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.

Hi. I’ve had puppy a week - he’s 10 weeks now.

he sleeps in crate 11-7 no problem. Few accidents but he goes to the door if he wants to go - problem is if we don’t notice he is quick to run off and do it somewhere (had a nice little present under the Xmas tree!!). Ds has taught him sit and down

biggest problem is our older dog isn’t happy!!

Advice needed please. Betty is still peeing on the floor inside no matter how many times we take her out. We have her out there for 10, 15 minutes at a time and about half the time she’ll wee, half the time she’ll come inside and pee on the floor almost instantly. Any thoughts or tips? We give her lots of praise/a treat she goes outside and clean it up without a fuss when she has an accident.

@peachgreen Hmm. Are you using enzymatic cleaner if she does have an accident inside? I wonder if she can still smell it a bit inside which is triggering her need to go if she goes as soon as she comes inside. Could be that. Or could just be that she's still tiny and it hasn't completely clicked for her yet. When she goes immediately after coming in can you/do you catch her at it and sweep her back to the door again, to reinforce all you're doing? I remember many times of catching her mid-wee and physically moving her mid-wee outside.

Someone might have a more technical approach but I fear time is what you need here as it sounds like you're doing everything right. Please don't stress yourself out worrying that she hasn't got it yet, though of course you want her to – we didn't even get pupsy until she was almost 12 weeks so you've had weeks more practice at home at this point than we ever had and she got it just fine.

@peachgreen probably not what you want to hear but Vinny did this for weeks. It would drive me mad. We would be outside for ages and he would pee as soon as we came back in. I don't really have any advice as we just persevered and he got it at around 4.5 months.

Aww it sounds like he's doing fab but sorry to hear your older dog isn't happy! It's only been a week so early days yet. I don't have any experience of introducing to a resident dog but hopefully someone else may be able to help!

Thanks @brushingboots – yes we’re using an enzyme cleaner although I think I may give the whole downstairs a going over tomorrow just to be sure we haven’t missed anything! We do interrupt her when we catch her and move her outside but her wees are still quite tiny so it’s usually too late. I’ll give the floors a thorough clean (again!) tomorrow and maybe temporarily lift the rugs just in case. And just keep doing what we’re doing and hope it clicks I guess! I trod in a puddle of it tonight 😡 Thankfully I have managed to hold it together okay today – DP was having a really tough day coping with her today so I think my preservation instincts kicked in so that one of us was functioning! Normal service will no doubt resume tomorrow and he’ll be fine while I’ll be weeping!

That does help actually, reassures me that it’s not necessarily us doing something wrong and possibly just a case of sticking at it until she gets it! Thank you x

They all do it at that age @peachgreen and it does drive you mad. Exactly as you've said, you stand outside and as soon as you bring them in they squat. We had puppy pads down but Brie would always miss or wee right on the edge. It's maddening I know but there is really no quick fix.

I can't remember if you're doing word association like saying wee time/toilet time/have a wee/potty, whatever you prefer, whenever she does wee outside. That can help. With Brie that started to click pretty quickly and we still do it now.

When my pups did wee indoors I would just ignore it. I've never attempted to move them mid-wee, once they start I just wait and mop up.

I do agree with @brushingboots and @YorkshireFelix that it's just about time. It is very much an individual thing, some are quick but others take longer. Most won't be reliable with toileting before 4 months, that's just how it is and you can't really rush it.

Thank you @PyreneanAubrie that is so reassuring to hear. We will stick at it! Yes we are doing word association so we’ll keep at that too.

@peachgreen Oh god yes, the treading in it isn't ideal. But it will pass, promise. Just keep on keeping on and she will get there. There are theories on all these things but the answer is usually the simplest: time.

In a weird way it's good that your DP is feeling it too as it means that you're properly in it together. My other half works away and he didn't believe me when I said it was going horribly because he wasn't here to see it, and liked to tell me how easy it was from 200 miles away: 'she's just a puppy, how bad can it be?' Really helpful. So at least you've got (what sounds like) a super supportive teammate in-house who you will laugh about it all with in a few months.

My chap was actually shocked by how exhausting puppy rearing is. He had no idea until this summer when we got Brie. With our 5 previous dogs, he was working in an office full-time so I was doing all the house-training stuff and being the hands-on carer. Now, since Covid, he works from home so this was his first experience of being a full-time puppy parent. I've found Brie really easy at home, but at first he didn't, he found it a struggle when she was weeing everywhere, nipping, having zoomies and wouldn't switch off. He adores her now of course but the baby puppy phase was a massive shock to him. Now our roles are reversed; I'm the one struggling with the lead walking and he's just getting on with it.

@peachgreen my puppy Roman also did this. The advice we got was not to bother keeping him in the garden for 10/15 minutes, just take him out there for 5 minutes then bring him inside if he doesn’t quickly wee/poo but keep watching him. If he starts any pre spending behaviour again such as sniffing the ground or turning in circles, then take him out again immediately.

It seemed to take him ages to learn not to wee inside. I did despair at one time and questioned the process of showing no emotion when he did a wee/poo inside because I had a vision of him still doing it a year later! But you just have to be consistent with it and try to avoid accidents inside as much as possible so they learn the outside is the place to relieve themselves.

I wish I knew the secret to not pulling on the lead - Roman is 27kg now and has got quite bad about pulling. I do try the stopping method but not as consistently as I should so I guess I need to work on that. Annoyingly he walks nicely for my husband without him using any method at all. The little traitor.

