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

My acme whistle arrived today. Need to read up on training to it.

Hi, can I join....I'm keen to whistle train our 15 week pup too. I think you can get an acme for £10 or less.
Do you start with calling name and blowing the whistle? Also heard about blowing whistle before every meal too so they associate the whistle with food.
Any other tips?

No, they’re super cheap - which makes it less painful when you inevitably lose it and have to get another

I just started blowing whistle while she was next to me and giving treat. Then she quickly associated the whistle with a treat and came whenever I blew it.

It’s the easiest thing to teach, it won’t take you long at all

Got terrible headache tonight cos of turquoisepups barking 🙁 some days are better than others. Aria20 how is your barking going? Any improvement at dinner?

@Turquoisesol she wasn't as bad today I think due to the heat she was too hot and tired to bark! The barking really grates, spaniel bark has a certain pitch that is really jarring, especially when they are barking at you and not for a specific reason!

Yes I must admit I am loving the heat cos of the way it saps my pups energy! Unfortunately it was a little cooler here today so she was a bit more er lively. Turquoisepup also has a terrible pitch to her bark. Quite high pitched and so loud it is just awful. Especially inside the kitchen it just seems to really jar !

Omg proper zoomies going on here right now. He's racing round the garden in circles then jumping into the paddling pool and spinning wildly to splash the water out everywhere, then into the puppy digging pit, digging for a bit, before starting it all again. He hasn't really done zoomies before so it's a bit weird. I think we might have overstimulated him today, lol. Hopefully he'll be knackered and sleep well tonight!!

We've got a whistle, but I worry about disturbing the neighbours dogs if we start training with it when they aren't home to reward recall.

I’m sorry, I know I must be coming across as ridiculously anxious (probably because I am!) but it’s hard when you’ve not got much experience with dogs…

I’ll try and make this the last health worry I post but my pup does this thing when she’s asleep where if she moves positions or something like that, she basically doesn’t breathe for 5 or so seconds and then does a slightly deeper breath and carries on as normal… does anyone know if this is normal / something dogs do? I’ve known of human babies to do something similar so I’m hoping it is. She doesn’t snore or wake up so I don’t think it’s sleep apnea.

Apologies again for the ridiculous questions 🙈

I think it's normal @Jloco. I worked about it when we first got AwesomePup too. I have no experience with dogs, so have been more anxious than when I had a baby!!! At least I've been around enough human babies that I know vaguely what to do with them. Puppies are a whole other ball game.

Spudpup just can’t understand why I’m not up for a play at 6am and am just sitting being boring instead. Mind blowing 🙈

He’s gone back to bed [cackles in triumph. But very quietly].

I feel a bit mean, making him wait until 7am for breakfast and things, but I want him to learn that that is the appropriate time to get up, so… 🤷‍♀️

@Spudlet 6am and my brain's on auto-pilot. You are doing the right thing. Boring = more sleep in the future

Morningpup wakes up in the middle of the night and digs in his crate. No whining, just very loud digging. He is in the bedroom with us (for 2 weeks now) and wondering if that was a bad idea! Anyone sleep with their pup in the bedroom? Is this a no-no?

@Jloco don't worry, like @MsAwesomeDragon says you get used to it. When morningpup did that I would hold my breath until I saw his chest move again

Oooh he’s a little bugger this morning. He’s been playing tug of war with the curtains, the sofa throw and my dressing gown, has ripped his puppy pad up in the crate, and then had a massive tantrum about being left in the kitchen behind the baby gate while I was in the living room (in sight and only a few feet away) with DS. He’s now fallen asleep on the floor in protest.

Hey ho. I’m not going to lie, puppies are cute, but give me a grown up dog every time…!

