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.

Aldi have their pet event on and they have agility things in the offer, slalom poles and a hoop to jump through

I made Maggie a stuffy today- a disemboweled hedgehog toy, pulled all the stuffing out and stuffed it with her old raggy blanket and some treats then stuffed it into an old plastic ball so she had to work quite hard to rekill it and eat its innards. Aaah labradors, the gentle breed…… 😛

I bought some long lasting fish chews the other day. In the reviews, people were saying they lasted 20 minutes for their 'strong chewers'. Both of mine finished them in 3 minutes!

Any idea when pups grow out of the witching hour….. it’s exhausting 😬.

@userxx Maggie is 6.5 months and she doesn’t really have a witching hour anymore, and hasn’t for a while actually.

My pups witching hour lasts from 7am-7pm, minus naps.
I'm exhausted.

Mine is older and goes through phases. At the moment, he can’t seem to settle in the evening. Other times he’ll jump on the sofa and will curl up and snooze.

So true!

Lucky you!!!! Pupxx is almost 7 months so I’m living in hope it could happen soon 🤞

@JaneIves How’s border life going? Have you adjusted or still shell shocked 🤪

@userxx Hazel is 7 months old this week. Tbh, she never really did have a witching hour - we were very strict about naps - but she's been in a nice calm pattern for about 3 months now.

We moved away from a strict routine at about 4 months, so that she didn't get entrenched. She never quite knows if breakfast will be 7.00 or 9.00. Lunch can be anywhere from 11.30-14.00. Dinner anytime from 17.00-19.00. Bedtime anytime from 21.00-23.30. Some days nothing exciting happens at all. Some sort of training happens every day (we don't use a food bowl). Last week she did a 4 hour sniffer dog workshop. Today she did a 3 hour trick training workshop. She won't do any more for a month or so.

She's a very low demand dog at the moment. Not sure what adolescence will bring though! We still have her absolute adoration of people to work on though.

@userxx Good days and bad days - I'm sure you understand!

Our younger pup never really had a witching hour. Our older one (nearly 3) is still far more likely to be an unsettled pain in the bum some evenings.

Oh yes! I fully understand 😬

Thanks Lougle, ours are exactly the same age. I’m thinking different breeds just act differently and I’ve always had a fight on my hands to get him to sleep, he’ll do anything to avoid it. It’s only in the last few weeks he’s gone into his crate on his own. He’s also experiencing a major surge in hormones which is making things interesting 🤔. I’m hoping things will settle down as I don’t really want to neuter until he’s at least two, this is on the advice of the breeder and the fact he was quite nervous until very recently. Puppy life is definitely challenging!

A recent photo of the little terror, I may be biased but he’s a handsome lad.

I’m thinking different breeds just act differently

Even dogs who are the same breed can be quite different. Our two are related but very different in lots of ways.

If we'd had our second pup first, I may have attributed her excellent behaviour down to our training, when if fact she's just a really easy dog.

@userxx he is very handsome!

Puppy training classes start today, hoping to learn settle very quickly!
He is very clever, works out any puzzle toy/feeder very quickly. Loves playing 'find it' - he is very food oriented, apart from when it comes to eating his actual meals!
Also hoping we can get some tips to leaving for short periods, building up to longer. He's super attached to me, follows me everywhere, won't be left in his pen even if I'm in the room. He will go into his crate when asked, but that's usually me enforcing his naps. He won't take himself off to sleep, or just relax.

My handsome boy 💙

Hi! @Yllasin Has puppy arrived? If so then I hope he or she is settling in okay.

Hi, yes, collected her yesterday! She seems to be settling very well, thanks! I never thought I'd say it, but putting her into the crate once she's asleep or chewing something in there has been great, allowed me to have a wash etc without worrying about setting back house training! Overnight she was in her bed and cardboard box and a confined (toilet) area right next to ny bed and we were just up twice for toiletting. I don't suppose it will last 😆

But just look at that face! He must be worth it. I agree re. Training Vs temperament. You can only train the dog you have, not the dog you want. A lot of the typical Labrador traits don't seem to hold with her. We did work hard to manage her environment and instill training, but she's never chewed stuff that isn't hers, etc. We've largely stopped using the pen. Now, if we go out, we just shut her in DD2's room and that is a signal to settle down and sleep.

That’s great. Enjoy! I check in on here every now and again to hear how others are getting on and see photos. It’s nice to know you’re not on your own when second guessing what to do, what’s normal etc etc

Thanks everyone, this thread always gives me some comfort, especially when having a hard day.

@JaneIves Oh he's beautiful 😍. Mine is also very attached to me, isn't happy when I go out, furious in fact. When I return all is quiet until the key is in the door so I'm pretty sure he settles, I can't think about it too much or I'd never leave the house! They are super intelligent little dogs, puppy class will be brilliant for you all, I'm sure he will be a star pupil.

@userxx spoiler - he wasn't star pupil! Just very, very excited and wanting to play with the other 2 pups! He's like my daughter, bright and more than capable, but easily distracted 🤣
He's now out for the count, so peace for a while!

@JaneIves and @userxx Cute puppies.

This is my 9 week old lurcher pup. We’ve had him just over a week now and he’s settling in well!

We’ve gone from waking every 2hrs in the night for toileting to just a couple times now. He’s able to hold it from 2am to 6am which means I’m getting a bit more sleep 😀… Still tired though! And standing outside in the middle of the night is cold!! Should have got a summer puppy 🤣

The witching hour seems to be starting… he’s very nippy of an evening and we really have to watch when he plays, esp with our other pup who’s 15 months old and a bit timid.

Aww bless him! Must have been born about the same time as mine, she's 9 weeks tomorrow. Whippet/IG Also having a mad bitey time before settling for the night. ☺️

Such sweet puppies. Prioritise sleep. Don't trust your puppy to know when they're tired.

I can't quite believe Hazel is 7 months old on Thursday! In some ways it feels like she could be at least a year old and in other ways it seems impossible that we've had her over 5 months.

We love our training classes. So far we've done puppy classes, Bronze classes (a work in progress), novice trick training, intermediate trick training, and UK Sniffer Dog Bronze. I love watching Hazel learn.

We're also part of Adolescent Dogs online training programme. We're in the assistance dog arm, but a part of that we have access to the general training arm. I think it's a really good setup. They have all of their training videos, a Facebook group, and the head trainer does a live Q&A each week to help troubleshoot problems with behaviour, training, etc. People can send in videos of tricky moments and he will analyse them and give advice.

There is so much you can do with your dog. I love it!