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 🤬😡😭.

@Autumn101

Arghhh manic morning with puppy and I’m now in tears…….

He is so so crazy he just leaps and jumps and grabs at EVERYTHING, any hope of training has gone out the window as a sniff of a treat and he’s like a rabid wolf so how on earth I can get him to sit is a mystery! Once he’s had one treat he will just constantly claw at me for more.

Still 2 weeks until his second jabs, still waking up 2/3 times a night and I’m just drained mentally and physically

Please tell me it’ll get better??!!!

It does. Blahpup is 13 weeks and we are getting 10:30pm until 4am then back up at 6:30am which I can cope with as I’m up then anyway. First few nights of him sleeping downstairs were pretty grim but now happy on his own at night.

Personally I don’t do masses of training through the week mostly because I just don’t have time. Also at first I didn’t use actual treats, just his kibble then moved onto treats. We still can’t get out for walks either so I totally feel your pain. See my previous posts! 😭😭😭

Feel so sorry for you stuck in too Blah, I swear each day lasts about 45 hours!

How much longer until you can get out? I thought I’d do some nice walks just carrying him, but he’s so wriggly and random it never lasts long! Have ordered a dog sling to see if that helps

It gets better it really does.
This is why puppies are cute (much like babies) or no one would ever have them 😂

Next Tuesday… not that I’m counting 🤣
Blahpup was fine being carried at first but now he wants out/down to sniff and play. They also get sore and uncomfortable so have done some runs out in the car so he isn’t carried all the time. He’s an excitable boy at the best of times!! I’ve just been using a really wide and long scarf I have as a sling. Works a treat. Someone else suggested to me a backpack on my front and tying his lead onto that somehow so he couldn’t escape.

Hello! Can I join please? We're 3 weeks into ownership of a (mostly) gorgeous golden retriever. He does love a good chew and I'm spending a lot of time steering him away from wood and metal items in the house (door hinges??) - any top tips for suitable items for an 11 week old puppy? I'm also trying to get hold of a Kong but they seem to be in short supply locally - is it ok to get an adult one, and should I get one that suits his size now or one he can grow into?

@muddyruns
You need yak bars, half antlers (can have bigger ones once older) and an olive branch all really handy for pups teething and ours preferred this to the numerous other chew toys we offered. Just jeep directing to those each time they chew something they shouldn’t. Our pup will actively look for the chews and then settle having a gnaw on them now.
I think you’d be fine going for a bigger Kong as our pup outgrew the small ones early ands she’s a small breed

Happy National Golden retriever day @muddyruns The price of joining is normally a photo

We started off with a Kong classic medium for our lab which is suitable 7-16kg. We also had a chew root and a nylabone. None of these items were more attractive for chewing than the furniture and/or plastic however!

[quote Askawayyyy]@muddyruns
You need yak bars, half antlers (can have bigger ones once older) and an olive branch all really handy for pups teething and ours preferred this to the numerous other chew toys we offered. Just jeep directing to those each time they chew something they shouldn’t. Our pup will actively look for the chews and then settle having a gnaw on them now.
I think you’d be fine going for a bigger Kong as our pup outgrew the small ones early ands she’s a small breed[/quote]
Brilliant - thanks! Actually have a basket open with an olive branch in ready to buy so will get on that and look for yak bars etc. Our current chew toys are definitely not hitting the spot!

Aww definitely an obligatory picture please @muddyruns. I've got a GR too, now 7 months and full of attitude!

Mine is also an obsessive chewer but oddly not of household objects. She prefers massive logs in the garden, which I try and dissuade from not with much success TBH. If I remove them she just goes to gnaw directly on the (still growing) tree trunk. We've tried coffee logs, bones, all sorts, but the lure of a real tree is seemingly irresistible.

Things like puffed pig snouts, pig's ears, and the softer natural chews are all good but quite expensive. Kongs of any size are fine if they like them. Mine has no clue what to do with it, and will only lick it. I keep trying to show her how to bite and squeeze but she isn't a very good student :)

The latest yakers brand yak bars I got were useless, pup got through a large one in a single evening. In contrast the petello one we had with turmeric lasted a month.

