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

Ada is cuuuute!

MaePup is only about 4/5kg. MaeDog is 6kg, so he's going to be the smaller one we think!

Oh @poppy2021, she looks so comfy! Spudpup would also love to be her friend ❤️

We have just been for our longest walk at almost a mile - it took about 20 minutes with the first half off lead and the second on, and a stop for a chat with some neighbours. Hope it wasn’t too far. He’s pretty tired now.

Sandwichpup is leaving me exhausted and a bit down he is constantly trying to bite, given him alternatives or trying to distract him without much success

The biting is so wearing isn't it. I've been trying to put him on his back and distract with tummy tickles which he loves whilst shoving a toy at his mouth to nip instead of me!

@sandwiches77 replacing toys definitely works for us, and the "make like a tree" when he starts nipping at trousers etc and give a stern use of his name he's all of a sudden stopped after being really bad all bank holiday weekend.

Get long toys (the Aldi one upthread is a great buy) to keep hands away from those teeth but oh my word, what a gorgeous wee puppy!!

@sandwiches77 - he's so innocent looking, no one would ever believe he was a bitey little terror. Love his ginger/brown eyebrows

I shove toys in his mouth, say no (positive reinforcement fail ooopss) and walk away....

He's really settled in the last couple of days. He has an obsession with the fake coal from the gas fire and keeps running off with it to chew which is the only complaint today. He seems to be growing every day.

After a lovely day, tonight has been horrible and I don’t think I can do this anymore 😢. I took Billy to his favourite waking place and it must be much busier in the evening than the day time when we have been going. He met another dog on a lead and I recalled him and asked if I’ve could say hello and he did nicely. Then we met 2 others and the woman shouted at me that one of the dogs was in season so I told her he was a puppy but put him on his lead as a courtesy and she let hers off! We went further out onto the marsh so I could let him off and I didn’t let him get anywhere near but they kept stopping so we kept having to go further out. Then he met another lab and I recalled him and asked if he could play and he did. Then finally we got close to a westie so I recalled him and he came back but I couldn’t grab his collar and he ran off again so I recalled him again and he stopped for a minute and I whistled again and he came back but the woman shouted at me. At no point did he get near the other dog but he didn’t come back straight away so I guess now I can’t let him off lead any more. The one joy that we get at the moment is that we can take him for lovely off lead walks and now we can’t even do that. I just can’t do it anymore, it’s all too much, it’s just relentless.

@LadyCatStark the bitch in season should not have been off lead at all and she should really be walked at unsociable hours where unlikely to meet offlead dogs!

It's tricky they are getting to the famous teenage bit and sadly recall often goes out the window then as they decide to get cocky and do what they want. I've had to go back to long line if any other dogs are around as my pup can be selectively deaf when a potential new friend is in the field!

Did you get the smell off him with the tomato sauce??

@Aria20 no she shouldn’t, especially in the most popular dog walking place in the village. The lab that he played with was 2 and in tact so they were lucky really. I don’t know if maybe they’d come from somewhere else and not realised it was a busy spot? I think this must be the start of the teenage phase which I was expecting but I’d hoped for a little bit of calm between the crazy puppy biting stage and the teenage ignoring stage! I won’t be walking him there in the evenings again and I’ll keep his harness on so I can grab him when he does come back. At least we have 2 fields by our house that are always empty. I’m sorry for moaning, it just all feels a bit much tonight. He is now smell free thanks to the passata though!

Hi. Not been on here for a while so just catching up. Ladycatstark what is it that is stressing you? Is it general teenage naughtiness and people expectations when out and about are higher now as he is bigger?
Turquoisepup isn’t that obviously a puppy any more and she lies down whenever another dog approaches. And other owners (and sometimes dogs) seem to not be sure how to take this and look a bit worried about her intentions. I am on hyper alert everywhere that I need her to be aware of surroundings at all time to ensure she is behaving or people will be rolling their eyes! We tend to walk in woodland walks that are quiet as I find meeting other dog walkers a bit exhausting. All the “should they be on lead, should they be off lead, will the dogs come to say hello or won’t they, how will each dog react, try not to let her jump on other dog Walker etc etc” gets tiring after a while !

You can do this @LadyCatStark, but it is absolutely fine to feel like you can’t sometimes! Many is the walk I’ve come home from with Spuddog and cried about.

That bitch’s owner was a fekking numpty - sadly you get them, I remember once not being able to get Spuddog away from an off lead dog, even after they’d greeted, and then the owner casually mentioned that she was a bitch in season. In a popular dog walking spot on a Saturday morning! You just can’t help stupid

Try only rewarding once you have a hand on him - a squishy treat is good as it takes longer to eat and is often higher value than a biscuit. Primula straight from the tube is perfect - most dogs adore it, and they have to get close to get it so you can take a gentle hold before they get it. You can try pairing it with a whistle for maximum effect. I highly recommend it - it is really helpful. A long line is also totally fine and very useful for a dog with elective deafness!

