Puppy Survival Thread for New and Old Pups - Spring is around the corner!

[Lougle]

A thread for puppy owners to share their ups and downs as we head into Spring. We're not just here for the idyllic moments. We've all had a cry at some point!

All posters welcome - just dive in.

The previous thread is here https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/the_doghouse/4945764-puppy-survival-thread-for-old-and-new-pups-heading-into-winter?page=1

@JamieJ93
Hi! I was wondering how you, Milo and Freddie are doing? Hope you're all ok.

@BrodiePup
Hi,
It's just back to me, husband and Milo.
I feel enormous guilt but we was massively out of our depth with Fred. I feel so stupid for taking him on but we were honestly unable to make an informed decision about taking him on as we weren't told the full extent of it all however we still shouldn't have taken him on I suppose. We were ready - we thought we could do it - but we could do it.
He went to a wonderful couple who rescue and rehabilitate dogs Freddie will be their resident dog though and will stay with them forever - they seemed to love him and are giving me regular updates.
I feel extremely guilty and like a failure that I couldn't cope with it but the anxiety and other things were extreme.

@JamieJ93
Huge hugs xxx
You gave it a go and I admire you for admitting that it was too much. It sounds like in a round about way you've helped Freddie find the perfect home.
Don't beat yourself up, I know it's easier said than done, but it really sounds like you made the right decision for all of you.
I'm getting more attached to Brodie with every passing day, but I'm still gobsmacked at the amount of time and effort a new dog takes. So I know that a pup with Freddie's problems would've been way beyond my capabilities.
Take care of yourself, try not to feel bad and give Milo lots of cuddles.

@JamieJ93 good for you for both trying and finding a good forever home!
As for “finding” we’ve had 2 teeth a day fall out for the past 3 days.

@JamieJ93
I agree with all the supportive things the pps have said. Sounds like a hard situation and for what its worth it sounds to me like you did better than I could have done every step of the way. I hope you're okay x

Bill's home! The journey was (astonishingly) pretty much fine. A miserable first 20 minutes - my heart was breaking - but he settled, and went straight back into the travel crate without a peep after our only stop (which was for me to have a wee!). Four and a half hours. I felt very lucky.

He's been brilliant so far with house training - he's only had one accident, and that's in the (too big) crate I have downstairs - just set up to let him have a sniff while I'm waiting for a divider to arrive. He's sleeping in the travel crate next to me, waking every couple of hours, but he's only teeny (ten weeks tomorrow).

Those of you who have had pups since babies, when do you start 'flitting' and getting them used to you being out of sight and away from them? Bill loses his shit if I go into the kitchen to switch the kettle on - he can hear me but the kettle isn't in his eyeline. If I have to do anything in another room, he comes with me (the house isn't easy to puppy proof, so until I get a house line, he's in a sling). If I need to use the loo I'm doing so with a puppy sat on my lap 😄I have managed to have a bath by putting him (very unhappily) into one of those fabric puppy pens and zipping up the roof and he settles eventually but this gives you an idea. I don't want him lonely when he's so tiny but at some point I need to start being occasionally out of sight - when would you suggest is best to start?

@Bupster
He's gorgeous and well done on your journey! That was really good going.
I'm not sure what to suggest about leaving him, it was one of the few problems I didn't have. I'd pop off and leave him for a few minutes right from day one...doing everything in a frantic rush hoping he hadn't done anything while I was gone! I would say to get stuck into it right away though or you're going make him too attached and needy.
One thing I have learnt is that puppies are tougher than they look and don't need handling with kid gloves or tiptoeing around.
I'm sure someone will be along soon to give you some better tips.
In the meantime, enjoy your gorgeous pupper 😊.

@Bupster well done on that epic journey. He’s beautiful. The first few weeks are very overwhelming. I’d suggest not taking him into the loo if possible. Going for a wee in peace is pretty much a human right and also a good length of time for initial flitting. We definitely started within a few days.

It’s important not to make much of it. I say, see you soon and go. Then a calm hello on my return. He got used to it really quickly and, incidentally sleeps much more restfully than when I’m around.

hang on in the early days. It’s tough.

