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 😂)

@cazinge Hello and welcome. Your dog looks very cute. 💖
I think most vets advise waiting a week after the second vaccination. In the mean time, I'd take him out for carry walks to socialise him. I made a sort of sling out of a scarf to carry my cocker pup, but you can buy proper ones.

Sorry @cazinge I missed the pic of your lovely pup as my signal was bad! What’s he called (if you’re comfortable sharing)?

We had a lovely trip to the beach this evening. Rory has found his confidence in the water and his retrieving instincts have finally kicked in 😂. I’m so dreading it being dark at 4pm 😭 and the cold, rain and mud 😭😭.

I am also in awe of anyone training a non-food motivated dog. I just can’t imagine!
Actually I have a question on that… in all the training videos they are shovelling treats at the puppies, I have read that you should take those calories into account with regards their food. . I do try to measure out the daily allowance of food and then take the training treats from that, but that usually means that there isn’t enough food for the last dinner. Are we all calorie counting our pups?? Anyway, on today’s walk I took a chopped up sausage and it worked a treat (so to speak).

Also, I have been meaning to thank whoever it was down-thread who recommended cow/rabbit/pigs ears to chew on in the evenings. They have saved all our sanity as it really gives her something to chew on other than chewing on me! It also seems to help her unwind, so it’s amazing.

Thanks. @SpanielsGalore we did take him on a carry round the pet shop today, so he had cuddles with the staff and I took him with me to register him at the vets too. Then he stayed in his crate in the car with the boot open and my partner sat beside him while I nipped to Lidl for bread and my hairdressers came to see him so we've started some socialisation (thankfully he was in foster so v friendly).

His name is Bert. @Idstillratherbepaddleboarding the rescue named him and DS didnt want to change it.

He is v cute but I feel a bit guilty for loving him, like I'm cheating on my old girl 😭It's only 2 months since she died so probably too soon, but the house was just so empty without a dog and I couldn't face the thought of housetraining in the winter 🤣

Aww that’s very cute @cazinge. I’m in the exact same position as you so I totally get the guilt and the empty home 💔.

@Struckbylightning there’s definitely no calorie counting going on in this house 😂 Rory is an absolute food monster!

@cazinge That's a wise decision. I brought my puppy home late November, when we were in the middle of snow storms. There were many times when we were both shivering outside that I was tempted to let her wee on the carpet instead.

@Struckbylightning I have never used their food allowance for training. For me, a treat is a treat and should be of higher value.

I tend to wait a week after second vaccination to take mine out - but I have lots of adult dogs, so the puppy gets their socialisation that way and I do lots of socialisation in a sling etc.

Oh gosh! 3.65kg is tiny. My latest Goldie pup was over 8kg at 8 weeks 😀You're making me feel like I breed giants!

And the feeling guilty is completely normal. It's so hard to lose them and so hard to open your heart to another. It does get better though, promise!

@LandSharksAnonymous I suspect he will pile on weight now with all the treats the kids are giving him 🤣

I did an online adult weight predictor which suggested 15-17kg when fully grown but I think its an overestimate as our old girl was 16kg ish and she was a Jack Russel X Collie and the size of a small Collie. I cant imagine Bert being that big. He's like a cat at the moment, some of the pigeons in the garden are bigger than him!

Time for a quick survey.
Who lets their puppy stray more than a metre away from them on a walk?

@cazingeit could have written your last paragraph! Our perfect old girl died in May. At first I wanted to wait longer before getting a pup, but the house was so damn empty! The pup has been very hard work, and I admit I cried in the garden the other night during the latest bout of zoomies and I just wanted my old dog and my old life back!

However Merry has been so much better the last few days and things are feeling easier.

@SpanielsGalore I let Merry off the leash for the first time today and she had a mad gallop through the fields, it was lovely. She was definitely more than a meter away, but constantly checked in with me and ran back every time I recalled her. The pocket sausages probably helped 😂

@SpanielsGalore I do but if he strays more than about 20m his (virtual) bungee cord pings him back to me 😂. His recall is currently good though, we’ll see when he gets to teenager stage!

@Idstillratherbepaddleboarding If he's anything like mine, he'll come when he feels like it. 😂

Someone on another thread has just advised a dog should only be allowed one metre per year of age away from you. Was wondering if it was just me who thought it's the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard.

That makes no sense whatsoever. It's like the 5 minute exercise rule. It totally depends on the dog. In any case, how do you enforce it? Are you supposed to give the dog a tape measure or what? Who thinks up this stupid stuff?

That is batshit 😂 Imagine trying to keep Vinny within a 1 metre radius of me at all times!

@YorkshireFelix That's exactly the word I wanted to use in reply. 😂 And it's forever. So 2 metres at 2 years old. 3 metres at 3. I have leads longer than that!
I know K isn't the best example since she disappeared last night, but she'd be an absolute nightmare in the home if she never got to run on walks.

@CoubousAndTourmaIet At least the 5 minute rule was made up to protect the dog's welfare. This is just training. And actually, none of mine would be going on walks anyway, as that's not allowed until they walk to heel.

@Struckbylightning aww bless you. I feel exactly the same (although only on Day 4 so no tears yet!). We went out this evening for a couple of hours and he was fine, but coming home I was dreading it. I had the "we need to get back to the dog" feeling but I wanted to be coming home to my old girl not a crazy puppy 😭

OMG that’s ridiculous! Plus I have no sense of space anyway (so the 20m I said before is a wild estimate!) so I’d have no idea how far away he’d be meant to be 🙈.

@cazinge it does get easier, you’ll get used to him and start looking forward to getting home to him. Plus it’s a million times better than getting to the front door and knowing there’s no one there to greet you 😭.

@SpanielsGalore Pablo definitely wanders more than a meter away from me 😂
He’s the same as Rory @Idstillratherbepaddleboarding in that he has a little zone in his head of how far away from me he will go but I too am shit at estimating distances. It’s definitely a lot more than a meter away?
Was there a comment about them not being allowed on walks until they walk to heel as well??

@CoubousAndTourmaIet We’ve switched over to Lamb and the poos and wind are much improved. Thank you!

Also, three nights of him sleeping in bed with me and I am kicking myself for not doing it sooner 😂

Ah, that's brilliant on both counts @VanGoSunflowers ❤

You'll know for next time though. 😁

I see you found the post. 😂 None of my dogs would ever have left the house if I had waited for them to walk to heel first. They're only on lead for two minutes at most, so it's not something I have put a lot of effort into. P is 4 and she now walks nicely on a loose lead, but slightly in front of me rather than to heel.
We've had a lovely walk today. Met an old friend, so had a slow two hour walk with rest stops. K was an absolute star. She came instantly every time I recalled her. And when we had a rest, she came over and sat with us. But she was probably 50 metres or more away from me at times.

I went a-wandering. Excellent posts over there from you two @SpanielsGalore @VanGoSunflowers 😁
Very entertaining reading 😂

Some days I feel I would love to give someone a big old Anatolian Shepherd Dog to use their training expertise on 😏

To be fair, Rory (aka Perfect Peter) does walk to heal and it’s a nightmare 😂😂 we’re constantly watching where we’re walking so we don’t trip over him or stand on him 🙈. I mean it’s better than having our arms pulled off but still, it’s not all it’s cracked up to be!

😂😂 This is why I like them on a loose lead just ahead of me. I'd be constantly tredding on their paws if they were to heel. And then blaming them for getting under my feet. 🙈