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.

He’s finally asleep! Resting his chin on the comfort duct tape he insisted on bringing to bed with him 😄

Just imagine, if I hadn’t buckled on day two, I would have had a bed to myself, instead of being farted at and squeezed into one square foot of space. And I’d have missed this 😍. He’s an infuriating idiot but I absolutely adore him.

(ask me again at 3am)

Hooray for you and V, @YorkshireFelix – what a result! Freedom is yours! Amazing result from your morning walk too, what an excellent start. So thrilled for you!

Re length of walks: I was told by our vet that the five minutes per month thing really means a) five minutes at a time, ie you can do it more than once a day, and b) five minutes at human pace rather than off lead, sniffing, stopping: ie five minutes of walking when they can’t control their pace and are being marched along. She went off lead on her second ever walk and if I remember rightly (though the period 12-20 weeks was a very low time in my life and I have tried to forget it) I stuck to the five minutes thing vaguely, but twice a day, so at 14 weeks she was probably having about 40/45 minutes a day but almost all of that was off lead. Plus play/training/cavorting round the garden.

Looking back through my photos she had her first grown up dog walk, like the kind of walk we do now – off lead all the way on public footpaths/across fields – at 14.5 weeks, and that was about 40 minutes but it was all stop, start, sniff and we were walking slowly to accommodate her tiny legs. We celebrated by going to the pub after and she slept through supper on my knee.

The only thing I’d add is a general caution that the fitter they are, the more they want and need to do. Today she’s had about three hours out of the house and she’d have carried on because she just wants to please, but I don’t want her to need three hours every day to settle. Some days she gets 90 mins and she still sleeps most of the day.

A lot of Tiresome Spaniel Men (TM) will say don’t walk them but if you want a pet and not a working dog then in my view you need to! It’s more than possible to do training and walking or training while walking. (And even working dogs need to have fun.) I never regret a walk – she’s so gorgeous to watch when she’s doing what she’s bred to do in a sensible, controlled way, sniffing and running and finding and, as tonight, bringing me headless pigeons as gifts. Delish.

(Soz I realise this turned into an essay but was trying to reply in everything in order!)

@Flashcardsagain Try not to feel down, 11 weeks is still such a baby – we didn’t even have ours until she was just turning 12 weeks so you’re much further on at this point than we were and she got it. Just as he will – progress with these monsters isn’t always linear. You can do it! You will laugh drily about it this time next year when you look back. I went mad on the praise when we were house training and even now – and she’s 15 months – I still praise her every time she has a wee outside like a crazy person.

@Flashcardsagain Don't know why that didn't tag you before, it was meant to

@BrodiePup He is so hairy, wow! What a gorgeous little bear you have.

@Bupster You can always bring him here (if he will travel without staging a protest)! Furry Oliver Twist! That made me lol, going to steal that. Love the duct tape pillow, strong choice from Bill.

@lookwhatyoumademedoo Snap on the cocker and the daily pigeon! Today’s delicacy was headless. I can’t complain as if she’s finding them dead then she is, at least, doing what she’s bred for. Worst gift, I reckon, is a mouse cos they’re so small and their legs are all spindly and gross.

I love the way dogs get attached to the most peculiar things - duct tape is a new one but so funny @Bupster

Roman found a tatty discarded gardening glove on one of his walks and bought it home in his mouth as proud as punch. Took it straight into the garden to join his other treasures including a broken broom handle & an old water bottle.

@brushingboots I always love your observations of the Spaniel Men 😂

We have lots of open green spaces/countryside within a 5-10 minute walk here but I am so nervous to have him off lead. I know lots recommend doing it from day 1 though.

I forgot he can now get up a few steps and he followed me out of the yard into the back alleyway yesterday when I went to the wheelie bin and it scared the life out of me! Obviously he didn't run off but he was running up and down, generally having the time of his life, but I couldn't get him to stop and come back to me. He stopped for a fuss from one of the neighbours which was when I could eventually grab him. But maybe if I just headed back into the yard he might have followed? We have a longline but it's only a 5m one (not sure if I need longer), but now he has a harness maybe I could take him out on that to test the waters. I think it's more of a nervous me problem than a him problem!

We bought a clicker today so hoping that might help with him knowing exactly what we are praising. The DC are ruining all the commands so he's getting confused!

We had one poo in the garden at 3am and then up at 6 which is far better. Although I couldn't get to sleep after 3am but thats my issue not his.

@Flashcardsagain that's the worst when they go back to sleep and you can't!

How old are your dc? My dd is almost 11 thankfully so pretty good with keeping consistent on commands etc. I can imagine it's difficult with smaller ones!

Ahhh, thanks, folks. We have a 'Spaniel Man' local to us and for years we have pondered why we never bumped into him on any of the local dog walking routes. It was a mystery to us as to why he and his wife never walked the dogs (Cockers) on leads. Clearly this is the explanation.

@YorkshireFelix i was the same with letting him off lead, i was so nervous and didn't want to do it but my OH was like it has to be from day one, he'll follow he won't run away. So i braved it and sure enough he always checks im there even when he runs off exploring he'll come back to check im still there and if he can't see me he panics.

@YorkshireFelix Haha! They are a special breed (of man) – and it is always men, somehow.

I know it's scary but I can't recommend it enough – the well-proven theory on doing it so young is that at that age they want to be with you and are generally quite scared of the world they're meeting for the first time so they won't go far. It was definitely the case for us. He's only 14 weeks, still tiny, still at the age where puppies come to their new homes for the first time sometimes, so you are his absolute world. I'm not suggesting you won't be scared when you do it but to see him sniffing and exploring safely will, I imagine, give you the most joy which should override your fear!

