Puppy Survival Thread - May

[Doje]

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

@waffleyversatile1 too cute with the wee blanket

@WeeM thank you 🥰. Not sure if b&M have those particular ones but the ones they did have where reasonable.
What are you all using in the car ? I haven't brought anything yet as always had dd or dh to carry pup but want to be able to take her out on my own. I was looking at those carrier type things ??

I got a donut bed from b&m.
I've bought a crate that can go in the car, plus a harness with seat belt attachment. I don't know which the puppy will like, so I thought we'd try both to see what he prefers.

Less than a week til I collect him. I'm very excited, but also very nervous about settling him in.

@MsAwesomeDragon
I was surprised how nervous I was. I didn't sleep very well leading up to collecting waffles so my advice is make sure you sleep as the first week ( weeks) can be exhausting. We also checked all the floors at puppy level looking for wires and dropped toys etc and yes we did look very stupid stock up on kitchen roll and anti bac. If you know what your feeding puppy read up on the portion sizes.

Billy has been so cute this weekend, he’s started to do little woofs in his sleep. I wonder what he’s dreaming about? The first time I thought something terrible was happening so ran to check on him and he was sound asleep 😂.

1st night dpup1&2 are sleeping in the lounge with ddog without a crate. so far so good.

Oh b and m...never thought of trying there-will have a look thanks!
We have the RAC carrier for solo car journeys (and overnights) and we have this seat from Amazon for when there is someone to sit in the back with her. She usually just falls asleep in it. The sides aren’t quite as sturdy as the picture makes it look but it’s still decent enough.

Dog Car Seat with Pet Seat Belt, Dog Booster Seats (2-in-1) Fold Down Flaps for Full Front Seat Coverage or Small Dog Hammock | Pet Travel Accessories www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B08377MHDL/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_R23GHD27G0YJAQAK299C?psc=1&_encoding=UTF8&tag=mumsnetforu03-21

I fancy one that’s a bit more of a booster seat though because she likes to see out the window!

Thanks for the advice up thread. We have had another ok week with pup. We have done a few sessions with a long line to practice recall which is going well. It has literally not stopped raining here for the past week though so that's rubbish.

What is everyone doing in terms of walking, especially those with labs, I want to get this right, as my worst nightmare is to have a dog that pulls on the lead. We initially started with just a collar and lead, and now have a harness. He does do ok at heel and will come to your side when called, but also has occasions when he pulls especially when he knows we are close to home (I don't think he actually likes walks at the moment!). We have a fairly short lead and my DD wants to get an extendable but I am not so sure they are a good idea.
Ideally we want to get to a point where he walks by our side when asked and for part of the walk, then for another part of the walk, when we get to the field or an open space have his bit of freedom, but know when he can and can't do this. I know there is an ongoing debate about collars vs harness.

I’ve been reading posts on here for a few weeks since I got my puppy and really helpful as views have changed since my last dog was a puppy. My pup is now 4 months and still very very clingy, I’m reluctant to say it’s separation anxiety as he is still so young so trying to be optimistic that he will get better. Wondering if anyone else has had it improve and how approached. I’m confused as had advice both to let him follow me everywhere till he gets more confident and that I should leave him in another room for short times even though he barks like mad so am confused. He is very jumpy bitey, not great at night, still learning to walk on lead etc but as I’ve had other pups I know these things although difficult will get better but the separation thing really worrying me as never had to deal with it before.

@Teenminds we have a short lead and a 10m long line. We’ve been trying to work on loose lead walking when on pavements mostly and then switch the the longline or use longline if we drive to big open games say area. I only ever clip onto harness as I am paranoid about him yanking on his neck.

I’m not sure PoirotPup has any recall whatsoever if another person or dog about so we let the longline trail but someone always on reach to stamp a foot on it if needed whilst we work on recall...

I’ve heard the retractable ones aren’t generally recommended for various reasons - means the lead is always taut and they can snap/mechanism go. Having said that loads of people seem to use them locally but with a larger breed particularly I didn’t want to test it out!

@pumpkinsmum have you looked on the DTAS fb group? Look on there at the flitting game and there is also tips for building alone time etc...

@Teenminds I’m having a bit of progress with my lab (15 weeks) stopping when she pulls. She hates that we’re not moving and is getting the idea that a loose lead = moving forward. Makes for a frustrating walk but does work. This all goes out of the window when we see people or dogs of course, but it’s a start! This is all on a short lead and harness on pavement. I’m worried about her hurting her neck or slipping out of her collar when pulling. I have a long line for the beach though have been letting her off in dog friendly places and empty places. Recall is good but the weathers been so crap there’s not been any people sitting on the sand. When that starts I doubt I’ll let her off as she would definitely run over for a fuss and or food stealing and not come back. Plus she hasn't the hit brave adolescence stage yet, so expecting recall to get much worse. Loooong way to go before we’ve proofed that!

