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.

@Lougle we’ve also taught Maggie ‘place’ which means ‘sit on your towel’ which has been a godsend in this very wet weather because she will get on her towel to have her paws wiped

Very useful! Yes, we have trained Hazel to default go to her mat if it's out. Also 'bed'.

So winter has only officially been here for a few weeks and I am already sick to death of the mud!!! I am constantly covered in it as are the dogs and the house. Doesn't help that pup is still a bugger for jumping up (especially if she's feeling a bit scared). I've been hosing big dog off in the garden, but it seems a bit mean to douse a 4 month old puppy in freezing cold water after each walk so she's been coating the shower in mud instead... every day!
We had a hot shower attachment outside but it exploded in last year's frost, I can either try to replace it with one of those drainable ones (means moving pipework) or buy a mud daddy. DH offered to get me one for christmas 🙃

@Whyisitsosohard is pup spending time outside but not toileting? Just wondering if he doesn't want to be outside for some reason, or he's happy to be out there but thinks inside is for toileting?

@BleakGarden I feel like I am constantly covered in mud!

We upgraded Hazel's Perfect Fit harness today. She was in a 15mm XXS-XXS-S and now is in a 20mm M-XS-M. Very grown-up! She was very good when we took her to the pet food shop to get her new harness fitted.

Mud is so wearing @BleakGarden .

Oh god, the mud. We have two patches in our garden of really muddy ground and with all the rain they’ve just turned to swamp, Maggie just digs in the holes having a whale of a time. Yesterday she came in up to her chin in mud, and yes we did hose her with the hose. I figured it was no colder than the puddle.

training her to sit on her towel every time she comes in and having paws wiped is good for the moderate mud. Depends how trainable your dog is but we taught her in around 20 minutes and use the command ‘in your place’

I'm in Scotland where it feels like it's been raining constantly forever. My wet dog system isn't coping well and I think because she's got such a thick coat she does whiff a bit now - it doesn't seem to dry out between getting wet.
What does help is I have 2 turtle mats at the back door. I ask her to do a spin on one. It's not perfect but it does help a bit, plus it's a cool party trick.
That and a million towels that smell of wet dog.

I’m tired today and Maggie has been hard work. She’s brilliant in her crate, she goes in willingly and sleeps well in there. But when she’s out ‘loose’ she just will not settle.
she will sit on her bed but she refuses to lie down no matter how much I try and if she does lie down and gets a reward she immediately gets up for another one. She knows I have kibble on my desk and she demands them, jumping and biting me. Eventually I get tired of being bitten and she goes to her crate. In the evening she is very restless, the same again- she’ll ‘perform’ for treats but she will not settle. If I reward her for settled behaviour, it then perks her up and breaks it. At puppy class she settles ok, she sits at my feet and I drop kibbles etc but at home she just will not. I’m worried that she’s ending up spending too long in her crate because I cannot work with her biting me and jumping at me. If I ignore her she goes to the Christmas tree and takes baubles off.
is she attention seeking? Do puppies even do that? She seems absolutely starving all the time at the moment which doesn’t help, and frantically demands food. She’s having lots of food (the upper end of her allowance) so she isn’t hungry.

I’m prepared to put the work in- please help me! What can I do to get her to just sleep on her bed or rest/chill even for a short time? She’s walked, she’s trained, she does sniffy games and enrichment things but she doesn’t seem to be able to just ‘be’

It doesn’t help that I also cannot stroke her or scratch her chest/belly without her biting me, she’s incredibly mouthy at the moment as her big teeth are coming through. I settle her to lie down then she’s either lunging for treats or biting me. It’s not exactly restful.

I don’t think it’s a bad thing if she needs to sleep she goes in her crate. Can you put the bed in the crate to get her used to it and then slowly bring it out?

I make sure pup is tired, toileted and then ignore him. I have a bed right next to my desk. I also give him cardboard to shred and a pigs ear to chew to keep him occupied in his bed.

@FoxRedPuppy what does he do when you ignore him? Just lay down and sleep/rest? Or does he mooch about?