@tizwozliz

Happy National Golden retriever day *@muddyruns* The price of joining is normally a photo

We started off with a Kong classic medium for our lab which is suitable 7-16kg. We also had a chew root and a nylabone. None of these items were more attractive for chewing than the furniture and/or plastic however!

If I must ...

and had no idea it was Golden Retriever day - that's going in the calendar! Yes, furniture clearly far more tasty than anything I actually point him towards. Thanks for the Kong advice.

@muddyruns gorgeous pup

thanks @Goawayangryman - really helpful tips, off to look up animal body parts. Your GR sounds gorgeous!

Ohhh how lovely. A little floofball!

@Goawayangryman mine doesn’t understand soft food in a kong either. So have resorted to putting chunks of carrot in it and just letting him bat it out with his paws.

Never knew about those olive branches @Askawayyyy! I’m off to order one as Blahpup is mad for a stick. After the storms up here it’s like a stick graveyard outside and of course having a puppy I have zero time to sort it out.

I love goldens as puppies. Heart-melting.

My eleven week old maniac loves huge sticks from the garden, tennis balls, fluffy socks and an old flannel / facecloth marginally more than the furniture most of the time. Those Pet Munchies duck twists will also keep her mouth busy for half an hour or so (but then she destroys the house trying to find a suitable hiding place for the remnants!).

Remember that chewing is only half teething- it's also boredom. So five minutes of sit, stay, recall training may engage her and tire her out more effectively than a Kong. If she's in maniac mood then I hum or sing to confuse her/ get her attention and try a bit of training. It sometimes calms her down.

Sympathies with those dealing with nipping and kids. I also refuse to let the dog mouth or nip my DC.

Oh Muddy how gorgeous! I grew up with golden retrievers and love them so much.

Mine is obsessed with sticks in the garden too - he’s at his happiest rushing around leaping at bushes and grabbing sticks. It’s a good job I’m not precious about the garden as he’s in everything!

@ABitBesottedWithMyDog

I love goldens as puppies. Heart-melting.

My eleven week old maniac loves huge sticks from the garden, tennis balls, fluffy socks and an old flannel / facecloth marginally more than the furniture most of the time. Those Pet Munchies duck twists will also keep her mouth busy for half an hour or so (but then she destroys the house trying to find a suitable hiding place for the remnants!).

Remember that chewing is only half teething- it's also boredom. So five minutes of sit, stay, recall training may engage her and tire her out more effectively than a Kong. If she's in maniac mood then I hum or sing to confuse her/ get her attention and try a bit of training. It sometimes calms her down.

Sympathies with those dealing with nipping and kids. I also refuse to let the dog mouth or nip my DC.

Yes - good points re not just teething - I usually try and go through the toddler checklist when he starts being bitey / chewy (toilet / hungry / bored) and often a few minutes of focused training can make a difference (sometimes not though!) . We'll be able to go on short walks in a week so I'm hoping that might help too.

Oh yes, can't wait to be able to take mine out. We are both champing at the bit.

Just had second vaccines today…. Only to be told by vet that dog must stay in for three weeks till they take full effect - - I had counted on a week, but three…. We are going bonkers here!

3 weeks?!!! I’m counting on one too or I think I’ll lose my mind!

There doesn't seem to be any consistency between vets on how long to wait after vaccines. I'm sure on one of the earlier threads someone was told 4 weeks. We were told 1 week before she could go out and about but keep out of the water for 3 weeks.

I think it depends on what vaccine you get, and when their first jab was. The Nobivac one was definitely not 3 weeks from the second one - more like a week to 10 days IIRC.

Three weeks is a long time we were told one week and it was ok to do on lead pavement walks straight away.

I think if you are restarting the course because the breeder used something else it can take longer, sometimes. There is a bit of debate about how effective the first lot are in any case, given remaining maternal antibodies. But it is hard to get proper infO on this as the online sphere seems dominated by dog anti-vaxxers... Who even knew that was a thing?!