Also have 15 week old lab, well lab cross but she looks all lab! I haven't worked on loose lead walking at all yet but know we need to. Have been using collar and harness but she pulls on both. Thinking of getting one called rabbit goo which a friend recommended.

Generally other training is going well but my husband was so rubbish at puppy class last night, the trainer actually told him that he needed to sit out as he was untraining the dog. I was so glad she said it, as I'd been working on 'lie down' all week, had it beautifully, demo-ed it at the start of class, then he managed to make pup lose the whole week's training and the trainer had to retrain her! He is very dyslexic and can't do things in the right sequence at the right time. Very frustrating - for me that is, he has no awareness that he's got it wrong.

We have a rabbit goo harness @ilovesushi it’s great!

I've had a quick look at the rabbitgoo harness, has good reviews, so I will have a proper look later. We also have a 10m long line which we have used a few times for recall. He is not too bad at the moment, but just very worried of getting into bad habits that are too hard to reverse.

Can I ask what you guys are feeding and how much?

Oh and another thing I keep meaning to ask, puppy errmm, dribbles every time he says hello to anyone, even us who he is used to now. I think this is normal, but wondering when it might stop, getting a little fed up of mopping the floor several times a day

We are feeding kibble. I tend to get the grain free hypoallergenic choices. I've used three different brands so far and she is happy with all of them. I feed her 2.5 ounces four times a day, plus she has bits of cheese, peanut butter, goats cheese, treats through the day. She is pretty lean though not skinny so I may up the amounts. The trainer thought she looked great which was a relief! I have old fashioned scales hence the weighing in ounces!

Hopefully final update on challenge pup post neutering- he is now fully healed, out of the cone and back in the game enough to steal my loo roll and jump in a muddy pond today! He bounced back amazingly well with the antibiotics and I'm very happy to have my bundle of energy and mischief back again! No noticeable changes from the neuter so far- still seems to want to play and run like a lunatic! Thanks for all the good wishes and hope everyone else is doing well 😀😀

Well done challengepup great to hear he has recovered well 🙂

I have a question. Turquoisepup is 4 months old and if she meets an older dog she frantically licks their faces. I think this is fairly normal behaviour for a puppy. But I am just wondering when it becomes a concern. She has only met nice older dogs before who havent snapped at her. But I suspect that other dogs could find it annoying.

@Turquoisesol PoirotPup is exactly the same with face licking... he’s going to get snapped at soon, or grow out of it maybe?

@Teenminds we do half kibble half butternut box (wet food) which works well for us. So 12.5 kg lab, 14.5 weeks. Has 300g of butternut pouch across day and half of what his full kibble allowance would be. We don’t get the drool, but I suspect that’s to come maybe?

@familychallenge glad to hear he is recovering well!

@Turquoisesol hightidePup is exactly the same. She’s been snapped a couple of times and it’s not put her off. She really had a telling off the other day from my in laws dog and she settled down after that after being relentless. I hope she grows out of it soon. I don’t let her do it to dogs who are on the lead but I’m worried she will get hurt one day. She is almost 4 months.

Glad to hear challenge pup is fully healed and back to himself!

@Teenminds were using Millies Wolfheart kibble and she had 230g three times a day. She loves it and her coat is now beautiful and shiny. She only dribbles when she meets other big dogs. Fingers crossed he will grow out of it soon.

Glad to hear challengepup is feeling better now.

Only 3 more days to wait for me. So excited!!!

We had a good couple of nights with all 3 dogs in the same room (different spaces though) but none of them would settle last night so the girls went back into the crate where they were perfectly happy and went to sleep fine.

I had a few nights in a row with MonaPup really struggling to settle in her crate... Would fall asleep okay but then wake up after an hour and need me there to fall asleep again. Last couple of nights she's ended up with me on the couch and slept sooooo much better... Only one wake up, and straight back to sleep after her outside widdle.

Anyone had any experience with puppies sleeping on beds?? I don't mind as such but am not sure if I'm letting myself in for a lifetime of co-sleeping or if it's a needy puppy stage she'll grow out of!!

@MonaChopsis ToastPup is now 5.5 months and has recently chosen to sleep in his own bed (in our room). I'm not sure why or how this happened but he knows he has the choice and can come onto our bed whenever he wants. When he arrived he slept in our bed from the start - it worked brilliantly for me in terms of maximising my sleep because from day 3 he slept through the night. DH was not entirely happy with this and spent the first couple of months moaning about the sleeping arrangements but now that ToastPup has chosen to sleep in his own bed DH is moaning about feeling rejected by the dog 🤣

Thanks @QueenOfToast... I haven't minded sharing a sofa with her (in fact, I've surprised myself by quite liking it!) but for a little puppy she takes up a lot of space! I think we'd both be more comfortable on my bed but didn't know if that was short sighted thinking!