Puppy survival thread part 2

[Orangebadger]

Thought I would start another thread for all those puppy owners.

@Riverlee
@Unluckycat1
@Sunflowers765
@BigBundleOfFluff
@Cocopuff

Will have to look back to tag others as cannot remember all names.

Thank you @AnnieSnap the receptionist said it was their second one today. He’s eaten all his food so that has to be a good sign, and taken his medicine like a pro. Will give him a wash tomorrow (white bits and bloody slobber are not a good mix)

Britpup made me cry this morning running away from me round the garden when I needed to get her inside as I had to leave the house. And now look at her...they sure know how to get back in your good graces.

Just nipping in to say hello. Finding toilet training very daunting and tricky still-we are getting hardly any outside wees. We don’t have a garden, only a patch of concrete that doubles as a drive so that really isn’t helping matters. I just feel like I’m really failing at doggy ownership right now. I rang the breeder in tears the other day. Really really struggling.

@Chihowhow Hang in there! It is still early days - honest. It's absolutely relentless at the start but after a few weeks yet it will get better.

My friend has 2 chi's. She tried and tried but she did end up with a puppy pad by the door and has made her peace with that. They have tiny bladders. Hers are happy to toilet on walks so they just head out multiple times a day.

We going to start on our 8hour journey back to Scotland this afternoon. Fluffpup was a dream on the way here so hoping for a smooth crossing tonight!

@Chihowhow it will be okay. My experience with lots of pups over the years is that it feels relentless and hopeless for a long time, then it clicks with them. Florapup is now 15-1/2-weeks and we have had no mistakes at all for about 1 week. We can leave our door to the garden open though and she takes herself out. Your situation sounds more difficult, so may take longer, but just like children, they all get there in the end ❤️

@Chihowhow Just to echo what the others have said really, hang in there and keep going it does get better. I found with our pup it took a while but we were gradually able to go on outside visits from every 20 mins to every 30 mins and then it just kept on getting longer. Puppies are hard work but it's worth it in the end.

@Chihowhow it does get better I promise. Just keep at it and suddenly it will click.

Hi all, i've been absent thanks to summer holiday chaos but will try to catch up. Welcome new members! Some gorgeous pup photos, there can never be too many! Especially lovely to hear how the rescue pups are doing.

Another grass seed attack! Awful. I wouldn't think to check inside their mouth, I mostly fail to adequately check paws as it is (they quickly get clenched and pulled away).

Unluckypup is 8 months. I had her weighed today and she's 20kg. No idea if that's heavy or not due to her mongrel status, nor when she will finish growing (soon please 😁). Those with older pups, were they mostly done by now?

We camped with her for the first time at a sweet little festival. It went better than expected, she grinned near constantly, slept all night, was fussed a lot. I had a stake that screwed into the ground and the lead could be attached to which was such a great buy. Her recall has literally vanished 😭😭 and my biggest worry was her getting away from me, but we got through it without incident!

That’s a lovely picture of dog and children in the tent.

I wouldn’t trust RiverPup in a tent. He’d either try to escape, tempted by all the excitement outside, or would try to eat it!

@Unluckycat1 our older pup was very close to her adult size at 8 months

@Riverlee older pup was first introduced to our mountaineering tent but we decided it wasn't a good mix with puppy teeth so her first camping trip was in a canvas bell tent. New pup hasn't had a camping trip yet, we've had two weekends planned but both have been aborted for various reasons.

I've gained a few holes in clothing this week. I'd forgotten how sharp puppy teeth are, Grace is pretty good at being redirected to a toy instead but often the damage is already done. And she looks so innocent...

Can you get a smallish piece of astroturf ? I know people who use this to toilet train.

Interesting one tonight, husband sat down with a small whiskey and previously asleep gizlotspup went frantic barking getting stressed and actually nipped at my husband… so we are thinking he didn’t like the smell of the whiskey…never seen him react so acutely to a smell

Starpuppy being so bitey and hyper this evening. I'm covered in little nips and scratches. Tried distracting him and playing, taking him out in the garden lots. But nothing was working. So I've ended up putting him in his crate to calm down. And now I feel bad as he's whining.

Any suggestions?

Chihow - there is something called piddle patch. If you’re desperate. Astroturf can be used too though obviously less natural. Try not to let yourself get too stressed by it. You knew a puppy would be hard, you were right! But they DO grow up and become the wonderful companion you were hoping for. It is so worth it. This too shall pass.

