Puppy Survival Thread - as we approach Fireworks night for the first time…

[Riverlee]

Apologies if someone has already started a new thread. Couldn’t see one when I had a quick look.

As it’s a new thread, why don’t we all (re-) introduce ourselves. Ie. Good excuse for more cute puppy pictures!

I have RiverPup, who is now a 15 weeks old black Labrador.

Two pictures of when we first got him, and more recent.

Hi I have a little chihuahua toffee is her name she is a little diva , I’m genuinely worried about fireworks as they have started where we live and she is terrified she is one now so last year she wasn’t too bothered by them as was still a baby and cuddled up to me any tips would be appreciated thank you

I have Paddy, a 14 almost 15 week old Springer Spaniel, he’s pretty good with loud noises but he’s obsessed with the cat - much to the cats disapproval! He’s also chief gardening helper and inspector of all brooms!

@staciea31 with our old dog something that helped was acting like fireworks were no big deal because then she didn’t think they were a big deal. Also something like a kong or licky mat so they’re concentrating on something else was helpful

Twiggy is 10 weeks tomorrow, she's a Border terrier / Norfolk terrier cross and she's bloody brilliant! Super confident, hilarious and naughty but also sleeping like a dream and getting there with toilet training. We already have our 7 year old DDog and they have really started getting on well

I just picked up a new puppy and thought about maybe playing firework sounds off youtube on low volume on and off throughout the weeks leading up. It worked for my cat who is oblivious to fireworks now. It's got to be worth a try?

I've found you!

I have two boxer pups... Daisy and Dora.

Fireworks started here tonight and Daisy isn't sure at all, Dora wasn't fazed.

Following on from my indoor pee question; I've moved to chicken as an outdoor toileting reward and so far it's going well... still a couple of wees in the kitchen but nothing like it was so I'll keep going with chicken and hope the high value reward cracks it!

I don't currently have a puppy but I've had a few...

What I find helps is gradually habituating them to loud noises from early puppyhood. I drop pan lids on hard floors from increasing heights and decreasing distances from the puppy - I make it all very exciting ('Wasn't that a funny noise! Oooh, look, there's some cheese/ a ball!') and so long as the puppy recovers quickly if it's been at all startled, I'll carry on turning up the volume. If the puppy gets scared, I'll leave it a few days, turn the volume down and try again.

I also find party poppers helpful, partly because the streamers are a lot of fun for a puppy.

If you live in the countryside, find out where farmers put gas guns to scare the pigeons off the crops and take your young dog slowly closer. I've done a lot of dog training near-ish to a gas gun.

Dogs can get so distressed by fireworks and thunder that it's really worth putting in the effort to desensitise them to noise, though you can feel a bit of a prat letting go of saucepan lids on purpose.

Hello I have SunPup. He's 9 weeks and 2 days old!!

Can I join please? My pup is 16 weeks and is teething hard at the moment. He’s constantly biting down on us and it’s all feeling a little relentless right now. Really hoping this but will be over soon…..help!

Hi again everyone, we have a 13 week Cocker Spaniel….

@NoTeaForMe Welcome.

My pup is almost 16 weeks and we think is suffering from teething also. It seems particularly worst first thing. We try to give him a yak bar to gnaw on. Sometimes does the trick. However, a couple if times this morning, he would be playing happily and suddenly lunge at us for no apparent reason. Hoping it’s just teething, and yes, it can seem relentless.

Riverpup can also turn into a snappy crocodile when tired - it’s a different sort of biting. Could some of the biting be due to due tiredness? When RiverPup enters this phase, we stick him in his crate and he usually settles down.

lastly, please can we have a photo of TeaPup.

Has he always been a biter or is it just started because of teething?

Ours has started chewing a lot more in the last week (he’s 13 weeks), we’ve bought him a buffalo tail, deer skin and some coffee wood that we occupy him with on rotation which does seem to distract him from chewing things he shouldn’t!

@MrsWhites He’s always been a bit bitey but had started calming down and now it has definitely ramped up in the last couple of weeks. He has lost a few teeth and new ones have grown through. Think the back ones may be coming but it’s hard to tell. He gets frantic with biting down. We have a rope toy in the freezer and that really helps but it’s hard going.

Mine went through this as a puppy last year- what I found helped was plugging an adaptil plug a few weeks before. (Won’t do any harm so why not)

I keep radios on throughout the house just to even out any noise.

I move our evening walk much earlier and then take out for a last wee before bed (basically try to avoid being outside from between 6 and 9:30th ish)

when we go and it’s dark I pop on a harness and collar with one lead attached to collar and one to harness incase they back out or harness or breakage

if you go onto YouTube on the tv you can find firework videos it might be worth putting on one low in the mornings on quietly.

pull blinds and curtains and then stay calm. Your dog will be looking to you on how to react, keep calm, correct any behaviours as you would normally and don’t smother them so they think there is something to be frightened of.

prep in advance and then just force yourselves to chill

@NoTeaForMe aw poor thing, we haven’t reached the point of loose teeth yet - hope he (and you) doesn’t suffer for too long!!

Hi! Not been on for a while. I have a 10 month old Golden Retriever - Indy. He's a big puppy. Adorable and docile most of the time. BUT...

We're gone bounding into adolescence and his recall has gone, and he's back to jumping up at people. I know this is a phase but any tips??

Here’s my pup…. Love her but I’m getting fed up with how fussy she is with food.
Wont eat any kibble at all and she doesn’t seem to eat more then one - two type of the same meal before she flat out refuses that too.

Im having to constantly rotate and even then she’s rejecting her food. One meal she will lap it down, the next she won’t eat it.

She didn’t eat her breakfast or tea yesterday (different meals) and she’s refused breakfast today. Although she’s happily chewing on a chicken foot right now. She’s defo not ill, just super duper fussy.

Pic didn’t load.

@HollyPupp look at something like the forthglade variety boxes, you can just mix up the flavours so she doesn’t know what she is going to get. Might help

@HollyPupp my old dog was a food refuser, it was an absolute nightmare. Vets would tell me she would eat when she was hungry but she really wouldn't. It was so stressful.

I had her spayed 3 months after her first season and she stopped refusing food. Never had a problem with her at meal times again unless she was poorly. Obviously I don't know whether this was a coincidence but it was such a relief that she'd eat every day.

Got our 10 week old pup Benji today and was wondering if you take up water bowl during the evening or keep it out all night?

thanks, I will look into them.

Iv honestly tried so so so many.

Bella & Duke (all flavours) Still have loads in the freezer.
butternut (loved it for like 2 days and then refused)
Butchers puppy tins (different flavs)
Tails
wainwright puppy pouches

Aldi pouch and different tray (total refusal)
Lidl pouch.
Royal canin pouches
Lily Trays

Everytime I think Iv found one she likes and eats for a day the next day she literally backs away from her food bowl like Iv put poison down! 😂😂

I made her chicken and veg tonight as she didn’t eat any meals yesterday and she never ate her breakfast today.

I will be getting mine spayed after her first season, I hope the same happens for me!

He is adorable!

Im not an expert and I may of done it the wrong way but I personally took up the water about 8pm until the next morning.

We used to take water up about 8pm. We left it out during the summer months when it was really hot, and still leave it down now he's much bigger and can hold it in overnight!