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

Great idea Spread. He's currently shredding the box as we speak

You’ll be cursing me when it comes to cleaning it up

FawkesPup has the squits. I'm assured this is normal (he's on same food) as he's eaten grass, some salvia plant and treats he's not had before plus moving stress etc. He's FINE and full of it.

So he had the runs and then walked in it so he's had a bath and now smells much nicer 🤣🤣

Is Wolfpup confined to the house or is the garden ok? We've just been having fun with bubbles in the garden

Sorry to hear it @ilovesushi . I am doing it on my own but actually thinking friend who has a largely unsupportive husband and kids is doing it tougher! Vent away!

@ilovesushi I hear you, my husband is not pups biggest fan so wouldn't walk or feed her unless I specifically asked him to and he wouldn't do any training with her. He plays with her for 10 mins here and there and comes on walks as a family but other than that he just moans about the state of the garden and the smell of dog

@Aria20 is your husband my husband?? 🙈 he also says things like, “We need to get on top of his pulling.” Etc meaning that I need to do it 😡.

Billy has been a lot better today for having a day out and a play date with our neighbours’ dogs. That is until he got over tired just now and pinched my white hoodie off the washing line and ran around the garden with it 🙈.

[quote Aria20]@ilovesushi I hear you, my husband is not pups biggest fan so wouldn't walk or feed her unless I specifically asked him to and he wouldn't do any training with her. He plays with her for 10 mins here and there and comes on walks as a family but other than that he just moans about the state of the garden and the smell of dog [/quote]
I’ve got one like this 😡 I bet he’ll change his tune when she’s old enough to go up mountains hiking with him.
It’s better I find to assume he’ll do FA that way I won’t be losing my rag too often! He’s keen enough on her if he has an audience though!
😳

@LadyCatStark oh yes your husband sounds very similar! Mine moans about the barking of course which I do understand but it's not like I can zip her mouth shut.... and he just moans about her in general, why does she need so many toys? (Erm so she chews them not our stuff!) why do you give her those stinking ears/sticks (again to keep her busy!) just feed her in a bowl like a normal person (he can't see the point in snuffle mats and puzzle toys - again to keep her busy!) I'm sure I could go on but you get the idea.... I made it clear before we got her that it would be a big impact on our lives and she'd smell etc but I don't think he fully appreciated it all. To be honest I should have known as he's always been like this with our children too, expecting them to be perfectly behaved and the house to be perfect etc!

@YanTanTethera123 oh yes... like a trophy to show off. Mine used to be the same when the kids were little.... suddenly be dad of the year feeding/changing baby or starting a game of football etc swear his parents thought he was really hands on but only for show!

Thank you everyone, I feel a lot less emotional now. It’s like handing the baton over from the old Spud to the New Potato.

Spudpup had a lovely trip to the garden centre, albeit a brief one as DS was in extra little bugger mode and ran off three bloody times completely out of sight, so I had to make good on my threat to go straight home 🙄 However Spudpup was a lot quieter in the car and I’m hoping DS will have taken a lesson from it. We will try a different place tomorrow, perhaps the playground in a nearby town so DS can run around and Spudpup can take the sights in. Then we can get a coffee and cake, which gives me a lever for DS’s behaviour…

My DH is pretty hands on, but he has rather different ideas about puppy training to me. He wanted to use a choke chain!!!! I need to get loose lead walking sorted quick so DH doesn't start yoinking him around when he gets excited and pulls.

Elmpup went to the vet for her second vaccinations today. She was good(ish) in the car on the way there, but was very sick on the way back. I seem to recall that puppies suffer travel sickness, a bit like kids, but does anyone have any tips to help with this please?

@Aria20 oh god they’re all the bloody same aren’t they? DH has always been the same with DS too, he just wants to do the proud dad bit about all of DS’s achievements, forgetting that I’m the one doing all the graft to help him with them!

