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

[WomblingKnobhead]

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

@AutumnNymph I agree with LadyCatStark that the nipping usually calms down of its own. We lost a few jumpers and hoodies to the pup's baby teeth, though we were actually quite lucky since he didn't bite nearly as much as some pups do. At 6 months old it's very rare, though he still nips our heels occasionally which I think is due to being a herding breed. During the intense teething stage, the best approaches we found were redirecting to a toy and having frozen Kongs on hand since they seemed to soothe his gums.

Remember, this too shall pass!

Frozen Kongs! What did you fill in them please? I shall freeze one tonight. He also seems to have gone off his food today which again is unlike him

I have used fillings like yogurt, peanut butter, pumpkin puree. Often a combination of two or three things, with a few soft treats added. My pup still has a frozen Kong every day even though he doesn't seem to be teething anymore. But he loves them and they are a good way for him to calm down after an energetic romp.

If your pup is off his food, that may also be teething related. Of course, it could be many other things too but I just thought I'd mention the possibility.

@LadyCatStark does it come in any other flavours? We do wet food in kong/lickimat for breakfast then kibble mixed with wet at dinner time. She's not a fan of plain kibble at all

My pup is 7 months and still nips! He does still have quite a few baby teeth apparently. I think the nipping is the hardest part of having a puppy. What does work is we put him on a houseline and then can control the jumping up etc. He quite likes it and will chew the lead and settle.

Ooh those look fab @LadyCatStark thank you! We use wet as a topper and for kongs too.

For fillings @AutumnNymph I tend to use a few flavours:

Pumpkin puree, grated carrot, bit of kibble, grated liver sausage

Greek yoghurt, banana and peanut butter

Wet dog food, grated carrot.

Having never had a puppy before it has all been such a massive learning curve. I've realised you have to be firmer than some trainers will tell you to be, they do understand. They are so clever and I give lots and lots of praise!

The jury is out on kongs in this house.. Frogdog will not chew them but will lick a bit of whatever out of them.

Bit down today, off work for school holidays and just so much to do for Christmas on top of puppy that it’s all a bit stressful although am trying to keep a lid on it for the sake of kids. Had trainer round last night and she really worried me, she looked at his pedigree and said that because there were field trial champions in there on one side he would likely have a really high drive and would need loads of mental stimulation. She got me really worried that he won’t be a calm family dog when he grows up and will always be anxious on walks because he needs to be given a job, not just go for a walk.

Think I am just a bit stressed and tired (burning candle at both ends) and doubting our decision to get a springer, even though I thought we had done loads of research!

@LostFrog they are an "on the go" dog but you can easily do mental stimulation through doing some gundog work, scent training, mantrailing classes. Then everyday things like "find it" games. I've got FawkesPup a gundog dummy for Xmas and we are going to be hiding it in the fields for him to find. Don't feed from bowl, make him work for it. Honestly, I am sure he will be fine but the FTCH bred working dogs are super clever, super energy dogs. But that also makes them really trainable too.

Oh and I thought I'd have a butter as FawkesPup's dad is a working cocker. Turns out as his mum is show type he is actually quite chilled. So just because it's on his pedigree on one side doesn't mean he will be like that!

@Aria, yes there’s lamb and chicken, chicken and I think turkey. They also come with rice or sweet potato but I can’t remember which combinations and there’s veg in there too. I like that you can see what’s in it, it’s not just mush. They’re only 75p each too!

@GuyFawkesDay he use to have wet food as a topper but has started just picking the wet bits out 🙄. He gets a lot of ‘human’ food too so we’ve probably spoiled him.

We are meanies and he only gets dog grub and the odd toast crust 🙈

Haha we get Gousto boxes and they only come in 2 or 4 person boxes. There are 3 of us so Billy gets a portion of at least the meat every night 😳

Just joining as recommended by posters on a thread I started in topic.

I am nervous as this is our boys first night, however he seems very happy already and is sleeping well in between playing (British bulldog) but will only fall asleep on me swaddled in a blanket. It's day 1!

@Xtraincome welcome. The first day/night is nerve-wracking isn't it? How did he cope?

I've just read through the last week's worth of posts and things seem to be going well for most of you. I've enjoyed reading the adventures of the hound of the twatskervilles.

