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 my pup literally turned into a teenage nightmare 6 months to the day! It was the most bizarre thing ever. Like overnight a switch flipped and he decided 'ok now I am officially 6 months old I am a teenager.' As @brushingboots says, definitely come over to the Adolescence thread as it's been a life saver for me!!

Thank you @brushingboots! I can’t believe she’s old enough to need it but apparently she’s getting hormonal and stroppy early 🤣

Oh that’s reassuring @YorkshireFelix! Wish we’d got her recall a bit better before this happened 🤣

@peachgreen I can't believe she's 6 months already! That has flown by. Probably doesn't feel like it to you though 😂

Afternoon folks

When do you start to get concerned about their play biting/mouthing being something more? Pooch is 13 weeks now and has been pretty bitey since first week we've had him (8 weeks, Border Terrier). He's full on teeth clamped, growling and snarling. We've tried redirecting with toys or treats, I've tried making sharp noises. I've tried gently pinching skin at scruff of his neck. DH has tried gently tapping his bum but gave up quickly on that as it was too close to slapping him. I've tried holding his collar gently and pushing into his cheek to avoid losing a finger.

Occasional he backs off then within seconds launches himself at you.

It's not always over tired either as sometimes after a nice long nap or waking first thing he has a nice stretch, then goes into Piranha mode like, straight away.

I've today resorted to putting him in his crate for time out which I swore is never do as I'm terrified of him having negative associations with it as generally he loves it in there.

DD 16 is now so sick of it she avoids time by herself with him more because she's scared she'll hurt him shoving him off

All the books/online guidance say try something and stick with it for 6 weeks to create a habit. 6 WEEKS!!! How is that possible? We'll have no limbs left!!!

It almost feels like aggression! Or is this normal? There's no other signs to indicate teething yet.

Please give me some perspective!!

It is so normal, I promise you. We were so hot on enforced naps and that would always work to stop the biting, but then our pup went through a stage of just lunging at you and biting 24/7. He'd have a nice long nap then be at it as soon as you got him out of the crate. Honestly it was awful and relentless but it didn't last long - you just have to ride it out.

It's really normal! honestly. I'm a member of the paid-for puppy and adolescent club on the FB Dog Training and Advice page (DTAS) and probably 50% of puppy-related posts are about biting. 13 weeks is full shark mode as standard.

What I found helped a lot was to remember that my hooligan was teething and it hurt all the time, and that was half the reason he was biting down on things. The other half is because that's how they explore the world. Remembering that not only helped my sanity but also helped me redirect - e.g. if he was trying to get right down on a finger at the back of the mouth, that's where it was hurting, and so a frozen carrot or ice cube might help; if he was hanging on to my clothes then maybe playing tug would be better. Hard plastic seems to help a lot, so I tried to find things that he could bite right down on that had a bit of give but not too much. Milk bottles are good too, and leather.

The DTAS trainers often advise wearing boots and gloves if it gets really bad. It is really normal though, you haven't got a dangerous aggressive dog. They're just a pain. Mine bit me on the ear and drew blood the same day Trump got shot, so I couldn't even wear a plaster 😄

His shark teeth fell out at about five months, so you've not long to go. They can then have a second teething phase at about 9-10 months but you'll have mastered this by then I promise.

It's hard to believe but the biting does get so much better once the little baby teeth fall out. My 9/10 month old pup is a Lab cross and they tend to be mouthy all their lives but although he still locks his mouth around our hands when he's excited, he's so gentle now. He gives the tinies little nibbles that are cute.

As young puppies, sometimes they get a wild look in their eyes as they launch themselves at you and then bite you and it can look ... scary. But you won't have to cope with it too much longer in all likelihood.

@tellmewhenthespaceshiplandscoz It’s nothing more than him being 13 weeks – what’s he doing is 100pc normal. He’s learning about the world, it’s just unfortunate for you all that’s he’s doing that through his mouth, but they have to! In a litter they’d tell each other off when it got too much, or mum would. Remember he’s still just a tiny, tiny baby even if it feels like you’ve had him forever – I didn’t even get my girl until she was 12 weeks. Keep redirecting with other things to chew – natural chews/bones, nylabones, frozen tea towels, milk bottles like @Bupster says as they don’t split. The only medicine really is time as they grow out of it pretty quickly in the big scheme of things.

I kept a diary when my pup was his age, and up to about 20 weeks when it all became a lot easier, and so many of the entries are: ‘she started biting me and wouldn’t stop so I had to leave the room’. I used to just put her in her bed, tell her to lie down and go to sleep, and I’d go upstairs for a bit to work. She whinged fleetingly but sucked it up and got on with it, and a helpful by-product was that she got used to being on her own for short periods of time.

Just keep on doing what you’re doing and you’ll all come out the other side. Be glad it’s winter and you can cover up with clothes a bit more – I did it during the summer and couldn’t go bare-legged when I was alone with her.

@brushingboots you've just made me realise I won't have to wear jeans all summer this year!!

@YorkshireFelix no you won't! I remember the genuine excitement I felt last summer when I finally felt pupsy's fur on my bare legs for the first time. When she was about 17 weeks we had some friends round one evening for a nice dinner and I wore a proper dress and made an effort, and she literally climbed up my skirt and clung on and wouldn't get off. Had to go and put leggings on while everyone else was dressed up.

