Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. A phone that grows with your child.

Meet the Other Phone.
A phone that grows with your child.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
The doghouse

If you're worried about your pet's health, please speak to a vet or qualified professional.

Original poster

Puppy survival thread. Oct/Nov fireworks!

994 replies

sandwiches77 · 21/10/2021 12:59

New thread...

OP posts:
Thread gallery
76
GuyFawkesDay · 29/10/2021 07:56

@MapleWillowTrees what a gorgeous pup!

I am disturbing FawkesPup with my coughing at the moment as I have a grotty cold (not covid) and I woke him up at 5:30am and he decided he needed the loo, then wouldn't got back in his crate again 🙄

Aria20 · 29/10/2021 07:58

@MapleWillowTrees such a cutie

@MsAwesomeDragon oh dear I hadn't even considered the clock change affecting pup, I was more worried about my 3yo who often wakes at 5am now waking at 4!

MakeMeCleanTheHouse · 29/10/2021 08:05

I was on the beach with pup at 6.30am and then walked back doing loose lead walking which is also known as swearing and cussing your dog.

20kg of sudden lunges because ooh look a leaf! and gulping down random tissues, rubbish and gawd knows what from the floor and the aka activity was accurate.

BaconAndAvocado · 29/10/2021 09:12

MapleWillowTrees
You pup is beautiful!!!
Yes, it's completely normal to feel overwhelmed.
I'm a first time puppy owner too and even though mine is now almost 17 weeks I regularly feel overwhelmed!

It definitely gets easier once you get more sleep.

BaconAndAvocado · 29/10/2021 09:13

Yesterday on the beach me and Newboy met a Silver Lab!
Never heard of this before but he was stunning.

MrsHerculePoirot · 29/10/2021 09:21

@MapleWillowTrees if you search my posts on here you’ll see I cried every day for at least two weeks! At 8.5 months it’s much easier - although we’ve now hit adolescence 🤦‍♀️

@tizwozliz PoirotPup hasn’t really got any dog friends - we let him off lead on our walks now mostly as we found older dogs will just walk on by or if he is too persistent do a little growl or bark and he has quickly learnt when dogs don’t want to play. It’s meant we can walk past after quick 2 second sniff in many cases as we keep walking and if there is another dog/puppy that wants to play he can. Seems to work for us where we walk for now.

MapleWillowTrees · 29/10/2021 09:22

Thank you! It’s nice to know it’s normal!

MapleWillowTrees · 29/10/2021 09:25

Thank you so much! I had a few tears last night when she growled at me. Hence me finding this page! I knew it would be hard with having a puppy but last night I think we both needed some sleep.

tizwozliz · 29/10/2021 09:44

@MrsHerculePoirot - Ada will try and play with the humans if the dogs aren't interested and she's still a bit jumpy so can't be trusted off lead if other people and dogs about.

Its a bit of a catch22 as she is much better at walking past if she's off lead but just not reliable enough. I really need some stooge dogs and people to practice.

Gun dog training starts next week, not really looking forward to it. Wishing I'd waited until she was a bit older/calmer

MrsHerculePoirot · 29/10/2021 09:58

@tizwozliz we had similar and I went back to working on us being the most interesting thing. So loads and loads of eye contact training every day. Made lots of short bursts of time to really play enthusiastically with him, I signed up to sexier than a squirrel and used their games to give us a focus. We had a special toy that only went on walks and used primula only on walks as I could hold the tube and he would trot along with it past people. I would say I saw a difference almost immediately when out and about and within a week walks were much easier. Don’t know if helpful but that was advice I was going and it did really help us. He was about 7 months when I did it and was a bloody jumpy menace in walks before that!!!

Aria20 · 29/10/2021 10:02

@tizwozliz I need stooge dogs too hahaha but trouble is finding them lol!

@MrsHerculePoirot what sort of games did you play? I need to get my pup to find me the most interesting thing.... at the moment even a leaf blowing in the wind is more interesting Hmm

TerrierOrTerror · 29/10/2021 11:31

I remember the day an ant walking across the patio was more interesting than me...

TerrorPup has had me up at 5am the past two mornings for a wee. She does settle back to sleep, unfortunately I don't! I must admit I was not amused when we got downstairs this morning at 5am and she tried to turn around when she realised it was raining.

GumsAndTeeth · 29/10/2021 11:57

@BaconAndAvocado that’s what my pup is!

Here she is in all her glory after puppy training exhausted her last night!

GuyFawkesDay · 29/10/2021 12:22

Bareback boots are SO comfy! Much lighter than I thought they would be. I can see me living in them this winter. And I got mine from eBay a lady only wore them twice and so I got them cheaper too. They're my Xmas present to myself.

Primula only appears on our walks too. Keeping it high value.

We start puppy classes on Monday too!

BaconAndAvocado · 29/10/2021 12:48

GumsAndTeeth she is stunning!
Is she crossed with a Weimaraner?

Just got back from the beach with a friend and her 9 month old Lab who is sooo much bigger than Newboy at 17 weeks!

A sign of things to come 😳

GumsAndTeeth · 29/10/2021 13:25

@BaconAndAvocado she is a KC lab, they’re just a relatively ‘new’ colour. A dilute chocolate and not breed standard. We were actually looking for a yellow lab but at the time of wanting to add a dog to other 2, the only licensed breeder we could find that wasn’t 2+ hours away only had silver.

