Summer 25 pups

[Lavenderdog]

Any other new puppy owners around this summer? Have been looking back at some of the old puppy support threads and can see how helpful it was for those posters to share their experiences.

9 week old mini schnauzer here - so toilet training and avoiding those needle sharp teeth are the current main activities here!

(And being tolerant of her determination to rid my garden of lavender plants. Hence my user name 😂)

@VanGoSunflowerswe are going out twice a day for 15-20 minutes. I thought there was some rule about 5 mins per month of their age, to protect the joints. Or is that advice out of date now? It does seem a bit crazy because she leaps about the house and garden. We think she is part goat. And part mole considering the state of the garden and the way she wriggles under beds and sofas. she would definitely escape a pen. I haven’t dared let her off lead yet, but I did get a long line and tried it out this evening; you are correct, she didn’t go far from me.

I’ll keep thinking about how we could puppy proof, but there aren’t many options in this house.

I have tried the flitting thing, but the second I move, she leaps up. I agree with you about it being worse when she’s tired, so I try to make sure she isn’t disturbed when snoozing, but she even leaps up and follow me when I think she’s fast asleep. So I have spent most of the summer sitting reading quietly while the dog sleeps. Which was great for a while but I’m mighty bored of it now!!

My work starts up again 2nd September. At a pinch I could take her with me, but I shudder to think of the mayhem it might cause. I run English conversation classes for refugees; adding a puppy into the mix could be…interesting 😂

@Struckbylightning I thought the same as you with regards to the 5 minute rule. It also didn’t make sense to me that it was universal advice for all breeds. Another one of the (many) questions I asked about on here and it does seem like outdated advice. I think it’s meant to stop people taking their 12 week old puppy on a ten mile hike the minute they’re allowed on the ground! You’ll be able to tell when she’s had enough, just build it up gradually, maybe? And see if it makes a difference to the shark attacks - it definitely did for Pablo! The lead-walking part of our walk is usually max 10 minutes each way but I always let him off lead wherever we go and he’s never gone out of my sight yet. I think it’s been useful to begin working on recall as well because you’re rewarding natural behaviour- I.e. them choosing to come to you. I’m sure it’ll all go out of the window when he’s a teenager!

Pablo still follows me from room to room, even if I think he is fast asleep! I have spent a lot of time on my sofa with him snoozing not wanting to go to the toilet in case I wake him up 😂 it reminds me of when DS was a baby and would only nap when he was lying on me! If you leave the room at all and she’s on her own, even for a few seconds, how does she react? Does she whine straight away or do you get a few seconds? Minutes?

I personally do think it’ll be very helpful for you if you can create an area to contain her in - helps to stop the biting, gets her used to being without you gradually and can save your sanity some days. I will go out on a limb and say that the baby gate I bought was the single best investment I made 😂

2nd September isn’t far away (sorry, just call me captain obvious!) and if I was you, I wouldn’t jump to leaving her for hours without building up to it gradually or without creating a safe space for her to be in - there’s a chance she could become destructive or worse, hurt herself.

Others may say that’s not their experience though - this is only my opinion and I could be totally wrong.

Rory had such a fun time on his first camping trip 🥰. He danced, ate a ridiculous amount of food, played with some big boy Labradors, got lots of attention and an offer to move to Holland 😂. Don’t think we’ll hear much from him today!

Been following and your advice is all good @VanGoSunflowers

As you know, I could not manage without my dog gates.
Re puppy proofing, I don't know if this is helpful at all to anyone like @Struckbylightning , but we use a tall metal puppy playpen as a room divider. Brie sleeps in the kitchen at night, but also has access to our rear extension that is basically a dining area one end with French door onto the patio and the other end has a small sofa. We have a 1m tall playpen fencing off that one third of the room with the sofa, where it opens onto the living room. The panelling is held secure by folding two panels back along the walls behind a cupboard. It has actually proved to be an excellent solution for us. She has had free access to the two rooms from 8 weeks old and has never made any attempt to jump over the barrier. It's meant that she has had loads of space, with one carpeted area and one cool tiled floor so she can please herself where she sleeps. We've had absolutely no chewing of stuff, aside from her nibbling the the edges of a rubber backed kitchen mat when she was little.

