Puppy Survival Thread August part 2

[Aria20]

New puppy thread as August has been a busy month! Not sure how to link the other thread?! @MrsHerculePoirot @SweetLathyrus @Spudlet @MsAwesomeDragon @GuyFawkesDay @opalescent @ashmts

WFH can be tricky, especially now Dougie has learnt to climb the stairs, but it's about damage limitation, shut all doors, and stick some puppy pads down if you get stuck in meetings and can't let them out.

Although it has worked to get me off long tedious calls haha I've told my colleagues that I've lost my puppy and will have to call them back

I also recommend the tough lickimats with peanut butter or chicken paste! Keeps them entertained a wee while!

I'm going to be prepping Kongs and lickimats for DH who is WFH with the puppy as of September 😱. We've also discovered a great game of feed the dog his lunch by tossing one bit of kibble at a time from your chair whilst saying fetch it. Stops him bolting and keeps him busy for 10-15 minutes. Ditto food in the gyro ball.

I'm still worried but need be I'll book doggy daycare.

I made those dog treats (I think it was @tizwozliz who posted them). Big hit. Made LOADS too for very little money.

@Wolfcub Try the bitter apple spray, it really works! Thanks for the tip @GuyFawkesDay

I’m sorry to keep moaning about DH but I really could cry today. He’s totally ruined a lovely walk/ paddleboard along the canal with DS and Billy by ringing me in the middle of it to tell me that someone he knows has sent him a video of all the things his dog can do and we’re not doing enough with Billy and we’re turning him into a ‘nightmare’. It really upset me that he’s ruined a day out in which Billy was behaving perfectly to tell me how bad he is!

I tried to defend him and he said that I won’t listen and I’m exactly the same with Billy as I am with DS, yes that’s because he has exactly the same sky high expectations of DS! He’s the same with the team that he manages and well, everyone really. Nothings ever good enough and the good things don’t get noticed, only the bad.

This “nightmare” dog:

Has slept through the night from day 2.
Is 100% toilet trained and only ever had 1 poo in the house.
Has 100% recall even around other dogs.
Has recently cracked loose lead walking.
Knows sit, lie down, paw, wait, off, here, stay etc.
Always sits to take his food or a treat even if not asked and is so gentle that he can nibble a piece of grated cheese from your fingers.

The issues that he has are that he keeps jumping up on the sofa and up at the kitchen cupboards and he doesn’t settle very well on his bed in the front room.

FFS, he came home while I was writing this and ‘advised’ me to put food in a Kong and freeze it. If he paid the blindest bit of notice, he’d know that I already do that!

I think I'm going to have to set up my workstation in the kitchen initially. We both work upstairs normally and puppy proofing and carting pup upstairs is not feasible. I can supervise most of the garden from there which should make things easier. Luckily we don't do video calls and I always do my meetings on my mobile so I can step away from my desk so should be able to open and close patio doors at will.

Oh lordy, mansplaining at its finest.

Billy sounds like a total angel!!

Ladycat I'd be upset with that too and I'm afraid I'd be tempted to say if you want the perfect dog you train him you hypercritical ass. But I have zero tolerance for this kind of bullshit (and also no husband anymore )

I think I'd toss the training book at him too and tell him to crack on!

@GuyFawkesDay

Oh lordy, mansplaining at its finest.

Billy sounds like a total angel!!

Yes, mansplaining that’s it exactly! To be fair, he did do some training with him tonight (for the first time ever!) now that he knows alllll about dog training and Billy did respond well to it but he’s using different words to the ones our trainer uses (because he doesn’t come to the classes) as apparently these are the “right” words to use 🙄. I’m willing to let it go though as I think the main reason for Billy jumping up at DH on the sofa is because he’s not getting any attention from him, so if he’s actually going to put some effort on, I’ll let it slide!

@LadyCatStark - sympathies. My DH rolls his eyes when I suggest singing excitedly to Elmpup at bedtime might not be the best way to get her to sleep.

For those with slightly older pups, how much out of the house walks/exercise were you doing at 15 weeks? When did your dogs get excited about going for a walk or know what putting a lead on meant?

@LadyCatStark I think my DH is yours long lost brother?! Our pups sound so similar in that they are generally very good and train easily, our only issues are the same as yours too.

