Puppy Survival Thread - for old and new pups heading into winter

[Lougle]

A thread to continue our journey with our puppies as we head into winter.

If you're new to having a puppy, jump straight in.

@Pineapplemonkey I move the crate downstairs in the day and upstairs at night. I’m very firm with him about begging for food. If he continues he goes in another room or in crate.

@Pineapplemonkey Yes, that sounds like a good plan. If you have already moved her out of your room it won’t be much different for her if she goes downstairs now. I slept downstairs with mine at first so the crate was already there.

Big dog had his castration today. Now we have to make sure that he doesn't play around with Hazel for at least 5 days.

Hazel came with us to DD2's horse riding session today. We followed behind. She was fine when she could walk alongside them, but she found it harder to keep her focus when we were close but behind, so I dropped back to create some distance and her focus returned.

We always have Hazel in her pen (in the room next door) when we eat.

Thanks for this, you’ve made me feel so much better. Was feeling a bit of a failure. He goes mad In the garden so is burning off energy.

I'm so glad! If he's in the garden, do some recall. Play fetch but train him to wait after you've thrown the toy, until you say 'go get it', before he runs for it. Teach him to sit, wait, then come to you and sit when you call him...so much he can be doing that he'll be absolutely exhausted by without even leaving your garden.

@Chocolatebuttonns Take care of yourself.. Are you grieving for the life you thought this pup woukd bring, nice country walks etc. You’ve done the right thing. Time will heal the pain and disappointment of what’s happened. And You’ve been responsible by returning the pup to the breeder.

Take note of your user name and eat some chocolate buttons. They never fail to cheer anyone up.

Chocolatebuttonns
I echo what others have said, it wasn’t the right time/ set of circumstances for you.
From what I read here, I often think puppies bring on something akin to PND, it can be very overwhelming being responsible for a young animal on top of a busy life with full time work and a young child.

It’s only now at a much different stage in life I felt up to the challenge. I’m sure I wouldn’t have managed it earlier.

@Chocolatebuttonns if someone came on to The Doghouse and started a thread that said 'I have two young children, we're renovating our house, my DH is pretty much out of the house in the week, and I work full time (from home)... What puppy should we get?' they would get a mixture of 'don't do it', 'get a stuffed toy', and 'horror story of my mad puppy' posts. There would be not one person who would say 'go for it'. This was never going to work for you, even with the most perfect puppy.

Tbh, I'm pretty sure Hazel is perfect. She doesn't chew things much (although it was curious when our fairy lights that turned on in the morning, didn't turn on in the evening...thanks for that, Hazel). She doesn't bark at all, except for if the cat is hissing at her. She is well trained for her age. She is fully toilet trained. She walks nicely on a lead (with treats every few steps). The list goes on. She would still be an absolute nightmare to manage if I was trying to work full time.

Your DH doesn't get to sulk - he wasn't doing any of the work. It's the equivalent of the man who works away from home, sulking because a wife who is on her knees with three children, doesn't want to try for a fourth.

@Chocolatebuttonns
All of what Lougle said.

And just because it wasn't for you right now, it doesn't mean it'll never be.

@Chocolatebuttonns I'm starting to feel the same. Our pup bites relentlessly, if he's awake he's launching himself at us with his sharp needle teeth. He goes for feet, hands, face. We are constantly fending him off - it's no fun.
My DH is totally fed up as he is retired so home with him whilst I work part time.
I do everything Ive read about such as giving him toys, chews, plenty of stimulation but it never stops.
I'm trying to get him to settle in his crate but he just howls and cries and that also makes us miserable.
He is so good in other ways - almost toilet trained. He is 11 weeks and due 2nd jabs next week.
Any suggestions gratefully received.

I know a lot of people have their favourite online trainers/videos but I quite like this guy and have been using the technique in this video

It's simply telling/showing them what is unacceptable behaviour and then following up with what you would like them to do instead. Sounds simple written down and seems to form the basis of most modern dog training but the video is nice and easy to understand.
Worth a try, my pup has definitely improved although is 5 weeks further on than yours, was ready to send her back at 11 weeks too!

@cockapup it does get easier once you can take them out. I had a goal to take him somewhere (either walk, visit friend, garden centre etc) twice a day. It gave him socialisation, tired him out, and broke up the day nicely for me. Sitting around from 7am til 10pm watching pup is no fun, no matter how cute they are.. if your pup is too young/ small to walk put him in a sling and carry him to places.
It saved my sanity!

@cockapup your puppy sounds over simulated. The first thing a puppy needs to learn is to do nothing. To just settle. They need 20 hours of sleep at that age. So short bursts of activity, then sleep. Eat then sleep. Toilet then sleep. Bitey puppies are tired puppies.

Pup was sick twice in the night. Usual happy self this morning so just me who's tired now.

After a lovely early start to drop Pineapplepup off at my parents so I could go to a dentist appointment (I assumed they would frown if I took a puppy into the appointment with me) I collected her and nipped in the vets to weigh her so they could prescribe me the right flea/worming stuff. She is just a shade off of 5.8kg at 16wks.

She was 4.2kg 4 weeks ago and 2.5kg 4 weeks before that. So growing well I think and probably going to be ultimately bigger than I thought (thought she'd stop around 7kg but she's still got a lot of growing to do!)

She's getting a lump to carry though which I had to do to get her in the vets in torrential rain 🙄

I like McCann videos on YouTube. Kikopup is another trainer that’s well thought off.

@Pineapplemonkey Is that Will Atherton? My dh likes his videos.

It is Will Atherton, I 'accidentally' saw a couple of his videos on TikTok 🫣 and he's a bit quirky but it comes over how much he absolutely loves dogs and they seem to look in awe at him. Hopefully no one will come along and tell me he's actually a monster and kicks puppies for fun, that would really disappoint me!

@Pineapplemonkey thank you. I will give that a go. My hands are covered in cuts from his teeth so anything is helpful.

@Lougle thank you but how do I get him to settle when over stimulated? If I put him in crate he cries and scratches at the bars. This is despite me doing a lot of crate training by giving him treats and toys in there. But he never sits or sleeps in his crate by choice.

I'm hoping once we can take him out we will all be happier. My poor DH had been stuck indoors since we brought pup home as he is fully retired now.
It's not all bad, as pup is curled up on my lap now and we're having lovely snuggles but I know around 4or 5pm he'll turn into a raging puppy shark (think gremlins)!

@cockapup do you have a strict routine for him? In the early days we were really strict and after 10-20 minutes of play, whether she seemed like she needed it or not, Hazel went out for toilet and then into her pen. I strongly advocate a pen fastened either side of the crate, so you have an 'igloo' safe space - then pup can choose to be in or out of the crate but still safe.

Anyone else bought more presents for the dog than anyone else in the family…?