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.

That's good to hear @BrodiePup , I'm glad you had a lovely week. It sounds as if it was made all the more enjoyable by the newly mature and sensible version of Brodie. Let's hope he didn't leave his halo behind when you returned home 😇😉😘

It's so satisfying when all those months of hard work start to pay off though, isn't it? (and no, we're not there yet...🙄)

@AubrieDog I'm not holding my breath 🤣. I wonder how much of it was to do with his Dad being around, it certainly made life easier for me!

It's exactly the same with us @BrodiePup . Isn't it interesting how dogs manage to have a completely different relationship with each of their people?

Yesterday's walk with Milady was a joy but her Dad was there to correct the lead biting attempts. For some reason she doesn't do much boot biting with him either, that little pleasure is almost always reserved for me - she knows it rattles me and she thinks it's hilarious.

Brie's sense of humour is malicious; if I'm in my pyjamas she'll do a sharp nip on my bum or inner thigh and run away, smirking. We can almost hear the Muttley-esque snigger... 😬I'm always the primary target for misbehaviour but my husband swears that if we had a gerbil it would be dominant over me within 10 minutes of arriving here... he may well be right 😞

@lookwhatyoumademedoo we have days like that too where you feel like you've just done everything wrong and he's misbehaving all day! But I think that's pretty normal. Don't beat yourself up about it as it sounds like you're doing a great job!

@BrodiePup I am so glad you had a lovely time away with a well behaved pup! It may give some of us hope that there really is light at the end of the tunnel.

@AubrieDog Vinny behaves better for DH too even though he's not particularly stricter with him than I am. But he does work 7 days a week and I'm with V on my own 90% of the time so not sure if it's the novelty factor!!

We're going down to visit my family today. The first time I've driven longer than 30 mins with Vinny so I'm hoping it will go smoothly. He does seem to settle eventually in the car so fingers crossed as it's about an hour and half drive. So not TOO long but long enough!

My sister has a young Jack Russell who we are going to see but not sure how V will take to him. He has been frightened of any enthusiastic dog we've met so far, but maybe it will do him good to spend a significant amount of time with another playful dog. My DM also has a very aloof greyhound who will not even give Vinny the time of day so I'm sure he will love her 🤣

@AubrieDog Bill also has a very keen sense of humour. Luckily it's (a) idiotic and (b) I share it. We can play take it/drop it for ages. This involves him on a chair, me handing him something (e.g. his roll of duct tape) and saying take it, him immediately dropping it, as I say drop it, then me falling about laughing. I have no idea why I find this so funny. I'm not sure I'd enjoy the nipping games quite so much!

In other news, I need reassurance! I managed to get Bill into the car for two 20 minute drives yesterday - the battery was flat and the RAC man basically said I had to. He barked and whined for the first journey but it turned out he needed the loo and it was very hot, so that might have been part of it. ANYWAY the point is that he is going to daycare tomorrow for the first time and I am curling up like a leaf with anxiety about it all. Please remind me he is a confident, robust, adaptable five month old puppy, who is going to a carer who is looking after only him (and her own dog), and he is going to be absolutely fine.

Does anyone else have experience of putting a puppy in daycare rather than having a sitter? Did they settle? How long did it take? 😬

@YorkshireFelix
Have a lovely day with your family. Hopefully Vinny will get on fine with the other dogs.

@Bupster I'm forever having toys shoved at me then dropped on my toes. We also have "fling the Kong" because Brie seems to like the thud it makes on the kitchen floor... I'm not convinced the neighbours will enjoy it quite as much as she does however....🤔

As I heard a gundog trainer say once "Flatcoat people have all got a sense of humour - well they'd have wouldn't they?" 😆

@AubrieDog I do wonder if it's because we're the main care providers that the pups have less respect for us? That said, my husband is definitely more fun and much more patient with B than I am...but he's not doing the mundane day to day stuff with him either.

@YorkshireFelix Have a great day. I expect that Vinny will zonk in the car, and playing with another pup will be great fun for him.

