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.

Ohhh, sympathies, @BrodiePup , single parenting duties with puppy are indeed hard work! My partner does the later walk and pre-bedtime garden trip too but he is going to a work related conference in October and I'm apprehensive already!

I hope the finger recovers in time for your next walk. Let us know how you get on with the martingale if you do try it out.

@Pyreneansylvie I know where you're coming from, this trip is something that has been looming over us for weeks. I'm actually glad it's happening and will soon be out of the way. How old will Brie be when he goes?

I'll report back on the collar, I really hope it helps, but if it upsets him I'm not sure I'll be able to continue.

Sorry to hear you’re struggling @BrodiePup

My puppy pulls on the lead too though he’s still small at the moment so it’s not too much of an issue. Apart from the pressure of trying to get it right.

Being a guide dog puppy he is expected to learn to walk really nicely. But that’s easier said than done! I give him a treat when he walks nicely but that doesn’t often prevent him pulling.

@BrodiePup She'll be just turned six months, He's only away for a couple of days so I'm sure we'll be fine. Schools will be back and there'll be fewer daytrippers then so walks for me should be fairly quiet anyway.

I honestly doubt that Brodie will be upset by a martingale/half check - it's not going to hurt him; they're nothing like the prong collars that certain large macho dog trainers recommend... The sharp tug/release action will either work for you or it won't.

@BrodiePup
I can't cut your tag so this isn't directly to you, sorry - I don't know why it's tagged you - but I I do hope your ok :-(
I was in the park with Milo this morning
He was on lead - minding his own business when an 8 month old working cocker spaniel named buddy came bounding over to Milo ( I saw him before Milo) and tackled him to the ground from behind - Milo was seriously not bothered - didn't bat an eyelid, this is what I love about my boy - his temperament, he doesn't have a nasty bone in his body - yet he can hold his own when another dog tries to attack him. He's wonderful ❤️ ( makes a change from me being frustrated with him)
Anyway buddy's owner was apologetic for buddy jumping all over him - I was delighted - I let Milo off and they were playing for 30 minutes. His owner was down to earth also - is rare for spaniel owners. He wasn't part of the battles of the best spaniels owners crew.

@CaptainBeanThief That's lovely! Isn't nice when something good happens? It makes up for all the tricky stuff.
Are you going to meet up with Buddy again?

I hope so,
The owner(s) are local
They also use the field I use regularly and told me the time they usually go - they also told me 2 show cockers of similar ages go there.

How are you feeling?
Remember when I was in your position? Crying to you everyday. You will get through the hardest bits. I promise, deffo promise. Like I said put him the post - I'll get him through adolescence he won't come back worse

@BrodiePup are you shovelling treats into him when he checks in/follows you when you change direction? My Bill is very food-oriented and it's the only thing that's slowed him down. I use a mix of kibble and tiny cut-up Pooch and Mutt treats (as they don't crumble as much). It's still like waterskiing when I take him to the dog park but I can get him to momentarily hold his horses even then if I have a little pot of chicken/sausage/cheese...

He's still rubbish in the car so I'm going right back to basics, and we're just sitting in the back together at the moment. In a day or so I'll try getting out of the car then back in again, then sitting in the front, and see how he gets on. He managed two and a half minutes chewing a rabbit ear this morning while I read on my phone, before wanting to get up and move around. But when I brought him out and opened the drivers door to get the keys, he jumped back in again. So this is definitely progress (for the first time!).

Sleepy pup tax after a morning sniffy walk in the wind.

@Bupster That's a gorgeous photo! Nothing beats a sleepy pup 🥰. I'm glad you're starting to make progress with the car, that must be a huge relief.
Treats don't work when we're out, he's too distracted and pants so much I think he can't physically eat them anyway. Toys don't work either. His afternoon walk is to a large area of grass close to the house, I put him on a long line and let him chase his ball which he loves, but if he picks up a scent that's instantly forgotten. He does respond to praise, so I chat to him all the time and fuss him when he's good. I must look like a mad woman on our walks 🤣.
It's so frustrating, he's a really calm well behaved boy in the house.