Incidentally, there is a dog I know well round here who wasn't allowed off the lead until he was about eight months and as a result, at 18 months, he has no recall because they didn't start teaching it until he was at peak naughty stage. He's lovely but he's never learned any offlead manners and now his owner has put him back on the lead forever which is such a shame as he's a super little dog (a spaniel cross though not a cockerpoo.)

I would have thought he'd have just followed you? I can only imagine his excitement at going into the brand new exciting alley! Our longline is 15 metres and it's excellent though a 10 metre one would probably be slightly easier to handle.

@AubrieDog One of the local ones round here told me, rather loftily, the other day, on being asked if he fancied joining us on our walk, 'Oh, we don't walk anymore, we only do training sessions. You know, he's a working dog. It's been so good for his obedience.' Cue the dog being asked to sit and completely ignoring said man. It was delicious.

@brushingboots I think I will brave it! He didn't go far at all (only maybe less than 10 meters each way) and did keep circling back to me so I guess that proves he will stay close by. It's just nerve wracking isn't it. I've been doing whistle recall with him in the house so maybe it's the perfect opportunity to practice it outside!

😆😂😁

Do they always wear camouflage jackets and green wellies and a cap, these particular chaps?

@YorkshireFelix Doooo it! It's the perfect opportunity to practice your whistle training – though trainers always say, don't pip the whistle if you think he's going to ignore it as then he learns he can ignore it! (Goes for all commands to be fair.) It's definitely nerve wracking but so worth pushing through for the results. If you think that spaniels are bred to work near our feet, in theory they ought (ought being the operative word) to want to be with us all the time so you can tap into that – and you can practice off lead heel too, just walking next to you. I wish I'd done more of that when she was tiny as she does like to run ahead but as long as she's safe and controlled it's fine. You have so much joy to come with him!

@AubrieDog Hahah, how did you know! This one particularly enjoys a flat cap and gilet. I've nothing against gilets (as the owner of many) but it is almost like he's practiced the stereotype in the mirror. As you can imagine, our mutual friends are now always saying to our dog, 'oh, were you made to go on a walk today? You poor, poor thing.'

When Roman refuses to follow me somewhere I generally turn my back on him & start walking away and he soon comes running after me.

Most of the time!

Haha @brushingboots I would like to have seen that. Pride comes before a fall!

@YorkshireFelix he will honestly follow you around! Bill's five months old now and my problem is getting far enough away from him to call him back 😄

I have a five metre long line and wherever I think it's safe I drop the line for him to have a bit of freedom - he hardly ever goes beyond about 15 metres and always returns when I call or use the whistle (he gets really good treatos - e.g. chicken, steak - for recall). I've got a ten metre one too but I don't really bother - might need it when he hits adolescence, mind.

He'll now come away from sniffing interesting things and sometimes even come back from playing with other dogs at the dog park (when he's off lead entirely). Total Recall's a great book if you're looking to train with a whistle and you have a high drive working line dog.

Thinking about you @CaptainBeanThief and hope you're doing better today 💐

Thanks everyone for the advice!

@Bupster I do have the total recall book on my list to buy (if I will ever have a chance to bloody read the thing!). I'm going to put him on the long line and brave it this weekend. You're right though, he does follow me around everywhere and I trip over him constantly so I think it will be fine!

@YorkshireFelix it did scare the life out of me the first time, but that's where the long line helps - you can just step on it. I still do that if he spots something like a dog or a squirrel or a bird, and feed him slightly-less-high-value-than-recall treatos to get him to break his focus on them. At five months now he will sit quietly when he sees a dog he doesn't know in the distance (though all bets are off at the dog park) and I can get a treat to his face and have him under control when he sees a bird or a squirrel - though he still tries to chase them.

I hardly do any training with him except this, recall, and swapsies, as they feel like the most important. @brushingboots , you're our resident guru - what should I be doing as well, would you say? Everyone else, do jump in too 😊

I'd say do some stuff that's going to build a bond, rather than only asking for obedience type tasks. So we ask for things like 'up' on a bench or tree stump, or to go around a tree or a bin, or a recall game where pup has to run between your legs (obviously what your individual pup finds fun will vary) You don't want to become the person that only ever asks them to sit, drop or come.

If only! I stress I am very much self-taught. This morning we bumped into a lady with a black lab guide dog in training and I thought of you, @Twiglets1. She was eight months and such a little love.

@Bupster it depends on what you want to do with him – do you fancy doing some gundog work, or agility, or flyball etc – and where he's likely to go: what skills do you actually need him to know. We hardly ever walk on lead so I don't do as much lead work as I should and as a result it is patchy. Instead, I'm obsessed with steadiness – around other dogs and around game. I want her to come in and wait with me until I say go in basically every situation, or if she's away from me stop where she is and sit and wait until I say so. So we work on sitting doing nothing, the stop whistle (stop dead on one pip), and sitting away from me as well as total indifference to anything moving. We both find it hard, but it's very rewarding (as it mostly goes against her instincts).

What do you want to do with him – what do you think he'd find fun? You've got a mix of two working breeds who are bred to do two different things so he should be a clever boy.

I also feel strongly that a lot of people take dog training very seriously and that you shouldn't feel you need to do any of the formal stuff at all if you don't want to. The most important things that any dog can master are 'leave', 'drop' (for us, 'dead') the emergency stop, and recall, because they're all safety precautions. I started gundog training mostly to enrich her, though I do like to shoot a few times a year. But you don't have to and no one should tell you otherwise!

So, so agree – we have now taught 'up' to such a degree that the other day she bumped on top of a hay bale! The bond is vital but I know @Bupster he is quite attached to you! I've been teaching 'over' for stiles and am vaguely attempting 'middle' to put her between my legs which I never did when she was tiny and wish I had!

(Gratutious hay bale picture enclosed)