Puppy Survival Thread: surviving into 2022

[LadyCatStark]

The other thread is full and I can’t see a new one! Hope it’s OK to start one. I’m actually barely surviving puppyhood, actually teenagerhood, this week 🤬😡😭.

Actually what helped as well, is the OH comes sometimes and he can see what the others are doing and mostly they have their own struggles in different areas, I just don't see that as so busy concentrating on what we're doing.

She does listen to me sometimes though :-)

flic.kr/p/2mZ7W2T

Ahhh she’s just beautiful! 😍 Mine would just have his nose in the foliage and then dart off the other way! People keep telling me he’s not as bad as I seem to think, so may be it’s just that it seems relentless at the age he is and I need to cut him some slack. I just see all the adult dogs walking round the village and the fields, walking to heel, not reacting when a pigeon flies over etc and find myself wishing away the next year or so to when he might be calmer and may be a bit more of a joy to take out and about. That said, we’ve just been on a walk with a friend, I warned her of pup’s teenage ways and he was very good the whole way, so he can do me proud sometimes!

Puppy school this evening and have decided I’m just going to have to brazen it out and stop apologising for his behaviour.

@567and take pup for a good walk before you go to puppy class. When we had a test for our silver kennel club award the trainer suggested a long walk to tire them out before so they are more chilled as we had a barky dog in our group too... mine wasn't barky but wanted to play with everyone!! She still chases birds though and I can't see that ever changing!!

Yup, I was brave and went off lead on the racecourse today. It's quiet at 9am on a Tuesday so thought I'd go for it. FawkesPup was generally brilliant and I spent 5 minutes watching him chasing 2 crows who took it in turns to land and fly low, much to FawkesPup's enjoyment. Eventually he did look back to me and he recalled but not initially.

He also enjoyed a lovely play with other dogs, recalled really quite well and was very sociable and well behaved so all in all not bad for first big off lead experience after his restricted exercise. He stuck to within 10-20m of me apart from when playing so I will take that as ok.

He then flaked out for 2 hours!!! Off to chuck his ball round the park in a bit and hope for a quiet evening so I can get some work done!!

Oh my god, 'off lead on the racecourse' strikes fear into my heart. But I am guessing there were no horses present :)

I'm really struggling to recover my confidence after being taken down thoroughly by the trainer at the weekend for not practicing consistently enough and the fact that twatpup's recall has gone to pot. Well, not totally, in the sense that I have never lost her and she always stays relatively near, and will head in my direction when called (usually)... but problem is she shoots past and protests going on the lead. Trainer was adamant that I'd recalled her and spoiled her fun by putting her straight on the lead and I really, really haven't. I always create a gap between recall and putting her on.

She is 7 months old and we start Kennel Club bronze tonight. I'm dreading it. I keep repeating she is teenage, she is teenage, she is teenage... but I'm not sure I believe it myself and walks are now stressful cos I don't trust her to come back and so we have either long line (which I hate and which the trainer doesn't like and discourages) or off-lead somewhere totally safe, or on lead which is a pulling, horrible nightmare even though we are working so hard to fix it. It's definitely all got to me this week!

I've just read back over last couple of pages and feeling sympathy with the dog class experiences! It's horribly reminiscent of being back at school school, and fearing the next telling off/ performing badly......

@Goawayangryman what does your trainer mean? Surely in general when we recall it is to put them back on lead as we need them back on? Of course it spoils their fun...but if they need to go back on lead it's usually for a good reason?! Obviously I do practice recall and don't put the lead back on every time like when it's just me and her in the field I just call her back she sits and gets a treat then I say "ok off you go" and let her go off again but sometimes when I call her back it is because either I see another dog coming that is onlead so I will put her back on, or there is something ahead that I'd rather she was on lead for or it's time to go so yes I am spoiling her fun lol but it's necessary and yes she sometimes avoids coming back close enough so I can't put her lead back on little sod!! I bloody hate the long line too, I've been whipped by it, tripped by it and had my shoulder yanked when she bolts not realising I'm still holding it! I long for when she is reliable in every environment and trots along beside me!

Thankfully our trainer(s) have always been supportive, acknowledge things go backwards instead of forwards and that life sometimes gets in the way of training I'm not sure I could have handled getting reprimanded by them. I think most people going to classes or getting one to one training are genuinely going to be trying their best

She means, that I have done something to discourage recall - i.e., grabbing her or putting her back on leash when she was having loads of fun and I brought her back. Well, yes I have on occasion - once when a horse was coming for her own safety (and yes, it turned out to have been a sensible decision!) and a few times when she has been plaguing other dogs that have had enough. I certainly haven't made a habit of it. I did feel a bit like "oh". I am trying really hard.

I've got my stupid ex making fusses about nothing as well, and am still recovering from bronchitis so I am well grumpy!

We've been through a few trainers, first one was too aversive for my liking and the classes were chaotic, current one is highly effective in terms of getting dogs to do what she wants, but bloody bolshy and not for the faint of heart me

Anyway I feel better for having had a good moan here. Thank you for listening!

I sympathise with all the non-recallers…and admire your bravery for having them off the lead. ChenPup was allowed to go to the front door today when someone called - he then proceeded to run down the path and almost onto the road before DS grabbed him. Absolutely zero recall, so I think for the sake of other the path and trail users who might not want a muddy dog runny at them I’ll keep him on his lead for a bit longer.

