Puppy Survival Thread for New and Old Pups - here comes winter 2024

[Bupster]

I thought I might as well be the one to start the new thread! Nothing to report but a sleepy puppy over here.

@peachgreen with my wee boy it’s always immediately after he wakes up from a nap. So we whisk him out as soon as he wakes and MOST of the time we’re successful- but still have to be vigilant. Our bedroom is directly off our living room and he’s decided that’s a great place for a wee / poo so have to watch when he heads in that direction. It’s hard floors though so easy to clean up. It’s night times I find hard. He doesn’t settle and wakes every hour. In desperation last night we put him on our bed and got a good 5 hours! Bliss!

Oh gosh I would find that so hard @haggisaggis, I’m sorry! Ours is very good overnight now that we’ve surrendered and brought her into our room. I wish her wees were predictable though! But hopefully she’ll get there.

Waking every hour! That would kill me. No wonder you are letting him on your bed, I would too just to get a few hours sleep.

@peachgreen one thing I can recommend to help with the constant vigilance is writing it all down. I kept a doc open on my computer from about 12-20 weeks ish and every day I wrote down what she did when. Literally 'got up for a walk around, went back to sleep'; 'paced around, so went outside for wee' etc etc. I wrote down every single thing she did (and also when I needed a break from her too) and it helped me to know roughly when she'd need things, because I could look back at yesterday – and if I'd written down that she weed at, say, 11am, then I knew I could relax with the vigilance for a bit as she wouldn't need to go again so soon.

Also strongly recommend, if your job allows, a proper routine. We did things at the same time every day for months so that she got what happens when and what was expected of her at that time. I think that helped too. It hasn't made her obsessive about a routine now and she will sleep in until I'm ready for a walk in the morning, but she definitely knows that when I'm at my desk she's not bothering me unless she actually needs something.

Excellent advice from @brushingboots as always! I wish I'd thought to keep a diary as it would have made things so much easier to track. Even just a wee and poo tracker would have been helpful.

Waking every hour is so rough. I would have done the same re puppy in bed! I hope it improves for you soon 😩

I would just take my pups outside after a nap, after food etc. I'm the least organised person on the planet so nothing ever gets logged. I think after a few days of being around your pup and watching it, you do start to notice a pattern and can read the signs. It's just about familiarity, but of course they're all different and some will toilet train easier than others. One of our boys was dry through the night by 10 weeks but one of the girls was 5 months before she stopped weeing on the kitchen floor.

The constant vigilance is hard at first, it can be exhausting, but it does get easier.

Thank you everyone! Amazing advice. I’ve downloaded a wee app to keep track of her toileting as well as feeding and little training sessions. I think it will get easier when we can take her for walks and her poos are already pretty predictable. The issue is that she really gives no sign she needs to wee – no pacing or sniffing – she just squats down and does it! And then if we happen to be watching her – which we often are - and interrupt her, she of course gets the signal that weeing = bad and won’t go when we take her out. Honestly it’s way harder than potty training my child ever was! 😂

Brie was just like that honestly; she only ever did one poo indoors, but was a devil for sudden wees on the kitchen floor with no warning. With girls that does happen. We found it helpful having a phrase - with other pups it was "wee time" but with Brie we had to change it to "toilet time". Every time she started to squat outside we said those words. By 4 months she was more or less doing it to command and fully housetrained. Even now, at almost 8 months, when I take her outside last thing at night, those magic words will nearly always result in a squat to wee.

By the way, when you do start to take your little one out for walks, don't be surprised if she waits until she gets home to toilet in her own garden; that's a common problem. It can often take a while for them to get used to the idea of toileting when out on a walk. Brie is just about getting it now 🙄

Yes Vinny didn't quite understand that he could wee and poo outside the house boundaries for ages 🤣 They are funny things aren't they!

We never interrupted our puppy once he started weeing @peachgreen & tried to show no emotion.

We just took him out after every meal/every play session/every nap.

I did despair at times that he would ever pick up that wees should be done solely outside but he did and your puppy will too. Some just take a few months to make the connection but when I look back on it, I wonder why I worried so much.

I’ve just read through this whole thread and goodness me, what a comfort it has been. Watching you all go through the same worries and anxieties as me, but then come out the other side – so reassuring.

Our wee Betty had a good day today – she’s in a fairly predictable poo cycle (thus far!) which makes that a lot easier, and we only had one wee accident today which was entirely my fault. This evening I think she even came to the back door when she needed a wee. Could have been complete coincidence, mind…

Tomorrow is my first day in the house alone with her and I’m very nervous. Wish me luck!

