Puppy Survival Thread - for old and new pups

[Riverlee]

Thought I’d start a new thread as the old one is at its limit, for new and older pups.

please come and share your tales of success, woes, concerns and questions, and of course, photographs.

Ooh I'm so sorry. Has the new insurance excluded that condition from your cover? Is she well now?

@Pineapplemonkey that's difficult. Do you think she needs a little coat? They won't pee unless they're comfortable at first. Were you standing in the pen with her?

It was a sickness bug. So there was an antiemetic jab and antibiotics. Plus it was out of hours. Thankfully nothing to exclude. Phew!

@Lougle
Yep I got in the pen with her. I think it's her paws she has an issue with, I wonder if gravel would be better.

In fact, despite me convincing her to briefly wee outside 5 mins ago, whilst typing this she just started circling again so back out in the rain and she had a poo on the 3inches of gravel border (where I'd convinced her to pee as well) will be purchasing gravel me thinks tomorrow.

I will literally do anything at this point to make my life better.

I really don't want to monopolise this thread with all my problems but if anyone has advice about a puppy that has started launching herself at my face to bite it, thoughts would be appreciated 😭

@Pineapplemonkey bitey puppies are usually tired puppies. Is she getting enough sleep? She needs 18-20 hours per day of sleep at this age. So eat, pee/poo, sleep, play, pee/poo, sleep...repeat.

Something soft but firm to chew helps, too. I got an old dressing gown and cut strips of fabric from it, then tied them in square knots with a tassel on the end. The fabric is soft but the knots give good resistance to the chews. If you don't have any fleece fabric, you can buy the toys quite cheaply.

@Pineapplemonkey we just took her out any time she looked like she was sniffing the floor, glancing at the window or walking a bit awkwardly. We had the odd accident but she picked it up.

Last weekend wasn't great though, she didn't like getting wet but then I made her come out for a walk and once she was soaked she was OK. But before her 2nd vaccination we had some wet days when she just refused to wee outside and went in the hall. And one time on the underneath bit of the coffee table.

We are still at the biting stage. Definitely worse when tired. And when she is tired she fights sleep which isn't fun.

I can see her being a lovely wee dog once she is not a puppy any more. Not sure when that will be!

I took out insurance starting 2 days before I picked him up, there was a clause in the insurance covering accidents and a two day period.

Another day, another question! Mabel has today (all day!) been emitting the most noxious smells. When she's sleeping, when she's playing, pretty much all the time, really revolting smells.
She's weeing and pooing okay, possibly poo is slightly softer if we're being picky but she doesn't have an upset stomach.
She has only eaten her kibble (James Wellbeloved puppy- this is what the breeder sent with her and weaned her on) and some
training treats (grain free, natural ingredients only ones). I don't let her share my food at all.
She seems herself, is eating her kibble okay and is full of puppy energy and is a great sleeper

Any suggestions on how to fix a farting puppy?!

James Wellbeloved caused absolutely toxic farts in my dogs. It had to go. I use a salmon and sweet potato grain free food. It comes under different brands, with the cheapest being Jolleyes Lifestage. Our breeder was paying double the price for exactly the same food under the brand 'UBO'!

I think if this continues I will be making a trip to the pet shop this week for an alternative food, the smell is awful! She’s eating the fish version at the moment but I do have a bag of the chicken version, might swap her tomorrow to see if that has any impact

Not sure about the farts but just wondered what treats you had for her @Pineapplemonkey ?

My MS was utterly feral sometimes, especially after i had been doing some training with her or had been giving her treats in a kong thing to keep her busy. couldn't work it out until the puppy class leader told someone the treats they were using were advertised as natural but had a lot of sugar in them. I'd bought the Waggs treats as I thought they were good for pups but sure enough, sugary as heck.

Stopped using them and now have some dried chicken treats and the biting, feral beast behaviour reduced somewhat.

