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

Mine is nearly 12 weeks, got her at 81/2. Had pups before but it's hit me hard too.
Toilet training great now (but yes that was very tiring) but my current stress is that I have to take her on 2 45 minute car journeys this weekend with nobody else in the car. We've had several trial runs, one was great where she fell asleep in the crate with it covered, but today has a bad one which ended with having to stop and she had diarrhoea after all the crying. Going to try harness and short journey tomorrow.
She's fine exploring in the car but I think she's mostly hates being restricted. Any tips appreciated.

Re holidays- our summer holiday we are in dog friendly uk accommodation, and we have a city break in May where she is going to a local kennels for a few nights- she’s doing a couple of daycares and an overnight beforehand. I haven’t really considered what we’d do if she isn’t happy there tbh. We wouldn’t do separate holidays. I also need to try her for a longer car ride, but that’s ok as we want to go for a walk in the Malverns at Easter and that’s 1.5 hours drive. Out bigger concern is more how to restrain her, currently we have her in the boot but for holiday we will need a boot divider and I need to research options for dhs car,

@Cavalierchaos totally understand how you are feeling! 13 years since our last pup so 13 years older which I have felt every one! Our pup is now 14 months old, the first 6 months are etched on my brain forever. Exhaustion, tearful, regret, worry every emotion but wow so worth it now, love her so much. It really is just a case of head down and accept they can be a nightmare and you will feel totally trapped ( I lived in my kitchen/diner for 6 months) but that's life with a puppy. You will get there, sites like this are a life saver. Any support, don't hesitate!

@Yllasin we found that having her on her harness and attached to the back seat belt works best. Can you have a few short drives with someone else in the back seat with her?

Thank you yes, I have time for a couple more practices like that this week.
This was how my previous dogs travelled once older and calm, so fingers crossed!
I can't bear to let them shriek and cry, a bit of whining is one thing but it breaks my heart if there's any more.
New harness (escape proof) arrives tomorrow, fingers crossed (again) it fits!

Both our pups are in harnesses attached to seatbelt.
We don’t use a crate for travel usually, but dh has had a couple of appointments recently that are an hours drive away so pups has gone with him, then stayed in the crate in the car during appointment…. It meant only 45 mins without anyone, rather than 3hrs alone at home

Pups is 12 weeks and we are seeing light at the end of the tunnel both with toileting and nipping. 😀

Thank you everyone. A bit of progress with toilet training, I'd say 10% of pees/poops are done outside. Today, he walked independently from the kitchen to outside to do his poo. Amazing. Yet other times when we go outside, he starts crying to be let back in!

Oh and he was sick tonight. That was very worrying. But he's been fine since. Hopefully just ate too much grass ...

Any insight on a change in toilet routine. BooDog has taken to getting up any time between 2 and 4am to want to go outside to the toilet. He then often doesn't want to bother when he gets up. He's being taken out (usually very reluctantly) last thing at night. Sometimes he just has a wee, sometimes adds a bonus poo. What I'd like to be able to do is 'reset' his routine, if such a thing is possible.

Bloody hell, the pup ate a piece of chewing gum whilst on our walk about 40 mins ago, he’s being his usual puppy self, do I need to worry ?

"Xylitol is so toxic to dogs that just 1 stick of gum may contain enough of the ingredient to poison a small dog. Generally speaking, the dose of xylitol required to cause poisoning in dogs is about 0.05 grams per pound of body weight. Chewing gum typically contains about 0.22-1.0 gram of xylitol per piece." https://www.petvet.vet/site/blog/2022/03/15/dog-ate-gum#:~:text=Xylitol%20is%20so%20toxic%20to,gram%20of%20xylitol%20per%20piece!

How heavy is your pup now? Might be worth checking with a phone call to the vet.

@BackToLurk Hazel is similar. What time does he eat tea?

Usually around 6, although sometimes a bit later. Occasionally he'll go at night, then sleep though until about 6.30-7, which is great. He then goes back to sleep. He is not a morning dog!

Yes, Hazel tends to have dinner between 5 and 6, often needs to poo at 2-3am, has breakfast at 7 am, then is snoozing by 9 am.

You could try giving dinner earlier, say 4 pm, to allow a clear out before bed. Or much later, to allow him to go through overnight and clear out in the morning?

A lot of it is guesswork / trial and error. Our dogs are fed at the same time but have totally different toilet habits.

need some advice to stop the nipping! Is it a case of hoping they grow out of it or can you train a puppy not to bite?