Rather than chase his ball, have you tried hiding it in long grass and getting him to find it? Sniffing things out is super rewarding for spaniels/gun dogs

Mine will now wait in a sit stay whilst I hide balls but I used to tie them to trees before they were capable of that 😂

@tizwozliz sometimes he will do that, we were also shown at gun dog training to do it with treats, reach across silently and hover our palms over it. Sometimes he can really enjoy it, but then again if he's on a scent of his own there is no getting through to him. It's a self rewarding behaviour that we can't seem to break him from. I am hoping that it might calm down with age... I can dream 🤣

At puppy class on Weds the trainer suggested using squeezy cheese (Primula) or liver paté to teach the pups how to walk in a heel, and it did very much work for as long as the tube was out. Might be worth a try at home before going outside? I have Bill on a longline too for his morning walk and it's great but he's younger than @BrodiePup so hasn't hit that point where he forgets I exist yet. I know it's coming... He's half WCS and he's already starting to notice birds and squirrels and smells that are far more interesting than I am.

His big discovery at home today was how to get on and off the bed by himself. I learned this when I was getting dressed after a shower and a small cold nose was unexpectedly pressed against my back 😄😄

Martingale collar report...
I used it to walk him to the grassy area and back, so only a hundred yards or so.
It certainly didn't bother him and it might have made a difference. I'm not totally sure that I've got it adjusted correctly though. It has given me confidence to try it out on his proper walk tonight which will be about 25 minutes on pavements.
Wish me luck! 🤞🏻

@BrodiePup Oh I'm so glad you tried the collar. It's good that it didn't seem to bother him anyway. Might take a few walks before you'll fathom if he's responding or just completely ignoring it and pulling away as normal.

As regards distraction; treats don't work with Brie on a walk either. Trying to get her to change direction is hilarious as she just slams the brakes on and won't move, particularly if she thinks we are heading for home. With low prey drive she doesn't scent so much unless a dog is just ahead of us - her distractions are mainly to do with spotting people who might want to pet her (she thinks she's irresistible). The constant attention-seeking is a pain and I'll be glad when she grows out of it.

Good luck @BrodiePup I hope it works for you!

Does anyone have any ideas for getting V to eat his food? I usually do at least breakfast and lunch hand feeding as a training opportunity (depending on how tired I am in the morning). But he gets so bored of his kibble quickly. I sometimes hide it in a kitchen roll tube as he loves to sniff it out. Has anyone bought one of those snuffle mats? I don't know if he will just chew the fabric up!

Also photo for tax

Are you feeding him 4 times daily @YorkshireFelix ?
I think you should still do the training but if he's getting bored I think you should give him at least one of his meals in a bowl to eat, maybe in the morning when you are feeling particularly tired ?
Omg he's...
Well... Gorgeous

@YorkshireFelix he is gorgeous!
I've got a snuffle mat and Brodie loves it, I only use it for a boredom buster with a bit of kibble out of his allowance. I'm not sure he'd eat a whole meal from it though.
Brodie doesn't seem to like bowls, I put his food on a lickimat...the buddy one, and he eats it quite happily from that.
They're strange creatures with lots of foibles!

Photo is beautiful @YorkshireFelix , Vinny is adorable.

We do kibble in a Kong for Brie as a boredom buster. I suspect she would shred up the snuffle/licki mats as she's certainly doing a good job with the rubber backed kitchen mats...

I'm loving these photos for tax.

Good Luck with the evening walk @BrodiePup

Thanks everyone! He is cute but has turned so vicious this week!! I am counting down the weeks until teething is over but he's only 11 weeks so we've got a long way to go...

He gets fed his daily amount over 3 meals but should I split this into 4 instead? I do sometimes put them loose in a kong or a licky mat too, and we've got some puppy rubber chews from Pets at Home with holes in for kibble. He will sit and give his paw for food which is cute, but often he will just sniff it and walk off!

@YorkshireFelix we picked Brodie up at 11 1/2 weeks and fed him 3 meals a day, 4 just didn't seem to work and he didn't want to eat so often anyway. He was very picky with the food he'd been brought up on so we tried changing it and haven't looked back since.

Late joining the party. Hazel is one now. She had a massive moult this month.

Re. the lead walking, we follow the advice of our organisation which is to use a harness. We use a PerfectFit harness and it has two D-rings, one on the back and one on the chest. We use back clip for relaxed walking where she can sniff, wander off, etc. - we can either use the lead or the longline on that clip. Then for 'loose lead walking', where we expect her to be beside us, with her shoulder no further forward than our leg, not veering off, or 'focused heel', where we expect her to be beside us, no further forward than our leg, looking at us as she walks, we use the chest clip or the collar.

Hazel goes in for her spay in a couple of weeks.

She’s gorgeous @Lougle - can’t believe how much she has moulted.

It's crazy, isn't it?? I really thought I had the rare breed unicorn - non-moulting labrador. Then it all came out at once. Back to non-moulting now. So weird.