Adolescent Dog Survival Thread - for teenage dirtbags

[Bupster]

I've buckled again, I can't take the pressure of being on page 40 😄

@brushingboots I'm still trying to get K to retrieve a dummy in the garden. I don't think she's up to working in the woods yet. 😂
To be fair, she's been brilliant today. Staying close, recalling and changing directions to a 'this way'.
@YorkshireFelix meant to say before, my 3 year old was the opposite of V. Never once absconded in the woods, but I had to stop walking her in the fields as there were too many rabbits and hares about. Didn't help that she could catch them, so it became far more rewarding than my liver bread.

It’s funny as there’s loads of rabbits on the field and he isn’t arsed by them! Apart from gobbling up their poo like he’s never been fed before in his life 🤢

Gold stars for Pupsy @brushingboots ⭐️ She is always such a good girl! There’s no way I could get Vinny to go on an escalator 😂😂😂 I’m still working on him jumping into the boot of the car and he just sits and looks at me like I’m mental. You are right, he was good at Clumber. That’s how he had been the past few weeks then all of a sudden he’s decided to sack that good behaviour off but only in specific circumstances…

I’ve finally booked the beginner gundog course I’ve been eyeing up for ages. I kept meaning to then it would get booked up and I’d miss it. Starts next month and I can’t wait!! I just hope to god he doesn’t show me up but we will see.

Hi all, I hope you don’t mind me joining this thread! I don’t have a teenage dirtbag yet, he is a 9 week old black Labrador. Just joining because most of you have been where I am now in the not too distant past and it’ll hopefully help me when the months inevitably fly by and I have a teenage delinquent on my hands 😂

Glad you've found us @VanGoSunflowers Welcome to you and your little one.

The Puppy Survival Thread has seemingly disappeared, but it's not so long since we were there, so we'll try to help you through the minefield of puppy rearing.

I searched for the puppy survival one but it looks like the last one was October last year!
Thank you so much for the warm welcome ☺️

@VanGoSunflowers Yes, such a pity nobody started a fresh puppy thread. If I get another pup, as I'm hoping to soon(ish), I'll start a new thread.

You will find that most of the regulars here are Gundog people, so you'll get loads of support and advice from them. I'm sort of the odd one out, with a pastoral breed, but they're all very nice to me 😊

Welcome @VanGoSunflowers! Glad to hear he's doing so well so far – he is exceptionally cute!

Another birthday boy over here! Photo courtesy of his groomer. Summer had arrived here, as have the wildfires sadly. The warmth has resulted in Rundle blowing his undercoat. My soft furnishings and my clothes may never be the same again.

Aaaah, Happy Birthday to Rundle (our fellow Pastoral breed). He is as handsome as ever @MooseBeTimeForSnow
Yes, it's undercoat shedding time for us too and the stuff is everywhere!

Happy birthday to Rundle!

I just had to share (if that’s ok!) today seems like a new day with my 9 week old boy. He slept so well in his crate last night (I’m still on the floor next to him) that I woke up before he did! He’s picking up basic commands so quickly that I can hardly believe it! Of course I have no base for comparison having never owned a dog before 😂

It’s so heartening to see progress. Reminds me that it will get easier 🥰

It's lovely to see your update, it's all been pretty quiet here lately so it's good to revive the thread a little.

Ah, you're still floor sleeping. I have to admit I slept on the sofa for weeks after we got Brie. She wasn't crated (they're really too big) so we used gates. She could see I was close by from behind the dog gate and we never really had any issues.

Anyway, it's great that your little one is settling easily for you. Yes, Labs seem to be quick learners, I guess that's why they are often recommended as a first dog. Sometimes having nothing to compare with can be a blessing; when you're several dogs down the line you do tend to make too many comparisons and it isn't always fair on the pup...

It does get easier once you find your routine, post-vaccines, when they can be out and about. The thread will help with the initial challenges like teething and lead walking. I won't mention adolescence just yet 😬Landsharks is your friend for any big questions though, she's brilliant.

I’m sorry, you may have already told me but what breed is Brie?

Yes, still floor sleeping 😂 it’s not too uncomfortable to be fair and I plan on slowly moving away from tomorrow eve to see how we get on!
Im so very glad I got a lab in the end. I think I said before that I posted on here several months ago about getting a GSD and several posters (including Landsharks) talked me out of it and although I was a little disheartened at first, I can’t tell you how glad I am that I decided to get my Lab instead!! Definitely more sensible!

