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

Goodness it was a busy evening on here!

Sweet Pup had his second vac yesterday - he was fine being handed over, and being in the exam room without me, but when the vet handed him back, he buried his head in my neck and sobbed , he is sooo different to Sweet Dog, who is bonded to me but has always had a very independent streak. But we had a good car trip without any crying, and 'leave it' is coming along well.

I don't have any 'settle' advice, because SP just seems able to do it (it took SD about three years), particularly in the kitchen.

Last night was a bit mad - never trust a quiet spaniel, Sweet Dog this time. He excatated a hole between the green house and the fence to get at a hedgehog - no harm done to the hog, it tootled off once we wrangled SD away. Unfortunately for us, the whole area is covered in a particularly vicious rambling rose.

On the sleep front, we made it to 5:15am and then back until 6:30! But this morning, our favourite toy is a very crackly bottle carrier bag for life!

@Spudlet poor spud I hope he gets used to his cone or you can adapt to a bodysuit! We have small gravel around the edge of our garden and pup was initially obsessed with it and we were forever wrestling them out of her mouth or trading for treats, she's generally lost interest in them now but occasionally likes to chew on them for her teeth.

I have a recommendation for those who like to chew stones... buffalo horn from pets at home! It's got the same texture as a smooth pebble and is very durable. My pup was never into yak chew and although she has an antler and chewed it sometimes she isn't that interested whereas this buffalo horn she's rolling around chewing it and it's keeping her amused for ages! It's quite heavy though so if you are bare foot and pup brings it to you and drops it at your feet it hurts a bit!

That's really useful to know, @Aria20. I need to get some new chews - Sweet Dog has appropriated the split antler.

That is really useful to know, thanks @Aria20. Will have to look for one!

Spudpup is ok this morning, keeping him calm is a bit challenging, and he’s very whingey still. But less so than yesterday evening, when he was howling for ages! Fortunately he did settle down at bedtime but it took a while 😬 Luckily our attached neighbour is a bit deaf so hoping it won’t have disturbed her too much. One day down, 13 to go…

Hi everyone,

Can I join? We just got a 9 week old Sprocker. I've always grown up with dogs and have a 10y lab who sadly ended up with my ex during the divorce. I've felt very lost without a dog but boy the puppy has broken me!!

He's slowly getting better at being left alone. Initially he screams like someone is being murdered.

He won't leave my side and wants me to play with him all the time. Tricky when working from home. Any distraction tips?

I might try a yak or buffalo chew. Hopefully it will be keep her entertained for more than a minute!

On the sleep front, pup is doing well. Bed at 10, toilet once at 4 and then back to bed where she plays / sleeps on and off until 6.30 - I'm hopeful someday soon we will get through the night with no trip into slug city as I've dubbed the back garden!

Pup is going to the back door when she wants to poo which is great but then immediately comes in and pees on the kitchen floor - 3 accidents so far this morning. I don't think she has worked out that she can do both in the garden!

A new habit is to scrabble at my legs to come up. Any tips to correct this? Her claws are sharp!

Ada's big enough now that she can easily reach things on the kitchen table. It means my morning coffee involves a lot more training than I'd prefer! Should have got a cocker spaniel (or a kitchen island)!

I made the mistake of reading comments on a Facebook post about chews, it seems just about everything is dangerous - either too hard or too soft.

How old is pup @MightyMeerkat ? If 12 weeks I can recommend the JR twisted lamb braids.

Welcome @Heretherenow Can we have a pic please? 🙂 I have a 9 week old sprocker too. I'm really struggling with distraction whilst trying to work from home also. Pup is winning at the moment! I knew sprockers were high energy but naively thought that's okay puppies sleep a lot - well, mine doesn't! She has loads of toys, pop bottles, cardboard box, lickimat etc. But nothing seems to hold her attention for very long.

@tizwozliz

How old is pup *@MightyMeerkat* ? If 12 weeks I can recommend the JR twisted lamb braids.

Thank you but she is only 9 weeks so fewer options available unfortunately

It's funny reading posts that describe my exact issues.

@MightyMeerkat bigpaws decided he liked the kitchen floor to wee on so would also return inside to do just that. We have had to barricade it off completely (open plan ...so laundry airers ++) . The DTAS site recommends keeping dog out until they have peed and if they won't carrying them around for 5 mins inside before going out again.

@Heretherenow I bought a big bone from the butcher for important video meetings, otherwise he has a toy which rolls around dropping food (getting stuck under furniture and needing rescuing every 5 mins) antlers horns, balls, tugs and bits of rope. Occasionally I use swinging rope but really need two hands to type. I have decided to anticipate he needs my attention at certain points and nothing else will do....but DH is part-time so I do have help. On your own must be very difficult. Is there a local friend who would love to play with puppy?

