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.

I wish my cat and dog were like that @AubrieDog !

The dog is way too energetic around her and wants to play. She does not want to play and responds by playing whack-a-mole on his head.

She's no longer hissing at him though, so I guess that's progress.

@JessiesHuman They'll probably reach an agreement soon - they may not snuggle up like this, but it should, at least, be peaceable once Zeus is a little calmer.

It can take a while though... Our cat (who is 12) gave Brie an almighty whack on the muzzle yesterday for being overly bouncy then Brie lay down in front of her and did sad eyes which just cracked me up 😆

@AubrieDog I hope so. I think Jessie is very tolerant when he's being calm and is happy to be near him. When he's chilling out in the dog bed on the chair next to me while I'm working, she's quite happy sitting on the back of the chair.

And when my DP comes home from work, they both rush to see him and are very excited (Zeus because DP is home and Jessie because she HAS to see what he's bought from the supermarket on his way home). I think she's okay then because she's distracted by shopping and she's not the focus of his excitement.

Awww, this is so sweet. It does sound like definite progress that Jessie is even willing to be in the same room as Zeus at this point. Some cats (one of our previous girls included) just won't go anywhere near a puppy for months. I'd say you're doing well.

Jessie sounds like quite a character, wanting to check out the shopping 🤗

Aww thanks @AubrieDog, I've never put a cat and dog together before as an adult. As a kid we had a beautiful dog that mothered our kitten - but that was 40 years ago!

Ughh I am trying to teach Vinny the 'leave it' command which he is great at in the house, but as soon as we are outside he doesn't listen to it at all. And he wants to eat EVERYTHING! His new thing is thrashing around biting me when I try and fish anything out of his mouth and then swallowing it in the process. We just did a short walk and he ate a hair bobble, cigarette butt, metal pull from a can of pop and random bits of sticks!!! I'm hoping it will all just come out the other end 😩

This has been a struggle for us too @YorkshireFelix . At the moment Brie keeps picking up conkers and crabapples, she also has an obsession with feathers. The worst thing though has been gravel. She hasn't grown out of that yet and I'm forever having to force open her jaws to try to scoop stuff out. We have seen stones in her poo so yes, hopefully the smaller bits of stuff will pass through Vinny but it is still a big worry, I know.

@AubrieDog oh gosh conkers are a worry of mine as I've just learnt how poisonous they are to dogs! It's so frustrating isn't it. You don't realise how much stuff there is on the ground until you have a pup!

@YorkshireFelix sorry, I can't remember, but is Vinnie a spaniel? In which case he might just want to have things in his mouth all the time? Bill is hilarious for this - he had it away with the hand soap earlier today.

I never, ever take things from his mouth - my friend has an Aussie labradoodle (basically a cockerdor like Bill with added poodle) and young kids who are forever leaving stuff around, and because they were always fishing things out of her mouth, she's started resource guarding and growling at the kids. So with Bill I taught a swap really early and I never take anything - I only ever ask for a swap, and offer him something better. If he's got anything I'm really worried about (or I can't see) I'll swap for some treats, and honestly otherwise I just let him carry stuff around that he picks up. The only thing that was so high value he wouldn't swap it was a clothes peg 😁 (which is now a great thing to swap for other stuff).

My whole garden is gravel and he used to regularly give me absolute heart attacks with it - he'd not just pick it up but toss it around in his mouth, and throw it up in the air and catch it. Now I recognise the little bollox is sometimes playing me, I either swap for a treat (which is what he's after), or better still give him something else that's good for chewing on at the back of his mouth, as he is still teething - at the moment little lamb horns stuffed with Primula and treatos.

I know it's much harder when you're out, but if you can teach a swap it is an absolute lifesaver and so much better when they spit them out for a treat than having to fish things out.

I also read somewhere that you could carry things to let them have in their mouth to stop them snuffling for other crap - I might start carrying some dirty socks 😄

@YorkshireFelix It's awful because it puts you on edge when you just want a nice relaxing walk. I've started shoving a handful of kibble in my jacket pocket before we go out so at least I can bribe her to let go of stuff she finds.

Cross posted @Bupster
Yes, I'm doing the bribery with bits of Millies Wolfheart kibble. We never take stuff off our dogs without doing a trade for a treat. The gravel is a sodding pain for me too; Brie sucks on it, drives me mad and she knows it.

@Bupster yes he is a spaniel! I will try doing a swap as resource guarding is something I do worry about. I know they are prone to it.

