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.

Ah your pup is lovey @Unluckycat1 🥰
Hope your finger recovers soon @Sunflowers765!!

Please can I get some chew recommendations? Puppy is in full Godzilla mode, chewing everything and everyone. There are so many options that I feel totally overwhelmed. What did your 12 week old puppies love? TIA!

Yak bars
kongs

Breakfastpup is v chewy so I can relate! Only thing that has worked for us are disgusting meaty chews - bought this selection pack here: dragonfly puppy chews

Apple cider vinegar spray for furniture to deter chewing on it
nylabone, split dear antler, yak chews, Turkey tendons all good for us at 12 weeks

Thank you all! Wow, those meaty chews - rabbit ears !!😱though if they help with the chewing and biting I'm sold

Another question (sorry)

She's very full on when we eat, jumping up, whining and scratching the door when we shut her out of the room, crumb obsessed after we've eaten (has successfully climbed onto the table after the kids had dinner!)

Is this just normal hasn't been trained yet why wouldn't she try puppy behaviour, or a sign that she'll be a total food obsessive?

12 weeks, we've had her a week and a half, came from a shelter rather than a family home

@Unluckycat1 mine is food/chew obsessed too. Chews; pigs ears and chicken feet are favourites. I have not tried yaks yet, but she gets through chicken feet in about 30 min, so not sure how long yaks would last. Pigs ears last a lot longer or cows ears.

The food situation I would say just requires training, for us the rule is never give food at the table... I have had to be very strict with the DC about this! And we are ignoring the begging behaviour and seems to be working now. Yours is still very young and very trainable. Dogs that like food are less challenging to train as treats are always a good incentive, but I am not using treats as a reward while we are eating for not begging for food as I think it sends mixed messages , so ignore the behaviour you don't want and praise the quietly sitting behaviour you do want when you get it.

Interested to hear what others do though, as many lab/ retriever owners here who are often keen on food! I have never experienced this degree of food obsession before so it's taken me by surprise a bit!

Ignoring can lead to frustration which ultimately makes things worse.

Our pup is food obsessed. Most dogs are tbh as they are natural scavengers. Pair that with a puppy with no self control = begging nightmare.

We have a bit of vet bed by our table. To begin with we threw tiny bits of treat on there for her when we ate. She soon learnt that mat = treats and begging = nothing. Over time we reduced the treat frequency and now she lays on her mat when we get ready to eat and we just reward infrequently. Laying on the mat is more rewarding than begging. This has caused general begging to go down and taught self control around food. It's a pain to begin with as it's boring but it does work quite quickly. When we have a special meal like takeaway we give her a long lasting chew or her meal in a kong so gives us a break. But we don't need to do much now at all.

@Unluckycat1 dont shut her out - house line (attach to table to stop her wandering too far) and bed by the table, treat her for sitting nicely and quietly by the table while you eat - or give her a chew to keep her busy. She’s little and wants to be by her people.

Yeah I'm afraid we started with good intentions with the begging but..... now I count it as success that she sits quietly while waiting for her pizza crusts. And when I say quietly just look at the picture attached. She's quiet but does a magnificent begging eye look, like I'm recklessly starving her. She's an idiot. For me, life is too short and I am a pick your battle person so this is good enough for us. Maybe we should have been stricter from the start.

Interesting to read about the begging - so far breakfastpup just doesn't seem v greedy... grazes across the day and doesn't eat his food immediately.. he's growing/putting on weight nicely and when I look at quantities of treats vs kibble am not worried but was interested to know if the greed has always been there or if this is something to expect later? He's 11 weeks on Monday and a lab

Coco nudges me when hungry - and sits staring expectantly when I go near her treat drawers or I’m prepping food. She’s not generally a particularly barky dog - and she’s tiny - so it’s fine for us

Thank you so much everyone, really reassuring answers. I'm a soft touch in general and was worried I was creating bad habits letting her stay in the room with us. When we've tried putting her on the other side of the door (which has glass panels so she can see us) I've given up in under a minute as she's so upset to be left out. She whines when separated, but is silent when with us (though constantly jumping up). I'll try rewarding her for lying down close to us instead :)

I just had a trip to Pets at Home and most treats were for 4 month or 6 month pups and up. Are they just being overly careful? Think I'll order that big puppy pack linked above. I did get some unicorn/dinosaur/giraffe puppy chews — she just demolished one in under 5 minutes!

amazing picture @BigBundleOfFluff 😍who could say no to that?

