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.

@ComeTalkToMe Oh bless you and her. I completely agree with @Twiglets1. I know some don’t leave their dogs ever and others can’t but I strongly believe that we wouldn’t have a dog now if I hadn’t been able to leave pupsy as a tiny puppy and she genuinely coped with it fine. I didn’t have the option of being with her all the time so she had to get with the programme – which she did, truly without too many whinges. I think she found it easier when I was just upstairs sitting quietly working for a bit rather than talking on the phone (or crying myself) as she thought I had gone out so didn't bother to attention seek. All was well and well quite quickly and she is a very adaptable and well-balanced dog now. @Twiglets1’ method is the one we used too, and I employed it going to the loo, going to the car, putting the bins out, going to the post box, and then going out into the world and being a person and not just a puppy-watcher!

Personally I’m in the ‘toughening up’ camp but I know others won’t be, which is fine too – it just depends on how much freedom you want and can bear not to have. How old is she now – 16 weeks? Yes, spaniels are velcro dogs (mine is currently sitting on my shoulder) but they have to learn that being on their own is fine. It’s a vital skill in my book.

(I say this all with love hoping to help, from one velcro spaniel mother to another x)

@ComeTalkToMe I agree with both @Twiglets1 and @brushingboots that you just have to let them whinge a bit. I did the same and started off with disappearing upstairs to sort the washing etc, then taking the bins out (I have to walk them down the alleyway so takes me a few minutes!), then I nipped to school to drop something off for dd, then to the shop. I didn't leave him to go out to the shop until he was around 4.5 months I think so not sure if that's older than your pup now or not.

I was the same before that point thinking I'd never be able to leave him. He used to freak out when I'd just go upstairs for the toilet and leave him for a minute! But I think just a few weeks of being able to mature a bit really helped too.

One thing that gave me peace of mind was buying a cheap WiFi camera from Amazon. I think it was about £25 but you connect it to an app on your phone and you can see/hear them to check they are ok. It really helped as I was so worried he would bark and howl but he just snoozes on the sofa and occasionally looks out the window.

He's 6 months now and the longest I've left him so far has been 1.5 hours but we definitely could have left him longer if we needed to!

Ahh brilliant! She has come on so much in such a short space of time. You are doing a fab job. 17 hours sounds such a slog!!

@ComeTalkToMe some puppies just aren’t ready to be left though, so do be careful - if you push things faster than your puppy can cope with you could trigger full blown separation anxiety. Bill is eight months old and he’s never been alone for more than a few minutes because I knew it caused him genuine distress. Now he can manage me going to the bins or the car, and last night I was able to move the car, so for the first time I think I can start building his time alone. The DTAS site (my bible) says not to leave puppies till they’re about nine months. I know from friends that many puppies cope fine much earlier, but I knew Bill would not be one of them - this week is the first time I’ve been able to take a shower alone!

You know your dog best, so be guided by them. If you’re not sure, a camera is great - try going out and coming back at the first sign of distress though, so before there’s any risk that your puppy will panic. If they snooze, you’re laughing.

Ok, so did 5 minutes twice today - actually timed it 😂She was having a bark but she is fine, so think I’ll stick at that tomorrow and see if she gets used to the fact I will always come back. She will need to at some point, but I’ve worked from home with her in the same room since we got her, so it will be an adjustment for her - but I also need to not lose my mind! Thanks for the advice and support!

12 weeks jabs done this afternoon, she took it like a pro 😊 Car journey was great going there but then she threw up in the vet’s car park and twice on the way home 🙁

@ComeTalkToMe Hooray, well done! Little and often, you can (both) do it. I also work from home and frequently beneath my girl so I get it. I remember so clearly the enjoyment I got out of being in Lidl alone for half an hour in those early days. How tragic.

Awww @Ineedanewsofa poor thing! Hope she’s ok now?

Thanks @brushingboots I too shall spend 30 mins in Lidl by myself sometime soon - new goal 😂

@ComeTalkToMe she’s curled up on my knee fast asleep having eaten her dinner and terrorised DH’s ankles for a couple of minutes, reckon she’ll be fine

Sounds like a standard evening for this house too! Glad all well.

I once paid a puppy sitter for half an hour so I could drive the car in a straight line for 15 minutes and then turn it round and drive straight back - we'd been doing so much conditioning to car journeys by switching on the engine and driving round the block etc. that the battery had gone flat. That half hour was AMAZING 😄

Wise puppy parents, I need some advice! Little Lola is 12 weeks old and great in so many ways, however she’s goes into everything mouth first and loves hanging off trousers, slippers etc.
We are trying the distraction techniques and have started a bit of recall training which she’s picked up really quickly but once she’s locked on it’s very difficult to get her off! Also, she picks up everything off the ground and sometimes we can’t wait for her to get bored and drop it (which seems to be the advice!) as it’s probably dangerous for her.
Vet said it’s all normal because she’s teething but surely there must be other things we can do to solve this with her?

Teach her to 'leave' - exchange whatever she is holding for a very high value reward (roast beef, chicken, cheese) as soon as she drops it.

So, if she picks up a toy or hangs off your slipper (for example). Say 'leave' and hold out the treat. As soon as she drops it, give her the food and remove the toy or slipper from her vicinity. Yes it relies on you carrying bits of chicken or beef around in your pocket and that's grim...but honestly with puppies you definitely shouldn't be letting them chew on things until they get bored.

To help with teething - old flannel or towel or tea-towel, soak in water, wring it out, bung it in the freezer for a few hours then give it to her. Works wonders.