We are still having issues with jumping up on people. If we could crack this, I would be thrilled. Does anyone have any tips? The standard "four on the floor" training goes extremely well until he meets a new person when it all goes out the window. Yesterday we had plumbers at the house and I was relieved that the pup only jumped up once. But obviously I would prefer it if he stopped the behaviour completely.

@Goawayangryman what does the trainer suggest doing then? As of course we are going to have to grab them to put lead back on?
@certainshepherdpups probably just a case of every single person ignores pup and folds their arms/turns away if pup jumps up no attention at all unless they are sitting or calm. It is hard especially with people who don't mind the jumping up so encourage it or let them get away with it!

Gorgeous pic @GuyFawkesDay and how lovely to let him off lead for a bit.

Our recall has almost disappeared when at home too. He used to come when we called him from the garden or another room but he now just looks at us (am sure he’d be sticking two fingers up if he could 😂) and then saunters off. 🤦‍♀️. We used to be able to call him back with the dog whistle and a treat but that’s gone too. Feels like it will never come back and I’m so jealous when I see other owners with dogs off lead just plodding alongside them. This is what I get for him being so well behaved the first few weeks we had him. Lulled us into a false sense of security.

@Aria20 Am going to try a walk before puppy class this evening to see if it burns off a bit of energy. 🤞

@GuyFawkesDay lovely pupper.

@aria20 .... I'm really not sure! Her main message was basically, 'back to the start, treat her like a tiny puppy again' and work bloody hard praising her, when she comes back. And also gain more control by doing more lead work and (essentially) getting her to mind me more - including using corrections where necessary, if she isn't. I absolutely hate doing that though. Voice, she ignores, so what is left? Jerking on the collar seems to be it and it's a bit grim, I don't really like it. However, I do trust her when she said "this dog is basically just ignoring you cos you're a pushover"....

@Goawayangryman it’s totally normal for recall to get worse during adolescence, I wouldn’t worry too much about having down something wrong!

Yesterday I figured out that Billy will come flying back to me if I run in the opposite direction! I look like an idiot but who cares 😂 he loves running alongside me (only for a short distance I’m not running with him yet!).

Here’s a pic just because he’s so damn good looking!

Oooh he is a handsome boy!

And thank you. I know really that it's normal. Mine won't come back to running, waving, shouting, strangulated noises, anything at the minute, when the mood takes her! Running worked well in the past in an emergency...

@LadyCatStark oh yes mine always comes running then lol x

@Goawayangryman do I recall that your pup is also a goldie? SPup is a week away from 8 months and we had a recall workshop with our gundog trainer a few weeks ago. We signed up to the course as pup was coming back eventually, but running past rather than presenting as he had been doing. It was really helpful! Basically the take home was recall to play rather than treats. As trainers they aren't anti treats, quite the opposite in fact. Anyway.. I have a tugenuff rabbit skin tuggy which only comes out on walks. So at the moment, I whistle, fling out my tuggy and swing it madly in the air and SPup spins around, SPRINTS so hard and fast at me that I am basically taken out. The difference between coming back to a treat and tug is immense. I think you will have to repeat a few times for pup to realise that she will get a tuggy game when she comes back. But honestly, it's been life changing. So far anyway!!
With regards to the lead walking, I feel your pain (literally!) SPup nearly broke my thumb when he suddenly lunged off to the side. The loose lead walking has gone really down hill 😭

@LBF2020 I love you a little bit for that post. I am going to buy one of those immediately as food holds no interest. You are correct. Retriever.

Our retriever had terrible recall during the teenage phase - I once had to climb down into an irrigation ditch and catch him! We worked on a wait command, which he was much better at (and still is at 7yo..although he does come back now too, kind of ). So if he didn't come back he would often sit and wait for us to come to him instead. Obviously there are situations where this isn't the perfect solution, but it got me out of a couple of sticky spots when he was this sort of age. We still use it a lot - if a horse or cyclist is coming past, for example, he will just sit and wait for them to go by and then carry on. We taught it with his food bowl, asking him to wait and then taking it up if he didn't - he is very foody so he learnt it quickly!

And agree with a pp, if he thought he was being left he would come running.

Our new little lab is settling in amazingly - the night crying had stopped by day 4, we then had a couple of days of poo in the crate, but nothing this morning. Apart from the above, house training is also going well - very few accidents and has started asking to go out! Our older dog has accepted him completely - playing nicely/gently and letting him nap next to him.

@littlepeas that pic is toooo cute!

Since destroying his bed and crate mat, Billy has just had blankets for sleeping on. He’s been enjoying cuddling cushions recently and DS suggested giving him a pillow so I gave him on last night and he slept until I had to get up at 7am! Then this morning he’s spent most of his time trying to destroy it 🙈 (which I fully expected to be fair). Why on Earth does he feel the need to chew up everything that he loves the most??

Looks like it's the first day of pup's season as we have a few drops of blood. It's rubbish timing but it is what it is.

@tizwozliz what a shame when you had lots planned. Being a woman sucks sometimes whether you’re a human or a dog 🙈.