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

Yep I cannot wait for it to cool down…… We’ve had lovely beach walks for 1.5 hours very early morning but by afternoon he’s pacing about restless, evenings have been still over 26/27 so too warm for a second walk. Mostly surviving by giving him constant frozen kongs and treats!! We have been out for breakfast today and left him at home which was great. My DC haven’t minded staying home as that means far too much Xbox 🙄

@tizwozliz what a fab way to spend the day! I love swimming with mine but haven’t found too many places local to us yet where we can both go in

Hope the next week goes quickly @GuyFawkesDay

@Autumn101 that's the trouble with the very early walks isn't it lol they are ready to go again by afternoon and they don't understand it's way too hot!

Does anyone have a recommendation for some sort of large container to store open kibble? She's finally consistently been eating the same food for some time so I bought a 4kg bag but it's smelling the utility room out even with a clip on it!

I've been looking too but we buy 15kg bags so need something huge. Pets at Home had ones that might work for you or Curver have some too (available loads of places like Homebase and Amazon)

I found this which I'm considering

yorkshirehomeware.co.uk/product/3-piece-airtight-large-pet-feed-storage-containers/

Or

@Autumn101 - this wasn't local at all, but pup's a great traveller and an air conditioned car isn't a bad place to be when it's hot out.

@Aria20 - I was going to look up what we have but then reread and see that you're just talking about a 4kg bag. Ours holds about 15kg so prob way bigger than you need!

DiddyDoggo is home and has discovered the cuddly puppy ball. I think he's hot as he's splooting on the dining room floor in the shade.

@mrsfeatherbottom they look handy on wheels too... though I think too big as I'd need storage for the storage container!!

@tizwozliz yes prob too big... however if she's still eating this food at the end of this 4kg bag I may get the 10kg bag next time... it's unlikely though as she never sticks at a food 🤦‍♀️

@tizwozliz - what container do you use for the 15kg bags?

Food store

We use the one above as we get big sacks now. He can still leave his food but it's tough cheese now I am not changing again. It's perfectly good and he does like it he's just pushing for treats/extras on top.

Yep, FawkesPup is grabbing my hand (he is v cute he puts his mouth on you but is so gentle) and then leads you to the door as the world's least subtle walk request. If you ignore this he bounces on circles and barks at you 🙄

We are managing x2 short walks v early and v late but I am SO looking forward to this weather breaking. I'll take cold and mud over this any day.

His ex-nads are definitely looking less swollen today so progress in the goolie department. The problem is the better he feels the more he's a loon and the more he can then set his recovery back, the fool.

Ours is one like this

www.solentplastics.co.uk/45-ltr-airtight-clear-plastic-food-catering-bin/

Does anyone have any recommendations for doggy seatbelts? Our 12 week old puppy howls and barks in her car crate as soon as the car starts moving.

The catch is that we have two children's car seats in the back, so it would need to be able to accommodate that (and she will be a big dog when fully grown).

@Newpuppyterror if you have 2 car seats in back it's prob safer for the dog and the kids for the dog to stay in the car crate in the boot. If you persevere I'm sure the howling will stop as they get used to it, 12 weeks is still very young.

@tizwozliz that one is much better price than some I've looked at and plain without cheesy slogans on. I don't want to pay £30+ for essentially a plastic tub for dog food lol. Do you keep the dog food in the bag inside the tub or tip it in loose?

Can pup see out at all @Newpuppyterror ?

Ada wasn't happy in the boot of the car until she was big enough to look over the back seats and see us.

i don't think two car seats and a bigger dog would work. We had a friend on the back seat alongside pup yesterday and he got lots and lots of kisses! And she's a smallish lab but still takes up two spaces if she's lying down.

I think they do a smaller one too @Aria20 which should work for a 4kg bag. We keep the food in the bag and put it inside, I think our dog food says to keep in original packaging. (It's also meant I was able to give away two barely touched bags that fussy pants wouldn't eat).

We've not been out for a walk this morning, Ada seemed pretty tired after being out the house 7am to 8pm yesterday despite sleeping most of the journey. We're going out for a trip for ice cream though in the nice air conditioned car.

@Newpuppyterror our pup hated the car too. Cried and cried and cried. We had her in the boot, not in a crate though.

We decided to take her out in it every day. She got a treat when we put her in, and a treat when we took her out. Just short journeys here and there, but were militant about building up exposure.

It probably took ten days-ish for her to be fine.

We started at 9wks and when she was 11wks we took her up to the Highlands, which was nearly 5 hours. We stopped for wees and a walk, but she managed it all fine, sleeping a lot and chilling out.

She's grand now. Still in the boot, with a bed she lies in.

Good luck!

Thank you! We have been trying to go out regularly (and dropping treats into her crate during the journey!), but I think perhaps we need to step it up to daily, at a regular time each day so it becomes part of her routine.

No she can't really - a combo of how the car is built and the fact the kids' car seats sort of block her view. Not much we can do about that though.

I won't lie - the first five days she pretty much cried the whole ten minute journeys. It wasn't fun but the way our life is set up, we just had to get her used to the car quickly. Then it moved to the odd cry but mostly settled. Then, about ten days in, she started to jump up to get in! She now gets quite upset if a walk doesn't begin in the car and we gasp ask her to WALK to the destination 🙄🤣

@DMCWelshcakes oh so teeeeeny! How's she getting on?

Stupid googleable question - is puppy kibble a 12 months thing!?

I think it depends on the brand. The puppy kibble we started with was marketed as up to 6 months and then it was junior up to a year I t

He's had an exciting day of waddling about, splooting and generally making himself at home. We're now trying to settle down for sleeping.

I have no hope of sleeping through the night!

We took pup away this weekend to a house with 2 other families & another pup 2 weeks older & a 3 year old dog too. Also took him to theatre in the park on Tuesday. He's been a star & got on great! Such progress in a few weeks. He's a dream in the car now too 😁. Will probably all change tomorrow but so good to get out & about with him!

Huh. I took DiddyDoggo out for his last wee at about 10.30 last night & then he went all the way through until 6.00 this morning. No crying, no nocturnal wees.

He did some spectacular pooing this morning though and his stomach seems to be producing very liquid shits after the initial proper solid one. Is that heat, excitement, too many treats, a reaction to Mondays?

I'm planning on taking him for his first walk in about 30 minutes, before it gets too hot or thunders.

Hope everyone else had a good night & isn't boiling to death.