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.

@JaneIves exciting! Take lots of photos, they grow so fast.

My ds still says that the day we got Maggie was the greatest day of his life. I try to remember this at difficult times, like today where she managed to draw on my chair with a biro she found that she was carrying round in her mouth, squeezing through a gap she’s drawn it right along the side of my chair. 🤦‍♀️

Well I assumed dogs just know that a frozen pond is not good to walk on... pup proved me wrong today when she sprinted across the ice after a bird. Cue loud cracking sounds! Thank goodness for good recall or I would have been wading into a frozen pond. Lesson learned

Hennipup is now 10 months old, she’s had a busy few months since I last updated. We’ve dabbled with some very gentle flyball training which she lived, we’ve been to the coast for her first trip to the beach- again loved it.
Our older dog is taking to her a bit more now, it’s still an on going process as he’s old and has medical issues, but it’s going in the right direction.
We’ve also been to some dog shows and has qualified to show at Crufts, it’s been a dream of mine since I got my older dog, but it’s finally come true!

Wow @hennipenni that's great! How do you qualify to show at Crufts?

@Lougle you have to come 1st, 2nd or 3rd in a qualifying class at a championship dog show.

@henni Congratulations!. We have a celebrity in our midst. What day will you be going? I’m planning to go this year. Which dog has qualified, black retriever/lab or spaniel?

So I feel like we've turned a corner at long bloody last.

Pineapplepups barking is a million times improved. I've been giving her some herbal calming supplement recommended by her vet. This was after a full vet check including bloods and urine (all came back fine) but actually what I think worked best was spraying a loud aerosol hiss of air mid barking frenzy. It stopped her instantly. I've had to spray maybe 3 or 4 times in the last fortnight, the rest of the time, when she's started to bark, I just pick up the can and she stops. I know some people might think this isn't the best solution but hey it works, it didn't hurt her, it makes mine and the rest of the neighbourhoods life better and she seems calmer in general.

I had to take her to the vets again this week as she wasn't eating very well. Turns out all of her major teeth are wobbly at the same time and she's getting the food in her mouth but it's falling out the sides, really quite funny to watch the confusion on her face! I've also dropped her to 2 meals a day as she was so uninterested in the lunchtime meal.

She also hasn't peed on my kitchen floor in a good few days (or worse!) and I had to leave her on her own yesterday and couldn't get anyone to collect her until 15 mins after I left, apparently she was fast asleep on the sofa and was reluctant to move so that was a win as well.

Still work to be done but that's to be expected at 23wks (or 5mths as I think I need to switch to)

Hang in there new puppy parents, things will improve slowly........

@Riverlee were there on Friday which is gun dog day. It’s the flat coat that’s qualified, the cocker is too old, grumpy and likes his own space to show!

Yippee, I’m going on the Friday. My first time, but probably watched it every year on tv since I was born!

I’ll come and cheer you on (if you happy to message me when and where you’ll be competing- not quite sure how it all works in reality).

@hennipenni oh a flattie! I really want one but there are like 2 breeders in Scotland and one of them is in the borders and they have massive wait lists. So I reckon I'll get another goldie instead.
I have 2 local black flatties near me. One a mad keen puppy and the other is an ex therapy dog. Both amazing dogs.

That's brilliant @Pineapplemonkey your hard work is paying off! Which supplement did you try? I was pretty sceptical about the one recommended for pup but I do think it helped!

Nutracalm which is a bit on the pricy side. I only sprinkled half the capsule on her breakfast today and haven't noticed any difference yet. Is the one you've tried cheaper just in case she reverts to her old behaviour and she does in fact need to be calmed?

I'm using Dorwest skullcap and valerian, because she's over 15kg she needs 3 tablets a day! But it came in a bottle of 200. I do think she improved a fair bit after taking them for a week. The only way to know for certain is stop them and see if she gets more anxious again... but I'm not keen to do that!

Ooh I might give those a go if she gets all angsty when she comes off the Nutracalm - I only bought 15 tablets (1 a day) and they were £18, they're £50 for 60 tablets and some dogs need 4 of them a day!
Just looked at the Dorwest ones and realised they are based in my town, I drive past them all the time, would be a bit narked at having to pay postage!

@Pineapplemonkey check if you can claim on your insurance. PetPlan pays for NutraCoat for my big dog for his skin sensitivities.

I had to take Hazel to the vet today. She's hurt her paw. He couldn't find anything but she was very tender so he gave her a metacam injection and we'll give her the liquid for a few days.

We have a barking pup, I have held off using air spray as I think he is attention barking but I might need to consider it.. have behaviourist and vet check next Friday so will see what that comes too. I don’t think he is anxious as he can be fine some days and an absolute twonk others!

We all make our own choices but aversives get fast results in the short term but can backfire in the longer term.

How's Hazel's paw today @Lougle ?

I think little pup (left) might end up taller than big pup

How is Hazel now @Lougle ? We’ve also been at the vet with a sore eye and scarily uneven pupils, she’s quite good with eye drops luckily. 18kg now at 5 months.

good luck with the behaviourist @Gizlotsmum hopefully you can get on top of the barking

Hazel's doing well, thank you. The metacam seems to have worked. We just need to work on her harness tolerance a bit because she's pulling away from it because her paw was sore.

She's 15.4 kg now.

Aren't they all growing up? I can't believe Hazel is nearly 6 months old.

JanePup is home!

He did so well on the long drive home.
Played in his crate a bit but obviously preferring humans to snuggle up to.....
We've had accidents inside, on our rug. He seems terrified of being outside, even worse on the grass.
He's sleeping on my daughter at the moment - should I move him to the crate asleep?

Jane pup is gorgeous.

Riverpup slept in his crate from day one. However, we had someone sleeping on the sofa next to him at first.

Oh I'll be on the sofa tonight, he's just so content on my daughter currently.

Oh isn't he sweet!

We had a nice boost today. Hazel passed her puppy award with Adolescent Dogs.