Puppy Survival Thread: Surviving into Summer 2022

[tizwozliz]

Discussion of all things puppy, highlights and pitfalls, good times and bad, successes and failures

Previous thread here

www.mumsnet.com/talk/the_doghouse/4496297-Puppy-Survival-Thread-muddy-footprints-into-Spring-2022

Teenagers also welcome

Thanks for the new thread!

I've had my little beauty for one whole week 😁 she's doing really well, accidents have been my fault for being distracted or not noticing signs/timing. She's doing well in her crate but can cry if I have to leave her and she's not tired so need to work on her being happy in it at any time.

Had first vaccination yesterday so was pretty sleepy. Been out for a "walk" (carry!) today with a friend and their dog and she was sooo happy and inquisitive, nose was going mad in the air! She's shattered after that tho, all those senses bombarded!

Socialising her with friends and family and neighbours in our garden and so far so good.

I'm setting an alarm for 0430 as she's asleep for the night by 8/830 most days, then she does both pee and poo and back in crate for another couple of hours sleep. She can whine and cry a little then so I sit on the sofa so she can see me and this seems to settle her more til she nods off. No idea if it's the right thing to do but it's working for us for now!

Thanks for the new thread!
@Nugg that sounds great you will gradually get closer to a more acceptable morning time!
@Yamyam13 that sounds like a perfect holiday!

That sounds great Nugg, she’s doing brilliantly with the sleeping x

I’ve just seen the weather is looking to get really hot again next week, few days of 28/29 for us - not looking forward to another bout of 6am walks and keeping them entertained all day at home!!

Left FawkesPup today whilst we go to watch athletics. Friend and her kids popping in half way through the 4 hours we expect to be out and he's had a good walk, got the radio and chews so I expect he will snooze most of it!

Still feel guilty!!

@Autumn101 - here it's forecast to be hot but overnight temps are down at 14 so nothing like we had before. Not that I got up at 6am then either!

Feeling exhausted as it is, we had three consecutive nights of night time poos, one of which also included a game of chase the frog. Then we had mantrailing (she was a star) and gun dog training (not such a star!) yesterday.

I was one of the crazy ones up at 5am to get a decent run out of him!! Hopefully it won’t be too bad first thing, we’ve got in a nice habit of him sleeping until 7.30/8 with the DC off school. They emerge about 9/9.30 and we all go out with him about 10 - he loves them being there and it gives me a break from endless games of fetch with the ball 😂

Thanks for starting a new thread @tizwozliz

My pup has been swimming all summer and he loves it so much. He just had a wonderful time swimming and playing with his friend Ryan the Labrador. If only I could figure out a way for him to go swimming all year round.

Thanks for the new thread! Our 'pup' is 18 months tomorrow, so not really a puppy anymore, more a bouncy teenager. She had her boosters this morning but seems fine. We didn't go for the kennel cough one but will probably need to add it before she's back at daycare in September.

Someone mentioned mantrailing on the previous thread, which I'd not heard of before. There is somewhere not too far from us that does it but they are all booked up at the moment. It looks a lot of fun and it's a new area for us to explore. I'm also keen on doing gun dog training but am a bit intimidated by the local place. We are getting quite decent at agility now that her attention has switched to doing the obstacles rather than trying to run off and play with all the other dogs!

And here is our teenager

The hardest thing about mantrailing @ilovesushi is getting a space on the courses!

We did an intro course last November I think and then it was ages until we managed to do anything more. Amazes me that Ada can now sniff a hat and then follow where that person has gone.

I did find it a bit boring at first, as I wasn't convinced that pup wasn't just following a track and finding someone in the bushes but now we're doing more complicated trails where there are lots of junctions and she has to follow the trail of the person who left the scent article, not another person's trail its much more interesting.

Gun dog training is a bit of an ordeal in comparison.

New thread!

Our puppy is coming up fourteen weeks. Cannot imagine her not being in our life now!

We've been doing some work on getting her ready to have periods of time by herself. We started last week and have been building up time in increments - today she did an hour and ten minutes. No crying, she just knows to go to her bed and have a good sleep. We have a wee camera set up so we can check in on her, and she's very settled throughout.

