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

[WomblingKnobhead]

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

I honestly don't know how anyone ever had a puppy Pre-pandemic. Pre-lockdown or working from home. How did they manage? Even if you got pup really good at being on his own, surely they can't manage many hours before needing a wee?!

I loved reading all those routines at the end of the last thread - it's so easy to believe everyone has it all sorted. Even if they do, there always seem to be hours of bitey twat (which I don't wish on people but it's heartening it's not just my bitey twat.)

Hello. Can I sneak back in please? I haven't been around for some time as life has been falling apart at the seams (but that's for another thread!)

Anyway...it's nice to see some familiar and new names. Nordpup is now 7 months and pretty good really. She had an elbow op recently though so is on severely restricted exercise. However from tomorrow we can go on 10 min walks again hurrah!

Our main issue with her at the moment us aggressive table begging! Lots of barking and jumping up. She behaves with a long lasting chew (cow ear, bone etc), but that isn't always doable and she won't learn if we keep having to shut her out. Anyone else's puppy been like this?

To be honest a rabbit will also destroy your house, bank balance and sanity. My garden is currently covered in fluff after a grooming session this morning with a very grumpy rabbit who just wanted to jump off the table.

Tamagotchis or a Furby are much better options.

Think it depends on the pup, my last dog was an angel even from a pup no hassle. My dog now 🙈🙈😭😭 is all I can say, never settled as a pup, wild, no recall (even with training) eats everything she is not supposed to (resulting in 2 trips to the vets costing £2000 - thankful for insurance). At she’s 1 and a half and still decided some nights she’s needs out at 3am (then won’t come back in). On the plus she’s very good with people, children and other dogs! Loveable rogue

When they’re being good though, it makes it all soooo worth it 🥰. I don’t want to boast when others are struggling but it might give some with younger pups hope. Every day in the last week we’ve had a major breakthrough. Today I walked Billy on his collar for the first time since summer when I literally walked down the street in tears because I couldn’t manage his pulling and a kind neighbour leant me a (gentle) no pull harness. I could cry again but with pride! We’ve also had 100% recall when faced with other dogs, which in turn has meant that he’s been able to play with more has people haven’t avoided us because he’s on his lead!

It was a beautiful morning this morning but I was cursing the sun as it was so low and hard to see any distance and our walks are still very much an exercise in Ada management. It meant she spent more time on the lead than usual but she walked really nicely. Gives me hope as previously I used to hate it when other people were about as being consistent with not pulling on the lead meant any walks where she had to be on lead for any period of time were painful. She's been walking really nicely on the pavement for a while, we did 70 steps in heel the other evening, but in grassy/woody areas she was a bit if a nightmare.

We also got some Fish4dogs free samples in the post which was nice.

On the negative, she's currently excavating holes in the vegetable beds. Not a huge issue right now as they're empty but probably should be dissuading that behavior but just cannot be arsed. I'm supervising with a coffee from the warmth indoors .

Pup managed to sneak upstairs as someone left gate open... she got in my 10yo son's bedroom (who has been told repeatedly to either pick up his Lego or keep his door shut) she's had a good munch on a couple of Lego figures which are now resembling casualties from some sort of horrific event! She did drop them as soon as I said drop but sadly they can't be saved....
@LadyCatStark I can do quick nighttime walks with just her flashing collar which is nice but I don't think I'd go just collar in the day as she still wants to get to play with other dogs. How did you manage to get his recall so good with other dogs around lol?!

@Aria20 human food treats! I’ve been taking a little pot of cut up cocktail sausages, cheese or hotdogs out with me and he’ll do anything for them. Dog treats are looked down upon by my little spoiled prince 😂.

Also, I don’t recommend it but one of my parents’ dogs is horrible and keeps snapping at Billy when they meet so Billy is learning that not all dogs love him as much as he loves them. They haven’t met very often due to this and my parents’ making excuses for her behaviour but I’m hoping that in time Billy will learn to just ignore her so they can meet up as the other dog is lovely with him.

So had the session with the dog behaviourist this morning. (All outside, I'm so cold!)
She said he's extremely sharp and needs to be more mentally tired out. More training,more games. Also is anxious, over attached to me. I didn't make notes so just waiting for her to some over!
It was great though.

Thanks for the new thread. Yesterday wasn’t great here but so far today has been better. The pup is such a sweetheart (most of the time!).

@cheeseisthebest that sounds very positive.

Oh, and I namechanged since I wanted something a bit Christmassy. My previous username was bargelihts.

@GuyFawkesDay

*Our hamster is apparently an empty plastic box which mysteriously eats lots of tasty snacks.

