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

@Isthislife but sprats are SO good for training because they stink and the dogs go nuts for them. I carry a cheapo antibacterial aerosol from Aldi and that seems to get rid of the stink quite well but yeah they honk!!

FawkesPup has redeemed himself today by letting me sleep in. We admitted defeat and at 6am once he'd had a loo trip let him on the bed and we all slept til half 8, it was lovely. I mean, the dog sleeps between me and DH and he wants to be the little spoon with me, so DH gets pushed out but I slept well 🤣🤣🤣

He behaved well on our walk today. I have a sprained ankle so I am taking it easy and he actually sat, waited, went through the gate on command and sat at the other side, which is nothing short of miraculous.

Anyone find their dogs think "job done" as soon as they've had praise/click/reward? He's gone back to do the right thing getting rewarded and instantly reverting to the unwanted behaviour again. I am taking it as yet another teenage regression and retraining once more. Made some progress on his patience and steadiness out, waiting at heel before fetching but a LONG way to go.

@Riverlee I was considering going tomo. Was it busy? How much did you end up spending and is it worth it as it's quite expensive for us as a family of 5!

@Aria20 I enjoyed it and you could spend nothing, you could spend lots, depending on how tempted you are.

Basically there were lots of stalls, plus various arenas. Some arenas had displays, others had ‘have a go’ events. They included flyball, agility, scent, find and rescue, dog shows etc.

It had a lovely atmosphere with dogs everywhere, large and small.

Not many food stalls, and the one dh went to was expensive (£4 for coffee), so take drinks and snacks with you.

If you buy the tickets online, you can save money.

Forgot to say, we arrived by around 10am. It was busy but not crowded then.

Haku is having a mental evening - just won’t sit still and started humping everyone and grabbing clothes. So our honeymoon period might be over already

tomorrow we’ll work a lot on drop it I guess and finally start crate training

DH has pulled the sofa cushions out to sleep on in the room with the puppy. I am convinced they are going to get pissed on and wishing we’d done the crate from day one already!

FawkesPup is very itchy. Little red marks on his tummy skin, not fleas as he's on Nexguard but I cannot fathom what's causing it.

We've gone back to grain free everything and cut out anything with chicken in case it's those. He seemed to be better with the itches. Hurrah.

Now he's got the raging shits. I am really struggling trying to work out what's going on. I don't really want to go to the vets with him but there's clearly something up.

And he just stole a rich tea biscuit one of the kids left out so that's helpful 🙄😫

Please can I join? After two years of endless research and reading, I'm a week in and seriously regretting what I've done. I can't do this and I don't know what to do. I feel foolish and angry with myself

@GuyFawkesDay has he been running in long dry grass? Mine got a weird red tummy rash from that, he’s fine as long as I give him a wash afterwards. Or could he have eaten something gross and reacted to that giving the rash and the runs? Hope it clears up soon and you don’t end up at the vets £££

@Dollygirl2008 you poor thing, it’s such a tough time those early days, like someone’s dropped a bomb in your life! What breed do you have? I know it sounds a cliche but it really does get better xx

@Dollygirl2008 I know how you feel. It is so tough. It does get easier bit by bit. Is there anything in particular you're struggling with? How old is your puppy?
I'd suggest getting booked into training classes as soon as you're able. Some very basic skills like 'Drop' might give you some sense of control. Be kind to yourself, it will get better 🌻

She's a cocker spaniel - show - 15 weeks old. I really had no idea - despite all the pre work I'd put into it - how dangerous my garden is for her and I'm scared to death she's going to hurt herself. In fact, she already has. I would need to completely level it and that just can happen

I feel such a failure

@Dollygirl2008 Welcome. It’s tough, isn’t it. Puppy blues is a real thing.

However, they say it does get better.

Oh, and mumsnet rules, we need a picture!,

@Dollygirl2008 lots of unmumsnetty hugs - this is our first puppy too and unlike having a baby where at least you can put them down and know they won’t get into mischief there’s no taking your eyes off a puppy!!! It’s overwhelming, I totally understand - hang in there and come here for support, I know I am!

@GuyFawkesDay sorry ti hear about the rash, I am a novice with no ideas but hope it clears up soon

working on drop it now that pulling on clothes has become an overnight thing - the battersea dogs home videos are great

crate training is the thing I have no clue about though, Haku slept on the bloody sofa cushions cuddled up to DH last night so we’ve def already fallen into some terrible habits there!!!