I think I must have sacrificed my hands (and ears) for the cause, as I managed with shorts, but I do recall having to put all my boots away on the top of the wardrobe because he ate them. In fact he still does, I'm just more comfortable with the tooth marks I think. I just went back to look at my photos from last summer when he was 13 weeks old and in about half of them I'm holding something for him to chew or trying to take pictures of his teeth 😄

Pictured: Baby bug with shark teeth

Happy Sunday fellow puppy owners! Random share from me… 17 week old pup just cocked his leg for the first time out in the garden. Have read about this in here and can say I am sharing the strange sense of pride haha though simultaneously trying to push away the thoughts that this could potentially mean marking in the house is on the way

@Kateboosh Bill never marked in the house and he was an early marker (I think I was the one that posted on here with ridiculous pride 😄) so you might get lucky too! He's only ever marked inside twice, both times in other houses where there had been other dogs.

Thanks folks. We've only a few more weeks to go until his jab restart window is done so I'm hoping that getting him out and about may help too and he can work some of his energy off.

Yorkshire - I know , how can they wake up after a lovely nap and immediately want to attack?!!!

Bupster - thanks! I know it sounds daft but o keep forgetting the obvious, that maybe it's teething. Gave him a milk carton yesterday and he did indeed chomp down on it for ages.
Ice cubes and frozen carrots - how small should these be?

Brushing - your right, it's easy to forget he's not been with us that long ... and he's still so young.

Yay! That's such a cute milestone!

It's a proud moment... mine used to give a bit of a half cocked effort at first which was rather cute. He cocks his leg properly now but never in our house.

Did cock his leg in Pets at Home recently though 😊

Just small enough to crunch down on I think - when he was tiny I'd give him carrots cut lengthways or even quartered, and single small ice cubes. He's having a second teething period now and I've got the big ice cubes you can buy in bags, he has loads of fun chasing them around the floor or the yard.

Quick question: does the separation "anxiety" get better? I know Cockers are quite well known for their clinginess but I swear N is getting worse instead of better. Unless she is out-for-the-count asleep in her crate she will not stay in another room without crying for me (except when she sneaks upstairs to chew the kids' teddies!), even then I'm lucky if she sleeps for more than an hour.
Other than leaving her for a few minutes at a time and gradually building it up, is there anything I can do?? I've been trying that but there's zero progress. Will this, partly, come with age? She's almost 5 months.

@ConsternationStation Argh, poor you. I’ve no experience with any kind of separation ‘anxiety’ (or actual anxiety) as I started leaving my (cocker) girl very early on – for all our sakes – and she quickly got the message that it was fine and that I was always coming back. In this house crying dogs don’t get attention unless they genuinely need something, and I took the view that if all of her needs were met then she could be left for a bit and any crying was just FOMO. But they’re all different.

What do you do when she cries/how long does she cry for? I ask as it’s very easy to accidentally reinforce their behaviour even though that’s the opposite of what you’re trying to do. Are you a member of the oft-mentioned dog training group on Facebook, DTAS? They have some great guides for loads of things but also allowing dogs to be left – one is called the flitting game. (You may have tried this already I realise.)

I want to say that yes it will come with age, like most things, but it also depends on what kind of personality she has. My girl is, I think, quite robust – or maybe I am just robust with her, it’s hard to say which.

My cocker is almost 9 months now, but I think when he was around the age of yours he was very similar. I couldn't even go upstairs for a wee without him barking and whinging at being left behind. It definitely got better with age, 100%.

He does still follow me around the house and is the epitome of a Velcro dog - I say to DH that if he could crawl inside my skin and live there he would be extremely happy 😂 - but if I go upstairs for a bath, or sort out a big pile of laundry he just retreats to the sofa to snooze now.

We also built up to leaving him in the house from around 5 months. Started with 10 minutes, then 15, 20 etc. I think we were very lucky as he's never been bothered by us going out and I know some dogs cope better than others. We left him for 3 hours for the first time today and he did great.

@ConsternationStation its tricky but I maybe just keep practicing leaving them for short amounts of time so it becomes routine. Our pup was never allowed upstairs (baby gate) so he quickly had to get used to us leaving him to go upstairs and he had to stay downstairs. Then I started going out for 5 minutes, 10 minutes etc.

Some breeds are more prone to separation anxiety than others I think. I’ve had 2 Labs and they tend to accept it fairly easily ( though still giving the sad face every single time anyone leaves the house).

I think with separation anxiety or potential separation anxiety you have to judge whether it's a little moan because they're not getting their own way or think they're missing out or genuine distress. If it's the latter then leaving and ignoring and letting them get really upset is not the way to go.

What is the way to go though? Because it’s a fact of life that dog owners have to leave the house sometimes without the dog.

The Facebook DTAS site mentioned above has advice. I know two people who were told with puppies to just leave, and ignore the whining and they'd get used to it. Both ended up with significant SA, which required behaviourist support to address.

It also annoys me, that frequently things are posted on Instagram of naughty things dogs did when often it's a sign of real anxiety.