I hear it. I never see it.*

As the owner of a hamster, I just wanted to say that my hamster cage is the size of a desk so I wouldn't call it a small plastic box. My hamster runs out of his house when he hears me or smells food- he is obsessed with pepper. Much cheaper than a dog to feed or buy (and lifespan is much shorter) but you need to allocate a fixed space in your home for a large cage (am considering flat with third bedroom so that there is space for nursery and home office with hamster cage).

I think rabbits might be just as high commitment as dogs- they are usually free roam these days but its much harder to train a rabbit not to chew up your entire house as their teeth are continually growing.

Every pet is difficult in a different way; but different people find different things difficult. For example, if you are fanatical about cleaning, you would probably find guinea pigs really easy as the cleaning of poop/pee/hay is like 90% of the work.I think for hamsters, they all have different personalities so it takes a bit of experimentation to find out what makes them content; my hamster is extremely food motivated but many other owners have had to constantly change and upgrade cages as their hamsters need so much enrichment. Unlike dogs, they are not bred for temperament. The other aspects of care are fairly straightforward.

Thank you. She was really lovely and so positive. I just can't remember a lot of it!

Don't do what we did: puppy AND rabbits. Never the twain shall meet because dog's sibling murdered a squirrel recently....

Have had dogs ,(cats, rabbits, chicken,etc etc) since I was a kid. I have met a surprising amount of people while out walking my 2 who got LOCKDOWN puppies. How do they managed without needing a wee, the dogs not the owners. I've always had 2 dogs,used to have 3. Dog flaps for 25 years, means I can go out occasionally,and not worry. They are taught to use them as puppies, same as kittens. As well as the embarrassment of dog poo,and DDs new bloke. Hubby went outside, someone had let their dog crap on our drive. Our gardens are open plan you're not allowed to fence.

Think we've just set our drop training back even more. Ada managed to get hold of the JR pate wrapper, full on zoomies round the garden and she wouldn't swap it for the JR pate the wrapper had actually contained. It worries me as one day she might get hold of something dangerous and we won't be able to get it off her.

@Goawayangryman we have 2 tortoises and Billy would definitely have them as a snack if he was allowed near them!

@nannybeach Billy is a “lockdown puppy” i suppose. He goes for a wee the same as any other dog that isn’t a lockdown puppy 🤷‍♀️.

Why would having a puppy in lockdown mean they couldn't go for a wee?

Been AWOL on this thread but just about caught up!

Blue is 17/18 weeks now and training has come along nicely - she will walk to heel on and off lead if asked…. But.. we walk occasionally with my moms male pup, he is a dobie so a lot larger and getting a bit hump happy with her. She will tell him no but then it ends up if a scrap where he pins her down (upside down and the wrong way round mind). The trouble is when all this is going on neither have good recall, they don’t run off or anything, just ignore mine/my moms existence for a few minutes till it’s all over or Blue escapes.

He is not neutered either (not old enough) but would it be best to not walk them together until one is at least? Not sure if we are encouraging bad behaviour really?

@teenminds not sure if I’ve read all your posts but your pup sounds like he is frustrated in all honestly, have you tried cheap tinned hotdogs cut up as treats for heel work? The little treat pounces that sit on your trousers (so he gets a good sniff).
A figure of 8 head collar is my go to for heel training older dogs and constantly reward them - ‘heel, good boy’ treat x 1000. The fo8 on a short but not tense lead gives you a lot more control that a halti or harness IMO, great for strong dogs. It’s a catch 22 as the walks are horrible but not walking him isn’t doing his behaviour any good either.

There is a group on FB for labs ‘Labrador owners UK’ which had a lot of good advice for lab specific training techniques etc.

Ladycatstark, some one posted how do people manage normally without being in lockdown or WFH when their dog needs a wee,was just putting how we manage

@onlychildhamster yup it's a 1m x 70cm hammy penthouse!!!

Oh thank god I've found this thread

FreddyChenjins is our 11 week old puppy who has brought utter chaos to a fairly organised house. We love him to bits (but don't always like him, it has to be said), and are currently getting to grips with pee, poo, very early mornings, sleepless nights, slow walks about 100m along the road, biting, chewing and all the other puppy delights. Working really hard to overcome them or manage them, but I'm so tired....so, so tired......

Welcome to the thread @SirChenjins. You’ve come to the right place. We can all commiserate with the usual (and sometimes unusual) puppy woes. Solidarity, sister!

What breed is Freddy?

Thanks!

He's a cockapoo, ie a mongrel. Dad is a toy poodle, mum is also a cockapoo. Cute as a button, sharp as a tack, but very lively. So lively. And hungry. Very hungry. And lively - did I say lively?