If she's smart she'll pick up on 'leave' quickly 😊

Thanks @LandSharksAnonymous, we’ll start with ‘leave’ tomorrow, everyone will be able to smell me coming from miles away with my pockets full of beef and cheese 🤣

We taught leave quite early on and it was a lifesaver, especially when you start going on outside walks and they pick up absolutely everything. He quickly realised that if he spat out whatever he had picked up he got a nice treat, and it worked so well. It is worth working out what treats they see as higher value and having them in the house, as you might find they run off with something they aren't happy to give up easily. We found that Vinny will drop anything for a lick of the Primula cheese tube 😄

My rescue dog had separation issues when I got him aged 8 years. I started by going and standing outside in sight for 2 mins, then when he was ok with that I slowly built it up to 15 mins in sight (I think I increased in a few min chunks). Then it was 2 mins out of sight and so on. Our routine is he gets a walk, then I go out, calmly but I tell him I'm going (because he was always watching to see if I might leave). When I get back it's a calm greeting / saying I'm back.

I audio recorded him (you can download free ones for your phone or tablet) and listened when I got home. Howls / whimpers / distress noises meant I need to stay on the time I was doing or step the time back a level, no noise or I'm getting comfy on the couch noises meant I could go up a level. I guess it is the same principal when you're getting a pup used to be alone.

It was a really hard long slog but that's because he already had separation anxiety. We got there though!

Re the hanging off trousers, slippers etc I confess I never found a solution that worked - mine just grew out of it as soon as his big teeth came through & I believe that’s normal.

When mine picks up stuff on walks and so on that I don’t want him to have I give the “Drop it” command in a stern voice. It works most of the time as long as I consistently give him a high reward treat in exchange ( he’s part Lab so very food oriented which helps). I was told to always offer a high value “swap” so at home that might be his favourite toy but outside it’s always food. I have to accept that occasionally he develops a deaf ear, that’s when what he’s found is irresistible like a mouldy apple on the ground.

@Ineedanewsofa
Very much in agreement with previous comments.
It is, to a certain extent, age related and once the adult teeth are through, the biting does start to tail off.
Offering legitimate chewing/teething objects is helpful but obviously they should only be allowed under supervision because of the choking risk.
Some of that depends on size of dog; we didn't give frozen flannel/tea-towel to our pup but she had goats milk ice cubes and carrots.

You can control things to some degree by teaching "leave it" or "drop it" and programming with high value treats, but you will still have some grabbing. We got our puppy in May and I spent the whole summer wearing long sleeved tops and long leather riding boots because she was a ruffian.
With regard to picking things up on walks then yes, a bit of cheese or meat in your pocket is generally the answer. Ours is a cheese fiend, which is ironic considering her name is Brie 😆

At home you can train yourself not to leave things lying around where pup can get it. Using treats is fine but if your back is turned or you leave the room momentarily, you really don't want them chewing cables, eating chocolate etc and getting hold of anything that has batteries in is another important one to consider. If you puppy proof a bit it makes life easier. Placing things in front of plugs and wires, not leaving any food stuffs within reach etc.
For us that is vital because we don't crate, so pup was free range in two rooms at night and she is large enough to access the kitchen tops. So in some ways, it's training yourself to prevent them chewing as much as training your puppy not to grab or steal.

Thanks @CoubousAndTourmalet, we’ve started using leave this morning and she is getting it to a degree already - some things are just too interesting/chewable though!
She’s definitely a bit rough and tumble at the minute, hopefully that tails off when she realises that we don’t play that way. We are all wearing long sleeves and long socks at the min, hopefully short sleeves will be ok by the summer 🤣

I can’t believe I’m asking to join. We planned a puppy in the spring but everything came together early and we brought our gorgeous girl home today. Older dog has been so loving and gentle with her. We’re still very much at sleepy calm before the storm stage 😬 I’ll be reading the tips from your experiences. I’m usually a dog person but this puppy has won my heart.

@TeenLifeMum
Does she have a hint of springer in her?
I'm over on the adolescence thread now but I do pop on here now and then,
We are all a very friendly bunch!!
This is Milo - he's 18 month ( in a week)

@TeenLifeMum she is gorgeous! We had a similar situation where we contacted the breeder about being put on his list for his next litter next year and ended up with our boy a few weeks later in August, as someone had pulled out of taking him home due to ill health. I think it was meant to be 🙂

She’s 1/4 springer and 3/4 cocker. Our 4yo boy is a working cocker and he’s being so amazing with her. He’s had lymphoma but the chemo response has been remarkable and his bloods are clear. He’s not been ill since the initial symptoms and we’ve really thought long and hard about the impact on him, his personality has always been gentle and loving so it really felt right. He met her before we committed and he’s been amazing.

Couple of wee accidents but both on the way to the back door and she went there to be let out for a poo. Day one this feels positive. Slightly scared about the night and it’s cold… last time we did puppy training it was August 2020 and not -2 degrees 🥶

She just feels like she’s meant to be in our home (appreciate puppy blues will set in soon). There were two sales that had fallen through so we had a choice but she chose us. Her mum was lovely too.

My little man is fully vaccinated finally, the vaccination used had a 2 week wait so he's been walked around in a little sling to see the world until now. Took him to an enclosed field with my lurchers and spaniel and he had a nice waddle around (the gaps were too small for him for now so he was on the lurcher's lead)

He's very easy so far, I've never had a toy breed before and he's a breeze compared to lurcher and shepherd puppies, very cuddly little thing. We have ragdolls and they like wrestling with him, the other dogs are uninterested so he's going to become one with the cats.

He was on a bale of hay for photos and my old girl saw the biscuit in my hand and decided to sprint the whole field to sit on the bale for it, my partner got these pics that tickled me. He's lucky she's so nimble - the spaniel would have flattened him 😂