He nicked a teaspoon from the dishwasher earlier 🥴 The only problem is he chews everything he picks up rather than just carrying it around. He absolutely LOVES sticks but just wants to eat them and swallows all the little bits of wood. It's driving me insane.

Also thank you for the advice @Bupster 🙏🏻

@AubrieDog Bill learned to use the bells on the back door when he was really young, which I was delighted about until I realised every time he rang them (usually when I had the temerity to be eating my dinner) it was so he could go out and get a single piece of gravel to chew on, toss up and catch, or drop very loudly and meaningfully and repeatedly on the floor. And of course I still had to let him out to get more when he rang them again in case he did actually need a poo. They are little swine 😄

@YorkshireFelix sticks are a real worry - I do sometimes try to find a bendy less dangerous stick to exchange so he doesn't just pick up another one. I honestly don't know how dogs live to old age. Or how we do. The teaspoon is funny though. I had to take the loo roll into the shower earlier to keep it out of reach...

@Bupster when I open the dishwasher he thinks it's his own personal platter of crockery to sample 🤢

If it helps, @YorkshireFelix, he will grow out of picking most random outdoor stuff up. We had a tedious period with the chewing and carrying around of slugs and snails, but it was short-lived. Same with gravel, and bark mulch from the borders. It will pass. He hasn’t had much time out and about yet so I guess it’s all novel to him, and he will feel the instinctive need to have something in his mouth most of the time. As long as it’s safe and isn’t damaging anyone’s possessions, I don’t see the problem. I cheerily praise anything I’m brought, especially on walks (as she does present me with creatures a lot), and then ask nicely for a ‘dead’ or exchange for something more appropriate. If she’s decided to take something that I don’t want her to have and she hasn’t actually brought it to me but is just wandering around with it, and it isn’t dangerous – let’s say a nice shoe – then I just ignore it as I know it’s attention seeking, and she soon gets bored.

Incidentally, the last gift I was brought was my pyjama top. She’s such a lovely weirdo.

Just keep practising your ‘leave’ and whatever word you want to use for ‘drop’ – we use ‘dead’ – and it will come, I promise.

@Bupster love the image of Bill and the soap – was it a bottle or a bar of?!

Thank you @brushingboots, I'm hoping he will grow out of it! Our street has lots of big trees and since it's been so windy there's tonnes of tiny sticks and leaves everywhere. Weirdly he didn't pick anything up when we tried walking in the woods yesterday though. I will never understand the logic.

Our speakers in the living room have a little round remote that fits perfectly in his mouth and he's obsessed with it. He just took it again and I just let him hold it and he did get bored after a bit so I think I will pick my battles. I think it's the only thing ever that he hasn't tried to chew!!

@Bupster Re Bill's bell-ringing gravel trick; Brie does similar with the hamster squeak noise. Crying wolf.

Yep, we also seem to say on a daily basis "how do puppies survive?" such is their utter stupidity/apparent deathwish.

@YorkshireFelix The logic is bizarre! Def a good idea to pick your battles as I'm convinced most of it is done to get a reaction. I used to get so visibly annoyed when she was tiny and she picked up dropped pegs while I was hanging out the washing. It genuinely made me feel like I was going insane, and was one of the things that made me not want her near me, as mad as it sounds. As soon as I ignored it, she stopped and now she actually brings them to me to genuinely help if I drop one. They are so clever.

Today we went for a rare-spotted lead walk along a canal and I was amazed that she didn't even look at the goose poo. Eight months ago she would have snaffled each and every pile so progress does come!

Hi everyone, we picked up our miniature dachshund puppy today. Her name is Coco. She’s been a dream so far… intrigued to know how she will fare in the night….

Hello @RichTea90
Awwww, what a little cutie Coco is 💗She's adorable!
Fingers crossed that she'll be tired after her exciting day and you wont have a sleepless night...

Hi 👋
ahh, thank you! Trouble is, she’s been sleeping on and off all day long so I don’t know if she’s going to sleep much through out the night, but we shall see! My OH is gonna sleep downstairs with her while im
upstsirs with our other dog! X

@RichTea90
That's probably a good plan. I slept down with our pup initially but she's currently an only dog. How are Coco and your older dog getting along so far?

@RichTea90 aww she is so cute! I slept downstairs for the first week or so. Sending sleepy vibes to you 😄

Not so well :( Coco is very playful and fun loving bless her, just your typical happy friendly puppy but elder dog (7yo) isn’t very pleased to have a pup in the house and is completely avoiding her….