I dropped pup off at his sisters this afternoon as we are off on holiday tomorrow for a week (rebooked from last year before we got pup) and me and the kids all miss her and he's like "oh the house is so lovely and calm without her getting in the way...so much more space without her bed and toys and crate junking up the place, don't have to keep things out of reach or worry about her etc" he definitely would leave her at his sisters but I've said well enjoy your peace as she'll be back next Wednesday!

@tizwozliz at that age it was just 15/20 mins short walks. Sometimes I did morning and evening or other times just once around lunch time to pick dd up from nursery. I don't remember exactly when she'd get excited or understood but she did get to know the regular routes we did and seemed excited when I said let's go get dd. Now at 6.5 months once she's got her harness on she sits and waits at the door while I get everything else ready lol.

@tizwozliz Elmpup ha been going out for 5 days. I think she started recognising the walkies routine immediately! We got for 15-20 minutes depending on how many dogs are out for her to look at and how many interesting smells there are.

Ours is only 12 weeks so just has a good run around the garden really but once kids are back at school will get into a more regular walking routine!

@tizwozliz depends on what sort of walk -lately pavement we’d stick to the 15 mins but more often we go to a common and use long line so more mooching and sniffing so would stay out a bit longer as baelay walking far. We go once or twice a days depending on what was going on. I think at that age he used to try and eat the harness as we put it on, but only because it was a fun game - once on he was fine! I would say by 5 months he stopped doing that and knows the harness means we’re going out somewhere! We don’t walk at the same times or same places in any kind of regular pattern so he’s no clue what wee doing - just knows we’re leaving the house. I’d we don’t put his lead on he knows to go to the car door and wait, lead on he knows means walk from the house I think!

Also can’t remember who asked but PoirotPup is a lab and definitely took a while to get into his food. Thought he was a bit broken at first but now he is super excited by any kind of food and will appear at the kitchen gate seconds after it is opened, ever hopeful…. 🤣🤣🤣

Tell people you have a spaniel without telling them you have a spaniel......🤣

We currently get play bowing and barking at the harness and then sometimes she goes and hides in her crate. I think it's just a game though because 5 mins later she will sit and let you out the harness on no problems. She still takes a lot of encouragement to leave the house though. If we go out in the car she's fine, excited as soon as we get somewhere, fine getting back in the car again so I think she enjoys it but we're trying to get her to walk to the car instead of being carried and it's hard work. We're not really doing much walking from home at the moment as it requires too much pavement walking, prefer to go places where she can be off lead or on the long line fairly quickly.

I'm practicing loose lead walking in the garden daily. He gets it for about 5 strides then sits....

@MrsHerculePoirot it's my lab that isn't that food obsessed unless it's my adult dogs dinner and then he's rampant

He's currently snoring REALLY loudly ...locked in the cage! Just woke so I've got him to wee but again he then drank loads so it's fairly inevitable that he will need the garden several times in the night

Pup fine in the car on a lap...I need to move him to a legal and safer position ideally the boot but I have a small car with deep hatchback boot and he won't be able to see out so I'm sure he'll wail. Any ideas?

Do all yours have a massive drink before bed? My pup just went and waited by the door, went to kitchen and had a huge drink then took himself to bed! I did take him back out of the crate for a wee but it was pointless as he didn't have one.

Car harness and strap on back seat?
I'm going to have same issue so no helpful advice, sorry;!

Have any of you had any carpet disasters wince getting your pups, or do you find the enzyme cleaner does the job?

I have a couple of spots on my living room carpet that are just not smelling great, despite having used the spray religiously.

I have pretty much banned pup from the lounge now, apart from in the evening, when we can fully supervise all behaviour! The rest of the downstairs is far more cleanable!

You can put simple solution in a carpet washer I believe. Might that help? My friend has been trying it as hers has a spot he keeps going to

@cheeseisthebest yes always has a massive drink before bed. Drinking water is a bit self soothing for them too so maybe that is why? Doesn’t seem to mean he needs a wee overnight though here.

@MakeMeCleanTheHouse we have a soft seat thing from Amazon that PoirotPup sits in in the middle of the back seat. His harness then clips to it. He loves it!