Puppy Survival Thread - May

[Doje]

Starting May off! If someone could link I'd appreciate it....

I’m doing the opposite... I’m making an effort to go sit with DP in the living room when I usually sit in the kitchen, lol

I don’t do puppies on furniture, I prefer to wait till they’re well used to the idea that they’re not theirs, then they can come up if I want them to.

“I'm a little worried my pup is overweight. We've been sticking to 2 15 min walks per day”

Dogs work like people, yep they want to be getting enough exercise so that they’re fit and healthy, but weight control is food.

We’ve just started letting petal in the living room at 6 months! Tbf we have a sofa and tv in kitchen so don’t often use living room ourselves and it’s become more of the kids domain.
She doesn’t settle in there anywhere near as well as she does in the kitchen where she spends most of her time asleep but I hope it will come in time as she gets used to it

We let ours on the sofa. Its my favourite time to be honest Dpup bedtime cuddles.

Hightide pup is only allowed in the living room supervised by an adult or she’s likely to do a sneaky wee. So in the day she is shut out with me in the dining room while I work. Unless she’s put in her crate for a nap.

But she’s in there in the evening but not allowed on the sofa. I tend to get on the floor and sit with her for a cuddle and a play which she loves.

Aw, look at that squishy face @GooodMythicalMorning! Don’t blame you for wanting cuddles on the sofa!

Name changed specifically for this thread to avoid puppy name confusion! (Previously HappyPuppyMummy)
So, shaniapup is now 5 months old and we've just started to let her in the lounge in the evening. Never unsupervised! And she has a blanket on the floor to lie on. She too is not settling as well as she does in the kitchen, but hoping as she get used to it she'll relax more.

Thank you everyone. I think maybe we will stick with kitchen only for now until she has learnt some more manners. She is currently only 15 weeks

Challenge pup at the vets for his neutering. He didn't want to go in and barked and barked when I left him 😭😭😭 I had a little cry and have now pulled myself together. I'm sure it's for the best and am being silly but I will feel much better when he is home safe again!

We stuck with the kitchen/diner until 6mths old then tried weekend eves in her bed in living room when watching family TV. Then at 11mths the baby gate broke which meant we moved it to the stairs and she now has acces to two other rooms unless the doors are shut. It’s been ok, I put a blanket over the sofa as she likes sitting on it and watching the world go by outside it’s been surprisingly ok as although she’s occasionally a pickle at one year old now she doesn’t eat or chew anything she’s not supposed to now. I’ve actually started leaving washing back on the radiators again and the kids have left stuff on the floor and she’s sniffed it then gone back to her own toys. Even just a couple of months ago I couldn’t have seen that as being possible so they do change quite quickly you just have to keep being consistent with the training

@familychallenge it's so hard leaving them isn't it. Try and keep busy so you don't think about it. I was fine till it went past lunch time as I knew he would definitely be having it/had it by then.

@Turquoisesol we were banished to the kitchen for a while too. Which then meant that the living room became a SUPER EXCITING PLACE TO BE!!! I love my TV time in the evening, so set about training him I think about aged 3-4 months. I followed roughly the 'Lounge is for Lounging' guide on the DTAS page. I put him on a lead to go in the living room and anytime he went nuts would come back out with him into the kitchen, the repeat, repeat, repeat until he got it. Early days I managed about half an hour of telly before going to bed, but now he flops as soon as the kids have gone to bed at 7pm.

Good luck ChallengePup. I think Pugpup has now set a presence and we need to see a picture of a sleepy Challenge pup in his vest / cone!

Thanks all! Yes it's hard leaving him- he was unusually worked up too which I think made it worse. Am doing all the jobs it's hard to do with him here to distract me and organising his treats for when he comes home 🤣🤣 pictures will follow when my brave little soldier comes home 😀😀

Hope. Challengpup is doing ok. I am dreading when I need to leave turquoisepup for anything

Good idea, I will try the lounge is for lounging and work up to that. I am missing my tv evenings tbh

I am sorry to post another question for you all, but please if you don’t mind. I was wondering if anyone else’s pups seem to be constantly starving? She is obsessed with food which makes treats and training easy. But when I give her food in her bowl she is always looking around for more and licking the bowl clean over and over. And sometimes in the evening after we have fed her she is scratching at the cupboard where the food is wanting more. It’s got to the point where I give her full quota of food in the bowl and any training we do is treats on top of that. Previously I was taking food out of her daily quota so as not to over feed her.
Just trying to work out how normal this is or if she does need more food. She isn’t a Labrador, I n in ow they are permanently hungry. She is a collie, so they are not really known for being food I don’t think.

He's home! Very sleepy and unsteady on his feet and whining a bit. Seems very hungry but am limiting him to small portions so he isn't sick. Apparently he was a very good boy. Pre op checks all good.

Well done challengepup what a relief for you it’s all done now

He looks seriously hacked off bless him! Glad he is home all OK.

@Turquoisesol thanks and yes- keep telling myself I only have to do this to him once! He's very unsteady on his feet and whimpering a bit but I think that's just the anaesthetic wearing off. It's as relief he is home and it's over

Too sleepy even to get in his bed!

Oh my goodness ChallengePup, you are adorable! 😍

@Turquoisesol there was a phase that Dpup went through where it felt like it just wasn't enough for him, and I did just boost his portion size a bit. We were at the vet every month in those days (just a pet plan thing) and so I had the comfort of knowing his weight was being checked.

Thanks @Doje ! He is a bit miserable but close to dropping off properly I think- a good sleep will help!

@Turquoisesol we have been through phases where it seemed like there wasn't enough food in the world for him and then other times when he really wasn't bothered at all and happy to leave quite a bit in the bowl. His weight is fine and has been all along so I have assumed some of it is growth related and some is self regulation. Most people seem to say that some of the self regulation reduces after neutering so will keep monitoring but if he's not fat or skinny I would not worry too much!

All these pups getting fixed is making me feel like we're a bit behind. They are so brave and so are you guys for taking that step. Georgiepup still feels really young in his behaviour and personality. Maybe we baby him I don't know.

Also had a bad day anyway. Daycare said the needs to reduce his food, he's getting a bit podgy. He saw the vet tonight and I asked them to check. She agreed but said to be careful not to restrict too much as he's still a puppy and growing. Daycare also asked if we left him alone ever because if she comes in to the house (he's with other dogs in the attached outhouse) he scratches and 'tries to break the door down'. We don't have any of that with us. We don't leave him due to epilepsy but even if we leave the room/go upstairs etc he's never bothered.

Feeling really disheartened.

The vet check was to test his medication levels as they aren't right. Vet made it sound like I was expecting too much to not want daily or even weekly seizures.

This is too hard.

Aw hope challenge pup is feeling better after a good nights sleep. He’s such a cutie.

That sounds so tough @GeorgieTheGorgeousGoat I think georgiepup is so lucky to have you guys taking such good care of him.

Daycare must be such a different dynamic to home setting, I bet a lot of dogs show behaviour that they wouldn’t normally at home. Does she think he’s distressed when she leaves?