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

You must be very excited!! If you’re up for posting a photo we’d love to see her!

Wolfpup has been amazing with toileting from when we got him, he's 5.5 months now and never has accidents. We were at a friend's music studio today and she has 2 female (not spayed) dogs, he has met them before but he was excited playing with the 2 year old one, he did try to mount her and then wee'd everywhere, not sure if it was just him being excited about playing or confused about where he should wee? Or something else? He's so big that he's wees are massive, so embarrassing!! He did go for a wee outside later when we were there and cocked his leg for the first time.

Oh how exciting @Nugg !!!

FawkesPup has been pretty good on holiday. He's loved the off lead walking and has behaved himself mostly quite well.

Got some work to do on his barking though. Every time I go in a shop/loo he barks like I've been abducted by aliens 🙄. Bloody spaniels.

At least I have 5 weeks to try and work on it. Here's the numpty thoroughly wet (again) after today's river dip

I'd love to see a picture of new puppy @Nugg !! What breed is she? Have you got a name yet? I feel rather excited on your behalf.

AwesomePup has been mantrailing again, and he's getting so good!! We did a half mile trail in an urban environment (apparently the most difficult environment) and he was absolutely focused and didn't even care about people, cars, other dogs, etc, just kept following the trail. I was so impressed!

I haven't taken him on holiday at all yet, and we're not planning on taking him when we go to Wales in a few weeks. Dd1 is staying at home to look after him and the guinea pigs. I would like to take him with us, but we can't fit 4 people, a large Labrador and all our luggage into a fiesta. It would add a lot of expense to invest in a roof box just to bring the dog away with us.

Morning! thanks so much for the warm welcome!
Well the first night went very well, she settled a couple of times without a murmur in a crate, then slept soundly for 6.5 hours til 4.30am, after peeing outside twice so proud. Had just peed at 4.30am so will set an alarm tonight i think and try and get her to go before accidents happen. One poop on my door mat today, so have removed all floor coverings in case its puppy pad related! She's eaten some breakfast and had a drink and has been asleep in her crate for over an hour once more.
My daughter did an excellent job with her pup a few years back so taking advice from her as well. Just need to work out a routine that works for us both and keep on with what we are doing for now. Pics to follow as its impossible so far to get anything half decent!

We got a new car @MsAwesomeDragon so we could fit the dog and the camping stuff in the car! Dogs are expensive!

We were also mantrailing last weekend, we did a split trail for the first time. Finally convinced me she was actually following the scent from the scent article as she went after the right person :-)

We went open water swimming with pup today. Didn't go exactly as planned, pup only wanted to retrieve the tow floats which are mandatory at the lake!

Oh that's funny, bless Ada!

We went on our monthly charity dog walk this morning. FawkesPup was so tired by the end he actually stopped running after a ball. First time for everything 🤣

Dogs are indeed expensive @tizwozliz .

DH was offered another puppy yesterday, from a friend of a friend. 17 weeks old, black lab, last of a litter and hasn't been sold. They're offering him free to a good home. I was very, very tempted to just say yes then work out the logistics later, but my sensible head has won. I don't think AwesomePup is well enough trained to be a good role model for a younger puppy yet, and the logistics of taking 2 labradors in the car, and the extra work/time involved in training 2 dogs. As well as the extra expense. I'm a bit sad that we can't take this extra puppy, but sensible head says we just can't make it work.

@MsAwesomeDragon lovely as it would be to have 2 I think you are sensible. Double the mess, double the stress and double the costs for everything!

Hello again. I'm trying to get a decent photo but she's a black pup and never sits still unless asleep 😆
I cannot believe how good she is!
I have set a 4am alarm since the first night when she whimpered me awake at 430 having peed in her crate. This has worked well. First night I couldn't get her back in her crate but also read sleeping on me is fine as it's bonding so I went with that. That day she ended up being left for 2 hours. I was distraught but it was a misunderstanding and after 20 mins of howling in her crate she slept and somehow that crate trained her! She's loved being in it ever since. Goes for naps in it. Doesn't cry at all and when she wakes she just plays in it...!
No toilet accidents since the first day either. She will sit and also give her paw.
I read a lot of timetables re sleep food toilet play etc and we loosely follow one and so far it's working. She's an absolute delight and I'm so so pleased I have her ❤️

Awww that’s brilliant! Sounds like she’s doing great and has brought you so much joy already - lovely! ❤️

Help please!

We brought our new puppy home a week ago and DH and I settled her in for 5 days before introducing her to DD9 and DD6 who were staying at my parents.

24 hours later and puppy will not stop biting DD6 - chasing her and nipping her - to the point DD6 is terrified and won't go near the puppy.

We have tried distracting, rewarding good behaviour and shouting NO, but nothing works in the moment. DH had to (gently) pin puppy to the ground earlier so I could get DD6 away. Two minutes later, she tried to bite her again.

I know all puppies bite but this is so targeted at DD6 that it's really upsetting.

