Puppy Survival Thread: muddy footprints into Spring 2022

[tizwozliz]

Discussion of all things puppy...

Previous thread here

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/the_doghouse/4451767-Puppy-Survival-Thread-surviving-into-2022

Teenagers also welcome

@Aria20 we weren’t expecting him to be big, he was a small puppy and his parents are quite small but he’s tall and skinny in true Mumsnet style 😂. He didn’t have to have a trial but as we’re going out of the country when he actually needs to go, she recommended it. I have to say I am a bit worried that she won’t have him back but at least we’d know! He’ll probably be in bed now so so far, so good. I miss him like mad though 😭.

I just dropped my pup at the dog boarders for our Easter holiday. I feel shit and like I have abandoned him. Not everyone was willing to have a boisterous unneutered male adolescent pup so choice was limited and it's a special long awaited holiday for DH 50th so needs must. The people are very experienced and it's on a farm with other dogs so I think he will probably have fun. Lots of very positive reviews but they are maybe not the most warm and fluffy in person and the hand over was a bit quick and clinical. Really really hope I have done the right thing and he is OK. They say they'll send me pics later.

@CovoidOfAllHumanity how long are you away for? I think we feel it more than they do hopefully pup will settle in happily x

My idiot had a good time with his guide dog buddy today. Much fun was had, they were both pooped after 30 minutes chasing round in the field.

Hoping for a quiet evening!!!

@CovoidOfAllHumanity I’m sure he’ll be fine!

I’m super proud of Billy, the home boarder said he was perfect and described him as a gentle giant 🥰. The only slight issue was that he didn’t want to come in out of the garden at bedtime so they had to bribe him in with treats 😂 he must have been having too much fun! He had a play outside with her children and dogs and her dogs loved Billy’s crate and went in it themselves and settled down.

We went to the river today and I think he’s scraped his front paws on the rocks at the bottom as they look a bit sore. The skin isn’t broken but do I need to put anything on them?

@CovoidOfAllHumanity I know how you feel but I bet he will be just fine. I wouldn't worry about the drop off -- sometimes a brisk handover is better than a drawn out goodbye. He will probably love playing with the other dogs on the farm.

I ran into the owner of one of my pup's littermates. The breeder is local to us but most of the pups went to owners who live far away so it's always fun to compare notes. She said she wants to get a second puppy! Our pups are now 9 months old. Mine has really been very easy (touch wood) but there is no way I am considering a second puppy in the next year or two.

@LadyCatStark if it's not broken I'd leave it but try not to let him lick it! Mine had a hurt paw recently - the groomer must have caught it and she was licking it and that made it worse!

I can completely sympathise with those of you struggling with environmental distractions and wildlife chasing!

Golden git is knackered tonight. She has had two training kind of walks, did some really good recall practice with another dog and lots of steadiness. She did help herself to some dung on the way back up the road though 🤢

She is very aware of the long line though so I see it being a massive challenge weaning off of that. Ordered a tractive for peace of mind if she does bugger off!

We're away for 2 weeks abroad so it kind of has to work
I just keep picturing him being sad without us. But he probably isn't
I have to tell myself he's a dog not a child and as long as he gets fed and walked he probably won't actually care who does it
He is a robust kind of a guy who is never sad for very long and he has no separation anxiety and generally takes to new people straight away so I think he is going to be OK. It's just me who feels bad and selfish
I would actually bin off the holiday but DH and DC would never forgive me

@CovoidOfAllHumanity we left ours with SIL for a week last year and I missed her a lot! She barked the first night but she was fine the second night and settled into routine quickly, she was pleased to see us when we picked her up but quiet when we got home but was back to normal the next day! She still gets excited to see SIL and bil just wish they could have her again but sadly they are no longer working from home! I'm hoping it all goes well with our boarding and I can use them for weekends away as well in future!

Before we got him I had hoped to leave him with family or that they would come and sit for us but he is just too big and bouncy and badly behaved at the moment. My dad and my MIL in their 70s can't be expected to cope with him. My sister has her own dog and they don't get on (My dogs fault: He spent the whole time incessantly trying to hump her)
I tried to find him a sitter to come to our house but he pursued her around the kitchen trying to hump her so that didn't work out
It was down to kennels or home boarding and most home boarders wouldn't have him as he is not neutered yet (10 months)
I thought the people I have found would be better than kennels for a whole 2 weeks and I still hope that is true but obviously no-one will love him like I do

We tried agility today. It was a mother's day present to myself. It was the most fun, most hilarious thing I have done in a long time. We were the newbies as the other dogs are a few weeks ahead and quite impressive going around the course. I think we did pretty okay considering. It was a boiling hot day and I was almost as exhausted as doggo. Highly recommend it!