I'm currently using Purina Beta but once this bag is near the end I'm going to transition over to Acana as it came out ok on that dog food rating website plus meant to be ok for MS too. No idea if it will generate furiously awful farts though....

I'm mostly using Barker and Barker little liver training treats- these:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Barker-Little-Liver-Training-Treats/dp/B01LVWFMAI/ref=mpssa113?crid=3N5ZS5L7WBYXX&keywords=little%2Bliver%2Btraining%2Btreats%2Bfor%2Bdogs&qid=1697311093&sprefix=little%2Bliver%2Caps%2C86&sr=8-3&th=1&psc=1

They are pretty much pure liver and she loves them, they are also tiny which is useful.

I also give Forthglade puppy rewards, she goes mad for those and they are mostly chicken, liver and yukka- yum!

Hi, can I join you?
I picked up my Labrador pup on Wednesday. She’s settling so well, I can almost hardly believe it. Very few accidents and all of them have been our fault.
she is a bit bitey though, it didn’t occur to me this was tiredness so I will try putting her for a sleep when she starts biting.
we’ve done a bit of crate training, she’s gone from howling to yesterday she just went into her bed and settled for a decent length sleep with no fuss. Today we are going to football so I’m going to leave her, my dd will be upstairs, but hopefully she will sleep while we’re out.

she has come from the breeder weaned onto raw food. I don’t know whether to try to wean her into kibble (which is nicer for humans to deal with , less mess, and not as stinky) or leave her on raw, which is infinitely nicer for dogs and produces zero farts! She does eat it incredibly fast, I’ve ordered a slow feeder bowl which should come today. But man, it reeks.

Hello!

I don't blame you, I think I'd struggle with raw food as well 😬

I think you're very brave leaving her on her own, I haven't been brave enough yet (Mabel came home a week yesterday)
She just screams when I put her in her play pen (but possibly she might calm down if I left her there for a bit maybe?) I'm consciously trying not to be that person that is eternally shutting her dog in a crate but she goes in there happily and goes straight to sleep (crate is upstairs in my room) so maybe i should leave her in there more during the day so I can get some work done. This puppy thing is hard!

Oh I didn't know that about James Wellbeloved! Gardenpup came from the breeder eating it so we've continued... her farts are terrible! I am trying to switch her over to Millie's wolfheart because gardendog eats it and it's suitable for pups too... but she's had diarrhoea since I mixed some of it through. So I've just ordered another big bag of james wellbeloved!! Argh! @thenewaveragebear1983 do you use pre-made raw?

We're on day 8 now and this morning nearly broke me. Gardenpup stepped in her own diarrhoea then gardendog came inside with paws covered in the compost DH was spreading yesterday. She got it all over the floor and sofa. So gardenpup was crying in the crate while I scrubbed the floor and hoovered, all before I'd even managed to pee let alone have a coffee.

I ordered the car seat and we managed to do a short trip without howling. She was trying to get out of it though so I was using my left hand to scatter treats into the bottom... luckily I drive an automatic. It's a bit distracting though so I will need to get her into the boot. I've ordered a boot divider so hopefully she will accept it if she can see gardendog on the other side. But currently she howls if I'm not in the room and gardendog is so I'm not hopeful at this stage. The separation anxiety is our biggest challenge. I'm doing lots of little of absences. She will go in the crate but needs me to be next to it. She'll get up from sleeping if I move out of view. Gardendog was like this, I can't remember when it stopped. @Pineapplemonkey I would definitely be doing more day sleeps with her in the crate to get stuff done if it was an option.

Poos are now all outside, she will ask to go out for those, but pees happen wherever she is! We take her out loads so most happen outside.

She's very mouthy with the occasional face launch if she's overtired. Gardendog yelps when it gets too much and she stops straight away. My yelps don't have the same effect but diverting with a toy does work. Gardendog couldn't be diverted and we had to walk away, so that's a win.

Yes to toy rotation, we rotate ours every few days. If they haven't seen a toy for a week it's like a new toy again.

