dog and the sort of lifestyle we envisioned. It wasn't being cooped up in the kitchen extension all day!
She had a lot to take in - barking dog, electric saw, cyclist, lovely neighbours wanting to greet her and give a fuss. She started off terrified, but calmed down and seemed pretty happy. When we turned for home (we didn't get far) she literally ran towards the house. Glad she feels after four weeks that home is home.

@Hightideattheseaside I had my vaccine today (Astra Zeneca), day after pup had her puppy vaccines. Feeling good so far touch wood!

Hi, just a question about toilet training. Is everyone waking up throughout the night to take their puppies out for a wee? I will be honest and say we have not been doing this, and I also don’t think I could cope with the sleep deprivation - already exhausted with the constant daytime watching, on top of juggling 3 kids and their various activities, also have such awful memories of sleep deprivation from babies I think I am almost phobic.

A friend told me before I got him that they never got up in night for their puppy. Also pretty sure my parents didn’t when we had a puppy when I was a kid - both ended up fully toilet trained and able to go through night once big enough.

He is 9 weeks and daytime is going pretty well. He is in a crate within a pen which he can access, there is some paper on floor and usually there is a wee on it in the morning! He doesn’t seem to whine or make any noise at night. We are getting up at 6.15 to let him out and he goes to bed about 10 (I need my 8 hours!)

Celestebellman we aren’t waking in the night. I did the first night or two but it was clear it was difficult for her to resettle, she was up and wanted to play. So since then I just left her and she has been fine

Glad you feel fine @ilovesushi. Glad you could get out for your walk!

Hightide pup was just sick before bed. She’s seemed fine all day and was playing happily this evening but had been chewing on a milk yak chew thing for the first time. Not sure if it was that or something she’s eaten in the garden. Being true to Labrador form I spotted her munching something out there earlier, but by the time I got to her it was gone, so god only knows what that was.

She’s gone to bed no problem. Should I feed her in the morning if she wants it? She’s usually desperately hungry so if she’s not maybe I’ll know something is up? It’s a bit of a worry. Tempted to sleep on the sofa!

@celestebellman we did get up with pugpup, first couple of nights I set an alarm for 4am (put him to bed at 11), he didn't wake up but I put him for a wee anyway, on night 3 we left him and he naturally woke at 430 and whined, put him for a wee then straight back to bed till 7 so it really wasn't too much disruption, one of the big differences was that we had a pee pad at the back door (vet advice due before 2nd vaccine to fox issue in our garden) so he hardly woke up as it was nice and warm indoors.

I have a couple of friends who never got up in the night either, they just put some pads down, their pups were toilet trained in the normal time frames also. I am not sure the night time has any bearing on day time training TBH. Obviously it's not ideal if they are weeing in the crate as part of the point of crate training is that it helps with toilet training but I don't know anyone who had issues with leaving them to it at night. If pugpup wee'd at night in the crate before I took him downstairs (odd occasion I didn't wake up quick enough) he would cry till I cleared it up.

At 9 weeks he didn't wake very often in the night so it was fine, some pups go ages without a wee at night really young so you may find the weeing in the night won't last long. We did have a few short periods of time as he got bigger where he would need a poo at 4am but we adjusted his food times and now he generally goes about 11/12 hours without going at night.

Thanks @Turquoisesol and @PugInTheHouse, really reassuring to hear! Everything I google seems to suggest everyone is getting up every few hours with their pup, which is surely untenable (well it is for me!) I have been stressing about it today, also just stressing about the whole toilet training thing, though it’s going pretty well on the whole - I have a couple of weeks off work but when I go back will have a dog Walker/ sitter to come in a couple of times a day. Worried realistically that if he needs to go in between the visits he will just have to go on the newspaper in the pen - I have been in and out with the kids today and this did happen, though he has been ok so far being left for short periods, which I was most worried about.
I guess I am worried about how all these confusing messages will impact on toilet training (I have become obsessed, it’s like regaining my freedom is entirely dependent on this happening, though I guess it will probably be better when he can get out for regular walks).

@celestebellman I am impressed you are able to leave him and go out. Pugpup is 7 months and is a nightmare even if I go upstairs to get changed.

I would say that when we were a bit laid back with the toileting as we thought he had really got it we had a huge regression so i would be concerned about lack of consistency during the day, I genuinely don't think it matters at night as they will just sleep through eventually.

@Turquoisesol

Can I ask is anyone trying to not let dogs on sofas? We started trying this and it’s relentless tonight with her jumping up in them. Not sure if it is a battle we should persist with or not

Dpup's not allowed on the sofas. It's mostly been fine tbh. When he was little he couldn't get up and now he's 6 months he mostly just doesn't. The odd zoomy has a sofa jump in it, but he's off it as quick as he gets on it, and sometimes when we're not looking he uses one to get to the window sill (which has all the kids crap on it so is utterly irresistible!)

@celestebellman We were up at least once a night for the first six weeks or so. Way more at the beginning, at 9 weeks we were up about 3 or 4 times a night. I used to get up at 3am, take her out, and be asleep again by 3.15. It also meant she slept later in the morning. Have you looked at daycare rather than a dog walker? Much better for most puppies imo.

@Turquoisesol Ours was banned from the sofa for a few weeks early on as she was getting growly and showing some guarding behaviour. We used a room divider to block access. If she's been allowed on the sofa up till now and you've changed your mind it'll take time to train her. I wasn't sure about dogs on the sofa but I'm glad we let her up in the end. They just love being near you. We just use throws and wash them frequently.