She's not had an accident since we brought her back from a week away - that was last Tuesday so feels kind of like we've cracked it? She goes for a wee at 10pm then sleeps until around 7am. She's not desperate when she wakes up either - she can wait for us to get out slippers on and toddle downstairs.

@FuckingHateRats sounds like a dream pup!

@ilovesushi ours is coming up to 18 months too. She's mostly very good but occasionally recall still not perfect in certain situations.

Wow @FuckingHateRats that's dream pup territory!!!

Mine was a velcro needy one from day one, he's sweet as but very much wants to be near his person (me) 24/7.

He was fine and dandy today. Friend and her kids played with him for half an hour and then he clearly went back to sleep as he looked half baked when we got back!!!

I want to try mantrailing but the local course was so expensive I couldn't justify it but we are doing more gundog classes in autumn.

Anyone with boy dogs that have been neutered? Any tips as FawkesPup gets done next week.

Here's the doofus in question

@FuckingHateRats she sounds like a dream!

I'm interested in mantrailing! How old before they could start - I know I know, she's 9 weeks but I could get her name down early 🤣

Here's mine after a swim. This is his "please can I go and swim some more" expression.

@GuyFawkesDay I will follow with interest any responses about neutering. I am still dithering about when or whether to have my pup neutered. My last dog was a rescue and he was neutered before I ever got him so the decision was taken out of my hands. I keep going back and forth about what to do with this pup.

Joining up, had our week cockapoo for 4 weeks tomorrow-he's 13 weeks old yesterday

He's mostly great although I'm struggling with a routine as I'm a childminder & have a lot of really noisy children most days so it's hard to find a quiet space for him to sleep as he's really bad with separation anxiety so often gets overtired & grisly which scares the children.

Had anyone any tips or will he adjust to the noise & chill out/get over being by himself or something else magic in the next few weeks?!

Also, any advice for toys or chews that will keep him entertained & distracted for a while? We have braided lamb chews which are good & a variety of other toys which are hit & miss.

Frozen Kong's are your friend. Fill with yummy things they like and freeze.

For tiny pups you have to teach them now they work with loose kibble and then unfrozen wet food and once they get it they are lifesavers. Soothing for dog mentally and keeps a pup busy

Thank you!! I literally came to ask for kong tips for pups

Also Nuggpup is 10 weeks on Saturday. She's had wet food for a week and yesterday I added some kibble. When can I convert to kibble 100% - there's mixed advice online.

Well, tonight I went out for a couple of cocktails with friends.

My husband sent me this photo with the caption "where's that nice lady gone?" 😂 Think she missed me. It's the first time I've not been in the house in the evening since we got her.

@Nugg if your food is advertised as a complete dog food suitable for a puppy, my understanding is she can be on solely kibble from now. We added a little water to our pup's bowl to kind of create a kibble gravy, and also to keep her drinking.

Our pup is on a mostly kibble diet with a spoonful of something yummy to vary it up - sardines, chicken, any reduced fish we see, beef mince. 90% of her intake is kibble though.

@FuckingHateRats oh what a cute photo awww that's so sweet. I'd forgot the sheer adoration you receive from a dog ❤️

Ok that's greater kibble. I'd added a little to her wet food but will swap the quantities and see how she goes but so far she just loves food!!

Thanks - will pop to pets at home to find something for the kibble to attach to in the kong - tried it a couple of weeks ago with peanut butter but didn't work great.

@FuckingHateRats that's a cute photo - how old is your pup? I'm a first time dog owner as an adult, (as a child dogs were outside animals as mum was a farmers daughter so didn't interact too much with them)

Here's this bundle this morning. Looking forward to him growing up & settling down into a chilled dog & eager to see what he'll look like fully grown.

We've made the mental decision to go & stay in a house with 2 other families next weekend with 2 other dogs, one a pup just a few weeks older. I'm slightly concerned

@FuckingHateRats - what breed is he?

@buckeejit she's fourteen weeks.

@mrsfeatherbottom she's a labradoodle / miniature poodle cross.

We're off to her favourite place - the beach - this morning. And then stretching her being-alone training to 80m this afternoon.