Updated photos of my 11week, 10.3kg boy (he went from being middle of the litter in terms of weight to the heaviest in just two weeks)

I know it's not practical long term but can you take her in the garden on a lead until she gets used to it and you've had a chance to put some things in place? Is it that you have high walls that she carelessly flings herself off of? Are there any ways you can make it a bit safer without having to level it completely? Sorry, I'm sure you've thought it through a lot already

We're having to increase the boundary height on one side of our garden as unlike the rest of the garden, it is not 6ft. I convinced myself if would be fine but quite quickly became apparent she'd be over the wall as soon as she was big enough! It's one expense after another

@Dollygirl2008 So sorry you are having a hard time - I experienced massive regret with our pup, who is now 7 months and so much calmer and easier. I was surprised how anxious I was at the beginning - constantly worrying about her getting hurt, or eating something she shouldn't. It does pass!

When does the dreaded teenage stage usually start? Pup has starting being a bit of a hooligan this weekend - stealing stuff and running off with them and refusing to drop. We're back to having to put everything out of her reach again.

@mrsfeatherbottom we had 3/4 weeks of mischief and selective hearing at 6 months ish then it settled down. He’s now nearly 10 months and everything was fine until the poorly foot which has provoked a mega teenage response 🙄

@Dollygirl2008 we still have mini fences as our garden is on 2 levels and I fear pup bounding through the bed on the top and it's a 1m drop onto the patio. I spent a day sawing wood and staplegunning chicken wire onto it all to keep him safe (also a CS!)

Those first few weeks are absolute bedlam and puppy blues are so real.

@mrsfeatherbottom I think about 6/7 months for us. Peaked and troughed so he'd have a couple of weeks of hideous behaviour, them improvement, then a couple of weeks of it again. At 15 months we are still having lots of back to basics on lead walking, stay/steadiness (his impulse control is awful) and manners. Just this week it's back to demand barking and mouthing for attention 🙄

Am very much looking forward to an adult sensible dog but then again I got a spaniel so I think that's about a decade away 😫🤣

@Dollygirl2008I’m sorry you’re experiencing the puppy blues. What are the specific issues in your garden? Someone here might have some ideas that could help.

@mrsfeatherbottomthe teenage stage started here when my pup was about 7-8 more old with selective hearing and sock stealing. 😅 I thought we had gotten off lightly but then he hit 10 months and he had a few weeks of shocking behaviour including a couple of incidents of destructive chewing which he had never done. I felt so low then and thought all our hard work had been been pointless. Fortunately that phase didn’t last long.

7-8 *months old

Talk to me about nights. We are slowly trying to move towards crate training overnight. First 6 nights DH or I slept in the main room with pup who had free reign

lastvtwo nights I’ve moved to the next door room with a stair gate so he can see and hear me but not come in - still has free reigns in the main room.

Spending the day getting him happy with the crate door being shut, he doesn’t complain when it is but is wise to it now and runs in to get treats then runs out again.

last two nights I got up when he seemed to and let him out for a wee but he’d always done one on the doormat. He then pads around for AGES, no whining or sign of needing the loo but I can’t see him in most of the room.

set an alarm for 6, he’s still asleep so I wait until he’s up and immediately take him out but he doesn’t do anything - turns out he pooped on an inside mat probably several hours earlier (after the 2:30am wee)

so should I attempt to crate him at night hoping he won’t toilet in there as he gets his meals etc there and in which case when should j be getting up to take him out? He doesn’t whine for the toilet, we’ve been trying to train him to ring the bell at the door but that hasn’t landed yet, he clearly needs to go in the night - we do take him out around 10pm before bedtime but I think he’s having a poo around 4 and then this middle of the night one 🙄

@Citygirlrurallife - if it was me I would try him in the crate at night and sleep right next to him so he knows you’re close by, you can always put your fingers in so he can smell you too. As you’ll be so close you’ll hear him shuffling around I would expect so could then take him out for a toilet break. You may well find he does whine for the loo if he’s shut in the crate as generally dogs hate messing in there. My pup was lasting all night in his crate without loo breaks after about 4/6 weeks I think so it’s a relatively short period of time (although I know it doesn’t feel like it at the time!)
Theres a lot of different views on how to crate train, it can get confusing!

Thanks @Autumn101 yes there really are!! I think we might try that - I just don’t want him to start hating the crate so assumed very slowly was the way to go but perhaps a reassuring presence is enough?

@Citygirlrurallife give it a try for a few nights and see how he goes. Mine did whine a bit and would definitely have preferred to sleep on me to start but now he loves his crate and runs in at bedtime. He isn’t as keen on it during the day but can mostly be trusted to behave out of it now as long as it’s not for too long 😂