As regards leaving a pup, I'm like @Bupster and still haven't felt my puppy is ready to be left alone for any length of time.

@Idstillratherbepaddleboarding ahh sounds like he had a lovely time! Was he knackered all day? 😂

@CoubousAndTourmaIet thank you, as you know I’m wary about giving advice sometimes because I’m such a novice 😂 sounds like you’ve done something similar to me with ‘wedging’ the pen behind furniture! It works really well 😊

We’ve just come back from a short walk around the fields and my baby Pablo did me proud today! I can’t believe the progress in him at the mo! The fields were so busy with other dogs but he didn’t fail to recall once and I even forgot to bring treats!
Yes, I know this won’t last, yes I know some of the biggest challenges are probably ahead of us but I’m so proud of him. He’s such a very good boy ❤️

Oh, one thing I was going to ask about. Secondary fear periods?! From what I have read he is too young but he’s started barking at noises outside. Not every noise, and I wouldn’t say excessively but he will wake up and go running outside to bark at whatever he has heard. Does he know he’s not supposed to be a guard dog? 😂

Also, before we left the hut yesterday, a dog walked past our fenced in area and not only did he bark but his hackles were actually up?! Is this something I need to address and if so, how?

That doesn't sound like secondary fear @VanGoSunflowers . That's more asserting himself/ being territorial, which is pretty normal for a pup on the cusp of adolescence. Secondary fear is more being startled by things or noises. For example Brie became spooked by tractors, rattly trailers etc.

Sorry @VanGoSunflowers I clicked too soon because my girl rather dramatically rolled off the sofa 😱Thankfully she appears to be fine.

Anyway, secondary fear is what it sounds, fear, anxiety, timidity and with Brie it kicked in at around 7 or 8 months. Pablo at the moment sounds fairly confident but things can change. With Brie it was triggered by a noisy motorbike when we were walking along the verge beside a narrow road and she has never quite got over it although we are working on it. She is kind of wimpy somewhat like her owner. Needless to say, I'm still jealous of all those with barky boys. It sometimes seems like everybody has a guard dog aside from me with my defective guarding breed that never barks...🤔

Anyway, Pablo's recall amongst distractions is pretty amazing though it does sound as if you owe him some treats...😉Despite your reservations about the breeder, you seem to have a good steady pup.

@CoubousAndTourmaIet ah I see, that makes a lot of sense. Thank you! Good to know it’s normal. It did take me by surprise I must admit! Although I do think if he’d actually met the dog he would have wanted to play with him 😂

Glad she is ok after her dramatic roll bless her! And you certainly don’t come across as wimpy to
me - my fellow rebel girl 😉
So if/when that fear period kicks in with Pablo, how do you think it’s best to handle it? Just be patient or try and avoid triggers? Or will that prolong it? There’s so much to learn!

He definitely deserves a treat and will be getting a big stinky one out of his chomp and chew box 😂
I think he has been a star so far, I think the recall worked today as we got close enough so he could see them, he even looked at me for instruction after taking several paces towards them (which is when I recalled and walked in the opposite direction) so he definitely noticed them, but they were just a tad too far away for him to bolt to them. I think if I can catch him before it’s too exciting, he will listen luckily! Totally different story if they were much closer though 😂

I wouldn't worry too much about secondary fear unless it happens @VanGoSunflowers . Hopefully it won't but if it does you'll find ways to deal with it.

For me it's new. My others never went through it to this extent but Brie is unusually sensitive.
The trainer told us to distract with treats and try to get the dog to focus on you rather than on the scary thing, whether that be a barking dog, a big truck, a noisy motorbike etc. But of course my weirdo largely ignores treats 🙄so it's a bit harder. I've taught myself to think ahead when I see or hear a noisy thing, in case she reacts. I'll also give her a running commentary, which the trainers think is bloody daft. She still spooks at things now and then, but we're dealing with it.

