Puppy survival thread. Nov. Read this and buy a hamster instead

[WomblingKnobhead]

Or a rabbit, or a goldfish, or a cuddly toy.

I'm exhausted and demoralised tonight. The training seems relentless...Worth it but constant reinforcing. I know it is his age but...

@tizwozliz I'm also reconsidering the crate. We dropped it hoping to get better sleep but on reflection if anything it's got worse. Tonight we have found he has chewed the caps to 12v supply in boot of car and attachments for the boot cover.

I left him alone whilst I worked upstairs for 5 mins....whined which is new. Tomorrow he's being left again for less than an hour but I can't imagine it will go well.

@MrsHerculePoirot thank you I will try that. We do block him with elbows and when people are around he is crated. I will try the kibble rain

@pardonmytits how old is yours? I have a springer but he is only little (just over 10 weeks) and I think the madness is yet to come! Mine also very reluctant to nap for long during the day. Do you have a puppy pen? Mine hated the crate but is perfectly happy in puppy pen for a couple of hours which means that even if he isn’t napping he isn’t under our feet all the time if we are working/cooking/daring to do something other than play with him

I was the same with the crate. He hated it overnight downstairs, we took a different one upstairs. Ok at night but awful on day, howled in the pen, howled whenever I left the room.

Going back to the downstairs crate has been a total game changer. First night I only took him out once for a wee on slip lead, back to bed straight after. Ignored any low level grumbles but he slept SO much better than in out room!! Second night left him to it, he's been fine since. Only night i have been close by was the night of the upset tummy so I could get him outside pronto!!!! It's definitely made a difference, and he happily naps in there in daytime too, with door locked. Allows DH to work much better

Midnight and 5.15am last night. 6am DD's alarm is off and she's now eating breakfast before work. So I had
11pm-12,
12.15am -5.15am
5.30am - 6am

DD has suggested I just leave him alone to sleep in lounge tonight (bearing in mind the chewed car this is not going to help me sleep)

We have a large crate but I think it's too small for daytime sleep so the plan is hallway which can be managed in terms of objects to chew. He likes to sleep on the sofa but it's open plan so he has access to other, lounge and dining area and I cannot puppy proof. I feel its all impossible right now

I am dreading the chewing stage.. although pretty much everything in the house is already ruined by 3 kids and successive cats. Frogdog is confined to the kitchen/dining room and garden at the moment, mainly to give the cat some peace.

Lack of sleep is awful, I hope you guys find a solution soon, this time of year is tiring enough as it is

Wishing strength to @WomblingKnobhead ... Gah I hope it works with the hallway.

I had a really interesting training session with our new trainer yesterday. Ex police dog handler, proper paid up member of GODT unlike the other crappy puppy class lady.

Her view is that the absolute topmost important thing is bond between family and dog. Everything else is secondary... This was welcome news to me cos I think it is about the only thing we have done right given the Klingon nature of our dog. She had our dog doing fetch, drop, leave it every single time of asking. It was amazing to watch!

No comment.

@pardonmytits oh so very, very familiar. Those crocs are looking ... prone.

Oh, those are her Crocs now.

Everything on the dog shelf is hers right? See also rugs, odd socks and other random dropped items.

@pardonmytits someone wants your attention lol

My little pest of a dog keeps taking me to the pet shop at the end of his walk 😂 it’s round the corner from our street but in the opposite direction to the fields and he keeps refusing to go home. Last night I thought I’d follow him and see where we ended up and he took me right to the pet shop to buy him a chew. He did the same at lunch time 😂 I don’t mind today as I have an all afternoon teams meeting but he won’t be going every day!

That's so cute @LadyCatStark

Correct!

@LadyCatStark clever pup knows what he wants and how to get it!

Definitely a clever pup. Haha!

He’s definitely working on his powers of manipulation 😂. Since I started using higher value treats, when he’s off lead, he’ll run a bit in front and then turn and look at me to say, “go on then, call me back and give me a treat!) or he falls into line with me and heels off leads as he knows that’ll get him a treat!

Ours drags hubby to the cafe that's 15 minutes walk away for his free sausage now. I can't walk him that direction, it's the only time he pulls like a train. He then plants his arse and refuses to leave.

The owner has 2 spaniels and they're all dog mad so you can imagine it's basically puppy heaven. I mean husband gets a coffee out of it but oh my god the dog is addicted to the place.

@pardonmytits we have sacrificial slippers and manky old trainers the dog has been given. Now he only wants the ones we wear again. Aaargh.

My daughter is currently using the cheese grater to grate custard creams and sprinkling it on the floor while pup sits expectantly and hoovers it up! It's keeping them both quiet so I'm letting them crack on!

Pup really enjoyed her swimming. She looked petrified to start with but was soon swimming after stuff on her own. She's overtired now though, just trying to get her to settle down.

Dog walker was successful. Home alone success? ...I don't know....He broke through the barrier and had free access to the hat drawers again 🤠 but out of view of the camera.

@tizwozliz I bet she's a really strong swimmer. Their paws are like paddles with power

@tizwozliz gorgeous photo.
@WomblingKnobhead at the hat drawer again!

The thing that surprised me the most is she actually retrieved things. She's never wanted to fetch and bring things back on land, we've spent ages clicker training just to try and get her to hold a dummy, but in the water she was straight to the toys to retrieve them. Will be interesting to see what she does next time we walk somewhere where there's water.

@LadyCatStark

My little pest of a dog keeps taking me to the pet shop at the end of his walk 😂 it’s round the corner from our street but in the opposite direction to the fields and he keeps refusing to go home. Last night I thought I’d follow him and see where we ended up and he took me right to the pet shop to buy him a chew. He did the same at lunch time 😂 I don’t mind today as I have an all afternoon teams meeting but he won’t be going every day!

I think that may be the most adorable thing I've heard in a long time! Clever pup.