Puppy Survival Thread Autumn 2025 - all welcome!

[VanGoSunflowers]

Hello everyone! Won’t tag you all as you know everyone is welcome 😊

I wouldn't dare repeat some of the things I've said to our kittens over the years. Particularly the first Maine Coon boy. OMG 😨Think of the worst possible puppy, one that is hell bent on destroying every possession you own, and multiply it by 10. That was Chester. It may well be the reason that puppy rearing has never yet reduced me to tears. When you've reared a Maine Coon kitten, any dog is a walk in the park, so to speak. They're demonic. Beautiful adults, but as kittens they're evil little buggers.

@FromBarktoShark86 My 4 year old was a truly horrible puppy. She'd attack me for hours every day. I was covered in cuts and she ripped several items of clothing, including jeans.
Not only did I tell her to fuck off, I also called her a bitch and said I hated her. Those last two were said from on top of the kitchen work top, trying to escape her teeth.
Once the teething was over, she grew into a lovely little dog and never had an adolescent phase.

I told all of mine to fuck off the other day. They've developed a habit of being incapable of going into the garden on their own, which means I have to change shoes, put a coat on and go out with them. It gets a bit tedious by the tenth time of the day. So I might have told them to all fuck off and have a wee without me and shut the door on them. They of course just sat by the back door waiting for me, so I still had to go outside.
Funny how in the summer, they can all go and lie outside without me, but need their paws holding when it's wet and cold. 🙄

Oh really, I did not know that about Maine Coons.

My cousin just got a Maine Coon kitten - sorry to say she only chose that breed on the basis of "cute". Sounds like she is in for a shock (possibly serves her right for getting a breed she hadn't researched).

That is so annoying when they won't go into the garden without us @SpanielsGalore

Doesn't seem such a problem in summer or even in the park when they see something/someone that interests them over the other side.

Little fuckers.

Same here I'm afraid @SpanielsGalore . The girl who lay outside on her own all summer now has to be bribed with bits of cheese to go down the garden for a late night wee. My sheepskin slipper boots aren't really up to walking on wet grass so I'm going through the changing into wellies & coat rigmarole too, otherwise she just stands on the garden bench getting drenched rather than walk on wet grass. I suppose with you it's all multiplied by three so you have my sympathies on that.

They're quite destructive cats @Twiglets1 , very messy eaters and do enormous smelly poos. Very playful and affectionate, but hard work compared to other cats. Oddly, we currently have our eighth Maine Coon alongside our eighth Pyrenean so we're obviously gluttons for punishment.

@CoubousAndTourmaIet That's made me feel better. I thought it was just my lot being awkward. 😂 They do all go out together, so at least that's one good thing.

It took the two of us 10 minutes wandering about the garden in the pouring rain to get her to wee before bed last night, hence we were all drenched and we needed all four of the dog towels to dry her off. So bloody stubborn about rain. We just about had to drag her out for a walk again yesterday; I'm sure people must think we're cruel, pulling a yawning and disinterested dog along the street. I wish that raincoat would hurry up and come 🙄

@SpanielsGalore
And, literally moments later, DP came down to announce that the dog raincoat was posted off this morning, RM tracked 24. So, fingers crossed, we might have it for weekend. I'll post a pic when it comes.

@CoubousAndTourmaIet I always thought training a puppy to wee on command was very controlling. But by god, some nights I wish I had done it. Then I wouldn't be outside in my pjs in the cold and rain for minutes on end, whilst they mooch around and eat bloody sticks!

I nearly said it shouldn't be long now. I hope, when it arrives, it fits and you are pleased with it. And that Brie will wear it.
Be sod's law that it won't rain for weeks now. 😁

Yup. If we get no rain from now until March, you can thank me 😁

I'm bracing myself for her becoming paralysed every time the coat goes on, and DP theorising that it hurts her nipples and/or stops her from doing a poo (both of which he currently says about the harness) 🙄

I did teach her to wee on command as a tiny pup. She still does, but apparently it only works in dry weather...🤔

😂😂😂😂
I wonder if teaching to wee in the rain was on the puppy rearing tick list.