The what-are-you-cooking-can-I-have-some-please look

@Unluckycat1 aye with eyes like that you are snookered.
I know you are supposed to ignore bad behaviour and reward good. I guess I did do this by standing up and moving away when her begging was at the worst and she literally drooled on my lap. Now she kinda looks up for permission and waits patiently with her ass on the floor. It's good enough for me. But she's got an ok tummy and can consume pizza crusts etc. it's not everyday! I just need to be very careful with her weight.

So dippypup has been home 1 whole week and he is a total joy at the moment. Crate training has gone so much better than expected and he happily sleeps in it all night and will happily stay in for 30 mins whilst we do the school run. To be honest I'm in total shock. Now the toilet training is another matter. Think we are on about a 60:40 inside to outside at the moment so getting there. Definitely should've got a pup in warmer weather. He's a bit chewy and expecting him to ramp that up over the coming days and weeks.

@Deedippy . He's gorgeous!! Is he as soft as he looks?

What a cutie @Deedippy ! The weather has been dire, hasn't it? I had a couple of days of it being nice enough to sit outside with a cup of tea while on toilet watch, and thought this isn't too bad. And then the endless rain and gloom came along 😒

I'm feeling a little bluesy today. 11 days in. Not regret, as I'm so excited about having a dog in our life when I look forwards, but maybe just weariness at the biting my shoes, clothes, hair and hands all the time. It's me she likes to chew on the most. Can't wait until I can stroke my dog without her thinking my hand is a chew toy.

Even softer. He feels like silk ❤️❤️❤️

@uunluckycat yes the being outside is so tiresome when the weather is awful. We have friends over today and I need to shower and tidy but nope I'm freezing to death in the garden again.

The nipping is a pain. Assume you have a toy next to you so you can give him that instead. A nyla bone works great with our one

Toys at close reach, yeah. I think the problem is she wants to play with me! Which is obviously a very nice problem to have, except I can't play constantly. E.g. we have a bone similar to a nyla bone, she will chew it when I hold it out for her, but as soon as I let go she drops it and is back to jumping at my sleeves. I wonder if being a rescue puppy and spending more time with her siblings than the average puppy does has led to more exuberant and social playing expectations 🤔 I'm sure it will pass. She's curled up close to me asleep and is just delightful right now 😄

Good luck getting ready!

@Deedippy dippypup is v cute. He’s young and will get toileting.

@Unluckycat1 Coco used to bite me lots when tiny - distraction (food scattered on floor) and redirection(to a soft toy) worked well

Hello! New to the thread. We’ve got a 13 week old pup crossbreed. He’s been really good with toilet training and nighttime sleeping but is super fearful of being left alone. Can’t leave him for more than a minute, unless he is asleep, before constraint screaming. Any advice would be warmly welcomed! Really struggling to know what’s best to do

We still have this problem with our 5 month old. It was worse when she was younger though so has got marginally better. Try redirecting as much as you can and playing with her with toys. Sometimes that worked for us, sometimes not. She is worse when tired. She is also worse if she's bored and is really wanting attention. Even though she gets a lot of play time/ training.

The one thing that really did not work for us that I tried in desperation was giving her a treat once she stopped and played with something else. Totally back fired as she pretty quickly figured out if I nibble you/ grab you with my mouth, then stop you give me a treat! So I stopped that pretty quickly!

It is the one thing that is my main frustration but I really hope you get on top of it sooner than we have!

About ignoring behaviour at meal times. We did it while she was sitting with us and it worked really well as now she just sits there with her begging eyes while we eat, no barking or jumping up. There wasn't a huge amount of frustration though, so will depend on the dog I guess.