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

Went for a walk today, did so well on the lead and met lots of other dogs. Also all toileting has been outside!

Oh Wolfpup! Silly boy!

I have a lovely scratch on my arm from fitting Spudpup with a new harness yesterday. He was really too overwrought for me to be doing it, but I had to get it done so DH could use it while I was away. Blooming Sharknado pup strikes again 😑 [eyes up pliers again]

@cheeseisthebest how old is yours now? I can't wait for second jabs and getting out.....10 days and counting!!!!

[quote opalescent]@Elphame what breed are your dogs? How old is Elfdog now? [/quote]
Both are Welsh Terriers and Elfdog has just turned 4.

Recall is a nightmare with the older one. He knows what is expected of him but he chooses to ignore it if he'd rather go rooting in a hedge and if he gets a whiff of deer or rabbit then he's gone. He's now permanently on a long line as he simply cannot be trusted.

I only put him on a long line when recall started to fail at about 7 months ( he was brilliant up til then..). My first mistake was to buy one that was too heavy for him. Even the lightweight webbing one we use now gets heavy when dragged through wet grass.

We are still using the cheap harness I bought originally for the car seatbelt. Welshies have thick coats so chafing isn't a problem. Pups with more delicate coats and skin may need something better. I'll probably buy the same again for Elfpup once she needs one for the car. At the moment she needs to be crated to stop her jumping all over Elfdog. I really don't want a fight in the backseat when I'm driving

11 weeks and 2 days. He had first jabs at 8 weeks and second jabs at ten weeks.

Awww, so exciting!! FawkesPup is 10 weeks tomorrow

@MightyMeerkat we have Perfect Fit harnesses for both dogs and they're brilliant. I really recommend them, and loads of local dogs round here have them too.

You can get them on the website by measure the pup yourself, or even better, look on the website for a local stockist- they can do a fitting on the dog for you. And as they grow you only need to buy new certain bits of the harnesses (it comes in 3 pieces) rather than the whole thing.

@MightyMeerkat we have a perfect fit harness too they are soft and comfy!

I think we might get one of those when Spudpup is a bit older - at the moment he’s growing too quickly even if you do only replace certain bits! But once’s he’s a bit older I might see if anyone local stocks them. For now, we have one that my trainer / friend has lent to us, which I’m hoping will allow for a fair bit of growth.

We're planning on getting pup fitted for a perfect fit harness on Friday.

@MeredithMae and @Aria20 Thank you, they look great

@cheeseisthebest

11 weeks and 2 days. He had first jabs at 8 weeks and second jabs at ten weeks.

That's lucky. My vet wouldn't do the second one at 10 weeks. Said it has to be 12 weeks with the brand of vaccination they use. Pup also has to have a top up third jab at 16 weeks

Elmpup has been doing really well with not needing to go out to the toilet in the night, but has had two wees inside today 😥. I need one of those signs you see in factories that say 'x days since our last accident'.

We took Billy to a busy country park today and OMG his recall was insane. As soon as I blew the whistle or even if DH just whistled himself, he turned on his heel and came back to us. Even when there were other dogs and people! His loose lead walking was another story today though…

We went with friends though who have a miniature dachshund the same age as Billy and I just don’t see how they’ll ever be able to play together and they’re so incompatible. I think they were getting annoyed with Billy for being too boisterous but it’s just normal play for him and he doesn’t realise that those puppy is a lot more delicate than the other pups he plays with. Does anyone have any tips for this as I don’t want us to not be able to hang out together any more.

@Elmrosie same here, 2 steps forward and one step back...they'll get there!!

Apparently, at 4.30 today (dinner time is at 5pm), Spudpup led DH to the back door as though he wanted a wee, then led him to the dog food bin in the utility room and sat looking at said bin, and then at DH. Meaningfully.

He’s definitely, definitely a Labrador then

@LadyCatStark Dachsunds were bred to hunt badgers, I suspect that in time your friend’s dog will be tougher than it looks! However, as a general rule of thumb you want to be looking at around 15 seconds of play before the dogs break off for a break - perhaps a play-bow, or sniffing the ground, or turning away. If you watch well socialised adult dogs playing that is what they do - it’s how they make sure the game stays a game and doesn’t tip into something more serious. So as an owner you need to be stepping in if that doesn’t happen - call them away, interrupt the game, then as long as everyone is happy they can carry on playing.

Hahaha spudlet. AwesomePup does that too. He does a very meaningful look at his food bag at 9:30pm as supper time is about 10. We're still giving 4 meals a day, I think I need to transition to 3 really, but he seems happy with what's happening right now so I'm not sure whether it's worth transitioning. The lunchtime meal would be the one I'd most like to miss out, but then that seems like ages between breakfast at 7am and dinner at 5pm. I worry about dropping supper, because he was doing the hunger pukes when that was earlier. Anyone got any advice?

We are on 3 meals a day but he never eats it all so I leave it and he has a little bit before he goes to bed.
We did have first puke this morning. His stomach made awful noises then he brought up some food. It was a big bit of wet food that I don't think I'd mushed up enough. He's been fine since.

How long can you leave their food out food? I usually leave it there for a few hours, is that ok?

We’re still on three meals a day, we’ll wean him off lunch in a couple of weeks. I think we need to up the amount we’re feeding him as well, he’s grown so much!

@cheeseisthebest Most of the advice I’ve seen is to take it up again pretty quickly - maybe after 10 or 20 minutes. Spudpup didn’t always eat all of his food for the first week or so, but now he’s settled in he cleans the bowl really quickly and often checks back in to make sure it hasn’t magically grown any more food.

Thanks @Spudlet they were definitely breaking away and coming back and when Billy broke away their puppy came back for more so he must have been enjoying it and he didn’t bark or squeal or anything. A couple of times though Billy ran up to him and rolled him over which didn’t go down well and I can understand that as he could hurt the other puppy but not on purpose. The other pup was play biting him a lot which looks cute but as soon as Billy does it, it looks like he’s properly biting despite him not having an aggressive bone on his body.

Ah OK I did wonder. He does like to go back and have a bit more during the day.

Elfpup is now down to 3 meals a day. Breakfast, lunch and tea. All are being wolfed down. I found she wasn't really eating much at lunch time but was really hungry at breakfast, tea and supper so we've dropped one meal already. She gets about 80g of Butternut Box for each meal + a daily drink of goats milk so she's getting plenty of calories. She's also getting a few bits she shouldn't - like a half eaten gravy bone that Elfdog left lying about!

I'd transition AwesomePup by giving breakfast later if possible and bringing tea forward so you can continue with the supper if that suits his digestion.