Pup is currently sat next to me sighing very loudly every now and then. She's most put out that she can't be in the lounge on the sofa bed for her morning snooze - she's only allowed in with 1 to 1 supervision and I need to do some bits and pieces whilst she naps this morning. (I've been napping with her in there some mornings )

@MorningInspiration pup has slept in my room from the outset and will stay there for life. He's no trouble at night

I use a whistle sometimes, literally just blew it and gave a treat. Only had to do it a few times as she will do anything for food . I mostly just mouth whistle call her name now when walking off lead but I do carry the actual whistle and use it when she wanders off too far to call her back. She did bloomin ignore me yesterday though nearly at the end of her hour walk got too excited playing with 2 other dogs went off in the wrong direction. I had to keep my cool blew twice, used her name and then calmed her down with a sit n stay treat. I find over about 45mins walk she starts to lose her focus / recall more easily. She’s 14mths old now so most of her walks are off lead.
One thing that stuck in my mind from a trainer which I see played out lots is if you shout aggressively or in panic voice at your dog when they lose their recall they are less likely to come back. You need to keep your voice light and ‘good dog’ with high value treat reward. If the dog thinks it’s in trouble it won’t want to come back. So often the poor interactions I’ve had have been owners screaming angrily at their dogs who are paying zero attention to them. Tricky to master and I have to keep reminding myself.

@Biking0077 yes I tend to run away from pup if she's ignoring me as she then comes running back lol haven't tested this around other dogs though lol.

Have ordered my acme whistle so thanks all for the recommendations!

We’ve just done some more whistle training - I literally just blow my recall signal (4 pipe for me) then stuff a bit of hotdog into him It seems popular. He’s a bit too hot and bothered (and young!) for too many goes though. Baby steps. I am trying to get him to wear his harness as well but it’s not going too well at the moment - far too much fun trying to eat it. We’ll keep trying.

Speaking of baby steps - DS asked to give Spudpup a goodbye stroke when we set off for school this morning! A good sign I hope 🤞

Spudpup is now cheerfully ripping his bed up in the crate - fair enough, it’s just an old cardboard box anyway. It’s looking distinctly nommed these days 😂

I'm also very boring in the morning.

He woke at 6:15 this morning which was not great, but I fed him earlier last night for inexplicable reasons so I shan't be doing that again.

At the moment he gets fed at 7, 2 and 9/10. I like him to be in his crate at 10 though so trying to work out what is best time to feed him so he has time to go to the loo after eating. He has an area next to his crate that he can use in the night but I'd rather he went before he went in.

Main issue with him at the moment is nipping. He turns into a devil pup in the evening.

I think I've accidentally reinforced it by giving him a toy instead. He now sees it as a way to get me to play with him. Bloody dog.

I'm a soft touch, especially with the weather at the moment, I'm indulging in a bit of play at 6:30am before it gets too warm. She'll then nap most of the morning until 11ish when she gets fed again. We've also been having lots of games of find it, but she's getting a bit too good. Need to get more creative with my hiding places. She sounds like a little steam train when playing, it's so cute.

@puginamug Isn't yours quite little? 2-10 seems a long-ish time to go without food, could you maybe consider going back to 4 meals? I think they suggest feeding an hour before bedtime to allow them to digest (and pass) the food. Everything I read said not to encourage an 'en-suite' as it'll take longer to toilet train.

Ah yes, they don't call them cockerdiles for nothing! It'll pass, don't worry.

@Aria20 @Turquoisesol So I know food is a controversial topic but I've read you don't need to switch to two meals. If your dogs enjoy lunch I'd be inclined to keep it. It also buys you 10 mins to eat your own lunch. Mine isn't a big eater in the morning so she tends to get a small breakfast and a bigger lunch and dinner.

Argh, Spudpup has just refused to go into the car at all 😬 Well, I lifted him in, but I then couldn’t safely shut the boot as he was trying to escape.

It’s a bit of a nightmare as our crate won’t fit in the car and to be honest, the boot is a bit of a funny shape so I don’t think even a sloping one would fit. And he can’t travel in a harness on the seat as DS would hate that. And DS can’t go on the front seat as the front doors don’t have child locks. So Spudpup has to accept ravelling in the boot.

I have got some cheese spread and a long toy on a rope, so have just smeared the cheese onto the toy and attached that to the dog guard. It kept him busy for me to shut the boot, then I just sat on the back seat with him and encouraged him to chew the toy. Then when he was settled, I got him out again and put the toy away - it’s only for the car from now on. It’s a bit of a nightmare though. Really quite stressed out by it.

He’s now fussing in the kitchen again - he needs to stay there though as it’s the coolest room in the house.

That should say Kong toy. I am too hot and tired for bloody autocorrect right now! 😡