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.

@YorkshireFelix
It was about the 7 month age for me.
Then about 10-11 months he turned back into an absolute arsehole.
You do get a good few months where all is calm and you do see a real difference but honestly - do not be fooled especially ( in all our cases) with an in tact working cocker spaniel male 😬
I'm hoping you and @BrodiePup will have an easier time than me. Milo has been a hard puppy but he is turning into an amazing dog

How are you feeling now @CaptainBeanThief ?
I hope Milo is still looking after you.

@AubrieDog
Hiya.
I feel abit better,
I've been in alot of pain and I need to go back to a and e / walk in centre for an x-ray on my hip/ hand and wrist. They aren't healing. I'm quite anxious and nervous and been in bed alot due to my mood and tiredness. My husband has been brilliant taking on Milo duties 😜
They have written my mum's car off and paid out already ( it was a 73 plate ) but I still have to have an investigation which is stressful.
My husband is getting my car valeted at the moment as it's due for a service on Thursday and I don't want to be driving yet he's left me and Milo at my mum's and will pick us up when it's done.
I can't send it into Kia looking like a hairy orange carpet 😜😱
How are you and brie x

Sounds positive @AubrieDog!

@CaptainBeanThief Good to hear you're picking up a bit, though you sound like you've a way to go. I'm glad Milo and your husband are looking after you x

As far as adolescence is concerned, I'm largely going to ignore it...Brodie has been showing signs of being more mature since coming up 6 months, he was 7 months last Friday.

What I have discovered through having a puppy this time (maybe I'm old fashioned) is that the interwebs have probably caused me more stress than helped. I find there is just too much information, too much conflicting advice, and waaay too many people that 'know' absolutely.

My last puppy arrived in 1996...back in olden times you got them house trained, then just expected them to be naughty/fun/wilful/idiots/playful for a year or two until they became steady adult dogs. You just got on with it. I gave up on googling every tiny thing and following Facebook groups etc a few weeks back and have been so much happier 😊.

As always this post will probably come back and bite me on the butt 🤣

@CaptainBeanThief We're fine. I just feel worried about you!

Sounds as if you really do need checking over again but at least you're getting some rest while your husband is on Milo minding duties. Is there anyone you can talk to about the anxiety? You don't want to end up with PTSD...🙁

It's good that your Mum's car theft got paid out so quickly but I'm sure it's still a massive inconvenience for her and I hope she manages to get a new car sorted out before too long.

Your hairy orange car carpet sounds a lot more funky than our own hairy white carpets I must say 😜It could catch on...

I don't think we can afford to be complacent about our puppies just yet, @BrodiePup . I really don't...

Missy has just been outside ripping bits off the weed suppressant fabric that's under the gravel. So much for her "adult" behaviour earlier today 🙄

@AubrieDog I'm far from complacent, I'm just accepting that there will be good days and bad, and not getting stressed about it anymore 😊

@YorkshireFelix We still zigzag and I do try and keep her on my right side, but she’s got to be able to walk nicely on both as we walk down country roads when she needs to be on the inside. I can’t get too upset about zigzagging but maybe that shows in the standard of our lead walking, haha. But yes, annoying when you almost trip up.

@AubrieDog I think there is a psychological thing about it – maybe it makes you feel like you can control them better because there’s more fabric holding them together, but genuinely I don’t think a harness helped us one bit except for long-lining. It just let her pull harder without choking/hurting herself. Amazing news about today’s walk, what a superstar she is.

@BrodiePup We def went through a few months of peace and chill at about seven months before a few teenage behaviours arrived, but she genuinely didn’t ever turn back into an arse. They’re not all the same. Our ongoing troubles are mostly caused by human rather than dog error – as someone said to me recently, her limiting factor is me! I still read here for useful ideas and she’s 16 months but I agree that there can be such thing as too much information.

I'd love an adolescence thread if people are feeling like they need to step up. Bill's just beginning to stretch his legs a bit - his mate who's three weeks older than him is a full on teenager, getting all excitable round the girls and bouncing off the walls.

@YorkshireFelix I read somewhere that four months is the point it starts getting better and I think that was true for me. He was still a puppy, but by four months we were in a reasonable routine, we could go for walks, he was reliably toilet trained, and I was starting to understand what he needed to regulate himself and not get the barky zoomies at 8pm (which incidentally he got tonight at five months old, so it's not foolproof...). It's still hard, and sometimes (e.g. about half an hour ago) I still want to sell him for kebabs, but mostly I'm super-proud of him and I know he's doing really well for a little bug.

Having said all that, he's wildly over-tired tonight after two days at daycare and flatly refusing to sleep so I may well sell him for kebabs after all.

