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'm in @BrodiePup
I private messaged you a long time ago suggesting that very thing 😂😒
I'm from greater Manchester ( my mum lives nearer to Leeds side) I live nearer to Stockport but I drive and I'm still in 😂😂

I'm West Pennine Moors... bet that'll send you running for the hills 😜

Sorry, @Pyreneansylvie I don’t seem to get notifications to say anyone has replied! @LibisMumhas beaten me to it – and it's not a silly question at all! I follow a girl on Instagram who has taught her dogs ‘heel’ for left side and ‘close’ for right with a switch command between them and it’s brilliant.

@YorkshireFelix – if you’re going to long-line with him, which I would recommend for helping with/sharpening up your recall, then do try a harness, for safety more than anything. We had a great Kurgo harness which I really recommend and then a Perfect Fit when she got too big for it but still too small for the next size up (cocker problems). (I say sharpening up recall as right now, when you first let him off as a tiny baby, he’s going to want to be with you. I don’t use ours much now, only for quite specific kinds of walks, but I used to bring it out if we’d had a bad walk and she’d bogged off further than I wanted, and so on the next walk I’d take it out to reinforce the imaginary circle of range she is allowed.)

If I got a new puppy tomorrow I would go slip lead from the off for ‘normal’ walking and teaching heel – low and loose around their shoulders so that in theory they never learn to pull. There are so many options and everyone you talk to will have a view – plus all of those men in the group I suspect you’re in on Facebook think they are Always Right – but that combination is honestly what I’d do if I was doing it again with a brand new spaniel puppy. I like our lead/collar combo now and it works for us but if I could redo things I would!

Also up for meeting in a field! I’m in Lincs so not that close but there is surely a midpoint somewhere!

@CaptainBeanThief I didn't know you could PM?! I think I miss stuff because I do everything through the app.

@brushingboots this is brilliant advice, thank you so much. I will follow what you say as I trust your judgement over the spaniel men I've bought a sporting saint pro slip lead and a whistle (ambitious!) so waiting for those to arrive. V isn't out for walks for just over another 3 weeks yet so we have a bit of time to practice indoors and in the garden.

I am near the moors in Bradford so similar sort of area to a few of you!

@BrodiePup HA I won't hold my breath re angelic walker but you never know!!

@YorkshireFelix You're most welcome!

Sooner the better to get the whistle going too, I'd say – think we started within a few days of bringing her home. (Eventually) one pip for stop, two for turn ('this way'), three for recall – or as my gundog trainer says, 'come back now!' I don't go anywhere without my whistle, even if we're 'just' walking and not training. She knows that when I put the whistle round my neck it means something exciting is happening, which is frankly gorgeous to behold.

Can also super recommend the £1 squeaky dinosaurs from Pets at Home for reinforcing recall: the sound cuts right through the game haze/wind.

oooh can Nettles join the group please?

He is almost 6 months, howls pitifully if left alone
under any circumstances, hates being in the car and likes chasing anything smaller and furrier than him (ideally squirrels though a cat will do😬). He has the best, softest eats

He is a very sweet boy but a PITA as needs entertainment +++ despite long walks and a
big garden.

I adore him as does DD6- DH on the other hand is less of a fan. If I had to choose between them......

He looks lovely 🥰 Is he is a beagle?

Aww Nettles is so cute!

What a great name!
Welcome to our crazy group nettles!
You may want to ignore me and @BrodiePup all we do is cry about our WCS 😂😂

Thanks for the encouragement guys. I'm pleased to say HariboLab somewhat redeemed himself on our second attempt at a walk this evening. Within 2 minutes of the first walk he was fast asleep so think he was just a bit tired/overwhelmed.

Re the loose lead/heel thing - my trainer says as long as they can heel even for very short amounts of time then loose lead the rest of the time is absolutely 🙂

Hello @MsRosewater & Nettles! Fab name and a very cute puppy 😊

Hello @MsRosewater and lovely Nettles. I'm new to the group too but there's a lovely bunch of people here to natter with.

@HariboFrenzy I'm glad your second walk was better. He's still just a baby and we all know what an overtired pup is like 🙄

@CaptainBeanThief Ignore you and @BrodiePup 😆😂😆As if. You're such a great double act it's what keeps this thread going.

