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.

Not a cute puppy pic…a cute puppy caused me an injury!

I was playing with her tuggy toy and she missed and got my finger instead. 😩

@JoshLymanIsHotterThanSam ouch!

@BigBundleOfFluff I think Fluffpup and RiverPup are related! Walks aren’t enjoyable for me either (and there has been tears on more than one. occasion!). Although he’s better, loose lead walking is still not mastered. We can have brief stretches whereby he looks the model student, but then another dog, smell, or whatever distracts him and it all goes to pot. Also, it’s been so wet that the woods are around are very muddy and slippery, so I’ve been walking around the same streets all the time.

@JoshLymanIsHotterThanSam oh snd I bet that throbs as well, they are always so sore.

@Riverlee. We have very outgoing breeds. I guess it comes with the territory. I've just about made my peace with it. Mainly because she no longer embarrasses me 8 times per walk. A win is a win. The standing and staring is pretty mortifying. I always do a quick pavement walk in the evening for a pee and a poo. This evening she trotted right beside me the full time and there was no-one near to witness it! Was gutted. I've told you guys though now, you understand - no one else would!!!

Fluffpup is so much better than fluffy bundle. She's been renamed!

Well today Sunpup went to his rally lesson.
Did he want to be a good dog and pay attention to me, his caring owner, who pays good money for his development and enrichment?
No, no he did not.
All he wanted to do was run to the end of his lead and sniff the bum of the pretty golden retriever next to him... and jump around like a bloody springbok...
oh well, agility tomorrow..where I shall be attempting to get him to run through a tunnel and then COME BACK TO ME ha ha ha.
Probably in the pouring rain again.
Good job we love them 🤣🤣🐕🐕❤️❤️

@Sunflowers765

Rally lesson?

@Riverlee. Rally is obedience and heel work. You have to follow a course of signs telling you to do stuff like sit, turns, stay, heel etc. Sunpup is shockingly bad at it 🤣🤣

I’ve never heard of that before (off to Google).

Yes I had a google about a rally lesson too. Sounds interesting! But Orangepup really can't do anything when other dogs are around yet! So would be a lost cause on her! Even her puppy class trainer suggested she had 1:1 classes with no other dogs for the adolescent training.

@Orangebadger I know what you mean! Sunpup can do brilliant things when it's just me and him, but at 7 months as soon as other dogs are in sight... completely deaf to anything I say or do. I'm just going to hang in there and keep training and making a complete fool of myself twice a week! Hopefully some if it will rub off on Sunpup and he'll be a great grownup dog one day!

TMI warning

apologies in advance, this is a poo post!

Pup is 16 weeks and has yet to have what is described as an 'ideal' and 'healthy' looking poo

Yesterday I could not find the reserve bag of dry dog food. Could only get to the co op, and all they had for puppies was pedigree chum wet pouches. Reluctantly fed her it for breakfast and dinner (with some mince, carrots and rice for lunch) and pouch food again this morning. She's only gone and done her first ever 'ideal' and 'healthy' looking poo! (for one terrible second I considered taking a photograph of it, I was that shocked and delighted)

It is that it was wet food? Is it that it was pedigree chum? (which I'm assuming is not good dog food). Was it the mince and rice? (though I've fed her chicken and rice quite a few times and not got this result). I've got dry food being delivered today, but and now thinking maybe wet food is better? Or a mix?

Any advice very much welcome!

Oh I remember the days of when my wish in life was a clean pick up!
Fluffpup was on Iams from the breeder and I just kept her on it. It's decent enough, not amazing. But I kept adding things like doggy fibre, probiotics, sweet potato to try and get good poos. I realised I was probably forking out so much on the additives that I should consider better dried food.
Now on Millie's wolf heart 60:40. It's amazing the difference. Poo is about half the size and textbook. Completely text book, if the girls are out with me I still say what a good poo, look look at it! The response is "poo is poo mummy"
I mix in a bit of a forthglade tray for variety.
The 40% that's isn't meat in Millie's is sweet potato, not cereals, grains or maize. I also think too much chicken doesn't help the Fluffpup. She's not allergic but cutting down the amount she eats may have helped.
Only downside is her poo smells worse - but still totally worth it.

We switched treats over to sensitive carnilove ones and less of the natures ones and started mixing his kibble with a very small amount of butchers wet food which seems fairly no standard/supermarket. Pup is nearly 15 weeks and finally seems like his tummy is settling! Maybe it is just an age thing as similar age to you.

Coco is rawfed, with random treats like chicken/Turkey etc and the odd bit of wolfworthy kibble or innocent hound air dried raw food, and her poos are properly formed and inoffensive. I think different things suit different dogs and lots of people do a combination of dry food and wet food for their dogs.

Soft poos can be due to over feeding, so that may be the cause. Also, we found softer treats such as Kong pate or JR products pate caused the poo to be softer.

We use Autarky puppy food and generally have good poos (excluding above causes).

Orangepup is 6 months today! Here's her having her first yak bar as her treat, seems to be going down well. Thank you to whoever it was here who recommended them.

@Orangebadger Happy half birthday Orangepup!!

@Orangebadger Happy six month birthday. Gorgeous photo.

Happy half birthday Orangepup!

Ah happy half birthday to orange pup. Just woken by Coco howling -she never does that. Being on her season has started some odd behaviours for sure!!

@Cocopuff oh no! How old is coco pup? I thought she was younger than Orangepup but might be wrong. But then I have read that seasons can come as early as 4 months!!

She’s just over 7 months. Honestly between her refusal to eat and night waking last night I’m very much over her having a season already - and we are only half way through it..

Latest purchase for RiverPup, crate number three (although first one we borrowed).

Second one we just went into Jolleyes and chose one.

This time, did some research and decided this one looked strong. I chose the biggest one they had, so I don’t have to buy another one. RiverPup has had a good sniff of it, and hopefully will sleep well this evening.

Alsatian not included, and some pictures of RiverPup in previous crates.

You have just reminded me of the ridiculous and most unladylike way fluffpup used to sleep in her crate...

@BigBundleOfFluff thank you for making me feel less alone in my poo euphoria 😂 I've looked at the Millie's website a few times but felt overwhelmed by choice. I couldn't see an actual puppy food on there either – is 'puppy food' just a marketing thing?

@AnotherBreakfast I think going forwards I'll mix food more often. Might try butchers. Pup definitely would prefer not having just dry food (especially served dry rather than soaked in hot water).

@Riverlee it's so hard to know if I'm overfeeding her as she's a real mix of breeds. She acts like she's starved tbh, but looks perfectly healthy weight wise to me. I wonder if I could find a predicted weight by tracking her weight... will look into that!

Happy half a year Orangepup! What a gorgeous little dog!

I hope everyone had blessed sun today and enjoyed a mud and puddle free day with their puppies! Luckypup is walking better on her lead so we've managed to explore a bit further. Found an enclosed field close by that I've walked past hundreds of times and not even glanced at, but which was puppy paradise as she bounded around with a lovely lurcher (greyhound/collie mix, which I think is 50% of her parentage – they had almost the exact same mannerisms ❤).

Oh there is a lot of choice on the website- I emailed them with fluff pups weight, age, activity etc and got a detailed reply. Oh and fluff pup likes butchers too, forthglade is easier for me to get at the moment.