Puppy Survival Thread - August

[MrsHerculePoirot]

Discussion of things puppy!

Old thread here: www.mumsnet.com/Talk/the_doghouse/4281840-Puppy-Survival-Thread-June-July?pg=1

Getting FawkesPup's harness on is a nightmare as he just bites the bit that goes over his head and will not let go. He only wears it for the car as well!!

[quote MeredithMae]@cheeseisthebest we have metal baking trays all over blocking access to things![/quote]
Oh thats a good idea! The bit I'm trying to block he really likes and I just found a poo there!!

I'd been taking him out constantly for about an hour cos could tell he needed a poo and he really tried to go outside! He then did it on the carpet, I yelled nooo and he ran off to his new little hidey hole and did the rest! Feel bad cos wasn't telling him off and worried now he will hide to do poos.
He's now fast asleep next to me looking adorable!

@MrsHerculePoirot

All those with little pups - hang in there. I’m sure I’ve said this before but PoirotPup is 6 months this week. We’ve come camping and he has been amazing. I never could have imagined that when we first had him.

The biting will get better - you’ll suddenly realise you can have bare feet one day 🤣 when we were in it though we all had a tug toy/big toy to redirect. Used loads of cardboard boxes and Amazon pack again to let off steam (he just shredded them). Have loads of his kibble throughout the day scattered on the grass - if his nose was down he couldn’t bite. When we knew it was tiredness everyone left the room except for me who went behind the baby gate and did boring stuff in the kitchen and he would usually lie down at the gate and crash out! If he was intent on teeth on skin that person stood up and left the room for 30 seconds or stood behind the gate and I do think that consistency also helped a bit with him.

Puppy blues - I cried at least every day for the first two weeks and probably a few times after that! It’s being unable to just leave them, the tiredness, the relentlessness of watching their every move.

We slept on the kitchen floor for a few weeks, then the sofa then eventually made it back upstairs. At the time it felt like forever but it was probably about 6 weeks in total. He has gone through phases of waking up at night or reeeeeaasslllly early and thinking 5 am is great fun but again it has all passed. We ended up embracing the early starts for about two weeks - at least it is light and sunny and just went to bed early and held on to the fact it would pass.

It will pass. There are still hard bits now, and things we really need to work on still, and I suspect there will be for a time to come, but it is nothing like the earlier days. Hang in there.

What a lovely post, really appreciate you taking the time to write this. It's so good to hear 😍

How long does it take them to know their name!!

@opalescent

Thanks *@Elphame*. Can I ask what the advantages of switching to butternut are in general?

Also, opalpup's poos are super soft and difficult to pick up- this is my first dog, is that typical for puppy stools?

Is there a particular kind of food that would firm them? She's on skinners dry food at the moment (which is what she came to me on).

Butternut Box stools are firm and very easy to pick up thank goodness. Loose stools are not unusual for new pups as a PP has said they can have an upset tum from the stress of leaving their mum which is why you move them across slowly. Piranha pup has nice firm poos so I'm relaxed about changing her diet so soon.

You can generally tell the quality of the food by the stools. Those horrible soft yellowish ones come from cheap kibble with lots of fillers and low quality protein. Elfdog has mostly BB but we also feed Canagan kibble when out and about and he produces neat firm poos that are usually easy to deal with although I can tell which food he's been on

Not had a bad day here. We’ve had a few wee accidents in the house but all because I’ve thought he couldn’t possibly need another wee. The children have been much calmer around him so he’s been calmer. I’ve tried leaving him to try and settle in the lounge but he isn’t at that point yet, I can see he’s exhausted but he keeps going. I have to put him in the crate and close the door then he’s asleep in under a minute. I’d like to get to the point of being able to leave the crate door open or him snoozing in the lounge, if we leave the door open he’s straight back out and fighting his sleep. It is only day 4 of him being home though. I was sitting next to the crate for him to get to sleep but now I’m in sight in the next room.