Here he is in his drying coat last night plotting his revenge (which has been very effective this evening). I thought he looked like Noel Coward myself.

@Bupster That is a wonderful photo!

An adolescence thread would indeed be helpful for quite a few of us now.

@Bupster that is a brilliant photo 😂

V will be 4 months in 2 weeks time and I have noticed a difference in him the past week for sure. He definitely has learnt how to chill out and have some down time, and is much less crazy bitey. Although we've not lost any teeth yet so not sure if it will get worse again! I bloody hope not.

Just worked out we will have had him 8 weeks as of next Saturday! Feels like he's always been here...

@Bupster
I've sold Milo mentally for a lot less than kebabs more than id like to admit 😬😂

Has anybody got any advice of what to use on a carpet to stop them chewing?

Our springer created an edge on the corner of the first step of the stairs when he first arrived and he keeps going back to it now, just for fun it seems!!

I've tried bitter sprays but they don't deter him - he licks them off my hand🙄😂

We would sprinkle cayenne pepper on the edge of the mats that our pup targeted and it seemed to work but obviously it turns everything orange...😒

Other than that, is there any sort of heavy object like a doorstop or something that you could temporarily relocate to stop the dog from accessing that particular area of carpet?

@summerincoming Welcome! I'm sorry to hear about your dd and hope she's recovering well now? Your hospital experience sounds awful, on top of having a new pup to deal with.

I love boxers - they were really popular when I was a kid and I was only saying to DH the other day that you don't see many about any more! Would love to see a pic!!

Do you have a pen/baby gates set up so you can keep everyone separate when you need to? My dd is older at 10 but still found it really hard at the start when our pup was constantly biting. We have designated safe spaces she can go to when he's being a little bugger. Also I've found crate training him to be a godsend as we can enforce naps which makes his behaviour slightly better.

Vinny is almost 15 weeks now and I've seen a big change in him the past week. We sat and had a nice cuddle on the sofa last night which would have been completely impossible just 2 weeks ago. They really do progress quite quickly but I know when you're in the thick of it, it feels like hell on earth.

@YorkshireFelix @Twiglets1
You're so much better with words than I am...😬
Thanks 😊

Welcome @summerincoming & sorry you’ve had such a terrible time recently. I found myself in tears on occasion before Roman was house trained & that’s without all the additional stress you’ve been under so please be kind to yourself.

He is 4.5 months old now & rarely has accidents in the house (just the occasional wee on the kitchen floor occasionally overnight but he is alone all night). He is biting less and we are in a routine. It’s still hard at times but nowhere near the same levels of stress.

We have a stair gate so he can’t go upstairs which helps to have a quiet dog free zone. And he has a dog bed he loves though no crate and he always naps after walks. I know Boxers are gorgeous but high energy but you will get into a routine too which makes life easier. Your child will grow to absolutely love her & vice versa. And will benefit long term from growing up with a dog but not realising how hard it is to be the primary carer in that situation!

@summerincoming God you've got a lot to handle! I also don't think you can prepare for a puppy other than by having a puppy - there was no way you could have been ready for this on top of everything else.

They do get less bonkers, and for me by about 18-20 weeks things were smoothing out. Routine helps, and if you can pay for a sitter or daycare that might give you some breathing space one day a week.

My puppy definitely considers me a playmate and adores kids so your boxer is likely to continue thinking that of your DC - as others have suggested, some separation will help but they both will get older and they will bond and find their own way of relating.

Finally, the shark teeth fall out! Once the incisors are gone at around four months it all starts to get easier x

So we've just tried lead and collar rather than harness and he walked a lot better! Much less pulling. He did pull like a bloody train for the last few minutes of the walk but he always seems to do that at the end (not sure if he can sense we are almost home?). I think now he's more used to walking outside we can go back to just the collar now, unless we use the longline. I did still almost trip over him a bazillion times and also stood on his paw twice though 🥲

@summerincoming By the time I got here your message had vanished, but if the puppy blues have got you, I can add my voice to those above saying that they do vanish! They really, really do: I tried to give mine away on a daily basis when I first had her, but now she's my shadow. If you stick with it then you'll have the dog you dreamt of. Puppies are hard but no one judges here – please post again if you need help.

@YorkshireFelix Wahey, that's a good result! We only ever feed her after a walk so if she pulls me on the last few steps I figure that's why, but I think you should count that as a definite win!

Hi everyone, Ruairi is 17 weeks tomorrow and yesterday was tough with his behaviour. So 🤞🏼today is better. Its the leaping and biting phase 😭