I can almost understand worrying about friction rubbing nipples or armpits, but how on earth does it prevent pooing?

It would have been up there @SpanielsGalore , suitably termed as "go wee-wee" (with optional brolly to hold over tiny Fifi's head) Or, by recent standards, "go potty", which to me has a completely different meaning, but I'm just old and cynical 😩

It's a hound harness so it has a strap around the abdomen and he's utterly convinced that she can't arch her back enough to push out the poo (apologies to anyone who happens to be eating lunch right now). The thing is, she takes ages to poo when she's just wearing a collar and no harness, so he's talking shite basically 😏 But I forgive him, because he's just a man it's rather sweet how much he loves her 💞

@CoubousAndTourmaIet Yes I'd seen her harness, so couldn't work out what the issue was. He'd maybe have a point if it was a foot wide body strap. Can't see a narrow band making a difference. But bless him. At least he cares, I suppose. 🤷‍♀️ 😂

@SpanielsGalore @CoubousAndTourmaIet can also attest to the fact that teaching a command word for weeing doesn’t always make much difference. Some evenings I will stand by the back door, freezing cold and saying ‘wee wees’ over and over while Pablo fucks about in the garden NOT doing wee wees. My neighbours must think I have lost the plot.

@VanGoSunflowers Mine thought they were about to be burgled the other night, when I was out there with a torch. 😂

Yup, it's hit and miss alright with the nighttime wees as they get older @VanGoSunflowers We're in the end house and I do sometimes worry about random passers by on the pavement hearing me saying "wee time" 😳

I didn't teach poo on command, just wee, but when Brie was little, I found that if I stood on the garden path rustling a poo bag, it often had the desired effect. It doesn't work any more though, she just goes when she needs to I suppose.

We're always creeping about with a torch too @SpanielsGalore , think our neighbours are well used to it by now.

edited for typo

Please can I join?! I know it’s winter now but I’m struggling.

10 week old newfie and my god have I got regret. Impossible to house train, screams every time I put her in the crate. Older dog fed up of being ragged around.

Feeling like what have I done right now!

@Bordercollierun Oooo that was me this time last year. I brought my puppy home on 22nd November, the weekend of a blizzard. We spent many an unhappy hour outside shivering. It was so bloody cold, I was tempted to let her pee indoors.
My previous puppy was house trained within two weeks, so I had high expectations. This one was about 4 months old before she was reliable. Just be consistent and take her outside every half hour or so. She'll get there eventually.

My older dog used to escape upstairs away from the annoying puppy. It took her about three weeks to want to play with her. Does your older dog have a place to go to escape? Even being in different rooms separated by a stair gate would give him a bit of respite.

Can't really advise with the crate. Other than don't leave her screaming in it. Do you feed her in it, so she begins to associate it wih good things happening? Mine was only crated overnight and the crate was alongside my bed, so I could comfort her if she whined.

And that feeling of "What have I done?" is perfectly normal. Most people feel it at some point. Usually when they're being bitten by needle sharp teeth.

Good luck. It does get better.

Ah thank you @SpanielsGalore

My older dog is a dream. He was toilet trained in days too.

This one’s not getting it, I’m taking her out constantly (have a 30min timer on my phone!) but the second my back is turned she will wee and poo multiple times. Nighttime is the worst as she’s always tired and lies down on the grass, I can’t make her go as she lies down and I carry her back in.

My older dog is being good about it but I’m having to redirect her constantly or she’s hanging off his neck 🙁

I hoped the crate would help us all get a rest but the barking and howling won’t stop. I’ve been feeding her and giving her treats in there but she’s so distressed. I know you’re not meant to leave her in there (I would like her in even when I’m just in the shower or something so she can’t harass other dog) but if I leave the door open she comes out and wees allover the place. Not sure what is best to do in the situation?