So the main thing I worked on yesterday was the command ‘down’ to stop him jumping up. The reason for this was he jumped up at my 7yo DS whilst playing and he can get up to his waist! He was play biting and grazed DS’ thigh - nothing too terrible of course and DS was fine once I explained to him that he is just playing and is too young to know what’s acceptable and what isn’t!

Next command I’m going to try is ‘leave it’ 😂😂

Brie is a Pyrenean Mountain Dog @VanGoSunflowers , so as you can imagine, everything is on a larger scale with her. She's been a fairly easy pup, and I'm pretty laid back about it all by now because I've lived with this breed for so long. We're older though (60 ish), with no young children, so the size is not an issue for us. I can appreciate that with a 7 year old in the house, your pup needs to learn good manners very quickly. Teething will be extra challenging for you - the landshark phase is not fun, and long sleeves will become the norm. We were at this point exactly one year ago!

Shouldn't say this, but Brie is still a swine for jumping up (paws on my shoulders these days😬). We use "off" command or a sharp "no!" for jumping, because if you want to teach down/stay later on, saying down confuses the issue, but that's just my take, others might advise differently. I'm not the training guru here, that would be the lovely brushingboots. My role here is housing the resident guard dog (and talking too much....) Yes, "leave it" is vital, it is now my catchphrase on our walks 🙄very often in relation to rabbit poo 😝

I think you've been wise to heed the advice regarding breed. A GSD would probably be okay (even as a first dog) if your child was a teen, but 7 is young to be around such a powerful, strong-willed breed. You may well become addicted to Labradors anyway, they do seem to generate incredible breed loyalty.

It sounds as if you're really putting a lot of effort in, and it will definitely pay off later. I hope your son is okay after getting a scratch, but I'm sure pup will be his very best pal before too long.

If you're sticking around here, which I hope you will, please share pics, we always love to see progress photos.

Wow, I bet she is a stunner 😍

What sort of age does the teething start? I’m currently trying to be vigilant about not letting him even nibble my hand and when he play bites, I’ve let out a high-pitched ‘ow’ (on purpose) which seems to get him to stop. It’s much easier for me than it is for my 7yo to do that in the moment though!

He’s really good with the ‘off’ command, even after just one day of teaching it. He’s makes me laugh because he does a very deliberate, ostentatious ‘off’ “if I put my paws on the ground in a deliberate fashion, I get treats and praise” 😂😂

’Leave it’ may be a bit more challenging for him though, I got him tugging on his rope this morning and was going to use that but literally the minute my hand goes in my pocket, he knows I am getting a treat and immediately leaves the rope alone before I’ve had chance to say the command!

I posted this pic of him on the other thread which I know you have seen but I will post it again for anyone else who wants to see and will definitely keep posting update pics!

Thanks for being so welcoming 😊

@brushingboots - escalators are very brave, it's not something we've ever done. I'm fairly confident little one would be fine but it would be a straight nope from the older one, she doesn't like stepping on to anything moving. Meant getting on the cable car earlier this week was interesting.

Welcome @VanGoSunflowers , I think I might have posted on one of your earlier threads. Black labs are of course the best dogs (I'm not at all biased 😂) Enjoy puppy hood. I really quite liked the puppy stage with mine, I'd happily go back to it. Black hair is also much less obvious on clothing I find, so it's much easier to pretend there's not hair everywhere, light hair is much more obvious as I'm sure @CoubousAndTourmalet can verify

@MooseBeTimeForSnow Happy Birthday Rundle

I'm glad to say we have finally been signed off by the vets! Pupsy responded to this excellent news by spitting out the biscuit that the vet gave her onto my knee. Nice. But now she can go swimming again, just in time for the nice weather.

That was one of the main reasons I got a black lab 😂
Although I do think he’s very handsome too!

He's a gorgeous pup @VanGoSunflowers , he'll be a handsome adult dog, and a good size judging by his paws now.

Teething, they say 12 - 16 weeks, don't they? But it can vary so much from one pup to another. Brie was quite precocious (largest pup in litter) she seemed to have the landshark, frenzied biting, mad zoomies phase quite early, which I suppose got it over with. The good news is they start to bite less almost as soon as the adult teeth are through, the bad news is that the bitey stage is really horrible. I mean they rip holes in your clothes, they mouth at your hands constantly. We kept Savlon & plasters on the kitchen top for weeks. Some people do recommend "ow" or a yelp when they nip, it depends on the pup, it seemed to get Brie overexcited, so we've learned calm and quiet is the way for us with her. You very much learn from your own pup though. Do trust your instincts. Yes, ask advice but also trust yourself. You know your own pup.