We saw both parents and the breeder was lovely, she has been DNA tested and is 100% lab and clear of any hereditary diseases which was all we really cared about, over colour. Yellow would of just been my preferred lol.

MrsHerculePoirot · 29/10/2021 14:57

@Aria20 mostly followed the sexier than squirrel thing - so lots of rolling kibble/food about, chasing around an object (table/tree etc), playing with toys (bit of tug, throwing toys) generally acting like a CBeebies presenter and rewarding with food and an overexcited response when he caught me, was playing etc…

We’ve also now taught him to wait so can get him to wait whilst we hide a toy or kibble in the other room and then he can find it for us!

He gets overexcited fairly quickly so usually end with some scattered kibble in garden or a few calm downs/middles so we always end on success. Just short 5-10 mins a few times a day and then after a few days also did some of the things out on a walk.

LadyCatStark · 29/10/2021 15:32

@MrsHerculePoirot Billy also responds well to the CBeebies presenter act 😂. He’s gone off treats when he’s on walks, weirdly for a lab! Billy likes to play hide and seek with DS in the house too.

MrsHerculePoirot · 29/10/2021 15:48

@LadyCatStark PoirotPup is similar. Primula is still ok, or just ripped up slices of meat from the deli counter too. Or dried sprats or JR pate. We try to mix it up a bit so he’s excited about whatever we’ve got and then when the novelty is wearing off change it up. Sliced actual meat though seems to be generally a winner👍

MsAwesomeDragon · 29/10/2021 16:48

We're signed up for the sexier than a squirrel thing too, and some days I'm apparently the most interesting thing around. On other days, dogs are more interesting. Yesterday he saw his first rabbit and that was definitely more interesting than me!!!!

We're at my parents house for the afternoon and pup is being very good really, but my parents house is a puppy death trap with "stuff" everywhere. I've brought his bed, worked on a nice calm settle, taken him out for a short walk, etc. I thought he was nice and calm lying on his bed but actually he was chewing through his lead🤦 We've got the long line with us, but that's no good in the house as it's still wet from this morning's walk. So now he's playing tug with my dad to keep him occupied and out of all the "stuff"

GuyFawkesDay · 29/10/2021 19:13

Playdate with my cousin's pups and dogs today. They're amazingly obedient already. I have work to do!!! Both will sit on their "mark" for 5 minutes without moving already. Reckon I'd be lucky to get 5 seconds 🙈

He had a marvellous time running round in their garden with them and digging holes in the lawn. Out like a light in the car on the way home 😂

Squirrels and rabbits are DEFINITELY more interesting than me! I'm going to put a tug-e-nuff toy on Xmas list as it might be another tool in the obedience bag.

Puppy survival thread. Oct/Nov fireworks!
MapleWillowTrees · 29/10/2021 22:14

Much better day today, I’ve enforced naps in her crate and she’s been like a different dog!

MakeMeCleanTheHouse · 30/10/2021 06:02

Worse night ever. Started by crying and whining which has gone on all night. DH having back issues so has slept on lounge floor and I suspect let him sleep on sofa for 3 nights intermittently. (So DH has disturbed my sleep and pups). Tonight DH sleeps in our bed and I've had to come out to pup 6+ times. He doesn't want to go in the garden as it's raining so I have ended up twice carrying him into the middle of the lawn and just standing there. Eventually a poo and wee but still whining once lights out.. Chooses to go in his crate and sleep but cries when lights out. I'm back on the sofa and blaming DH.

He is supposed to be away with work which was cancelled at last minute. I was looking forward to a quiet week....I feel he's inadvertently wrecking it

Aria20 · 30/10/2021 07:50

@MakeMeCleanTheHouse solidarity from me - terrible night here too!!
Pup normally sleeps fine in her crate in DS's room which is downstairs but he was at a sleepover last night and my god pup obv missed him.... put her in crate fine but she looked at his empty bed sadly....I didn't comment and went up to bed, soon she started whining and barking but more like a sad cry, I went down to settle her, back to bed, repeat, tried taking her out incase needed toilet - nope, gave her another bedtime biscuit and wrapped her in her blanket incase cold, more crying! I ended up putting white noise on and letting her sleep out of crate on her mat and left my slippers with her and she finally slept til 7.30. BUT after dealing with her my 3yo woke up at 1.30 had a nightmare and of course only wants me, settled her back in my bed until she needed the toilet and thought it was morning at 4.45!!! My back and neck are killing me from sleeping squashed up with her, god I hope tonight's better!!!

GuyFawkesDay · 30/10/2021 08:15

Hugs to fellow bad sleepers. I am at a total loss what to do with FawkesPup. DH is being an arse about it too, especially as I have done every get up with the puppy. Apparently "this isn't what you told me it would be like". Well funnily enough I can't predict things. I'm fuming with him.

I've got a large crate to borrow from a friend and I'm going to sleep in the study off the kitchen and try and get FawkesPup sleeping downstairs. He sleeps fine in his crate in our room, naps on sofa from about 9pm then has bedtime biscuit and a wee about 10:30am and up to bed. Sleeps absolutely fine and will now settle after a wee til about 6:30am too.

But he needs to move downstairs apparently, and guess who's going to be doing it. Same as DH gets cross as FawkesPup tries to steal his food. Doesn't steal mine or the kids though. DH doesn't see it's a problem with him and his relationship/lack of training with the dog, rather than the dog himself.

I am very, very close to giving him some home truths today.