@Pyreneansylvie that's because @CaptainBeanThief and myself have set the bar extremely low 🤣

@BrodiePup @Pyreneansylvie
Yes we are the example of how not to train dogs 🫢
Least we provide the comedy factor the new ant of Dec of 2024.
Milo is doing well with his training. He listens to the drop command ( ball) then the wait command then he waits for the "ok" command before he gets the ball again.
Who knew it... Id be able to compliment my dog 🥴
Maybe you were right Brodie pup? On track for the 18 month time scale ? Youve got a while off yet... Have you gone grey yet???

I think different people call it different things. Loose lead, for us, is that Hazel is walking on our left side, her shoulder isn't further forward than the leading leg, and the lead has a 'smile' or a 'j' shape. Our training organisation holds the view that a dog can still be 'pulling' even if the lead is loose - imagine a 5 metre long line: the dog could be 4.5 metres in front of you and the lead could technically still be loose.

Focused heel is when she's giving me her full attention and looking at me with every step.

We use 'side' for heel position, 'heel' for when she's actually walking beside us, 'switch' for if we want her to walk on it other side. We use 'close' when we're recalling her and we want her to come and sit in front of our feet, facing us.

Our trainer introduced a new cue 'behind' when we want her to take her treat from the opposite side - it's just a slowing/focusing technique. She darts behind our legs, collects the treat, then returns to heel position.

We also use an auto-stop. If we stop while walking, she sits. Then we continue and she resumes.

It's all work in progress, though. Practice, practice, practice. Then building distractions, durations, etc.

@HariboFrenzy HariboLab is in peak adolescence. We have a 13 month old lab - she has good days and bad days. In fact good hours and bad hours. He'll come through. Certainly don't re-home him. Ignore advice from people who think they could have trained your dog better. They are just seeing a snapshot.

@Lougle Thanks. Really interesting to learn how you're all training - you clearly have a lot of dedication and patience.

Made me laugh that our dogs are clearly "pulling" even on what we term a loose lead. Ah well, maybe it explains why you rarely, if ever, see guarding breeds competing in obedience.

@CaptainBeanThief Are you Ant or Dec? I've got a whole year to go...or possibly another 18 months. I've been grey for years...I'll be bald and rocking backwards and forwards mumbling by then 🤣.
In the spirit of one up man ship, Brodie can do that too, unless there's a pigeon in the vicinity 😀

@Pyreneansylvie I consider it to be loose lead if my arm is hung relaxed by my side...a week last Wednesday there was a brief moment if my memory serves me well...

@BrodiePup If you're the new Ant & Dec you were definitely not kidding about setting the bar low 😆

Ah yes, those brief moments of the arm not being pulled out of its socket are truly blissful, aren't they?

I'm sure I don't remember puppyhood being so exhausting before but perhaps I'm just getting old. Anyway, Miss Brie has created a new walking along game today, it's called hanging off the bottom of Mum's jacket. Clearly bootlaces have become passe...

@Pyreneansylvie The bar is as low as it can get!

Pain free dog walking is heavenly...Ah, those brief moments...

I'm sure puppyhood wasn't so exhausting in the past, you didn't have to spend hours googling for solutions for random things for a start. Today's attempted search was 'puppy cocking leg spraying tummy sticky smelly will it stop?'
I'm only a year behind you, so maybe we're both getting old?

Please ask someone to video you walking Brie, it would brighten my sad little life up no end 🤣

@BrodiePup ok, I'm officially a shit owner 😳
@Pyreneansylvie it looks like I'm both ant and Dec because Brodie pup has a one up on me 😂🫢

Hmmm, that's quite an interesting Google search tagline @BrodiePup . Did you perchance get any answers to the question? I was similarly trying to figure out if Brie was going through puberty very early but had a morbid fear of searching bitch swollen vulva. Because you never know these days. I don't want my laptop seized - I'd worry that they might delete something vitally important like my knitting patterns.

@CaptainBeanThief Oh please - no!!! Ant & Dec morphed into one person would be a truly horrific thing to behold 😱 Their smug little faces are putting me off logging me into my bank lately. I really think you two need to liken yourselves to a more upmarket double act so the thread can retain some semblance of dignity. Then again, now I'm here it won't...

Night 4 sleeping through! Maybe it really is happening!!!!

That's great news! Sounds as if you've turned a corner.