What breed and what age? Some breeds tend to be more nippy than others, but all puppies bite. It's how they learn. They have to be taught bite inhibition. They learn it by your response to the biting. So when they bite, we withdraw our attention. Then we give it back when they are calm. Generally, a bitey puppy is a tired puppy.

Have a nice toy to offer as an alternative to your hand/foot. Try to avoid wearing flappy trousers or skirts. Wear slippers/shoes at all times.

This too shall pass.

I'm struggling with biting too. I'm trying so hard not to cry. He lunged at my face before. My hands are covered in scratches. Often you just can't stroke him because he just bites you.

He's a cavalier spaniel, not an aggressive or bitey breed! What am I doing wrong? I just want to burst into tears.

I stuff toys in his mouth constantly but he just bites the hand giving them!

Thank you @Lougle we have a 12 week Labrador puppy. He tends to be bitey when he gets overexcited, and it’s sometimes hard to gauge when he will lick and when it’s teeth! Im
definitely offering the toys, but wondered also if
people have any tricks - I saw something about people putting something on their hands for the puppy to lick but I’m not sure if this is helpful or
not?!

@DarlingCoffee we had many cuts and marks on our hands and arms, their teeth are like needles, land ashark! lots of redirection , loads of toys. Every time she tries to nip or jump you need to have something always at hand. Shouting or making a loud ow did nothing. I actually stopped even trying to stroke her.Try a small flirt toy and bits of cut up carrot, kibble etc. Gradually as they listen when you say no, give them a treat and immediately say Yes good. When it got really bad I would go the other side of the stair gate every time until I could get back and she had settled. But it is a very slow process! I did not resort to putting her in a crate as we have very bad experience with them, we had a pen with her bed etc in it which worked well. I know some people resort to wearing long gloves !

It's a hard stage. Remember that your puppy has no idea that he is hurting you. He has no idea that his behaviour isn't appropriate. His behaviour has no bearing on his feelings for you.

How you respond is all your puppy can learn from. Sudden movements will be seen as joining in a game. So calm behaviour is needed. Have a containment zone (puppy pen). If the puppy gets bitey, they go in the pen and you remove yourself.

Fern (12 weeks) managed to ingest a daffodil flower this evening (the only one in the garden). I saw her grab it but didn't think she'd eat it, also thought only the bulbs are poisonous.. then vomited about 10 times so had vet visit after using Google to check situation with the flowers. All good, she came home again after an anti emetic injection.
Anyway, she is whippet/IG and becomes scarily bitey, like other pups. I stand up tall and turn my back to her, but hard to get visitors to do that as they like relaxing on chairs. Prime targets!

Yup it's very hard work!

Finley is now 10 weeks old and has had a very good week, blending in very nicely with the older two dogs.
However like everyone else today i will whine about the teething...i've moved furniture...and the floor is littered with all sorts of "toys" and the rule is that we carry a "guard" toy at all times to shove in his mouth should he start nipping (which isn't all the time, he has some very sweet moments). the disarray causes me a significant amount of stress and the running commentary in my brain is that it's only temporary.
oddly he dares not nip at the old airedale, and the two times he nipped at the tibetan he ended up with a mouth full of fur.

the weather here is good and he's outside a fair amount so indoor accidents are few and far between.
we feed him at 7:30, 1130 and 230, which seems to work well for us. we're not sure if he sleeps through the night (although he's dry in his kennel) because it's rare the two older dogs don't wake.
and when one wakes they all wake...but no accidents.

@Lougle thanks for that, I read the same. He was absolutely fine, I kept my eye on him. I’m usually really vigilant with spotting chewed gum on the pavements but this was a whole piece 🙈 He loves anything minty 🤷‍♀️

I’m stressing out a bit because my little one has started barking or whining at things when we’re walking. It’s not everything/everyone but I really don’t want it to get any worse. It’s often at a noise she can’t see or a dog/person she sees but can’t get to. I try so hard to keep her focus on me, praise, high value treats etc but she gets fixated. This combined with her desire to jump up at people when I do let her meet (most often when I bump in to someone I know so naturally they come over to say hi) means walks are getting a bit stressful. I feel like these were the two things I’d really struggle with and they’re happening! She’s 16 weeks. We go to training classes and trainer thinks the barking/whining is probably just a fear period and to support her through it with reassurance etc. I just don’t want to inadvertently make it worse. Any advice?!?