You're doing amazingly well if Pablo will focus enough to listen to you with other dogs in the vicinity! I suppose only time will tell whether that will change when he hits full adolescence. Some of them become a lot more independent at that age and develop selective deafness, but there's really no way to know at this point. So I'd say just carry on working the way you are doing.

Brie went the opposite way; she was very independent minded as a pup but has slowly become more clingy, more cuddly. She's an enigma. I thought I had it sussed after so many dogs, but no. This one has been a challenge. They're all so different.

@VanGoSunflowers no haha! He came litter picking with me this morning, he was such a good boy as there were big vehicles moving about tidying up and he recalled and sat whenever I asked him then he came home and has been doing his usual nap, potter routine. It’s nice that I was able to have the confidence to let him off and know he’d stay close, although I kept my wits about me and recalled him long before any vehicles got close.

He’s currently destroying a toilet roll tube. Probably all the food he’s hoovered up off the ground has kept him going 🙈.

Sounds like Pablo has been a best good boy. It doesn’t sound like secondary fear to me either, it sounds like he’s trying to be a Big Dog 🥰.

Oh also what age did your pups start to lose their baby teeth? I seem to remember Billy was about 16 weeks. Rory’s look ridiculously small in his mouth now 😂.

@Idstillratherbepaddleboarding Same regarding baby teeth, around 4.5 months with Brie and our previous pups. I know what you mean, big dog tiny teeth does look weird. This is she at 15 weeks, showing those tiny needles in her already massive jaws.

Thanks @CoubousAndTourmaIet it’s amazing how they’ve all got their own little individual personalities isn’t it.

@Idstillratherbepaddleboarding ah what a good boy you have! And yes, I like to think Pablo was all “look at me mummy, I’m being a big boy and defending my property” 😂

He started to lose his teeth about two weeks ago but hasn’t lost that many so far that I can tell.

So Pablo was very pleased with himself last night and this morning because he slept in bed with me 😂 he did wake me up at one point barking at the door (I think he could hear DS going to the bathroom) but looks like that’s where he is sleeping from now on!

Pic of the little gent:

@Idstillratherbepaddleboarding I got very distracted yesterday and did not reply to you (too many tags).

I love that he didn't even try to put Rory in his bed! That's the mark of a kid (even though from what you've said he's older!) who loves the dog.

I remember when we lost my first dog (as an adult). DD1 was only three at the time and trying to explain to her why her best friend wasn't come back was awful. I've found it gets harder the older they get as well because they get so used to having their best friend in their life that even though they understand, they also don't. And they worry far more about building that bond with any new dog. Whereas adults tend to be a bit more practical(?) because we know they're all different.

@cazinge welcome! He's such a handsome chap and so small!

@VanGoSunflowers I wouldn't worry to much. If you were in a new place he was likely a bit discombobulated. Mine do it whenever we go on holiday to Norfolk even though we go to the same group of cottages. Sigh. Dogs eh? He's getting so big!

On the subject of teeth, I still have Twatdog's teeth in a mug on my desk (don't ask). He's 3 in November and the teeth have lived on my desk the entire time. I almost swallowed them once when I picked up the mug and tried to take a drink thinking it was my coffee cup 😁

@CoubousAndTourmaIet @VanGoSunflowers they’re both so cute!

@LandSharksAnonymous yes, he’s coming round to loving him really! It’s been difficult as DS won’t really talk about it. He finds it hard to talk about Billy at all, even nice memories so it’s hard to know how he really feels.

Bill has gone through several fear periods in adolescence - I've searched for research on them but there's almost nothing. I think they're related to hormone surges and drops, so it might be different for boys and girls.

I also talk to him, trying to use consistent language - e.g. 'noisy motorbike' (for any engine), 'we don't mind', 'nothing to worry about'. When he spooks at something like a bin, I let him decide whether to run past or approach. Usually he barks at it till honour is satisfied, then has a sniff, then pees on it. He does the same when he spooks at my kitchen clock, thankfully without the pee (I take it down so he can have a good bark and sniff).