Been there with Florapup. She went through a couple of suddenly appearing phases of this sort of behaviour. They lasted maybe 8-days at a time before settling. It’s been a few weeks now, so fingers crossed, we’re past them. The crate is a totally legitimate thing to revert to when everyone needs a ‘time out’. This too shall pass! ❤️

We’ve had 2 wees and 2 poos on the landing.
well not me obviously. She doesn’t bark to go out… Dog trainer at puppy class said she may be nervous of weeing outside, not wanting to reveal her whereabouts.

obviously it’s wet too.
will get a stair gate.

We found that RiverPup did wees inside on really wet days when young.

Just keep praising any wees done outside and quietly clean up inside accidents.

Thanks River. I’ve just been walking around garden in pyjamas with treats until she did poo and wee. It’s Sunny this morning though so easy on us both

We were at the vets for worming yesterday so pup got weighed, now 13.4 kg. Teeth are definitely coming through, so making sure to have lots of appropriate chews but one of the dining chairs has suffered a bit.

Breakfast, toilet and back to bed for a nap so otherwise definitely winning at the moment.

hoping I can join, my Dad (recently retired) has been matched with a rescue puppy! My own dog was pts 3 months ago at 13.5 years old, so it's been a long time ago since I had a puppy and I know advice changes.

There's so much conflicting advice around, so would love recommendations.

Is there a particular book that's recommended? We've heard about the 'easy squeezy puppy' book - any good?

Also, would love recommendations for teething toys and a 'heartbeat' toy for puppy to snuggle.

I've give my Dad my darling dog's Tuffies bed and dog cage already.

All advice welcome!

sorry for your loss loveourplanet 3 months is not long after all those years.

I hope having a new pup in the family gives your dad and you joy and diversion.

I don’t have any tiny puppy advice as my dog joined us a month ago at 9 months. We got our previous dogs as a pair when they were 5 and looking back they were mostly easier…

Sorry to hear of your loss @loveourplanet My heart has been broken several times in that way over many years, so I understand what you’re going through. Although it doesn’t ease the grief, I have always found that having a puppy around the place lifts me. They can be infuriating, but they also make us laugh and need nurturing.

As for advice and the way things are done having changed. I found it has too. I currently have a 4-month-old Weimaraner. She’s gorgeous, but also big, a bit of a thug and bitey (due to youth and teething). I looked at the modern ideas of training. They are so obsessed with only using positive reinforcement to the exclusion of anything else. That I threw the book aside and train as I’ve always done (lots of positive reinforcement, but also boundaries) and that is working well for Florapup (as it did for all my previous dogs). These days, ‘they’ say never say ‘no’, just reinforce the desirable. Never use a crate as ‘time out’, just ignore undesirable behaviour. I have to wonder if the person writing this advice has ever lived with a pup, especially one of a large breed. When a bit puppy is jumping at you, biting your arms and breaking the skin, what sane person would just sit there and let themselves be hurt and even injured? An adult dog corrects a pup and IMO, so should we - obviously without violence, but they do need to know limits.

AnnieSnap i hear you and agree.
What works with the archetype puppy will not and does not work with a dog that can physically dominate you at a few months old.
We've read all the puppy guides/books/websites.
The idea that you can control a 30kg six month old pup with positive reinforcement alone is laughable, particularly a high prey/energy dog.
Keeping our six month old Weimaraner entertained and enriched is a different kettle of fish to another pup breed.
We're just past the worst of the biting and other challenging behaviour but are entering a completely new phase.
As far as I'm concerned Rafa did the best thing with the easy peasy puppy book (ripped it to shreds) because most of the suggestions and exercises were not aimed at our breed.
I wish people wouldn't put puppies into one all encompassing group.
If only it were that simple

Not been in here for a while but welcome to all the new pups, I see some gorgeous photos.

@loveourplanet there easy peasy does have aspects that are good, especially for the basic stuff like toilet training and basic commands. But it does depend on your dog or breed like others have said. And not only the size of the dog. For me the most challenging dogs for training are terriers as they are very strong willed and breed to be independent so their nature doesn't lend itself to training easily! My dog is a hound, most recall training is great for gun dogs who are breed to come back or pastoral type dogs. But hound aren't meant to come back, they run ahead of you. So I have had to improvise my own recall work. Also applies to lead walking. Not a chance I will ever get Orangepup to walk to heel no matter what guide I use.

Do you know what breed your dad is getting?

@drivinmecrazy I bought the same book, electronic, or I would have given it to Florapup to chew! I only got a few chapters in and with an eye roll and a couple of expletives, I chucked it!