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.

@brushingboots I am so impressed by the hay bale!! She is a little cracker.

We've just had another good walk and went slightly further today. He did a very long stretch of amazing walking to heel in the middle part of the walk, but sometimes he walks a bit too close and almost trips me up! I am really happy with how well he did though. We had a bit of excited pulling at the start and towards the end when he was very tired but the middle section was fab.

We went down to the lock and he didn't know what to do on the narrow bridge so I had to pick him up as people were waiting, but we'll go and tackle that again another time.

He met another older pup who was very jumpy and he cowered behind my legs, then was whining a lot after that so I think it frightened him a bit. There's a local gun dog trainer whose puppy life skills course I'm going to sign up to, but she also does a drop in puppy session every so often which is very structured rather than a free for all, so I think that might do him good to get used to other dogs.

He also pulls towards anyone who walks past and thinks everyone wants to say hello to him! He loves people but 90% of the time I get him to walk on or sit when people pass. It's something I need to work on for sure...

@AubrieDog
I definitely feel like I've been hit by a car today. I'm in agony. Milo is dive bombing on me luckily my husband is off work today !

Sounds like some sort of delayed reaction thing really, doesn't it? Not at all surprising though.

You definitely need a quiet restful weekend - Milo's energy levels permitting; aching bones and boisterous adolescent dog is never going to be fun 😬

I hope you start to feel better soon 🌻

10 and 4. Both overexcited so we try to show them how to praise the dog and which commands and then they randomly shout them around the house and treat for random behaviour.

Very tempted to start using the clicker on them.

@YorkshireFelix It sounds like your walks are going really well. It must be nice to get V out and about 😊

@brushingboots We taught Brodie 'middle' just as something to do, but strangely we've found he responds to it better than 'come' if there are distractions. Shout that and he's straight back and between my knees. Odd, but if it gets him back it'll do for me.

@CaptainBeanThief That doesn't sound good... I hope you feel a bit better soon x

Brodie has been a steam train pupper today. We went from Pickering to Goathland and he behaved perfectly 🥰

We stayed in Goathland the night before picking our eldest pup up as she was born round that way. Need to go back at some point

@tizwozliz it is lovely...like the land that time forgot!

@BrodiePup
He's getting so grown up all of a sudden!
It sounds as if you've had a really lovely week.

@AubrieDog He's really maturing at the moment, I'm expecting it all to regress soon and I'll be back sobbing into my glass of pino 🤣. It's been a really lovely week, and it's been nice letting my husband take over after summer of hell raising a puppy pretty much on my own.

How's Brie been today?

That sounds fab @YorkshireFelix, what a good boy! All that effort you’ve put in at home is paying off. That training and the drop in both sound like a great idea, as does what you’re doing getting him to engage by walking or sitting when he sees people so it’s not exciting. I remember the first time our pup met her now best friend, who was two weeks older, and also a cocker – she screamed blue murder behind my legs and wouldn’t budge. Now, they are truly sisters from another mr, as it were, and totally bonded.

@BrodiePup I am always so impressed when I see a successful middle as for some reason we can’t crack it properly – lack of true effort on my part I’m sure. But it is so handy and if it works as recall all the better! Goathland looks gorgeous, what a lucky boy – I rather fancy that steam train trip myself.

@BrodiePup I love his hair do! My dream is to have a cocker with a mop. Sadly I don't think Vinny will ever grow one!

We did another quick walk with dd just now and he pulled the whole time 🙄 I think he was tired though. We did meet a humongous dog (possible a Rhodesian Ridgeback?) who was so uninterested by him but Vinny loved him! I think it's the more excitable dogs he is scared of, and he is fond of the aloof ones, just like his owner 😂

Lovely photo @BrodiePup & I'm glad you've had a good trip.

Roman has been a little sod today and we cut short our walk to the park as I couldn't be bothered with it anymore.

Still, tomorrow is another day.

@YorkshireFelix we had one with a mop, we got so many compliments but don't think our new one is going to get one sadly!

