Puppy Survival Thread - June/July

[MrsHerculePoirot]

Discussion of all things puppy...

Old thread here: www.mumsnet.com/Talk/the_doghouse/4234193-puppy-survival-thread-may?msgid=108567452

Thanks for all your wise words - I think what this episode demonstrates is that this dog walker is not experienced or safe enough for my pup, at least at the moment. I liked what you said @SpreadHummusNotHate about setting the puppies up for success - he’s not doing that for her. I will continue to work on her loose lead walking but will be finding a new dog walker.
@LadyCatStark what a weird and scary situation - glad that you and pup are Ok.

AwesomePup woke me up this morning at 4:30 by throwing up in his pen. It was just a little bit and was clear/white ish. It doesn't seem to have bothered him, he's been out for a pee and a poo and is now settled sleeping on the sofa (which is where I was sleeping!) Anyone got any ideas why he might be throwing up? Do I need to be worried? My gut says not to worry unless it happens a few times and starts to bother him, but I know very little about it.

Glad it’s reassured you Canteloupe. I think it’s wise to look for a different dog Walker.

MsAwesomeDragon Banditdog was sick within a couple of days of moving in. She will pretty much eat anything she sees so I think she eat/drank something that didn’t agree with her. It was a one off then she was fine.

Banditdog slept through again! 4 nights in a row now it was my turn on the sofa. Normally I’m slow to settle waiting for her to wake, but I was confident she would sleep through so I was out quickly too. Woken at 7.15 by DD coming downstairs, Banditdog was awake but quiet until DD came down. Very happy to see us both!

Thanks for the reassurance about the vomit. He seems absolutely fine now, so I'm not worrying about it. He might have been hungry, so maybe we'll try some nighttime biscuits.

@MsAwesomeDragon we had a couple of mornings of pup being sick whiteish like you describe and a bedtime biscuit seems to have helped and also feeding her breakfast in a slow feeder in the morning so she doesn't guzzle it too quickly. Seemed to have been hunger sick empty stomach so hopefully same for your pup.

@LadyCatStark def sounds dodgy that man on bike asking all those questions glad you weren't outside your home or anything so hopefully you won't see him again.

@Jloco look forward to seeing pic of the new pup later!

I remember a few days ago some of you saying about damp dog smell...... I bought pup a dog dressing gown/drying towel thing from Amazon to put on her straight after a bath or a rainy walk... oh my god it was like magic! I put it on her after her bath last night and left it on her for an hour n half and then took it off, she was silky soft and dry! No damp dog smell. No wrestling her with towels or trying to dry her with hair dryer!

Wish I'd bought it sooner though as she didn't like me putting it on her or taking off as it goes over the head and she did growl at me but if I can get her used to it so she doesn't growl about it, it's going to make things so much easier!!

Ooo I like the sound of that aria20. Will look in to it now. If you use a treat that she has to poke her head through the hood to get the treat would that help get it on? Like they sometimes recommend with harnesses etc?

@Aria20 we love our dressing gown! Re over the head, we got Ashpup at the end of October so she started going for walks in December. It was freezing so we had to put her in coats from about 13 weeks old. At the time I didn't realise how useful this was but I'd definitely recommend getting them used to coats, dressing gowns, harnesses over the head from a really young age. When winter comes round chances are you'll need to put coats on your dogs (maybe depending where you live, it was below 0 last winter here) so best to get them used to it. It was also useful for when she got spayed as she was used to coats and dressing gowns so we could use the surgical suit instead of the cone and she was quite comfortable with wearing it.

Putting deposit on a black lab to pick up in 3 weeks. Excited...anxious in equal measure. Hoping to gain some tips

@ashmts she's totally fine with harness over her head doesn't phase her at all but hated the rain coats I've tried on her and hated this too! The dressing gown is a perfect fit on her but I've not found any rain coats that fit, she needs a medium length which fit perfect but they are all way too big on her chest/tummy as she's very lean! Even the tightest Velcro is too loose but a size small will be too short on her and defeat the object of keeping her dry!

@ashmts how old was yours when she got spayed and how did you find the recovery? Was it keyhole or standard? Did she have a season first if so how old was she and how long did it last? Signs etc? Pup is 5 months now and I'm always looking for signs incase she goes into season as my mum has two intact male dogs that we see weekly that we'll have to avoid once she's in season!

@Aria20 do you have a link to the dressing gown please?

@Turquoisesol getting it on wasn't too bad as I took her by surprise while she was still in the bath tub so although she growled a bit I got it on easy enough, then she glared at me and sulked a bit but then fell asleep.... getting it off though she growled and snapped at me, I did give her treats and we were friends again after lol and she was sniffing the dressing gown. Hopefully she'll get used to it as she is so lovely and silky and shiny today no frizz from hair dryer!

@LadyCatStark I'm not sure how to share a link but I've screen shot it so hopefully you can find it. Variety of colours and sizes.

The dog drying bag went down like a bucket of cold sick here. Have ordered a dressing gown and will give that a try although I expect much of the same reaction

@Wolfcub haha what happened when you tried it? I'm hoping it will just be a case of getting used to it as the end result is so good lol

@Aria20 that’s brilliant thanks 😊

I did read somewhere that if you just put them in crate with a load of old towels for 5 mins that works fairly well at drying them as a last resort!

Aria it results in mass wriggling to get away, snapping and the odd bit of growling, it's like trying to get an octopus on crack into a paper bag

Octopus on crack we just use old towels at the door. He’s quite accepting of them.
That dog Walker was out of order IMO. Too many dogs at once

Lol @Wolfcub octopus on crack I'm going to use that one

This is ada, she joined us at the beginning of the week. She's been a little star so far. Although wondering if she's faulty as she's not super fussed about food right now (She's a lab)

I'm very tired, not because she sleeps badly but because I struggle to get back to sleep after taking her out in the night. Still working on staying in the crate all night. She seems to wake every two hours or so in the crate and needs help settling back down, we're visible from her crate but not right next to it. My tiredness is winning at the moment so last night we slept on the kitchen floor after the 2am toilet trip and she slept right through until 6. Trying to work out the best strategy long term.