Puppy Survival Thread for New & Old Pups - Soon be Autumn 2024

[BrodiePup]

Setting the ball rolling on a new thread as the last one has reached 1k 😊.

Brodie had his first proper bath today...
I don't think he was overly impressed!

He'll be 6 months old on Tuesday. I can't believe how the time has passed, or how far along we've come.

To everyone who is struggling at the moment, stick with it, it really does get easier.

Well, pride cometh before a fall.. "my girl is so perfect, sleeps all night blah blah blah..." Jinxed myself I did 💩 Spent half of last night standing in the garden in my PJ's because Miss Aubrielle had a dodgy tum (no idea why, no changes to her diet). Ah well, the moral is 🤐

Believe me, if you have a dog with any sort of prey drive, you won't be thinking seeing deer is fab! We probably see deer on average once a week.

Hope Brie is ok now she's...ahem...cleared her system @AubrieDog
In the spirit of what you've just said, I hate to say this, but Brodie is noticeably better on his lead. He's far from perfect, but the sort of normal lead behaviour that you would expect from a puppy rather than turning into a possessed Tasmanian devil. We're away in our touring caravan for the next week and so far he's behaving really well and slept right through last night.
@CaptainBeanThief Milo looks like butter wouldn't melt 🤣 do you think he's starting to calm down now?
Photo of Brodie trying on his new drying coat... I'm not sure he's impressed!

@BrodiePup

Aww, good boy, Brodie! With any luck he's getting the idea that choking himself and dislocating your shoulders isn't an essential part of going for a walk. Hopefully you'll have a lovely week away and be able to enjoy some nice relaxing walks. He does look rather sweet in his drying coat (but please don't embarrass the poor boy by telling him I said so 😉).

Roe deer are plentiful here (West Pennines) and we probably see them a couple of times in an average week; they come right down off the moor and wander around the edges of the village. We even see the tiny, wobbly fawns on occasion in the fields behind our street.

Fortunately Livestock Guarding breeds have very low (almost nonexistent) prey drive and believe me we are glad of that on a daily basis!

@AubrieDog I'm torn between wishing I lived where you do, and being very glad I don't. I think Brodie would self combust if he saw deer near his garden!
He's enjoying his benebone at the moment and giving his dad side eye 🤣

Oh that expression 🤗And what beautiful shaggy hair; very 1980's rock star, all tousled and moody!

Milo tells me to tell you @BrodiePup to tell Brodie he needs to cheer up abit the moody get 😂😂😂

@tizwozliz ok maybe not then 🤣

@AubrieDog he always asks for caramel highlights and a root perm at the poodle parlour 🤣

@CaptainBeanThief Milo is right, Brodie does need to lighten up... he's on his holidays for goodness sake!

Ahh, I love deer and probably more so now I’ve got a dog as I see at least one – the same one – every day and as a result I’ve had the intellectual challenge of training super steadiness around big game (as well as small furries/winged beasts.) But I do accept that wanting to have any kind of intellectual challenge in the dog training arena is quite weird, and that regrettably I too am quite weird!

Glad to hear you’re having some better walking luck, @BrodiePup!

We went to a small agricultural type show yesterday - Libi met her first sheep and goat up close. She did a very deep "WTF IS THAT?" woof, but was easily distracted with treats and showed no signs of any prey drive - which I expected but it was nice to have it confirmed. <phew>

Walked beautifully to heel most of the time - but that was because she was a bit overwhelmed by all the people, noise and other dogs, so stuck close to me - still pulls like a train when we are walking to the field/park.

Best bit of advice I was ever given was "never give a dog a command you know it's going to ignore" - you are just teaching it to ignore you.

I really do recommend going to a good training class - I do, even after 40yrs of dog ownership and Libi is my 13th dog. It gives you a space to practice and reinforce commands which is just a serious working space, so they don't associate it with play time - and if you're anything like me having to show up and show you've practiced during the week is a guilt inducing motivator😆

Action shot!
First time on a beach and he loved it 🥰

Awww 💗 what a great photo!

@AubrieDog Thank you...he's a very tired puppy now!

@BrodiePup aww he's so fluffy I love it!!!!

Vincenzo being naughty today 🙄

@YorkshireFelix

Naughty??? Surely not... looks like butter wouldn't melt...

(He's bloomin' gorgeous, that baby!)

@BrodiePup what a great pic 😍

What did Vincenzo do @YorkshireFelix ? Great name BTW!

Zeus has been a nightmare today - my poor cat is so tolerant but even she has limits.

Are we doing pupdate pics today?
5 months and suddenly looking less puppyish. Still a swine on the lead though...

He's still tiny (3 mths old) but thinks he's HUUUUGE!

I would love to see Zeus and Aubrie stood next to each other 😂

@JessiesHuman Awww, so cute 💗

(My girl is huge but thinks she's a teeny weeny lap dog).

@YorkshireFelix That would be so funny - she'd be terrified of him!

😂Me too!

Why did I ever think that a smaller breed of dog would be easier for the cat to deal with he's so hyperactive!

Hopefully Zeus and your cat will come to an agreement soon, it's still early days...

The cat is the boss in our house for sure! She's 12 so this is her third dog.