@GuyFawkesDay you're not in Sussex are you? The photo of the guide dog is the spitting image of my mums.

@ilovesushi where did you for agility? I'd love to try it but nothing even remotely near us!

Can I join? DPup arrived last weekend, he's now 10 weeks. I've been reading along for a while on and off as prep but it turns out that nothing actually prepares you 😅

Is going ok, but the inevitable biting is an issue we're working on. And toilet training is hit and miss, I think because during the day playing in the garden is just too exciting...

And here is my entrance fee He is a lancashire heeler, one of the KC vulnerable breeds so not many people have heard of them

@IsThatAPuppy he is too cute! He must be good seeing as he’s from Lancashire!

We’ve had the loveliest weekend with Billy 🥰. I’m just praying that this is the start of him calming down into a lovely adult dog rather than another case of one step forward and two steps back. I have to admit, I’m feeling just a tad smug today listening to all the other dogs barking in their gardens and getting told off while Billy just chilled out, it makes a change to have the well behaved dog!

We’ve set up his agility equipment that he got for Christmas up in the garden for the first time. He loves his tunnel but he hasn’t figured out his jump, which is weird because he loves to jump. I’ve found an indoor agility arena that you can hire near our house, which I think I might try next weekend as it’s just me and Billy as DH and DS are away.

His paws seem OK today which is good 🥰.

Oh I love Heelers (I am a Lancashire lass but relocated!) Gorgeous pup

@hashbrownsandwich nope, we are Warwickshire xx

We’ve had the loveliest weekend with Billy 🥰. I’m just praying that this is the start of him calming down into a lovely adult dog rather than another case of one step forward and two steps back.

In day to day life, Ada is pretty good right now. She saves all her bad behaviour for gundog training :-) I feel like I'm waiting for her to go off the rails though, as we've not really had teenage twattiness. I was reading the "Sorry to the puppy club thread..." and most of what they describe is how pup is now and it feels like we've got off lightly so far so I'm waiting for it all to go wrong.

@Aria20 the crazy thing is I've been googling agility for ages and coming up with nothing, then I thought to ask in the local pet shop who gave me a name and it turns out they do it on a farm in my village! We're in Hampshire btw.
We did the crufts course but broken down into sections. She was ace at all the jumping and running up and down things, but terrified of the tunnel. Nothing would get her through it. In the end they took out a section and scrunched it small so we could get through then give her loads of treats and praise.
It was ridiculously good fun and a surprisingly good workout for the dog owner too.

@IsThatAPuppy so sweet! Not heard of that breed before. Looks lovely!
@LadyCatStark you are doing well to get Billy through the tunnels. Sushidog did not like them at all!

@ilovesushi I may have had to go through myself to show him what to do 😂. Then DS just threw a ball in and he’ll do anything for a ball! Once he’d figured it out, he’s just spent the last 2 afternoons going back and forth through it (and having a little nibble of it off course!).

@ilovesushi we have a tunnel at home my daughter had so she does go through that no problem and I'm certain she'd love agility as she likes balancing on walls and jumping! I've found a non competitive class also on a farm about 30 mins away, it seems to be the closest I can find. There's no info on days/times so I've emailed them hopefully there will be one I can do!

Ada would do tunnels these days I think. She didn't fancy following me when I crawled through one when she was younger

Morning all, hope you’ve all had lovely sunny weekends. So much easier not dealing with muddy paws!

Pups has been doing great off lead this last week, he’s even come back to us with people and a couple of dogs walking past - only let him off in one meadow walk near us and if it’s relatively quiet. I’ve been really proud of him as I thought he’d be terrible off lead! On lead is still pretty bad, we’ve got one of the double ended leads and a new harness which is helping but it’s still far from acceptable.

Obviously when they’re doing well at one thing they have to be bad at another though and his jumping has gone crazy 🙄 at the cupboards, the walls, chairs, us…….. religiously say off and ignore but if anything he’s getting worse!!