Thanks @MakeMeCleanTheHouse I'll try that. I did suspect her yesterday of doing a fake pee to come back inside because she immediately went on the kitchen floor again 😂

Thank you everyone. Here is the terror...

I'm going to make another trip to pets at home today to try and get some more distraction toys.

Ok I'm going to be very honest and say although I love him and knew it was going to be hard I'm regretting getting him. I got divorced recently and have 2 DCs who are primary school age. I work full time (albeit from home). Life was just getting easier. Why on earth did I get a puppy?!?! Please tell me it will get better x

I'd really recommend some sniffing games to tire pups out. Nature's menu do some puppy treats which I found great for find it games - they're soft so I could stick them to our kitchen cabinet doors when I needed to up the difficulty level. Also pups are so cute when they sound like miniature steam trains

@Heretherenow Hopefully someone with an older pup will be along soon to tell you it gets better! With a 9 week old, I'm not there yet. Instead I'm having doubts and regrets too. She's so sweet sometimes that I think I couldn't be without her and then the next minute she's nipped my ankle and I'm ready to trade her in for a goldfish. I'm on my own and work from full time too. No DCs. I wish I had a second person so I could get at least a few minutes break. I did have a friend pop over last week and she played with the pup for an hour so I could relax. It was lovely. Could you do that?

I hear you. FawkesPup is a whirling dervish at the moment. He's found his confidence and his bark, he's merrily trashing my garden beds, nipping at everyone and being a bit of a knobhead on a fairly frequent basis.

I'm having the same 'just as life was getting easier I've done this' feeling too.

I'm really hoping being able to get out for walks will make him more settled during the day because it's a bit like living with a 100mph toddler with vampire fangs.

@Heretherenow I empathise 100%. I have a 4 & 8 year olds and also wfh. I love my pup but I am finding it so hard, and feel quite tearful about it.

@GuyFawkesDay A 100mph toddler with vampire fangs 😂 A perfect and accurate description!

@Spudlet glad Spudpup was OK and hope he gets used to the cone of shame.

Elmpup was well behaved during the day yesterday and then a complete jerk after having an evening nap. She's been out for her first ever walk this morning, so we're hoping that the walking, sniffing, and meeting other dogs will exhaust her.

It does get easier as they get older. Crate training so you can enforce naps is good, puppies need loads of sleep but they aren't all very good at taking themselves to sleep when they need it. We didn't use a crate, we've got a play pen in the living room instead, where he's quite happy to stay if he needs a nap. And from 12 weeks they can have more engaging chews. AwesomePup is currently working on a goats ear, which will keep him busy for an hour or so.

Kong filings. I started off using the Kong puppy paste, from a can. Then we started putting soaked kibble in. Now he's bigger and he knows exactly what to do we've upped the difficulty. So now he gets some sort of meat paste (in small jars, around 40p per jar in Morrisons), some peanut butter, baby food (the first stage ones are generally just one or two ingredients, so no onion), cheese, tuna. I've just stuffed 3 kongs with goats cheese and tuna, and loaded 2 lickimat with meat paste and baby food. They're all now in the freezer ready for when he needs a decent distraction. I think the lickimat will be used when we have to drive a bit further tomorrow.

It's normal to find it hard because it is hard. I have no kids to worry about, a partner who is completely onboard and sharing the training, 3 months off work and it's still hard at times. So if you're juggling work and kids on top of that it must be super hard.

I am going to buy red kongs and stuff them as it's one of the few things that shut him up. I've just put him in the crate with one as he needs a nap but is fighting it and being a total loon.

The lickimat is great too, and the sucky bath one is genius.

Am looking forward to being able to get more interesting chews than a nylabone/my slippers/boring toys for him as he clearly wants to chew. Hoping the JR products box which arrived today has a hit in it, some meaty chew sticks for 4+ weeks....I might keep them for the 5am wake up if he likes them.

@GuyFawkesDay how long did jr take to post the stuff out or did you pay extra for next day? I've ordered some more goats ears, lamb braids and pate as 3 diff pets at home stores completely sold out. I need them to arrive by Monday as we are going on holiday Tuesday!

😭 I just wrote a huge long post about how it gets easier and Mn stole it half way through!

So instead here’s a picture of how much easier it gets 🥰 (His eyes look a bit weird as he fell in the canal when paddleboarding and it’s given him a bit of an eye infection. It’s nearly cleared up now but he’s just had his eyes bathed).

Billy is 5 months tomorrow and we’ve turned a massive corner over the last 2-3 weeks and now he’s more what we thought having a puppy would be like 😂. He can now entertain himself with a chew for a good hour or so and is a lot more chilled out.

My best advice is long lasting chews (he’s currently working on a yak stick) and really good off lead walks/ runs in a field/ woods/ the beach if you can.