@Bupster Bill will be absolutely fine! He'll enjoy the change and having another dog to play with all day. It's sounds like you're starting to make progress with the car too. I always chuckle when you mention the duct tape 🤣

@Bupster Hooray for the car progress, great news! Absolutely do not worry about daycare – it sounds like you have found a lovely one and he will be just fine. We occasionally use a lovely one round here which is very small and personalised to the dogs and she loves it – she'd happily go there every day and comes home absolutely exhausted. She had a trial hour with me chatting to the owner before her first session but honestly I don't think she even realised I was there – too busy playing and enjoying all the new toys and smells. I think she was about the same age when she first went. He'll come home and tell you what a lovely day he's had!

@BrodiePup it's funny isn't it – I'm the preferred human and The Boss in our house as dog dad has historically been away most of the time, and she definitely respects him less than me! If he's got her alone for the day she can be known to terrorise him and not settle whereas she doesn't try it on with me. Whether that's because he doesn't boss her or what I don't know but there's definitely a hierarchy of behavioural standards!

In our house, Dog Dad works full time and I don't so I spend more time with Baby Bear during the day.
We both do walks; an average day is usually one short walk each then one long walk together.

She's much better for him out walking whereas I get the full repertoire of pulling, lead biting and bootlace grabbing. However, she plays him up something terrible in the house (yup, she terrorises him and won't settle, that's it exactly). At home, she is an angel for me because we have a nice little routine of chores and play. Her preferred person is probably me but she seems to love us both and the same was true of our previous dog (male).

Brie is probably the least assertive of all the dogs we've had and I think the lead biting issues are play rather than being a dominance thing because I'm the one that does most of the garden play with her toys. I'm wondering if the tug ropes are to blame so they have been quietly retired until the lead biting stops.

The weirdest thing about the lead biting is that it only begins the moment we start heading for home, even if we are on a circular walk, she never does it on the way out.

Thanks @brushingboots and @BrodiePup - I know I'm being ridiculous, I was like this the first time I left him with a sitter, the first time he went to the groomer's - he's always fine. Delighted when I come back, but fine when I'm gone (mostly). It just feels like such a big thing compared to an hour at the gym when he stays in his own house with someone he's come to know.

@BrodiePup hilariously, I mentioned the duct tape thing to a friend of mine in Ireland who has a Golden Retriever and she said he did exactly the same - they called it ducky, and she'd say 'come on, bring your ducky', and he'd pick it up and trot after her.

@AubrieDog it sounds like play to me. I don't think the dominance idea is given much credence now - I bet it's more about routines, who does what, who Brie trusts most, and who she wants to play with most.

I’m jealous about the daycare @Bupster

Im feeling a bit down today about the puppy always being attached to me like a newborn. I feel a bit trapped sometimes as even when he’s asleep he normally wakes up when I leave the room and tries to follow me. Yet I know he will get less clingy as he gets older & after all I only have him for a year so shouldn’t complain. I know I’ll miss him when he’s gone but it would be nice to have the odd day to myself.

My previous dog was not clingy as an adult & happily went to another woman’s house when I was going away for a long day or weekend. He genuinely enjoyed the change in routine and different toys to play with plus she had her own dog & other dogs staying too sometimes. Dogs are very adaptable & it’s good for them to experience different environments & people I always think. You will be so happy to see each other at the end of the day too.

Also, it didn’t take my old dog ANY time to settle in his doggy carers house. It was almost insulting how quickly he settled 😂

@Bupster
We've never gone with the Alpha dog thing even when we had three PMD together there were never any dominance issues. It's just surprising how many people are telling me I need to "show her who's boss" etc. when she's just a boisterous playful pup. Also how many of the (idiot) macho man dog trainers on YouTube are still flogging the pack leadership stuff with regard to training...🙄

@AubrieDog I think it's all about the routine for us too – when it's just me WFH we are quite regimented day to day, but when dog dad is around things tend to get loose and unwieldy.

Is the lead biting, if it only happens on the way home, a kind of protest on her part? Or is she tired by that point in the walk?

@Bupster Bill sounds jolly lucky to have a sitter when you pop to the gym! I was so sad and depressed by it all when she was tiny that I used to go out and drive around the lanes just to get some space. If his daycare is anything like ours he will have a wild time.

