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.

Our pup is now 11 weeks. I'm feeling pretty down about it all. Toilet training is going backwards. Unlike our old pup he doesn't signal when he needs to go (old dog would whine at the door as a puppy). So we are taking him out regularly, he'll walk around for 40 mins, we get bored, come back in and then he will wee in the hallway 10 mins later.

Because he doesn't signal I'm also confused what to do in the night. I hear him crash about in his crate, panic and take him out. But then he's up in a kind of rhythm with it and now used to getting up for the day at 5am. And a wee stop at 3am. I'm tired as a result!

Hmmm, you know you could be right...but don't tell her I said so...😜

@Flashcardsagain Isn't it a nightmare? 11 weeks is nothing really though, some of them take very much longer - ours did, but then it suddenly seemed to click almost overnight and now, at 5.5 months, she's brilliant. One of our boys was house trained by 9 weeks so we were despairing with this pup!

It is totally knackering, I know. It can be weeks and weeks of 4am starts and sleep deprivation - it was with us too. We didn't crate so I can't really advise in that respect but we had puppy pads down in the kitchen at night and even so she would still wee on the floor! It is frustrating when they don't let you know but that might change with your pup. Brie would do a tiny high-pitched squeak but we didn't always hear it.,, now she does a single woof if she has an urgent need to go so that's easier.

Anyway, stick with the routine and hopefully he'll get the idea soon so you'll start to catch up on a bit of sleep. Good luck!

@AubrieDog she's probably rocking back and forth in the corner having a breakdown whilst Brodie is trashing her house - too busy to be on Mumsnet love you really @BrodiePup 🫢

@Flashcardsagain I agree with @AubrieDog he's still really little. Mine is 14 weeks tomorrow and it's been one step forwards and 2 steps back the whole time! The best thing I did was buy a cheap metal pen for the garden and every toilet trip he was popped into there to contain him. He found the rest of the garden too exciting so would spend the whole time just running around trying to eat leaves and not going to the toilet. We got to about 80% toilet outside and then a couple of weeks ago he regressed back to going inside all the time again which was so frustrating. Especially when you've just been stood outside for half an hour then he wees on the floor as soon as you get back inside. He will sniff around before going but a lot of time he goes to immediately peeing so it's really hard to grab him and get him outside in time. I have been so stressed about it as it seemed like we've made no progress at all!

BUT I bought some bells for the back door a few weeks ago and ring them every time we go out, and last night and today he rang the bells to go out for the toilet!! I couldn't believe it. Then just now he kept pawing at me and it turns out he was telling me he needed to pee. I am genuinely gobsmacked 😂

Re the crate - Vinny always woke up a few times in the night and I'd always take him to the toilet, then eventually he started sleeping through longer and longer. He does sometimes have the odd night where he wakes up and I have to take him out to pee at 2am but he mostly sleeps through now. It just takes time for them to be able to hold it, but yours will get there eventually. I know how exhausting it is being up and down in the night so you have my sympathies!

R.e. toilet training,
The very early stages i.e. 5 months and younger are hard. You need to be very on the ball as some breeds take longer to get it.
Sometimes you think YES cracked it and then the little fuckers catch you off guard.
Crate training especially at night is GREAT for bladder/toilet training you are teaching your pup how to hold their bladders for longer periods of time if they can hold it at night - they can hold it in the day.
When I take Milo out now I just say go wee wee and he will wee but he mainly just does it without a cue, he will pace and stand next to the back door then look at me as if to say oi let me out I need the toilet.
Sometimes he will have an accident but that's ALWAYS at the front door.
Basically it's all a learning curve and no puppy learns at the same time, you just have to do what is right for you, you can go by other people's advice but you sort have to teach yourself and it's also common sense i.e learning to look for "signs and signals" from your pup
X

Naw, she's on hols, having a fab time!
Didn't even invite us all to join her, the big meanie 😠

Thank you, this helps! We've said we will start treating more when he goes (we've read conflicting things about creating a strategic wee-holder to get more treats but it's worth a go) and choosing an area of the garden.

I like the bells idea! But we wfh so I wonder if we will get annoyed with bells going all the way through calls when he spots a squirrel??

He probably does signal somehow but dh and I work full time and we hit busy periods of household chaos with school runs which don't help. He could be signalling away but if I'm busy asking my ds to brush his teeth for the tenth time then I'm going to miss it.

Re toilet training; we realised too late that wee rhymes with Brie 🙄so we can't say "wee time" we have to go with "toilet time" which sounds a bit stupid 😏

The other issue with Aubrie is that she will only toilet in the garden, not out on a walk. She has very occasionally done a wee on the verges but a💩always has to be in the privacy of her own garden.

The bells is a genius idea @YorkshireFelix - Vinny is clearly a mensa child to have learned that so quickly and you should be very proud of him.

Sounds like classic puppy behaviour @Flashcardsagain

We give our puppy a treat every single time he does his business in the correct place.

(Yet still the little bugger sometimes chooses the kitchen floor instead)

@AubrieDog the phrase the Guide dogs use for their puppies is asking them to go "busy busy"

@AubrieDog someone here suggested the bells! I can't remember who, but I will be forever thankful.

We just use 'toilet' but I'm not sure if he understands that means wee AND poo, so I don't know if we need another word for poos. Busy is a cute one to use, I like that.

Honestly @Flashcardsagain , the noise that Brie was making initially was like a tiny mouse squeak and it was so easy to miss unless we were right beside her. Hopefully as your boy grows he will start to give you more warning that he needs to go outside.

@Twiglets1 Ahh, that would have been better than "toilet time" in fact even "piddle poop" might have been preferable tbh 🙄

If one of us walks the puppy on our own the other person might ask, " did he do busy? Or busy busy?"

I don't know why we don't just say did he do a wee or a poo 😂

@Flashcardsagain we are in the same situation re work and kids so totally understand. I try and keep half an eye on him when I'm working but it's so difficult. I often end up just working when he's asleep then catching up in the evening which isn't ideal! I could have done with a 6 month sabbatical for puppy rearing. It should be the same as maternity leave 😂

@Twiglets1 that is so funny 🤣

Hello everyone! Can I please join in?
This is our new Lemon Beagle pup (boy) who we picked up last weekend!

He is coming up to 9 weeks old on Saturday & has had his first vaccinations & is doing really well.

We lost our beloved Border Terrier earlier this year & I can't stand not having a dog around the house so I persuaded (nagged) my DH into have another dog! He didn't take much persuading 😜

I am here for all the trials & tribulations that puppies bring & hopefully can muster up loads of patience. I stupidly forgot how much hard work puppies are but he is a delight (when he is not chewing something he shouldn't)

@Tangomango1 he is absolutely gorgeous!

I forgot to say his name! Eddie The Beagle 🐶

@Tangomango1
Can I have your address? Just curious not to steal him or anything 😅

@CaptainBeanThief
Can I book you in around 4am for a visit?That would be lovely

@Tangomango1
He's adorable!
Eddie the Beagle 😄I love it!

@Tangomango1
Half 3 would suit me better, can we come to a compromise?
He is stunning 😍

Can I ask a question about frequency/length of walks? I'd seen a lot about '5 minutes per month of age' but then lots of people saying it's bullshit. I've also seen people say don't walk them at all and stick to just training...

I don't want to over walk him since he's so little but just getting out today for a quick walk has saved my sanity!

What were you all doing at this age? He's 14 weeks tomorrow.