@Bupster I have the exact same breed as you. Mine is now 8 months old. In the beginning she was extremely clingy. If she couldn't see me she'd cry. It was really hard work. The one thing I did was enforce crate time. Even if she cried I'd leave her in there. Not for long, maybe an hour maximum so I could get on with stuff. I work from home so I would work in the dining room where her crate is so she could see me.
She's is also full of energy and never stops. She can settle herself more now and for the last month I've been able to leave her and go upstairs and she is fine. Early on we taught her to settle herself by giving her treats when she'd sit on a blanket on the floor and not move. I did the same if she sat next to me on the sofa. She soon learnt to wait for treats and eventually she'd calm down and maybe even fall asleep!!
Also, in the evening we give her a long lasting chew. She loves a pizzle. That keeps her occupied for ages and it calms her down so she will often fall asleep.
I would say routine is really important. And these dogs need a lot of mental stimulation. So we hide treats for her to find, we take a ball on walks so she can try and find it in long grass and she also loves a sealed cardboard box with treats in.
Also, my dog is a jumper. She has just learnt to jump the 4ft fence to go in to next doors garden!
These dogs need a lot of stimulation and enforced rests. Mine would run round all day if she could then she'd be really grumpy in the evening.
They are the loveliest dogs though. We adore ours. But the first few months are really hard. It was about 6 months when she got a bit easier.

Milos behaviour has reverted back to I'm a dickhead teenager and I do what I want and you cant do fuck all about it
😬
Currently waiting for my mum and nan to get back with their shopping so he can annoy them instead of me 😆😆

Sorry for the Milo spam guys
But, this is hands down the best picture I've ever taken.
Might take a while to spot 😎

Love that picture of Milo in the mirror!

I need to get this off my chest. I am so damn embarrassed at how badly behaved my puppy still is.😓 the constant jumping up and biting. He's six months and I'm so fed up. I've tried all the tips and tricks I can get my hands on. I am embarrassed at being unable to control his behaviour. I don't even think I do anything particularly wrong. He's incredibly boisterous.

I Google constantly for answers that might suddenly appear, and it struck me that most threads or websites online for biting are about very young pups, not 6 months pups!

Argh!

@Cavalierchaos
Is it just when pup is excited ?
Milo is still doing it! And he's 12 months!! It's driving me mad - weve done everything also. It's winding me when people in RL especially my MIL saying "just take him for a good run",
Gee thanks, I can't believe I didn't think about that I'll give it ago when you've fucked off and left me in peace 😒😒

@JamieJ93
I think so, but he's excited a lot!! He finds everything so exciting. I've got so many holes in my tops from him jumping up and biting.

@Cavalierchaos
It is frustrating when the pups play up. I think the worst thing with Brodie is his pulling on the lead, it sounds like he's been throttled...silly mutt...why can't he understand that if he took it a bit easier it would be pleasanter for everyone.
I mentioned it at gundog training on Sunday, and the trainer answered "he's a spaniel, you'll never get him to be happy on a lead" not very reassuring when he's already strong and I have arthritis in my shoulders 🙄.
He also jumps up a lot which I'm still putting down to puppy enthusiasm (19 weeks) but it's really annoying and I only managed to have clean trousers on for an hour or two.
@JamieJ93
That's a lovely photo of Milo, I hope you're getting on ok?
We've braved a long weekend in our caravan, first time with the Brodie pup, so far everything is going really well... I hate to say that because I feel something is going to bite us in the butt very shortly!

@BrodiePup
Yeah, Brodie!!! 😂😂😂

You made the right decision @JamieJ93 :)
Clover is going through her teenage phase at the moment, selective hearing in full force and enjoying terrorising the cat...
However she slept from 10pm until 5:45 last night with no whining or barking in the middle so that is a plus!! Still having the odd accident overnight but we're getting there. Unfortunately we are still not able to crack the leaving at home alone so I'm not quite sure what to do, I've tried all the suggested methods but nothing seems to work. Think it'll be a behaviourist next.

I've got a 10 month Cavalier and at 6 months he was mouthing (biting) everything he could get in his mouth. Now he only does that if he's tired or becomes overexcited.
When it happens I've always just stood up and turned away from him and he definitely knows that means 'no more attention from Mum until I stop that'.

I would also add that when he jumps up at folk who want to say hello (and alot of people do becasue he's so cute) I tell them to turn away until his bum is on the floor or he isn't jumping up at them. ALOT of the time folk don't want to do that (because he's cute).