It's still 2 more weeks until she's covered by vaccines but I need to get her out today, it's been a couple of days. We did a cafe during the week and she met a retriever and gots lots of pats.

Also need to look at insurance soon, Tesco and Admiral seem the most reasonable. She has kennel club from the breeder but it's £90/month to continue! Also not sure if I should get time limited or lifetime cover.

Pet plan seemed to be reasonable, £45.90 for 7000 lifetime cover.

@BleakGarden yes, we have frozen ‘chubs’ of pre made, they work out at £1.20 each, she has one a day. It’s the tripe that stinks, todays was beef and chicken and it just smelled of meat. They are complete food so you don’t need to add anything.

@Pineapplemonkey I wfh 4 days a week so she will mostly be with me but I do go to the office one day a week. She seems to like her crate. I just messaged dd and she’s slept for the 2 hours not a peep. My plan (assuming puppy follows this schedule!) is that every day she will do a bit of crate time and the rest be loose in the room with me. I am worried that she may get separation anxiety if she is with me constantly so I’d like her to be able to go in the crate even if I am home.

@thenewaveragebear1983 ah kindred spirits- I also work at home 4 days a week and am in the office 1 day

have you looked at Waggel for insurance? I’ve got £6k lifetime cover for under £20pm and I’ve heard good things about them - they were a Which best buy

I pay £17.30 for £5k lifetime cover. I'm upping it to £7k at renewal, I think (though not if it's £46!). I'm with Everypaw. Petplan is the insurer on my shit list so I won't touch them!

@Pineapplemonkey and @thenewaveragebear1983 my new job will be 4 WFH and 1 office day. We think FluffyPup will be fine alone as DH works for 4 hours and he sleeps most of the time 9-2 anyway only waking to follow me round which he won't do if I'm out!

I'm currently FT WFH.

Oh I will look at waggle. Difficult to know isn’t it? It’s the lifetime cover that is essential tbh as the cost could certainly add up over a few years

I think Petplan are extortionate, personally. I agree re lifetime cover, however.

Dogs/puppies prefer absorbent surfaces to wee on. Might be why she is going back on carpet and trying to get on gravel.

Tomorrow is puppy day! I’ve got the crate set up, but it won’t fit next to my bed. I’m wondering whether to sleep on sofa for a few nights. I was just going to put dog bed next to my bed, so I could reach hand down to calm him. It would be sheltered on 3 sides from solid bed, cabinet and wall. I feel under pressure to get everything right!

You could try a piece of astroturf outside on your patio if the pup won’t wee on the slabs. Ours was scared of the dark last night and wouldn’t go onto the grass, it was very wet and muddy and the grass was sort of cracking/bubbling with water and she was spooked.

I feel like we’ve had a set back this weekend, just too much going on, kids hyping her up etc. she was absolutely wild this evening and has a bit of a runny tummy.

question for training, do you give titbits every time as constant training, or do you set aside certain times that are training times and the rest just say good girl? I feel like because she has naturally been very good we’ve barely rewarded her good behaviour except when actively doing training with her, but I’m reluctant to constantly reward with food as it’s new to her and that could be affecting her tummy?

Starpup is now almost 6 months, losing teeth and eating everything.

I gave him his worming tablet today and he's barely eaten. Bit concerned really, as he's been off food yesterday too. I'm going to see how he eats tomorrow then might make an appointment. He has grown brilliantly and put on weight, but the last few weeks have been up and down with appetite.

I wonder if it might be a good idea to move him from raw food to kibble? Any ideas would be great.

Which raw are you using ?

Did startpup come to you on the raw?

I'm having a wobbly day again 😬. Feeling overwhelmed and anxious. Pupxx is knackered so he's in his crate but if he falls asleep now will he sleep through the night ? I'm struggling with knowing what to do.

We're using a mixture of nutriment(he came with it from the breeders, although we've tried new flavours) and nature's menu. It's very hit and miss.

Starpup naps during the evening and sleeps at night. They need a LOT of sleep at this age.