Tough part of this second puppy is I’m up at 7 and the teens are keeping me up late so I’m not getting my 8 hours!

how do people cope toilet training in this weather? Is it worth trying him on a puppy pad? We got our first puppy in the summer and just left the door open and he picked it up pretty quick

@Bruisername
Hi,
I can sympathise; my first up was a summer pup and he was toilet trained by 10 weeks old, but when we got a second pup four years later it was a different story. She was a winter puppy and house training seemed to take forever! I honestly don't think there are any shortcuts because all pups are so different.

With our current girl I did use puppy pads, although most people here seem to be against them. She was a summer baby but we don't crate so she was free range in kitchen and orangery. I found puppy pads useful; I used the washable ones so as soon as she did a wee the pad got chucked in the washer.

As regards the early mornings, I've slept on the sofa all summer because our puppy was waking at 4am most mornings and my husband starts work at 7. She is a lot better now (at 8 months) and will sleep through until 6. Some puppies are pretty much nocturnal to start with. Again, I think it's mainly just an age thing and it gets easier...

I’m lucky then that he sleeps past 7 - I guess it’s the teens late bedtime that’s the real problem!!!

@Bruisername good luck with getting your eight hours! I was acutely sleep deprived for months - we were just getting into a manageable routine and the clocks went back and he decided 5:30am was now an appropriate waking time...

I think with our girl it was partly down to the birds waking early through summer.
No teens in our household so we're able to keep to a routine of bedding down at 10pm and I think for us that makes things easier.

Is your pup separated from your older dog? When we first had two together, the puppy (female) seemed to learn from the older dog (male) but when we later introduced a male pup to a female adult, she hated him. We had to keep them in separate rooms for months. It's not always easy to get a routine with two dogs together and your situation is further complicated by a busy household with teens...

Older dog is avoiding pup and he can escape if he wants. He sleeps upstairs while pup is in crate downstairs so he is getting one on one time. I’m trying to train them together so he sees the puppy as a treat magnet!

You'll get there @Bruisername, it can take time. I suspect older dogs find puppies just as exhausting and annoying as we do 🙄
This whole thread is testament to the fact that puppies are harder work and cause more disruption than people realise. Even when you've done it all before you forget what a sodding pain little pups can be 😬

I've told Milo this morning in my firm voice if he carries on he will find himself tied up to the gates of dogs trust which coincidentally is 5 minutes down the road 🤣
I'm joking don't shoot me 🙀

Morning gang, just checking in. A really positive weekend. Obviously DP was really struggling on Saturday but I coped really well with having her by myself for a while so he could have a break (he went upstairs to read for an hour but ended up falling asleep and I managed to deal for a whole four hours by myself! Hooray!). Yesterday we took her to see my in-laws (late DH's family rather than DP's family so slightly more pressure!) and she was an angel – great in the car (2 hour drive!), not a single accident all day, and she snoozed on my niece's lap the whole drive home (as we gave her a lift back to uni).

In terms of the indoor peeing – I've recleaned the rugs in the living room and lifted the one in the hall entirely – it's not worth the stress! So now the only room that has any carpeting is the living room and either we're in there with her or the door is closed, so fingers crossed that should be mostly safe. We ARE having to get a stairgate though as she is obsessed with getting upstairs now and dashes up there any chance she gets 😂

In general I am feeling so, so, so much more positive. I know it won't all be plain sailing and I will still have hard days, but I no longer feel like I've ruined my life! Being able to get her out for walks has made all the difference and I am really starting to feel a genuine bond with her. Thank you all so much for your help – I don't think I could have got through it without you.

The next test will be a) the journey to England and b) staying at my incredibly house-proud, fully carpeted parents' for two weeks...!

Fabulous!!! A MASSIVE well done, you should be really proud of yourself. It sounds like she is doing fab, and you and DP are a great team together.

It's amazing how much of a difference just a week or so makes. I'm genuinely really pleased for you!

We have hard wood floors but Vinny used to love pissing on both of my rugs in the living room. I have an upholstery cleaner so used that a lot, but stupidly didn't really think to just remove the rugs until quite a few weeks in. I've not put them back yet as I think he will just chew them (and I could do with having them professionally cleaned first too). My house looks bare / like we have been robbed since I removed so much stuff!

Brilliant news @peachgreen !

It is definitely sounding as if you are over the worst days and starting to cope much better. This is borne out by the fact that you felt able to let your partner have a break. You deserve a pat on the back for that.

That's the right approach regarding toilet training, you do need to be philosophical about it, almost shrug off the odd accident for now, and keep reminding yourself that it won't be like this forever!

The best news of all is that you're bonding with Betty now, so all the hard work will be worth it. In a few weeks time you honestly won't believe how far you've come! Please continue to give us updates - your experiences will definitely be helpful for other new owners that come to these threads.

Have a wonderful Yuletide holiday with your parents - I hope your first Christmas with Betty will be magical.

Hooray, @peachgreen, this is the best update! Well done you! You have done wonderfully and so has she, by the sounds of it. SO glad to hear that you no longer feel like you’ve ruined your life! Just delighted for you.

A stairgate is well worth it, as is taking the rugs up – it won’t be forever.

Thank you all. Oh, and thank you SO much to whoever suggested the frozen Lickimat – she has one at lunchtime with yoghurt, peanut butter and her kibble and I get a good 40 minutes of peace – sometimes even more when she collapses with exhaustion afterwards!