Puppy is 10 weeks old if that helps, and is 7kg so not a tiny threat!

That's bery stressful for you and your DC.
What breed is your puppy?
I would assume puppy feels DC is a fellow puppy and wants to play how puppies play... is your DC6 quite little?
Is DC6 approaching puppy calmly, lowered voice etc?
Maybe you could try DC6 being the one to give puppy their food, to create an understanding that DC6 is not a fellow friend & help thr puppy understand show some restraint & control around DC6? If you dont already, always make puppy wait for their food, only approaching the bowl on your/DC6 cue. Supervised ofcourse.
Also, there is a great site called Pooch Parenting

poochparenting.net/links/

Hope this helps, I'm sure it can be overcome x

@Yamyam13 Thank you - I will check out the link. Yes, DD6 is very little for her age, and I do think puppy thinks she's another dog!

We are absolutely getting DD6 to feed her, and encouraging calm play (though of course she's not able to keep calm while being chased/bitten). And of course, she wants to play with the puppy like her big sister does.

Puppy is a double doodle - labradoodle with some golden retriever.

Here she is!

@Nugg so sweet!

@Newpuppyterror there is a website I think it's called "kids around dogs" or something like that with some tips for getting young children to behave calmly around dogs it might be helpful.

Get long tug toys so your dd can play with the pup from a distance - pets at home do a few snake rope toys that are good. And mostly get her to walk slowly rather than run around as that just gets the pup wanting to chase. My dd was 3 when we got our pup and there was much excitement and chasing with the pair of them. Make use of stair gate or play pen to separate them if pup gets nippy!

She's gorgeous @Nugg !! Vey, very cute. How is she getting on?

@Newpuppyterror I hope things improve for you and your DD, it must be tough. Hopefully the website and advice that @Yamyam13 and @Aria20 posted will be of help

She's adorable @Nugg!

@Newpuppyterror I think that puppies often view young children as playmates so your pup may be transferring the play she's used to with littermates to your DD. I second the advice above about using tug toys as a way for your DD to engage with the puppy from a distance. Another thing is that puppies sometimes become bitey when they are tired. So enforcing a nap when this behaviour occurs might help.

@MsAwesomeDragon I can definitely understand both the temptation of a new pup and the decision not to take it on. I was chatting with the owner of one of my dog's littermates. She said they have recently taken on two new puppies. One is from the same breeder we both went to and the other they rehomed from a neighbour who wasn't coping. So now they have three youngsters, the eldest about 14 months old, the younger two both under 4 months. Much as I adore puppies, I couldn't help thinking better her than me!

@Newpuppyterror mine was the same with younger child for a while. Puppy pen and a gate. As soon as pup start, exit the room or put pup in pen. They quickly twig on that fun stops when biting starts.

@Nugg all the best dogs are black spanners

@GuyFawkesDay awww absolutely gorgeous!!

She's doing really well. It's been a funny day for her as we've been at home and doing lots of big outdoors chores so not her usual routine and she's peed inside twice for some reason. I think cos door open and she had a free run and just too excited - back to routine tomorrow!

I stretched the alarm to 5am today and she was fine. Got up peed and straight back to sleep in crate for 3 hours. Not sure how to eke it further maybe half hour a week?! I'm an early riser anyway so 530 fits with my usual routine tbh...it might not hers as she gets older 😂

Looking up how to stop jumping up as it's kinda cute now apart from razor claws but won't be soon and I find most people find it off putting so want to work on that asap. She's already worked out we don't like mouthing and biting things that aren't her toys to a certain extent. I'm strict 😂

Thanks all, this is making me feel so much better. Yesterday as DD6 went to bed sobbing I felt awful and was genuinely worried we had a vicious animal (I know this is silly but obviously the children come first and it can be hard to have perspective when we're all sleep deprived).

We have done lots of calm play today and DD6 is getting much better at freezing when pup starts trying to chase her. No nips today!

Obligatory photo for cuteness.

@Newpuppyterror oh cuteness overload! We go AH and pull away when ours nips and so far it stops her. But she spins starts again but is only 9 weeks. When she stops she nudges with her nose instead and gets fuss for that which works. It's usually only when super excited or tired.

@Newpuppyterror she's gorgeous! Like butter wouldn't melt.

Our puppy can also be bitey, especially with my girls (who are 11 and 13, but the youngest in the house). She is very bad for nipping at their clothes and hanging on, and jumping and biting as part of excitable playing.

We have told the girls to freeze but we also have a noise we save for moments like this. It only gets brought out when she's crossing the line from playful mouthing and gentle nibbling to actual biting. It's like a very stern 'Ah! Ah! Ah!'. It's hard to describe, but it's obviously a dramatic switch in tone and makes her stop in surprise. We then use that momentary shock to say no and distract her with a toy/ remove her. We're quite careful not to use it too often for fear it loses its shock value haha. I don't know if that's what's recommended, but it's worked for us. It's kind of the same tone you'd use if your toddler was trying to grab something dangerous, and you wanted to get their attention immediately.