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

Sounds like you are all doing really well with these walks

We can take Nordpup out for the first time at the end of next week, I'm counting the hours!

What is everyone using - collar/harness?

We have both...she's been mainly using a collar in the garden (as I know I can just let her off if she starts pulling), but I'm thinking the harness will be safer when we are on the mean streets...

We’ve only used harness really.
I know others disagree but I don’t like the thought of them pulling on their necks!

I think with the nice walking - waiting until he was a bit older has helped. I had done some training with treats before but he was only doing it when we were training it. I just started stopping still as soon as the lead goes taut. Waiting fir him to turn and take a step back and as soon as the tension went start walking again. Initially I sometimes did a little slight tug - not enough to pull him or move him but a nudge in the right direction. It isn’t perfect by any means but huge improvement in space of a week.

We're using a harness. Currently just a cheap one from pets at home, but we'll get a better one once he grows out of this one (I don't think it's going to take long). Dh doesn't think a harness is necessary, but he thinks a choke chain is fine "if you know how to use it" THAT certainly won't be going anywhere near my precious puppy, so he's essentially invalidated his opinions on walking attire. I'm sticking with using a harness so there's absolutely no danger of hurting his neck if he pulls too hard. And I think a harness is easier for dd2 to handle as he gets bigger, although we will be working on the loose lead walking so he hopefully won't pull too much by the time he's big enough to pull her over (she's 11 and really skinny, so there's not much weight or strength behind her)

We use "perfect ft" harness as it's soft fleece so doesn't rub or pinch also has an attachment bit on the chest and back so you can use a double ended lead. It's expensive but as they grow you can just replace certain sections rather than the whole thing. I much prefer harness to just collar as no pulling on the neck

@Aria20 we bought a perfect fit a couple of weeks ago. When I measured her the person I spoke to when ordering thought it may be slightly too big initially...well 2 weeks on and I'm sure the y piece is getting a bit tight on her neck 🤔

@Nordstrom take a picture and email them with your concern. Their customer service is seriously good I’ve found. If you need their email let me know. Whenever I think we need to size up I email the new girth measurement and a photo of the harness on him and they get back to me straight away.

Might just be me, but I thought ours was too small early on and couldn’t adjust it until DH took it and we realised it could actually be made bigger 🤣🤦‍♀️

I got the cheap soft harness from Aldi
We are on our third lifepup is growing so fast.

@MrsHerculePoirot thanks, I will do. To be honest I'm not 100% sure I'm not missing something in the adjustment!

I love your username btw. We are huge AG (particularly Poirot) fans in our house.

Billy used a harness and I’m sure I have to let it out every couple of days 😂.

AG?? I meant AC obviously! Puppy brain is a real thing isn't it? 🤣

@Nordstrom

AG?? I meant AC obviously! Puppy brain is a real thing isn't it? 🤣

Definitely-I read it as AC 🤣

Hello, can I join you? We picked up our new puppy today. She is 11 weeks old and a proper mix of breeds. She is a staffy/collie x cockerpoo. We love her already and can’t wait to find out how she will look as an adult dog. She has long legs so maybe tall.

No doubt I’ll on here asking for lots of advice.

@Babana123 she will be tall! What have you called her?

I've spent my day reading half of easy peasy puppy squeezy. I had been doing the Zac George Pupford sessions but I think Puppy Squeezy might suit me better although I certainly don't think the two are mutually exclusive.

Pup managed to "lock" me in the hall and away from him today by dropping his puppy kong behind the door. I had a right panic until I managed to convince him to move it. I didn't have my phone with me and there were no laptops or other electronics on my side of the door. Luckily I had unlocked the back door so if I hadn't been able to get him to move it I could have yelled pathetically out of the bathroom window.

We brought our pup home on Wednesday and he is very loved by everyone except Cocoa the furry queen of the house who hates him with a burning passion. She staged a dirty protest and pooped on the landing today (she's 9 and has never pooped in the house!) He's also got raging diarrhoea, was fine day 1 but has had the runs ever since

Can little chuckle join in? We picked him up yesterday, 8 week old springer, very stinky but so cute- even if we were up at 5.30 on a Sunday 😴

Welcome all. They are little cuties!

Typical - there's no predicting it...set my alarm for 5:30 and creep down, Nordpup asleep, creep down a bit later just after 6 and inadvertently wake her up. I could have had a lie in 😭

This is after the previous night coming down too late (5.30) to catch an inside poo.

AwesomePup is in my bad books this morning. Surprise attack on my big toe!!! It bloody hurts, and it's very bloody. I screamed, he looked apologetic, he's now napping and I'm nursing my toe which is still bleeding half an hour later

Awesome, sounds familiar. I just had my hand mistaken for a rope toy in the middle of a game of tug of war. He was not remotely put off by my hurt puppy squeaking

Checking in!
Back to these threads a year later 😄

OlderBailey is now 15 months and an absolute delight, and we picked up PuppyBailey yesterday. She is 8 weeks old and mental and we love her.

Hi all I posted on the old thread. Didn't realise we were already 7 pages into this one! I have some catching up to do, but here's what I posted in May's:
Hi all. No posted in a few weeks. We have an almost five month old working golden retriever / lab x. She is fab! We have got through the bitey stage which was very wearing. She is mainly behaving herself with our cats and knows they are boss. We are struggling big time with recall when she meets another dog. Generally DH and I have to make a complete fool of ourselves lunging about to grab her after calling and walking away don't work. I think I will try the jackpot recall. I am finding it very stressful scanning the horizon or through the trees for other dogs so I can put her back on the lead before they meet.

@mutleyschuckle - SOOOO cute when they are asleep!
@Donner Ditto
@Babana123 what a fab mix - I wish you the smarts of a collie, the love of a staffie, and the fun of a cockerpoo!

@Aria20 I found this on the Millie's website if it helps - or it just might might be a case of trying something else. If you're not already on it, the Facebook group Cocker Crazy can be helpful.
And this is one of our 'pupdate' pics - we are ridiculously excited and keep asking SweetDog if he will teach SweetPup to be as good a dog as he is !

Does anyone with pup over 5 or 6 months have obsession With birds? All the birds in our garden get barked at and chased. Our near beach today constantly watching the birds in the sky.
It’s a bit frustrating

This started fairly recently at about 5 months

@Turquoisesol definitely- when he was littler he was fascinated by watching the birds, now he chases them but only the bigger ones get barked at and chased! So pigeons, crows and magpies mostly. It's the squirrels and rats in our local wood that really get him, and we saw his first rabbit on a walk the other day. Thankfully he was on lead at that point or I doubt I would ever have seen him again!

My little guy has managed to catch kennel cough despite being vaccinated against it. He's not very ill although he sounds like he smokes 40 a day poor lad! It's particularly bad at night. So we are having some very quiet days. It's a bit like having a positive Covid test- he has to be in isolation and I had to call his daycare and the dog friends we have seen lately. No one else has it so not sure where he got it but realistically it could be anywhere. He's still well enough to do his new favourite trick which is pretending to need to go out then stealing my spot on the sofa when I get up to open the door 🙄🤣🐶🐾