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

@ilovesushi thanks! Billy is going to be raging tomorrow morning when I get him up at 7am 😂 we’ll have to go for about 8am too, which he’ll hate (and most likely sit and refuse to budge 🙄). The all day Teams calls are the worst as they give us 10 minute breaks instead of the 30 that we used to get when we did in person training, which makes no sense and there’s been some changes over summer that we’re going g to be told about but I work with a load of fuss pots who won’t be able to cope with any changes at all 🙈. I’ve got 2 frozen kongs at the ready and a yak chew so hopefully I can entertain him and there’ll be over 50 people on the call so we’re allowed screens off if it comes to it (Billy did feature on our end of term call sniffing at the camera 😂).

@MakeMeCleanTheHouse people definitely expect Billy to behave like an adult dog rather than a puppy because he’s so big!

@Theluggage15 Oh no, not another stone eating twit! Why must they do these things?!

@MorningInspiration Hope Morningpup feels better today. Thank you for your kind words - Spudpup makes it very easy (stone habits notwithstanding…!), he’s a pretty biddable pupster. Spuddog was a stubborn little bugger, so I’m finding Spudpup’s general cooperativeness quite discombobulating, and waiting for it all to come to a crashing halt!

I think I need to load up Ada's game the night before - she's very impatient when I'm setting it up

Oh look at her face! Where did you get that puzzle feeder? Looks fab

@LadyCatStark I'm naughty a do teams calls on my phone sometimes so I can be on them but doing other things. Especially if it's inset....yawn!!!

Hi everyone, does anyone else feel like they are constantly buying stuff for their pup! I've spent a fortune and now want a puzzle feeder!
Also dreading kids back to school as they've looked after him while I've worked from home.

I am hoping the school run might tire him out as he will be coming to start with and also back to school will help me get into a good routine with him maybe that might help!

@GuyFawkesDay - it's a Nina Ottosson one, it came from Amazon but I've seen them in our pet store too. I had it in my basket for a week as was in two minds as they are quite expensive and as @cheeseisthebest mentions, feel like I've been buying things pretty constantly.

She can solve it pretty quickly already (to get to the food treat involves a slide, swivel, and two more slides for each section) but obviously enjoys the process so will still keep her occupied. I should have maybe gone for a more advanced one.

We’ve got quite a few of those now, up to level 3 maybe? You can make them easier or harder and PoirotPup loves them. We put one piece of kibble in each part and then repeat 🤣🤣🤣

So we are coming to a month 12 weeks and Newpup is now very clingy to me and won't settle at night after two weeks of settling - we are at our wits end

Oh FawkesPup is like this, I ended up putting his crate on the bed and then I could stick a hand in the crate to comfort and he settled eventually. He's gradually getting better, it's just taking time (he's 12 weeks old) and often I think he wakes, and just wants to check we are still there? A calm word and quick stroke and he settles now if he's not whining for the loo. I can tell the difference now in his noises.

Being able to get out and do/see things is helping hugely as he is getting far more tired out. Today we took chicken pieces and whistle to the park (we live 30m away, v handy!!) and did some fetch/recall to whistle which was fab. Met 2 lovely older dogs who live in the village and now he's crashed out. It really does help - how long until Newpup can go out?

Only needed crate on bed for 2 nights (I couldn't face any more time on sofa/floor) and he twigged I wasn't going to open door but I was there.

@cheeseisthebest

Hi everyone, does anyone else feel like they are constantly buying stuff for their pup! I've spent a fortune and now want a puzzle feeder! Also dreading kids back to school as they've looked after him while I've worked from home.

Yes!!!!!!! Altogether I have spent close to a grand on him I went to pets at home again yesterday and bought more stuff 😂 I'm dreading my daughter going back to collage because she's looked after him when I'm in work 😭

Altogether I have spent close to a grand on him

I'm feeling quite restrained now

I let Goofy off the lead on the beach last night. He hasn't had second vaccinations. The tide was going out and I take a risk management view...what's the chance of an infected dog being on the same patch of washed sand? Vet nurse agreed with me. I am sure this approach is helping him settle and keeping us sane. We walk him every night in the wheelchair (look very silly but I don't care) and give him a brief run on the beach. He's sleeping better and calmer in the day

(Or having a growth spurt/ill and next week will be aaaaargh again)

Well my first day back at work has gone ok so far 🤞. The morning was horrendous as Billy wasn’t happy about getting up so early and I needed to save his morning King for when I started work so his routine was all out of whack. He just flitted between jumping up on the sofas and jumping up at the kitchen counters depending on which room I sent him to 🙈. We didn’t manage a morning walk as I couldn’t leave him long enough to get dressed! He went for a nap at 9am though when it counted til 10am then chilled out on ‘his’ sofa in the dining room while I did my calls. We’ve been told we’re still working from home though so I’m really upset about that. He had another nap at 11 and snored his head off. We’ve just been for a walk to the pet shop and bought an ostrich bone which seems to be going down very well. He’s actually lying on his bed and enjoying it while I have my lunch. Then he can have his and hopefully another nap will see us through most of the afternoon.

Well done ladycatstark!
Did you not want to carry on working from home?
I was working today and had kids still here to help but he actually settled by my feet and slept for quite a while.

Those of us who have overspent, there puzzle toys in Poundland for £3. Worth a try so I've got one and will report back! Got some Wagg training treats in Aldi for £3 a huge bag too so they should last a while. Noted they do big bags of frozen cooked chicken for £1.49 so will start getting that too for training/food topper

New pup is 5 months old now. Wee monkey counter surfs and nearly had a steak when my back was turned. I am constantly asking "what have you got in your mouth now" but I love her to bits.

I have to cook my own chicken as Ada has a chicken water ice cube habit!

Do the poundland toys have removable parts? I looked at a few with removable parts but think pup would run off with the parts (she loves plastic to chew on) rather than take the treat.

Pup still seems to have no excitement at the anticipation of walks and it's always a hassle getting her out the house, whether we're walking from home (she has to be carried the first 150m as we live on a busy road and we're not forcing walking along it for now) or going in the car. She appears to thoroughly enjoy walks once she's out and they're 90% off lead at the moment so not sure what we do to resolve.

Ada would love to be friends with @poppy2021 's pup I think. I'm still scouting around for local puppy friends. I drove past one of our regular walking spots and there was a young lab and I keep hoping I'll meet them out one day.

Public service announcement: if you like a scented candle, and want to neutralise pet smell I've just bought some from TK Maxx called Sand & Paws (part of sand and fog). Oh they smell gorgeous, much more natural an subtle than the plug in things.

Spending on us not just the dog 😉

@cheeseisthebest oh god no! My job isn’t one that can really be done from home, not properly anyway. Yes, it’d be easier for me but I’m letting my families down every day through no fault of my own! Luckily DH and I have flexible jobs that will allow us to work around Billy when I am finally let back out!

Oh no that's rubbish then