@cheeseisthebest Dpup seems to know his name, the breeder was using it for the last 2 weeks as there were only 5 puppies. He seemed to know it when he came.

I’ve not done much training with him today but he seems to now know leave it, sit and come to some extent. We really need to focus on getting him happier to go in the crate when he wants/needs to and to not rush out of it.

We really need to be working on recall and knowing his name! There's so much to do isn't there. I'm glad it's school holidays and my kids are old enough to help.

It’s hard to prioritise what to do first. I feel lucky there wasn’t a huge litter as the breeder did loads with him before we picked him up.

I haven't done much on the training yet. We're using her name so she is starting to learn it. She's actually pretty good on the weeing. Her cues are very obvious so we are whisking her outside. I think we've had one puddle so far.

My priorities at the moment are to try and teach her not to bite and jump up with her razor sharp claws. I'm not sure I'm getting anywhere but plenty of toys and enforced nap time is calming her down. I'm longing to have a go at the nails but she is never still enough and if she's on my lap she's either trying to chew me or my clothes.

She also won't go in the crate voluntarily but settles fast when popped in.

We have the second vaccination tomorrow so I'm looking forward to being able to take her out

When they do her 2nd vaccination ask them to cut her nails.

I haven't got a clue yet with wee cues but am starting to get the poo cues!

We're on the waiting list for Butternut box at the moment, so Elmpup is having Lily's wet and dry, together with some recipes from the Vetchef app.

She is distraught tonight. She can't settle at all, because her beloved coolmat had to binned after she bit through it. Another trip to Pets at Home tomorrow!

@Elmrosie how are you finding pups poos on Lily's food?

I didn't used to be obsessed with dog turds, I promise 🤦🏻‍♀️😂

@opalescent dry, firm and well formed. We've got her on 20% wet/80% dry, mainly because she gets bored of just dry. She seems to have a fairly robust tummy though, being a Goldendoodle.

@thegoldencornetto Unfortunately not, though I wish it was! It’s a lovely part of Wales I’ve been lucky enough to spend considerable time in.

@opalescent

I didn't used to be obsessed with dog turds, I promise 🤦🏻‍♀️😂

😂 I share your obsession. Pup pooped on the grass tonight and then ran through it and over my foot. It was so soft it went everywhere 🤢 It was a hose pipe job to get us all clean.

We had a wee and poo outside this evening hooray!
His are, so far, fingers crossed, very solid. He is on Billy and margot, one tbsp wet mixed with a handful of dry 3 times a day.

AwesomePup slept all evening yesterday, then all night (I got up at 6:15 as normal), had breakfast this morning then went back to sleep. I think our day out yesterday broke the puppy!

@cheeseisthebest That's great news! Long may it continue 🙂

Mighty pup had two poos on the carpet at 4am. Probably the lowest point in my short first week of puppy ownership!

@cheeseisthebest

We really need to be working on recall and knowing his name! There's so much to do isn't there. I'm glad it's school holidays and my kids are old enough to help.

Sorry to jump on the thread but I saw it on active, they will know their names but work on just saying it and treating them immediately after, work on eye contact aswell like if you have your pup sitting, treat them when they look up, they pick it up quickly.

All of these things help with recall I found however my terror is now 15 months and we're away back to her trainer because she's become selectively deaf to her recall command when outside 🤪

Elmpup was restless last night without her coolmat. She was barking (including that wooowooowooo bark) at quarter to one, because she heard one of the neighbour's dogs barking.

@MightyMeerkat - been there. It's dreadful trying to clean poo off a carpet at the best of times, let alone that early in the morning.

Pup slept until 6:15, unfortunately i was awake at 5 - gah!

We’ve started the morning with a similar situation to meerkats experience yesterday. 3 poos this morning and he ran through one. Seems he’s scared of the hosepipe so that’s something we need to work on.
He went to sleep at 9.30, woke at 4.15 for a wee then back to sleep until 6.30.
Today we’re going to take him for a little drive and do some crate and sit training I think.