If he's tired, then he will generally settle. Otherwise he mooches a bit. I have moved the decorations on the tree mostly out of his reach, luckily he is small.

@thenewaveragebear1983 she doesn't sound abnormal to me. Our solution to the Christmas tree issue isn't very glamorous, but it works. Hazel munched through the Christmas lights before we did that.

I think the settling thing comes with maturity. Hazel is definitely very alert when treats come out.

If you haven't got one already, I'd really recommend getting a puppy pen. It would give her that safe zone around her crate that is less restrictive and means she can be with you but she's safe. Hazel 'chills' in her puppy pen a lot. She sleeps in her crate with the door open because the pen keeps her safe.

We took Hazel to a coffee shop today but sat outside under a gazebo. It absolutely poured with rain so she got soaked on the way back.

I am looking at getting a sprocker pup. We already have a 5yr old cocker, I would get a male, but having done some reading, it seems that a female is more likely to get on with a male existing dog? Male is neutered, and pup will be when time is right.

My tree solution is most of the decorations are fabric or wooden and as he steals one I put it up higher. He occasionally nibbles the branches (artificial tree), but I stop him and distract him. This morning he has shredded an old tissue box while I worked. I also give him pigs ears, pizzle sticks, beef tails (god they smell bad) to chew. Cardboard is messy, but I think sort of feels naughty to him so he likes it!

Here he is proudly showing off his shredding skills 😁

Pup has been surprisingly good with the tree. I thought she might be more interested as she loves a stick but it's been fine. We have paper, crochet and wood decorations only though just in case.

Older one was fine with the tree her first year, we even had wrapped presents underneath. She was more trouble last year when she was post spay surgery and chewed through the lights and managed to get entangled in them on a separate occasion too. Luckily clever enough to realise to woof for help rather than pull the tree over!

Pup has had a new harness today, we'll be in Denmark next week and likely doing a lot more on lead walking and she can only really manage to walk nicely on lead when not with her sister. She's won't get out the car with it on but did a whole Hooper's class no problem.

I do have a pen @Lougle but I found the whole process of training her to go in it very overwhelming. I need to rearrange some furniture I think, to get it to work properly. Maybe I am being a bit unrealistic about the settling. I am just worried that when she stops needing to sleep so much, I’ll never be able to get her to chill, but maybe that will come with maturity as well.

@thenewaveragebear1983 I think they just have the attention span of a gnat unless there is food. Hazel can sit quite nicely for 30 seconds, just chilling, then she's all "Ooh a bit of tissue....", or even "A bit of big dog's fur!"

@thenewaveragebear1983 Apologies if you’ve already said you’ve tried this and I missed it. Do you have special chews that she only gets when it’s chill time? I use yak chews, antlers, coffee wood, anything long lasting that they love but the trick is only to bring them out when you need pup to settle. They not only keep them occupied but they tire them out as well.

@MuttsNutts no, she does have an antler but she has it freely. I had a bit of a bad experience when she was tiny with a piece of beef thorax (that she gulped down in one piece and terrified me) and the same again with a pigs ear where she just wolfed the last quarter - it’s put me off! But maybe she would be a bit better with them now she’s a bit bigger.

@thenewaveragebear1983 Definitely worth investing in some things that only come out when you need peace so that she doesn’t get bored with them. She will be teething as well so sure she would love a gnaw on a good coffee wood stick and that won’t do her any harm.

I’ve been following this thread for a while now from afar. We’ve had our whippet puppy fro 6 weeks, me pushing more to get her than my partner as I thought our lifestyle would really suit a dog. Did all the research, felt so prepared. My MH took a nosedive the first two weeks, crying every day. It got better but I feel back in that helpless despair again. I miss my old life, I worry all the time about her, and worst of all I still don’t love her. Parter and family all love puppy. She’s on the whole v good, it’s me not her! My biggest anxiety is over doing the right things to make sure she turns into a good dog, but honestly I wish I could go back in time and never get her. I feel awful.

@Sloupann who sold you a puppy at 6 weeks old? Are you in the UK? It's illegal. I hope you feel better soon. It's tiring having a puppy.