The trouble is, you can't predict what they're going to get spooked by - Bill is currently fine with bins and clocks, and people pushing bicycles, but still does not like hats. Yesterday he decided to roar at a lady in a motorised wheelchair so he got hauled out of the area sharpish, as that was not an appropriate moment to let him bark, sniff and pee...

For Bill it can also be accompanied by heightened reactivity to entire males, which is why I'm certain there's a hormonal element, compounded by his working breeding which means he gets more highly aroused more quickly anyway. This latest period has been nearly a month - mostly it's a bit shorter than that. I sincerely hope this one is now over 🙄

Apologies if I have missed anything.
@VanGoSunflowers My rescue sprocker was worred by lots of things when I first got him. A combination of age (7 months) and being moved around several homes, I think. I did lots of counter conditioning and desensitisation with him.
There's loads of information about it on the Internet. Basically, they see the scary thing. You give a treat. Repeat. Eventually they see the scary thing and instead of reacting, they look at you for a treat. So scary thing becomes 'yay treat' thing.
My sprocker came running up to me once, all expectantly. I said, "What?" and he turned and looked at a tyre rope swing and then back at me for a treat. That's when you know it works. 😂

@Bupster
I'm always so reassured by your posts.
I do that whole "noisy motorbike" thing as well as "here's the bus", "tractor coming" and "it's just a bin" etc etc. Constant chatter for which I was ridiculed by the first trainer.

I don't know if there's a hormonal element with Brie. I didn't think so, but the second trainer has put fear into me by saying it will all get worse after her second season. It's perplexing, because with my previous dogs I didn't question anything the way I'm doing now. We just got on with it and somehow survived adolescence, but with Brie I overthink it all.

@CoubousAndTourmaIet I know Brie isn't food motivated, so this is of no use to you. Sorry. But I just wanted to explain for anyone else.

As far as I understand it, talking to the dog offers reassurance in the moment, but they will still be scared next time.
Giving a treat changes their emotional response to the scary thing, so they won't be scared in the future.
Obviously this takes time and it isn't a case of one treat cures all. I spent months doing it on every walk.

PS - Have all of your trainers been arseholes? I prattle away to my dogs all day long. It's often the only conversation I have all day. 😂 And I don't know how you can predict a dog's temperament change after a season. P was grumpy and snapped at K twice during her season, but she's back to being as soft as anything now. It might sound mean, but I think it did K a bit of good. She's not quite so much of a bully now. 🙈

I totally understand the treat thing is to re-programme their fear response @SpanielsGalore . It makes perfect sense. She will take treats at home but not when out, in the same way that she will bark at home but not when she's out. In the world, she is a very different dog than she is at home, but neither of the trainers seem to have understood that. I honestly don't know - maybe it's me that's the arsehole...? But I've talked to all of the dogs the same way. I'm just greatly relieved to know that others do it too.

@CoubousAndTourmaIet Well if you're an arsehole, then I am too. I am pleased to be in such good company. 🥰

It must be really difficult to train a dog that isn't food motivated. I am in awe of those of you who can do it.
All of my spaniels are/were food motivated. It's only failed me twice with two dogs that were so stressed at the vets they refused food. Then all you can do is cuddle them and speak reassuringly to them. Be a cold hearted cowbag that stands in silence incase someone thinks they are silly.

Interactive play and a lot of affection is her biggest motivation at home. but obviously that's not much help on a pavement walk. I'm giving up on the trainers though @SpanielsGalore . She is lacking confidence, but the giants take a long time to mature, and I think she'll come right. But no, I won't stop talking to her, no matter what anyone thinks.

Thanks for the welcome @LandSharksAnonymous . He is tiny at 3.65kg although he was only 1.8kg when he was found (his brother was even smaller) 😥

I swear tiny teeth are even sharper though 😂. TBH, we're 48 hours in and that is the worst bit the biting and not being able to take him out yet, his 2nd jabs are on 5th - can he go out straight after that? Sorry, as I said I know nothing about puppies!