Puppy Survival Thread - May

[Doje]

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

@Turquoisesol yes to smell of sausages on bbq being torture, I did cut one up tiny and put it in a puzzle ball which kept her quiet for maybe 5 mins lol!

@MrsHerculePoirot That's the thing with going in to resettle, I don't know if it's making it worse but the alternative seems to be the constant barking

Other than the barking at mealtimes she's been very good, I hope we can crack it relatively quickly!

Aria20, I think when you have an issue like this it’s good to remind yourself of all the things good that is happening with training to keep in perspective. I am having some big issues in a couple of areas of training that are quite a struggle for me and I am not sure how to approach and fix. I have to keep reminding myself that she is doing x, y, z very well otherwise it can become overwhelming thinking these issues are too much for us.
I am hoping maturity will help sort out a lot of these fingers crossed

Thank you! This is what I keep saying to my other half and reminding him she is only a puppy still! Do you let your puppy go off lead yet? I don't trust mine with recall yet, she'd be ok if there were 2 of us practicing it with her - I think.... but I think she'd get too excited at the freedom and run off to say hi to other dogs - she's very good at sitting next to me when she's a dog but that's because she's on a lead lol if she was free she'd be off!!

I do let her off lead in quiet areas. She is pretty good at coming back so far. I have been practising when out on walks hiding behind trees and changing the direction I am going without telling her. It makes he watch me like a hawk and follow me. But I do put her back on if we see other people or dogs as she will jump up on people to say hello. My main problem we are having is walking in lead especially round pavements is bad really really bad and it’s getting me down. She is very reactive to traffic passing and constantly trying to bite the lead. I have to remind myself that she sleeps well, travels well, is a nice dog, very friendly. Recall off lead is coming along. It’s just walking on lead is a complete disaster but I guess there is always something you need to work on

I have been playing mine various noises on you tube to desensitise her, there are traffic noises and busy road noises, roadworks etc as well as things like fireworks. Have you tried anything like that when she's safe at home? I use tiny bits of hot dog or cheese to encourage loose lead walking but at puppy classes they suggested holding a wooden spoon smothered in peanut butter or pate by your side and let them lick it as long as they stay by your side! I haven't tried that as don't have any pate or peanut butter so can't say if it works.

Ok thanks haven’t heard the wooden spoon idea before may be worth a go. Yes I have a cd actually with noises but haven’t used it for ages. I should get that out again, may help a bit

We let Billy off his lead on the second day he was allowed out. It was DH’s idea, I wouldn’t have been brave enough but now I do let him off on my own. Puppies have natural recall as they want to keep safe and our trainer said it’s good to create habits early on. I just lean down with a treat and shout “here” and he comes flying back with his ears flapping 🥰. I’m sure he’ll rest us as he gets older though!

Yes we generally have good recall here but I believe it all tends to go to pot in teenage years !

I took my eldest who is 12 with me on our evening walk and the park was empty so we did some recall practice actually letting her lead trail on floor and running between us and she did it.... but if there were other dogs or people around I don't know that she would have been so good.

Well done, that’s a good start at least 😀

Nordpup is currently in the throes of her twice daily rampage...tearing around lunging and biting everything. Is all that can be done when she's like this is to leave her to it. I can hear her crying a little now, but when I go to her she will just try and savage me . Is this standard behaviour or have we got a broken one!?

Hi @Nordstrom I'm sure she is just over tired, hot and bothered. Definitely not a broken one! How old is your pup? Ours is 4 months now and still has manic moments but not as intense or regular. Lick mats, kongs, kibble scattered in the grass all worked us in getting her focused and calm, then popping her into her pen as soon as she came down from her mad moment for a good sleep. x

@Nordstrom I can’t remember how old she is but family new I think? Pretty standard… it does calm down. Stand behind a baby gate/barrier, drink wine and lob treats when necessary. When not raining we sometimes scattered kibble in the grass for PoirotPup to sniff out, or give a lickimat or kong to calm after a short crazed session to break it! Didn’t always work but often did. Now he can do walks going for a big sniff works too if he gets a bit manic.

Having said that - he’s been a bit weird today… assuming it’s the weather?!?

Thanks @ilovesushi . You're right over tiredness I think. She's passed out under the table now!

She's only 9 weeks

@MrsHerculePoirot haha I've just poured myself a sherry!

Doesn't help that the dc have been up and down the stairs complaining of being hot/thirsty/insert every problem going, for the past hour.

I remember those first weeks - horrific I literally cried at least once a day! It feels like it will never end or get better but it will - once we realise it was over tiredness it helped. We would let him be crazed for a bit to get it out then use something as above to try and calms. Everyone went out the room except one boring person sat down at table (feet firmly planted on ground) or behind gate in kitchen pottering boringly and usually he did then fall asleep!

It did get a bit better once we could go out for walks and do loads of sniffing too!

Thanks @MrsHerculePoirot that's reassuring to hear!

Nordstrom our little pup is 11 weeks now and he's starting to respond better to chews and food toys now instead of the manic bitey time. But we've also got better at predicting it and getting things ready to distract/calm him. We've bought a second playpen so we can have them set up permanently, one outside and one in the living room. So if the chews don't work too calm him down he goes in one of the playpens, where he can't reach anyone to bite, but he can still see us and we can toss treats in during moments of quiet. After 5 days of this he now goes to sleep as soon as we close the playpen, no crying, no treats needed, he just lies down and goes to sleep. That doesn't happen if he's not manically overtired though, then he cries to be let out.

@Nordstrom

Thanks *@ilovesushi* . You're right over tiredness I think. She's passed out under the table now!

She's only 9 weeks

@Nordstrom 9 weeks was the worst week for me. Like @MrsHerculePoirot, I spent most of it crying and I’m not really a crier! It got infinitely better when he was able to go for a walk at 11 weeks. Now he’s 12 weeks and he does have a the odd zoomie in the evening after his walk, but it’s just running around with his water bowl 🙄. He’s not biting anywhere near as much, especially now he’s started having chews like pizzles. I think he actually understands no now and he 100% definitely understands off (to get off when he’s jumping up at something) and leave (when he has something in his mouth that he needs to drop). He also started sleeping later when he started going out for walks which was a relief!

Is your puppy crate trained? We’ve found he struggles to settle in the living room even though we’d like him to in the evenings but he’s better off sleeping in his crate and coming in the living room for an hour or so after he’s had tea, a walk and then a nap.

@LadyCatStark sounds like he's doing really well.

Nordpup isn't crate trained. In fact she's decided it makes the perfect toilet 🙄. She is confined to the kitchen/diner and near her crate has a little bed mat on a rug. Her favourite sleeping spot seems to be just behind this tucked under the kitchen sofa right at the back.

@Nordstrom sounds like she'd like a little cosy den area. We got a 6 panel pen dog sized not puppy sized off amazon and my husband created a little roof for it so she couldn't leap over the sides. It's more roomy than a crate but I think they feel nicely protected and safe inside. When she wants a proper sleep she pops herself inside instead of her various vet beds, cushions in every corner of the extension! Out pup was an absolute nightmare for biting feet/ manic behaviour. A few weeks on and she is so much calmer and sweeter. Hang on in there!

Hi, can I join you all please. We will be picking our puppy up today and I'm so excited and a bit nervous. It's been 11 years since we've done the puppy stage and I can't remember anything.
This is Frank.

Can I also join. I think the expectation is that, subject to a successful visit this weekend, I will be bringing a puppy home next week.

Yeah wolf

Life dog is a very cute little git. He loves doing seek at the minute