Puppy survival thread. Cold nights in the garden ... yeah...no

[MakeMeCleanTheHouse]

The foghorn is sounding frequently and I suspect that's why I'm up enjoying the ambience of a foggy garden at 4am.

Hoping @BaconandAvocado is fast asleep and all the others with wide awake pups.

Can't wait to go walking again, we normally do a lunch and an evening walk but right now pup is self isolating so stuck in the house/garden.

Im clearly slacking. Only one walk a day plus some running in the garden!
Mind you my pup is only tiny.
Would try early morning walk tomorrow but I'm full of cold!

Had our first session with out dog trainer yesterday tea time and she was amazing! Pup behaved so well for her and taught us a lot, need to put a lot of it in to practice but hoping it’ll help my lovely but very bitey pup.

This morning have used a little bit of peanut butter with his kong and it’s already kept him amused for 10 mins- why have I not done this before. He only left it cause I sneezed as he’s very noise sensitive

Hope everyone else is ok this morning. Am so grateful for this thread for keeping me sane

We normally do 2 walks a day. One early morning one then one when I get home from work. While he's been ill it's only been one really, the early morning one. I do need to get back to afternoon walks as well.

Today I was having a conversation with my husband about how nice it will be for him to do those longer walks once pup is older. "Well that's if I have time to" was the response.

I am feeling an intervention coming on about his work/life balance.

Up until now I thought I could only take my pup on ONE 20 minute walk a day!!

Most of his "walk" is snuffling around the park or beach so not pure walking on the lead (he's not really learnt how to do this properly yet!)

I asked the vet about the walk issue. Her view was the 5 minutes per month was fairly arbitrary and to just " be sensible" and not take her on 1hr pavement lead walks.

So, we've been doing half hour potters (probably only about half of that is actual walking, the rest is sniffing and meeting her public), twice a day and a small amount of heart-stopping off lead in the park where she demonstrates her totally selective recall.

@MsAwesomeDragon someone told me the other day that some pups develop an allergy to chicken proteins after their vaccinations. Whether this is true or not I don't know, but chicken allergy is common in my breed anyway, and I think in some others too.

We still haven't been to the beach yet as quite far from us but we had a very chilly, windy walk along the Thames this morning. The only dogs we saw were small unfriendly dogs lol so she didn't get to play but she took it well and accepted they didn't want to meet her haha!

Walks wise I tend to do 2 a day, one in the morning when I'm back from school run which is a longer walk either around the field and play with dog pals or the woods or along the river. Prob about 45 mins some offlead. Then afternoon/evening walk usually only about half hour at local field used to do this walk when my youngest was in bed but now it's too dark then so I'm having to go after school and drag her along too. At the weekends if we go out for a longer walk as a family she prob only gets that one walk and then maybe 10 mins round the block in evening if she needs it!

Not sure what to do when it's bad weather like snow etc as I know grit is bad for their paws and I don't want her getting frost bite! But she'll need some exercise still...

Gorgeous pic @Aria20

We do two walks a day of around 30 mins too. Pretty much all of it over fields so lots of sniffing and enjoying the long grass. He does love a roll in the grass and does this thing where he snuffles his nose down into the grass and then jumps about as if he’s pouncing in it! I was also told that the 5 minute rule is a bit arbitrary and to just be sensible and not go for really long walks. At the minute half an hour pottering and sniffing other dogs is about right for him. He does need to learn, however, that not every dog wants to play and that not very human wants to pet him and adore him.

Still haven’t dared to let him off-lead after his escape across the field last weekend…!

Gorgeous day here today so we’re off for a local stroll then I need to tie up some loose ends at work as half term for us next week. Hoping to take pup to a beach for a dig, but the weather is looking wet for most of the week.

his nose down into the grass and then jumps about as if he’s pouncing

Ada does this 'hunting' for daddy long legs

Newboy went off lead for the first time today down the beach!
He was brilliant 🤩
He played with lots of other dogs but always stayed close by.
He took a particular liking to a huge Rottweiler!

😂he looks scared in that photo but they were generally having a fab time romping about together.

We do 15 minutes park snuffle in morning, 15 on lead school run which is dull for him I suspect, then 20+ minutes or so more snuffling in park and training or field wander later afternoon/evening or if it's late a trot round the village in the dark smelling every peemail as we go. As he's getting bigger I need to start extending his walks so tonight I am going to set a timer and see how far I get in 15mins going up the field and then turn round to come back. There's a great circular route up field and back down private road I want to be able to do with him but not sure how long it'll be with mad puppy in tow. It's a lovely quiet, pretty walk very popular with the village dog owners. Might hit national trust tomorrow for the Welly walk at the local place too. That's about 45mins through the woods.

I'm going crazy trying to work out how to get the little sod to sleep downstairs without howling. He's fine in crate (closed in our room) til the 5:30am wee. Then he won't settle in the crate afterwards but will happily go to sleep behind my legs or on his bed downstairs if I am on the sofa. I don't want him in the living room solo as there's destructible items so I think it's going to be a few days sleeping on the kitchen diner again for me to get him settled in there

@BaconAndAvocado haha the size difference. My pup loves a huge German shepherd pup at our class, he's at least 3x bigger than her and could flatten her easily or fit her head in his mouth!!

@tizwozliz mine tries to catch and eat daddy long legs!

@Aria20 Mac likes to eat daddy long legs too! And spiders… 🤢

Went and spent way too much at the pet shop on different chews as lambs braids, pizzles and beef tails are all boring to him now 🙄. Also got him a snuggly new crate mat, not least so I can wash his blankets which pong like wet dog.

Mine eats them too. And spiders 🤢

Aria21 I know 😂I don't think dogs have any perception of their size.
The day before we met a Great Dane who was equally playful!

Not just because it's a lovely picture....where on earth did my tiny puppy go??!!!!!

He's been a very good boy today so hes in the good books

We're struggling a bit with walk lengths. Fifteen minutes seems so little. I went out with a friend yesterday, and it was only when we got back, I realised she had been out for an hour. Some of that was playing at the park, and some was off-lead in a field. Today, we counterbalanced by just doing a short stroll up the road. Tomorrow we'll just take her to the park, but that's a 15 minute walk just to get there, at least it is at her pace. We are only only doing one walk a day at the moment, though, and then we play ball with her in the garden in the evening. I think I'll introduce a later walk once she's a bit older.

Bella managed to roll in one of her own poops that we had missed in the garden earlier. That took a long shower to sort! Otherwise, she is just retrieving everything that's not pinned down, and trying to climb on everything she can. It's just like having a crazy toddler this week.

@GuyFawkesDay so mature looking like a gentleman

This is mine this evening walking on her hind legs as I wouldn't let her chase a squirrel she was desperate to get to it!

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