Puppy Survival Thread - April

[Doje]

Starting a new thread....

Thanks everyone! We have a long line which I’ve used a few times, will try letting go as a starting point. Also booked an enclosed field for Sunday so we can practise recall. It’s always been a bit hit and miss so I’ve got a whistle and some really high value treats to sort of start afresh with it.

Her lead walking actually isn’t too bad! There are just some lovely fields out behind my house and I’d love to just let her have a run around freely there

@GeorgieTheGorgeousGoat Plantpup also does this! I try not to go to her immediately too. When she genuinely needs to go out it’s normally impossible to distract her so I tend to grab her tennis ball and test it! If she needs to go she’ll ignore me and keep looking at the door. If she just wants to go out and mess about she’ll come straight for the ball

@GeorgieTheGorgeousGoat we do what @ashmts suggested. If it's not a good time for him to play in the garden and he's asking to go out, I'll take him on the lead. If he doesn't wee in a couple of minutes I'll bring him back in. I also call his bluff at times. First thing I usually do a round the block walk which means he wees and poos, so I can confidently ignore his requests while I'm getting the kids ready for school. There have been times when he's really insisted though, so I've taken him out for a wee on a lead and he's done one. But then you start to recognise the 'I really DO need a wee' vs 'I just wanna play' signs.

@ilovesushi Dpup digs when he's bored in the garden! So needs to be supervised really. I do let him out and keep half an eye on him some times though.

Good luck to the pups seeing the vets this morning. Let us know how you get on.

@ilovesushi He plays out there a lot, but supervised due to his epilepsy. I'm also cautious of theft/escaping etc so we prefer him to be watched. It's not always convenient to do it immediately (usually during mealtimes etc) so just wanted to check I wasn't being unfair to him to make him wait until I or someone else can give him undivided attention.

@Plantlover23 do you have a friend with a more experienced dog you could let PlantPup off lead with? I found the confidence of the other owner really helps, but also Dpup sticks closer to me / the other dog when they're around. If you want your pup back, call the grown up dog back and Dpup will follow! I think a lot of trainers do something similar, often called 'mentor walks' where the pup learns from the older dog how to behave.

In the early days I also used to take his breakfast with me, which meant he was nice and hungry and would stick close to me!

And yes, always a long line and chicken / cheese / liver cake! I also have added a squeaky ball into my arsenal. He never gets it, which means he wants it really bad! It snaps his attention back to me really quickly!

@Plantlover23 if recall in the house and garden is there... just go somewhere safe to let him off, with nothing hugely exciting there and let him off for a play with you, just like you’d do in the garden and then recall him a few times... then go from there.

Use a longline if you really think he might run off, but he probably won’t - as long as there’s nothing/no-one else there. What would be the point when you’re the most fun thing there?

Yes we’ve done lead for garden a few times when I’ve suspected she just wants to dig!
She tends to be quite insistent if she really needs to go and will sit still and woof whereas she’ll pace around more if she wants to play.

Until a few weeks ago she wouldn’t wee anywhere except the garden (or the car ) but she’ll go on walks now and always looks so proud of herself!
@Plantlover23 I’m sure she’ll be fine off lead but having another dog with you (with good recall!) would most probably give you more certainty and having another person there will be a help too if she does decide to play up and not let you put her lead on or something.
Re dogs on sofas-petal now takes up three quarters of the kitchen sofa. We’re looking out for a bigger one . The rule is she has to sit or lie nicely. Any jumping, digging or getting mouthy and she’s off. She loves sitting with us though and she’s very cuddly so I’m very happy for her to be there.

Sorry she... I defaulted to mine, lol

He was 5 months when I got him and I’ve had him 8 weeks and he’s already spending at least a part of every walk offlead - how long depends where I go but it’s not taken any longer because he was older.

Thank you @Petalpup @tabulahrasa @Doje

Having another dog there is a nice idea, I’ll have a chat with some friends! that would definitely be reassuring.

I don’t think she would go anywhere, she doesn’t leave me alone most of the time (at home or otherwise!) so it is genuinely just my own anxiety based on very little not her actual behaviour!

@Petalpup she is gorgeous! Her little face😌

DH took our lad out to the woods this morning for his first proper walk and he did really well! Tolerated harness and long line without pulling so DH let him off in parts and really he did stay nearby. He even met some new people and a lovely red setter and was very polite. I’m so proud😍

We’re going to try a walk on the beach early tomorrow so it’s not too busy. It’ll be his first time on sand!

@Plantlover23 we have a 10m biothane longline from Amazon and I really wouldn't be without it right now at 5 months! It helps reinforce our recall command as we will 'reel him in' if he doesn't respond.