@brushingboots
We think it's a protest, along the lines of "oh noooooo! I don't want to go home yet...!" It happens even on a short walk so it's not tiredness. We do vary our walking routes but she still has them all mapped out and knows exactly where all the entry and exit points are for the various footpaths around here, even the ones we drive to get to. We do need to start getting a bit further afield with her, maybe go to the beach at Lytham or Southport.

Thanks, @Twiglets1 - that's a really lovely, reassuring message.

@brushingboots I wouldn't dare leave him on his own right now, even to run away 😄. I never fully crate trained as I knew I probably wouldn't want to leave him till he was older and more independent, and he sleeps with me anyway. Well, this morning he tried to nick the loo roll while I was on the loo, and while I rescued that, he had it away with the toilet brush. He is definitely getting more creative with his mischief.

Thankfully I do find it hilarious - I really do feel for people for whom this is just one more infuriating thing when they're close to cracking already. But I absolutely wouldn't dream of leaving him alone even in the most puppy-proofed room in my house when he's in this sort of mood. I'm already having to revisit everything I thought was safe from him and he's not even hit adolescence yet...

@Bupster you are definitely stronger-willed than me – I honestly think I'd be in the ground now if I hadn't been able to get a bit of space, even just upstairs, so she had to quickly learn! I didn't crate train at all, just made the kitchen puppy proof and gradually I put stuff back at her height when it became clear she wasn't interested (oven gloves etc). This morning I was presented with a tote bag that I hadn't seen for about a year, god knows from where, but I praise all gifts she brings to me so as not to encourage her to guard or run off with things. I'm trying to teach her to bring me my slippers as an actual command at the mo as she naturally picks them up whenever possible anyway.

@AubrieDog she is a clever girl! A protest makes sense. Would she swim if you took her to the beach? I can only imagine the carnage drying her off must entail.

Gates is the answer for us in regard to leaving Brie alone for a short time and also at night because she doesn't go upstairs. Obviously we don't crate (house is not big enough for a zoo cage) but we have 5 dog gates and a big indoor fence made from bits of puppy playpen.

Our biggest challenge at the moment is that she can easily reach onto the middle of the kitchen worktops, so nothing is safe any more. She's become a cheese fiend.

@brushingboots Not sure how she'd react at the beach, but our big boy only went in the sea at Lytham up to about an inch and no further 😆They don't really like water much, they generally walk around puddles or mud.

I cannot even begin to tell you how much of an angel V was today! He settled well on the drive down but only fell asleep 5 minutes from my Mums house. He was really good with the greyhound and just wanted some acknowledgment but she just kept looking the other way like he didn't exist which was very funny 🤣 He sniffed her a bit then left her to it. My parents have a massive garden so he went mad running around then settled and was amazing all day. NO BITING AT ALL!!! Just a calm angel baby. I was really worried as he didn't have his crate to nap in but he took himself off to sleep on one of the greyhound's beds. My Dad had a spare bed which was too small for them so we've brought it home and he loves it.

We went to my sisters and her dog absolutely terrified him but he has no chill whatsoever so I expected it! He's very friendly but just intense so it's a shame they couldn't play!

Also he slept all the way home but of course he's turned back into his bitey self as soon as we walked through the door!

Had a bit of a family emergency - dd is off overseas for work tomorrow, got a phone call this morning to say her phone and bank card were lost/stolen last night - she was going to sort a new phone out this morning but would need to come to mine to pick up the new bankcard which luckily she hadn't activated. I decided to make her life easier by taking the card up to London for her - 3 hr round trip if I drive to a station 30 mins away.

So I drive to the station .... only to find there is a home game for the football and ALL the car parks in this town are full. So I have to drive home and park at my local station and get the train from there. 3hr trip becomes 5+ hr trip. Trains were rammed full of people but luckily I got a seat both ways.

Anyway, bank card handed over at Victoria and I came back on the same train I'd arrived on. No activity on the web cam, Libi either asleep or out of sight.

Got home expecting to have a big clear up to do - but NO WEES OR POOS! she had a giant wee in the garden as soon as she was let out.

It was, however already dark when I got back and Ive not got the energy to take her out to make sure we get a 💩. I've poured myself a large glass of 🍷 and will have to deal with the consequences in the morning.

They are all hyper, but have been fed and should settle down when I plonk myself in front of the tele to watch Grace