Hello. I’m joining the thread for the first time. I have 2 rescue puppies that I found on the side of the road in my neighbourhood in rural Chile. I love them so much but today one of them ate my internet cable. I work online. It is hugely inconvenient to get a new one. They have so many chew toys, a healthy diet, lots of mental stimulation and we have lovely long walks on the beach every day. They had no need to eat my wire!

Hi Triggerning - I'm VERY new to dog owning so hopefully people with more experience will jump in! My little monster is a menace but it's not his fault - he's a puppy, and teething, and that's what they do. He doesn't know that some chewable things (e.g. my shoes, sunshine) aren't supposed to be chewed - he just sees something that's chewable, and puppies have to chew, especially when they're teething. If it helps, almost everyone I know who got a puppy lost their internet at some point...

Bill is ten weeks and the only way I can stop him from chewing on stuff he shouldn't chew is to block it off from him or to physically have him next to me, so that's what I'm doing. He's in a puppy pen, or near me, or on me. Every day he gets a bit more of the house which seems like the most effective way of working out what I should have puppy-proofed before letting him in there😄He doesn't get any freedom anywhere near the internet cable (or the fridge-freezer cable).

I think you've done a lovely thing taking on two rescue pups. I hope the good bits make up for the inevitable puppy disasters 😊

Hi it's me here again for a rant -
Im getting quite fed up of the amount of people around here with spaniels who are so stuck up their own arses.
I mean - they can clearly see Milo is a young dog.
We take him on the fields as he can run as much as he likes -
He doesn't bother people OR other dogs.
But it's like a battle of best behaved spaniels up here !! ( Which wed definitely come last place) But sometimes what is wrong with a dog being a dog and letting YOUR dog run around with MY peasant dog?
I wouldn't dream of letting Milo jump up at somebody - which he has NEVER done to a stranger thank you very much and I would never use the excuse of hes "just friendly" ( maybe he's just a dick tho)
But they look at you like shit just because youre not walking around with a flat cap and a shot gun getting out a land rover defender.
Anyway rant over
P.s.
Milo wouldn't fit the bill for a gun dog
He wouldn't return the goods ;)

Thanks @Bupster The good bits do definitely outweigh the frustrations. They are the best and I love them. It’s just difficult sometimes. They were (obviously) unplanned and I’d got used to living peacefully alone.

@Triggerning They are the cutest little things! It's a lovely thing you've done taking them on.
@JamieJ93 I so get where you're coming from...
I'm getting totally sick of WCS bashing, and people telling me they'd never have one, they're uncontrollable, you'll never train him etc etc...
I've met quite a few that are laidback and well behaved. Yes, they're full of fun. Yes, they've got boundless energy. Yes, my puppy pulls like a steam train on his lead...but he's a puppy! What about all the suffering, deformed, designer dogs that people drag on a 50 yard walk? Have a go at them for encouraging cruelty, rather than me who has a carefully bred 'real' dog.
Let Milo run and have all the fun he wants. He's a pet and he's living his best life!

I'm back for another moan 🙁
Brodie is now 20 weeks old, and in many ways is a little darling. He settles well, no biting, no separation anxiety, I think we've cracked house training. Really intelligent and his training is excellent in the house...however...his pulling on the lead is insane!
I did my research, I knew he would probably never walk nicely to heel and would most likely pull, but this is off the scale. We start off well, I keep him at my side with treats, then he catches a scent and I'm forgotten and he's totally deaf to me. He's not even interested in high value treats when this kicks in. It's like when you see a horse being broken.
If I saw it I would honestly think that the owner had no control over the dog and needed to do some serious training.
We do an 80 mile round trip every week for specialist gun dog training for pets. The trainer (who also owns Brodies dad) just says that you can't train out instinct and breeding and he'll never be happy on a lead. He's one of the few kennel club accredited gun dog trainers in the country, so knows his stuff.
I'm totally stuck what to do. I have arthritis in my shoulders and he pulled me awkwardly yesterday and I'm in agony today. I really don't know how I'm going to take him out, and I have to because he won't poo in the garden.
I could drive to a park and let him off, but I don't trust his recall if he sees a dog, and the last time I did it another dog owner got annoyed with me, and rightly so.
I feel lost, lonely and totally isolated...I could deal with it if I could think things will get better, but at the moment I can't imagine they will.
My social life revolved around meeting friends for a coffee and going for a walk and I imagined a dog fitting in perfectly. Now I'm trapped at home dreading taking him out.
Sorry for the waffle... think I needed to vent...