We've definitely noticed him improving his recall lately but then we've been making sure we're the most exciting thing ever and have a good chase and play around with him with lots of treats every time he comes back.

Once he's had his initial run around he's usually too tired to venture too far. I think I'd be nervous to lose the longline until maturity as I want to fully reinforce our command right now when he's young and learning, and the parks near us can be very busy with lots of distractions.

@MrsHerculePoirot great idea about doing a rehearsal of the school run over the weekend. DD and I were saying on our short walk today how long is it going to take to get to school with pup in tow!
@RedLem0ns sounds like it went brilliantly! I don't think I would have the confidence to let her off the lead yet. She seems to take fright/ get over excited at anything. I can just see her taking off Forest Gump style and running and running.

Sushi pup got out of her pen this morning. Usually she starts making a few whimpers at about 5.30am but I ignore her til 6am. I was so tired I slept in and got up at 7am. She greeted me at the kitchen door chilled as anything. The sides of the pen are quite high so who knows how she got out! New sofa was untouched, thank goodness, but there was a weird sick lump by the oven. DH has now made a lid/ roof for the pen and she LOVES it. It makes it very cosy. She is fast asleep in there now.

@Plantlover23 @Petalpup so gorgeous!!!!!

Happy just randomly stopped barking at night btw. Not sure what it was!

@plantlover Re off lead and practice, I do think it depends on the nature of the puppy and how confident they are but starting small in your garden and working upwards is best! I second the biothane line. We started with a non biothane one and really regretted it. We now have a bright orange biothane one with a handle which is great! Happy is still (at 9 months) only walked off lead without his long line in a secure field by the walker and that will continue for some time I think.

Managed a cafe trip yesterday and although he went mental because he wanted to play with a pug puppy near him (he's always loved pugs and the puppy really wanted to play with him!), and he did whine a little bit, it was a huge improvement from before. He did try and get on the table a few times but by and large, he stayed sitting! Small steps!

Lovely puppies btw!

Well done happythursdays we need to try a cafe trip. So much to do!

Does anyone else’s pups find other dogs barking scary? Turquoisepup freaks out and try’s to bolt (she can’t she is on the lead) when she hears a dog barking. Hoping it’s not going to be a lasting issue

A weekend of two halves for us, Georgiepup had a seizure only minutes in to our walk yesterday which was disappointing. It's really uncontrolled at the moment.

Today however we meet another family at the local forest. Their children weren't too keen on dogs but he totally won them over by generally being so unbothered by their presence. It gave the children confidence to come near him and stroke him, play fetch etc. Parents couldn't believe it. Then at the end we stopped at a cafe and though he was pulling to explore to begin with he soon chilled and sat so nicely and waited until we were done. Then snoozed the whole way home in the car. Loved it!

Literally the only blight in our puppy life is this illness. It's so disheartening but we are so determined to just let him be a dog and live each day as it comes. We accept that he may have a shorter life expectancy than other dogs so even more reason to let him live his best dog life.

Hope you're all enjoying the bank holiday weekend

Legopup had his first cafe outing yesterday too (as opposed to walking/bench coffees during lockdown) at a busy cafe with lots of passers by (including dogs) & did brilliantly. Proud dog-mum  @PugInTheHouse how did you get on at the vets?

@happythursdays shame happy and pugpup can't meet to play! Pugs always want to play haha. Last night we were over the cricket ground for the evening and another 7 month old pup kept trying to hump pugpup but pugpup just wanted to play. Such a shame as made it slightly hectic however pugpup was great and came and sat really calmly with me. Unfortunately one of the blokes there was hammered and kept letting the other pup off its lead so it was coming over a fair bit. Pugpup is getting so much better at getting over the excitement of other dogs and will happily sit with us when need be.

@legosnowqueen ah I forgot to update as was at a cricket match all day after that, thanks for asking. It was a carpet burn vet said it may have been by scooting, he said his anal glands were full so sorted that. Its healing really nicely, he had the hair clipped so he has a little bald patch on his bum lol.

@PugInTheHouse good it's sorted & not serious. How do we know if there is an anal glands problem?

Glad it was sorted quickly @PugInTheHouse

@legosnowqueen I am not really sure, apparently it can have a fishy smell and leak a bit but I have not noticed that with him. It is really gross when they do it though.

Thanks @GeorgieTheGorgeousGoat glad its sorted as he is being neutered a week tomorrow so didn't want anything to stop that going ahead.

yup fishy smell is anal glands, there is no missing it when their glands need doing.