Hang on in there - this too shall pass. And for gods sake remind me of that when Spudpup gets to the gobshite stage…!

@Turquoisesol yes it’s definitely his size. They see a big, black dog and automatically assume he’s dangerous. He wasn’t even really being naughty, he just didn’t make the right choice straight away. I think what’s upset me was being judged when I am always trying to do the right thing and the way she shouted at me like I was a useless child. I always recall him and ask if it’s ok for him to say hello and a lot of the time even doing that makes other people wary as they think I’m recalling him because he’s naughty and then they recall theirs too. I just feel like I can’t win.

She may have had a dog with her, but I think we can all tell who the bitch was in that situation… nasty bugger. Like her dog was perfect straight out of the box - I seriously doubt it.

Rise above it, and fantasise about her treading in a massive dog shit in open toed sandals… 💩

@Spudlet thanks, I don’t even know why she’s made me cry so much, maybe paired with a crappy first day back at work. We do use a whistle and it’s never failed me, I’ve literally been able to recall him mid play with another dog and I had done a few minutes before, I don’t know why he chose the wrong person to ignore me in front of. I had some rally nice duck flavoured treats with me but he managed to take it an run off before I could get to his collar to clip his lead on. I’ll try taking primula with me thanks as he does love that.

@LadyCatStark you can't seem to win as you meet some people who expect d dry dog to greet theirs and get huffy if you don't and then you get ones that don't want their dog to mix which is fine of course but I wish there was an obvious well publicised sign like certain colour lead/harness means they are happy to greet and another colour means avoid lol.

I'm sure I read some people use a yellow lead for nervous dogs but it's not well known or used! I tend to avoid certain dogs/owners based on their behaviour and whether the owner bothers to call the dog back or not. Sometimes you can just tell the owners are dicks... other times you can understand if a puppy runs over and the owner is trying to call them back etc.

Don't dwell on it, tomorrow is a new day

@Spudlet hahahaha wicked sense of humour there, I like it!

I’ve not posted for a while but have been reading all of your updates. Gorgeous photographs of all the pups. Funny how so many of us have similar breed dogs - labs and spaniels. Pup is now nearly 10 weeks old. Am a bit worried that the vet said he could have his second jabs next week. Does this seem early to any of you? He’ll be 11 nearly 12 weeks once they have had the 7 days to take effect.

Must admit though, can’t wait to take him out and tire him out a bit!

I made the mistake of trying to change his food and as a result he had an upset tummy the past day, even though I tried to introduce it gradually, so I’ve gone back to the original food for a while seeing as he’s still so little.

He’s been sleeping well, last wee at 11pm and then sleeps until 5:45-6am-ish which I can cope with. He is absolutely full of beans when he gets up though! Playful and excitable and a bit bitey. I bought the spray that Aldi have in to spray on a particular basket he seems to like chewing on but it only worked for an hour or so whilst it was strong smelling. After that he was back at it! So I don’t recommend it!

My pup seems to have a bit of a gungy eye since I picked him up from SIL. I think it's most likely conjunctivitis... anyone got any tips for treating it? I have bathed it with warm water on a cotton pad but it has come back!

We have all been there, anyone who’s had a dog has been there. Spuddog was a trained gundog, and I was a dog trainer, and he still dropped me in it every so often. His best effort was to take off across a park, steal another dog’s ball, take off to the other end of the park, then roll in a massive fox shit and lose his stolen ball in the process 🙈 And the other dog’s owner was really grumpy and refused our offer of Spuddog’s ball (which of course Spud had no interest in) and stomped off in a huff to find his own, probably shit stained ball… we left sharpish after that one, and I did cry on the way home. Sometimes people just get to you. You just have to try and learn if there’s anything to be learned and then let it go. Tomorrow is a new day.

Thanks everyone for being kind (and making me cry again!). It’s a shame we can’t all meet up and be friendly and let our dogs play together!

@Aria20 I do have a magic solution: tea bags! Leave the tea bag in water until it’s cool enough, then use it to wipe her eye. Use a separate tea bag for each eye if you need to do both. And yes, she will want to lick the tea up 😂

@LadyCatStark a used tea bag that's gone cold? Will try it tomo morning. Hope it won't be a vet trip

Ladycatstark if other owners look worried I have started announcing straight off that she is a puppy and they seem to relax a bit after that!

Aria20 I bought a pack of eye pads on Amazon. They are prepared pads in a tub and it makes it so much easier than preparing a cotton pad and water. If it doesn’t clear up you might need drops from vets though.

@567and - timing of second jabs depends on timing of first jabs. Ada had her first at 6.5 weeks so second had to be 4 weeks later at 10.5 weeks.

@Aria20 we had a bit of a gungy eye after a trip to the beach, we soaked cotton pads in black tea and used that to wipe her eyes. I would have liked to get her checked out by a vet just in case it was something more serious but we couldn't get an appointment until next week. Eye still fully open so figured the tea was worth a shot and it cleared up in a day or so.

@567and Spudpup had his second jab at 11 weeks