How old is she and what breed @peachgreen ? Good luck for tomorrow! It's scary doing the first day on your own but you get into a good routine after a while 😃

Good Luck @peachgreen you’ll be fine and may find you enjoy extra bonding time

@peachgreen
You'll be absolutely fine on your own with little Betty. I know it's a bit daunting at first but if you need moral support tomorrow you'll find it here.

Good luck, I hope you'll have a lovely calm day together🙂

I'm the thread killer again folks. I posted on the adolescent thread and it ran out of space 😱Who wants to start a new one? I'm too scared....

I wrote out a reply to you and was freaking out as it wouldn't let me post and kept saying to log out and try again. Thought I'd been hacked 🤣

I was replying to Bupster and it said no more replies - I knew I'd be the blooming threadkiller 🙄

@PyreneanAubrie @YorkshireFelix has anyone started one yet? Was going to reply to your happy news but was also thwarted!

Thank you all! She is 11 weeks old and she’s a Kerry Blue Terrier crossed with a Shih Tzu. Unsurprisingly, she’s part of an accidental litter that were surrendered to our local shelter. We went to look at an adult dog after losing our boy very suddenly earlier this year (he wasn’t even 4, he had a heart condition that we didn’t know about and had a cardiac arrest) but when we arrived they said “oh we have a puppy that would be perfect for you…” and DP and DD were smitten as soon as they saw her. I was entirely unprepared for the difficulties of puppy rearing but thankfully DP is experienced and has taken the bulk of it thus far so I can ease myself in – so something of a baptism of fire for me tomorrow! Everyone here has been so kind and helpful though, and it has been the most amazing support. Very grateful to you all and I have no doubt I’ll be back for a handhold tomorrow!

Here is where she spent most of the evening… she always, without fault, arranges herself into this bizarre human baby position!

Hello, it's LemonPalms here with a name change to LemonPalmTrees.
@Peachgreen I've seen a few of your posts on the doghouse and am so glad to hear you're finding great support both at home, from reading through the puppy survival threads and from supportive posters. Did you say her name is Betty? (Adoreable). Looks likes she's found home in that photo. She looks like she feels safe, loved, protected and home :-) As hard as these early puppy days are, it sounds to me like the rescue centre were right when they said they had a puppy who would be perfect for you. Very best wishes with her and puppyhood x

P.S. I'm also hoping someone will start new adolescent dog thread soon if they haven't already :-)

@peachgreen ahh yes sorry just made the connection to your other thread! She looks so similar to a pup my friend just got. You're not near Ulverston are you?

Glad you've had a good day today. I'm really sorry to hear about your boy, and at such a young age too 💔

Have created a new adolescent thread. Won't let me tag everyone for some reason!

Adolescent Dog Survival Thread - Bark the Herald, furry angels sing! www.mumsnet.com/Talk/the_doghouse/5218689-adolescent-dog-survival-thread-bark-the-herald-furry-angels-sing?msgid=-5218689#-5218689

She's beautiful @peachgreen - it's not surprising that your partner and daughter fell for her! I'm sure you'll be equally smitten before long, once you get over the shock of just how exhausting young puppies are!

I remember you posting about your other dog and I'm so sorry. The sudden loss of a young dog like that is very traumatic.

Ah thank you @LemonPalmTrees, what a lovely thing to say. She is definitely a wee gem and seems pretty settled with us already. Fingers crossed she stays that way. Things have got a lot easier for me now that I’ve just embraced my life being upside down – she’s in our bedroom at night and although I was adamant I didn’t want that at first, it’s actually much easier and I know it’s not forever so am just going to enjoy it while it lasts.

@YorkshireFelix No we’re in NI! I haven’t been able to find evidence of any other Kerry Blue / Shih Tzus so would be intrigued to know if your friend’s dog is one! Thank you and thank you @PyreneanAubrie for your kind words – it really was a terrible shock and we still miss him every day, especially DP. He got him during lockdown and they were inseparable as a result.

She’s adorable @peachgreen ❤️

Raising puppies is very hard & not for the faint hearted. But it’s lovely to get to know their sweet personalities as they develop. And there’s always support here so just ask if you’re worried about anything. We’ve all been there, and I’ve even cried over feeling like a failure in the early days but it all gets so much easier I promise you.