Ah poor Elmpup! @Elmrosie I don’t sorry but I have read to make sure they haven’t eaten too soon to a car journey if they are prone to it. I’m sure someone here will have experience though as quite common especially with puppies I think. My dog growing up used to have a tablet when we went on long journeys but that was many MANY year ago 🤣🤣🤣

I have a DH like this too. He is ok with having a dog but isn't really wanting to "do" much. He's happy to open door for toilet trip, feed/chuck the odd toy and do a morning walk but he's never had a pet before so it's all new to him

I'm so tired and Reasontocleanthehouse is rampaging.... we've done pretty well with long car journey and settled at home, playtime, quiet time, three poos in garden and several pees...

But thinks now is playtime I'm sleeping next to his crate until nightimes are settled. Envisage total exhaustion by the end of first week.

I'm a member of several Facebook gardening groups and a constant question is how to get rid of slugs. Get a puppy. He is obsessed with picking them up and chewing I feel ill watching. He won't concentrate on the reason for being in the garden because Look! Thousands of the slimy little morsels!!

DH is really happy to do everything with Spudpup, but he won’t read up on anything. I sent him an article on teaching bite inhibition and he hasn’t read it 🙄 I have to summarise everything for him and give instructions instead. He is also a lot more relaxed about letting him pull on the lead - he was always letting Spuddog do that too as he’s strong enough not to be bothered by it. Mind you, given that Spuddog was half the size that Spudpup is likely to be, I think that may come back to bite him at some point 😏

Jumping back in after introducing myself and disappearing! I'm on my own with pup and toddler while husband is away for a week.

I'm struggling with two things which I'd really appreciate anyone's advice on. To note, they're two things I totally knew I'd have to deal with, I'm not expecting miracles, but I'm feeling a bit lost. He's only 9 weeks so I know he's tiny but anything I can do to help would be great as I burst into tears in the kitchen at 6am today...

Toileting: despite me taking him out very regularly (every 30 mins, after food/ drink, after naps, when he looks like he needs it) he's just peeing everywhere. He's peeing literally seconds after being bought back inside. Poos are a bit better. I'm praising for going outside and using consistent words to tell him what I'd like him to do.

Biting: in the mornings and evenings it's constant. I've read way too many things about it and I've confused myself. Do you ignore, distract, yelp, or - as the breeder suggested - gently but firmly put your fist in their mouth to show them it's wrong (!)

Any wise words are appreciated

@BridgeFarmKefir with her toileting make sure to clean with the cleaner that gets rid of the underlying smell. If you take pup out and he doesn’t wee come back in but carry him or hold him and don’t put his paws on the ground for 5 mins then go back out and try again. Rinse and repeat. Might be hard on your own with toddler though sorry!

Re biting, I don’t know that anything stops it - they do grow out of it. We initially redirected with a toy or more often just removed ourselves and stopped playing. Don’t say anything. Sometimes standing completely still and turning back is enough if tiny or we used to go and stand behind the baby gate. Just for 30
Seconds and come back.

If you have a pen then you can stand the other side to play. Use a long tug toy so your hands and feet and far away from mouth, keep toy low to ground so face is more down than up. We also used snuffle mats, lickimats, scattering kibble in the grass, giving cardboard boxes to shred to redirect. I used to stand behind the baby gate in the kitchen and chuck treats at him over the gate 🤣

But @BridgeFarmKefir it will pass.

@BridgeFarmKefir I found this to be a very useful article on bite inhibition. It’s applicable to any puppy, not just labs!

www.thelabradorsite.com/teaching-bite-inhibition-to-your-labrador-puppy/

It’s by Pippa Mattinson, who is a trainer I like - all about the positive stuff. She explains the whole process really well IMO.

@MakeMeCleanTheHouse I always thought snails and slugs are dangerous for dogs to even lick as they can give them lung worm?! I don't mind snails as easy to pick up by their shell but I slugs are so gross though

@Spudlet and @MrsHerculePoirot thank you so much for your advice and support. I'm going to read that article properly and try and be consistent with an approach to biting. I do try and ignore but when you're sitting on the sofa with a toddler on your lap, it's hard to ignore a puppy sinking it's teeth into your muffin top. Maybe this is nature's way of telling me to lose weight!

This too shall pass is so important - same with babies. One day you suddenly realise it's all a distant memory.

@Aria20 @MakeMeCleanTheHouse yes I thought slugs and snails were to be avoided too. I've been chasing BridgePup around the garden stopping him go near them/ removing them. (And everything else he decides to eat )