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

[WomblingKnobhead]

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

@LBF2020 ours steals food too. Bloody nightmare! Hope you got a decent dinner after all that!!

@tizwozliz SPup is 6 months now. I believe (and sincerely hope!!) it is in an end of term exam rather than an official exam. I really like the trainer and her 'methods'. Lots of positive reinforcement etc. My plan is to continue as long as SPup continues to enjoy it.

@Aria20 I'm glad it isn't just me. I feel like a fool. But I suppose it is a good reminder to not leave anything I would miss on the side.

@GuyFawkesDay Dinner was saved! I already had the potato dauphinois in the oven (otherwise I may have just given in and ordered a takeaway) I'm feeling self righteous by eating the chicken thighs which were ear marked as training treats.

@LBF2020 haha fair enough she stole your dinner so you use hers...but I think she did better out of the arrangement lol!

We just went to an outdoor Xmas Market this afternoon, it was really busy and loads of other dogs of all kinds, pup did really well and walked nicely along.

I have a cuddle buddy today. Feeling really ropey after my booster jab and he's been a sweetie all day. Think they know when we are off colour?

@GuyFawkesDay I'm sure they do. I was ill the other day and laid on sofa she kept coming over and licking me and looking concerned lol.

They definitely know @GuyFawkesDay. I had my booster last week and felt pretty rough for a day and a half. My pup was also quite solicitous! I hope you feel better soon.

I took the pup for a longer walk than usual on the lead yesterday. He did very well for the most part, coping with having to pass by people walking and jogging, many dogs, bicycles, etc. But I think he was really overstimulated by all that sensory input and also with having to walk beside me on the lead which is still a bit of an effort for him. So I plan to keep such walks shorter for now.

Mine gets hyped in the town centre. Going to have to do some desensitisation to it because he gets totally overexcited because it's where the treat stall is on Saturday but his behaviour is awful and there's loads of dogs and people and noise. Probably need to go up there on non market day and get him to chill out etc.

We have been swimming. There was a seal in the sea but a long way off. I have seen dogs and seals play once. Hide and seek....the seal won and the dopey lab enjoyed the game!

Stretchpup played with 3 dogs quite nicely today. He has all of a sudden found his confidence and was running around like a total nut job with his long lead on.

He is 14 weeks now and growing so quickly. He is supposed to be a small medium ALD but his paws are getting massive. I braved washing him after his walk as he was top to toe mud. I had to bribe him with loads of salmon treats to blow dry him. Picture post blow dry

Oh he is just adorable!!!

Swimming with dogs and seal sounds idyllic though cold! Lovely to read everyone's updates. Not been on here in a while, but sushipup is doing great. She has just come into season so I've had to cancel doggy daycare for next week which is a real bind. It explains her very restless unsettled behaviour earlier in the week.

@Stretchandsnap what a cute fluffball!

Oh stretchandsnap he is so sweet!
My dogs separation anxiety is getting worse not better. And family all moaning about barking even though I tell them to ignore cos it does work!

Thankyou @Aria20 and @cheeseisthebest he is very soft - he is lovely for my eldest DD who has autism, he really calms her down when her anxiety is too much.

Cheese we really struggled with separation anxiety, it’s so so hard - solidarity. He is a lot better in the last week, we’ve been following the trainers advice to the letter and we did the session as a family so we are all on the same page - the howling is very wearing!

@cheeseisthebest oh no did you try something different that made him worse? Really feel for you. The barking can go straight through you though can't it so makes it hard to ignore.

Yeh the barking is for attention and I can ignore it and it does work! Rest of the family aren't as good at ignoring.
Haven't tried anything much with the separation anxiety, am going to be working with a behaviourist in January who said not to leave him alone at all at the moment, he's just been following me around all day which not only is quite annoying but also he just can't settle for a sleep but he's constantly following me and panics if he isn't. Poor baby.

He just can't settle this evening at all, keeps moving around to different places in the room we're all in. Maybe his teeth are hurting, he's still got a lot more baby teeth than he should have at his age.

@cheeseisthebest must be really hard for you all. Mine also barks for attention if she hasn't been for a walk/played with or is hungry/needs to go out etc it is an annoying bark and drives me mad and I'm conscious of it more if DH is home as I know he's not her biggest fan!

Ditto with the DH!
He never barks to go out or for food only for attention!

But he needs to become more independent!

@Chunkymenrock

Has summed it up perfectly 😂

How old is your pup now @cheeseisthebest? That is very draining for you. When my pup was teeny tiny it felt just like when my babies were surgically attached to me. I wanted to scream and I was quite anxious a lot of the time.
Mine has got better recently at 5months but it is nothing I have done, that much is clear. She just isn't particularly persistent, nor very attached to me and is more independent than the breed norm. It's luck of the draw but I'm sure your behaviourist will help loads. In the meantime, sending you positive vibes.

You know actually I say mine changed all of a sudden. She did. But it coincided with me getting the Adaptil plugin thing. May just be total coincidence but there has been a marked change recently in her. Might be worth a try with your dog.

He's 6 and half months.
Interestingly we went to a market at the weekend and they had a stall selling something similar to adaptil, gave us a free sample, he's just barked at it and had a vert strange reaction to it!
Which room do you have yours in and can you smell it?

Oh that's weird. Maybe not then. Ours is in the room she sleeps in at night, and I cant smell it at all. Normally I've got quite a keen sense of smell.