I've found a relatively local trainer that does agility, hoopers (not quite sure what that is) and mantrailing classes. I am trying to organise something for the new year, although I'm hoping she can do a weekend class because I can't really commit to evenings during term time. AwesomePup has thoroughly enjoyed having me home for the holidays and we've done longish walks in the woods most days. Had to have a quiet day yesterday though as he was limping a bit. Nothing there that we could see, so we're hoping a couple of days at home chilling will sort him out.

@Xtraincome welcome - hope the first night went better than stretchpups first night! I have found this thread so reassuring - is 13 years since I had my last puppy

@Stretchandsnap
@MsFestiveReindeer

I am exhausted, but all he was was needy. Just needed a heartbeat nearby. He used either puppy pads or outside to toilet when needed. Got to rise above the whinging tonight though I think

It's an exciting adventure. DD7 is brave and playful but DD4 hates the yipping and nipping.

@MsFestiveReindeer FawkesPup has an intermittent stiff leg/shoulder. Vet has checked it and says he just overdoes it usually playing with other dogs. We are sticking to fields and no pavement as much as possible with him. Today he's a bit stiff after and hour of total lunatic on the dog walking meadow. Just had a field trot on the long line this morning.

Well overdoing it with other dogs sounds like you've found the cause. He spent a mad half hour playing with a friend from puppy classes when we met them on our walk on Monday. They are very similar in age, size and temperament (both big, boisterous and love nothing more than rough play). They played very roughly for ages while I talked to the other owner. Both were enjoying it but I can see that he might have overdone it, lol

Arghhhh why is Billy always a pain in the arse when DH deigns to come on a rare walk with us?? Well I’m guessing because he’s not used to DH being there or because DH insists on walking off in front of us when Billy is in his lead or because he has 0 patience, but it makes me look like I’m lying when I say he’s great on walks with just me. I don’t know how to make it better because the worse he behaves, the less DH wants to come for walks but Billy won’t get used to it if he never comes 😡.

My pup has a frozen Kong daily too
If they aren't frozen they are gone in seconds
We put some of his kibble (put aside some from meals) plus some veg eg carrot, peas, beans and a little bit of wet dog food or grated cheese to seal the top. I soak the kibble a bit in water or home made chicken stock if I have some to make it harder to get out
We also soak half of his kibble for his dinner just because that's how his foster lady did it but I wonder if that does make it a bit more interesting for him.

Hey everyone

I've been keeping an eye on the thread for a while and wondered if anyone can help.

We have a cockapoo, almost 5 months.
Had been sleeping through fairly well until about a month ago when he started waking once or twice in the night. Hubby is an absolute softy who couldn't cope with the whining so he ended up being in our room from about 2.30.

I've been going down the tough love route for a couple of weeks now - up, plonking him in the garden to either pee, or stand looking miserable, carried back to the crate and left. And that worked for a couple of weeks. Felt like we were making progress and even had a run of 3 nights of no wake ups.

But this week its gone to hell in a handbasket. It took me almost an hour to get him to come in from the toilet the other night. Livid.
Last night I just didn't have the energy to fight it, so let him in our room with us fairly early. He settled and slept in the same spot for almost 8 hours. Little bugger.

But I'm not keen on having him in our room with us long term.

Any ideas / tips/ words of wisdom / learnings you can share???

Even frozen kong doesn’t last long with Frogdog! He likes a puffed chicken foot though, 25p each at local pet shop. I got him a bag of 4 for Christmas Day nibbles. Haven’t actually got him a Christmas present, has anyone got presents for theirs?

@LadyCatStark could your dh do one of the walks on his own? We hardly ever all go together. Dh tends to do the early morning one and I do the other usually with one or two of the kids. I don’t think Frogdog likes having to compete for attention, I think he prefers having an adult to himself!

@Xtraincome I hope it’s going well! Hopefully you are having a relatively quiet Christmas outside of puppy stuff, it is a busy enough time of year as it is!

@LadyShrek2k19 cross posted, that sounds really tough. I am no expert but would have thought that he shouldn’t need the toilet in the night by 5 months and it sounds like he has been managing it, has anything changed during the day that might explain it? Do you think he just wants the company? What does he sleep in, is it feasible to put a puppy pad down and earplugs in (you not him!) and leave him to it?