For teething, a cold wet cloth to bite on, a carrot or carrot sticks, apple slices to chew, we did goats milk ice cubes (they freeze softer than water). You'll find what his preferences are.

I think the hard teething stage is probably where your crate will come in - they do get overtired and cranky during teething, much like babies, so enforced naps is important. The sooner they understand "bedtime" or "sleepytime", the better.

You'll be fine, I'm absolutely positive you will. You're putting a lot of thought in and giving him a great start.

Great news @brushingboots I'm sure it'll come as a relief to you as much as to Pupsy. (Going swimming that is, not spat out biscuit slime...)

Indeed @tizwozliz . Anybody want some white fluff? Plenty to go around...

When you're back off hols I'll try to pm you for the Essentials discount code. Brie is on hunger strike 🙄

@VanGoSunflowers I'm glad you got a lab too – I remember your GSD thread. Spaniels are my first love but you can't go wrong with a lovely black lab, as you've already found. They're fabulous.

I agree with @CoubousAndTourmalet about 'down' and 'off'. I use 'off' for 'get off' and in theory 'down' for 'lie down on your tummy'.

I found teaching 'leave it' quite fun. I used to sit on the kitchen floor with a couple of small treats/kibble, one in each hand. I'd let her sniff one so she wanted it and then say 'leave' when she moved her head away. Then she'd get the other one as a reward. Her leave is rock solid even at a distance, ie if I can see her approaching some horse poor or whatever. We just did it little and often.

I trained 'dead' for 'drop' as that's the oft-used gundog word for it, and again just sitting on the kitchen floor for five minutes a day.

We got pupsy when she was nearly 12 weeks so had missed the first couple of hell weeks where you can't go out. But I'd say she was pretty bitey then and continued for a good month or more. I've said this many times here before but I think it was the biting that triggered my puppy blues. She wasn't doing anything wrong but it really got to me and I learned quickly that biting meant that she was tired. You can usually see the change in their eyes when they go from 'normal' puppy biting into psycho mode. That's the moment that they need a nap – ideally they need a nap before that point if you can catch it. I drove myself mad in the evenings when she was very little wondering why my lovely puppy wouldn't sit nicely next to me without chewing my arm. The answer is almost always a nap.

And re other training, you don't have to ever go near a shoot or a game bird to do a bit of gundog training with a lab or spaniel. They love it and it's genuinely never too early to start getting them to pick up socks and paint rollers just for fun.

Thank you for those kind words. Words of encouragement definitely help!

I can cope with the teething stage if it’s me and my stuff and I need to watch/redirect - I am a little worried about him mouthing my son though but then I need to teach my son how to be with the puppy as well as the other way around! He only jumps up and nips when he has the zoomies which isn’t that often (maybe twice a day?) and doesn’t last long! Trying to get him to play tug with me or chase a ball during that time to calm him and expend a little energy seems to work.

Thanks for the tips as well. I will definitely try a carrot for him! And the wet washcloth. I’ve puppy proofed the bathroom and am about to take
him up there while I shower so I may bring a carrot up with me and see how we get on!

Welcome @VanGoSunflowers your pup is lovely! These threads (and the puppy one when that was going) have absolutely saved my sanity over the past 10 months.

I slept downstairs with mine for the first week or so. The best thing I did was buy a cheap WiFi camera from Amazon (about £20 and connects to your phone) which gave me peace of mind at night, as I could hear him when he woke up needing the toilet. It was only a couple of weeks later than he grew enough to stop needing to pee in the night so his sleep improved quite quickly. Hopefully that is the case for you too.

@brushingboots that is great news!! Hopefully no more trips to the vet for the foreseeable.

Also I found that the biting when Vinny was small was an indicator that he needed to sleep. At the start he sometimes was only awake for 30 minutes before needing the sleep for an hour again! Then he would wake up and be lovely until the biting resumed and he needed another nap…

My dd is a bit older as she was 10 when we got Vinny, but making sure she had a ‘safe space’ to retreat to away from the puppy was invaluable. At first it was the corner of the sofa as he was too small to jump up, then it was behind the baby gate at the bottom of the stairs. It’s probably a bit easier for us as she’s at the age where she’s happy to entertain herself a lot of the time, so will be in her bedroom etc if she needed a break from him. I don’t know how people with really tiny children do it!!

Not at all relevant to the thread, but it looks like B-Day is here (Pen just waddled past with my favourite blanket clamped securing between her jaws and has taken it off to ‘her area’ and she has been particularly clingy this morning with her own mum)! Wish her luck!

Hope all your pups stay good and don’t get into too much mischief or require anymore vet trips…