@BrodiePup
Brodie probably will still get occasional silly days when you'll feel he's regressing, but from what you're saying now he is definitely making a huge amount of progress and that's good to hear 🙂Your hard work is paying off.

This morning's walk with Brie was a disaster! She was lead biting and boot biting again. I came back huffing and puffing and told my husband "that's my very last walk with her!".
Yes. Of course it is...🙄

It sounds like you've made an amazing start with the walks @YorkshireFelix !

I think Vinny would like Brie, she's pretty calm and laid back and when she meets smaller pups she lies down on her tummy to be on a level with them. Apparently it indicates not wanting trouble and she is absolutely the least dominant dog imaginable.

Thanks @YorkshireFelix & @Twiglets1 I must admit I like his mop, but I'm totally surprised how hairy he is, I wasn't expecting it at all. His Mum isn't, and what we didn't realise is that all the photos we saw of his Dad, he'd been clipped. Now I'm over the shock I'd quite like to leave him, but it is a pain drying him and removing sticky buds and grass seeds. He wasn't hairy at the age Vinny is, so anything could happen yet!

@AubrieDog the lead biting must be frustrating, but on a positive note she's not pulling when she's doing that 🤣.
I think Brodie would like to play with Brie too, he'd think she was a humongous toy.

@BrodiePup
His mop is beautiful. He gives me hair envy.

Brie absolutely is a humongous toy, she really ought to be on wheels or rockers.

I've just ordered some trial packs of Millies Wolfheart for the little sod although she doesn't deserve it after this morning. But still, her behaviour might improve for better food, you never know.

@AubrieDog She might be easier to walk if she was on wheels!

I'm really happy with Millie's for quality poos, maybe it helped Brodies behaviour? Dunno really, but his coat is definitely shinier.
How much food does Brie get through? B was on 300g of James Wellbeloved before, and is now on 260g of Millie's.

@BrodiePup

She's on about 500g a day of Purina Large Robust Puppy, still split into 4 meals but she also gets extras. I put a handful of a Wainwright's kibble inside the Kong as therapy and she also gets a tray of Wainwright's wet food about twice a week, plus a few training treats each day if I need to bribe her.

Which of the Millie's is Brodie on?
I went for Hunter mix, Countryside mix and Lamb & veg plus I chucked in two cans of countryside and lamb. All our other Pyries were on lamb (James Wellbeloved/Simpsons) and they seemed to do well on it, but the Purina is chicken. We feel that the most recent bag of it has made her smell strange so we definitely want to wean her off it now.

@AubrieDog I think he would like her too!

We had a super informative email from Millie's about food options for Vinny so going to get a trial pack for him. I was really impressed with their customer service!

@YorkshireFelix Re head tufts, we have only just got the tiniest hint of a tuft – really, a weird combover quiff thing – about a month ago, so he might get one eventually! I gather that liver cockers are often hairier than black ones but I don't know how scientific that is.

I always found Millie's really helpful. We always struggled to get our older one to eat it though (and bear in mind she's a lab!). I ended up giving 8kg of it away and moved onto something else.

They now get essentials superior living working dog food mixed with forthglade 80% or some fish4dogs tins or things like scrambled eggs.

We've just recently got these bowls and meals last a whole 3 minutes now!

@AubrieDog Brodie is on duck and veg, I can't remember the ins and outs of it, but they recommend 50% meat for his stage of development, and the duck because it was a single source protein. I'd told them he could be a bit runny so they said that was the best for sensitive stomach's. I've to get in touch when he reaches 9 months to swap him onto something else.
As @YorkshireFelix says, their customer service is really good.
I also use their treats, he loves the turkey training treats and Sunday roast sausage bites. Avoid the porky strings though, they absolutely stink!

@BrodiePup Hmmm. I was actually dithering over the duck & veg because I remember Rose & Sylvie having a duck kibble for a while. I'll have to make another MW trial order and try some treats too. I'll definitely avoid the pork things though, thanks for the heads-up on that. I'm a veggie and when my husband got Brie some dried fish treats I chucked them in the bin because they stunk out the kitchen!

I've just put in a puppy pack of Millie's with duck and pondering what else to try...