@Bordercollierun Can you take her outside on a lead and walk her round to prevent her lying down?
It's very frustrating, I know. I'd take mine outside for a wee before I sat down to eat and she'd invariably wee on the carpet before I had finished eating.

She used to get locked in the bathroom with me when I bathed. I'd take her bed and some toys in and she'd usually go to sleep after a little potter about.

My other dog was 3 years old at the time. Unfortunately she never told puppy off, so puppy didn't learn any manners. After three weeks, she realised the annoying creature was here to stay and they've been friends ever since.

I wonder if a playpen type thing would work better than a crate. Mind you. She's a newfie. She might soon be able to knock one of those over. Mine was a 2.5kg working cocker.

@CoubousAndTourmaIet has a giant breed. She might have more suitable ideas for your size dog. Her puppies free roamed from the off.
(Sorry C&T - feel rude calling you 'she' and 'her', but couldn't think how else to phrase it.)

@Bordercollierun hi, you sound run ragged. Are you by yourself or do you have any family to help out?

Things that worked for me:

• having a pen outside covered with a gazebo. That made such a difference in early spring weather. It meant pup was contained and he got used to going in one area of the garden
• I’ve just looked back at my diary (I made a note of everything in the first couple of months e.g. how often I took him out, accidents, naps etc). I was taking pup out every 15-20 mins in the first couple of weeks. If he didn’t go I would carry him and not put him down at all, and then 10-15 mins later I would take him out again. I remember it being exhausting, I tried not to take my eyes off him and if he started sniffing he’d be scooped up and taken outside. I did get annoyed with my husband as he wasn’t so vigilant and pup would wee inside on his watch. I stopped recording everything when pup was 4 months as he hadn’t had any inside accidents for a while and I felt I could trust him to hold on.
• I don’t have another dog but pup used to ‘attack’ my children. I had a room divider and we would escape to the other side when necessary.
• I have never shut him in his crate in the daytime but in the early days he was contained behind the barrier. I spent a lot of time flitting in and out so he got used to me leaving the room for a short while (I made sure he had been for a wee)

The first few weeks seemed to last an age, but it really wasn’t that long. I didn’t enjoy the new puppy stage and I could see why people surrender their dogs.

Hi @Bordercollierun

As @SpanielsGalore says, I'm one of the giant breed people here.
I'm sorry you're struggling with your pup.

What @SpanielsGalore and @Nella68 say here is helpful. I will just add that in my experience, having had 4 of each sex, girls take a bit longer to toilet train with wees than boys do, so don't panic about it just yet. Your girl is still very young. My current female was about 14 or 15 weeks before she was completely reliable with wees.

As far as taking her out to toilet, you need to try to avoid being tempted to bring her back in before she's done anything. If she's lying down, try to get her attention on you with a tug toy or some treats; the more she wanders about, the more likely that she will wee.

I got a female puppy when my male dog was approaching 5 years old. I used dog gates, so initially they could be in separate rooms when needed. They did integrate very quickly, but we were able to give him regular breaks from puppy duty. It might be worth you trying gates, or, as Nella suggests, a room divider.

The one thing I can't advise on is her screaming, barking, howling. I haven't had that with any of mine. It sounds as if being in the crate is making her panic, but I don't have the experience to advise on that.
I'm going to tag @abracadabra1980 and I hope she'll forgive me for doing so, but I know she has a Newf and is also experienced with dog training, so she might have some words of wisdom as to what the specific needs of Newfie pups are.

@FromBarktoShark86 goodness I had to recheck your username as I thought I was reading one of my old posts. We also lost our old collie earlier in the year after 14 years. I feel I will always look back on this year as The Summer of Hell! The relentlessness of it all, the shark attacks, including those times when she seemed to get the devil in her eyes and launch herself at my face! It’s been awful. But she’s almost 7 months old now and so much better. The biting petered out once her big teeth were through, though she still mouths my son occasionally, but he riles her up, so it’s his own fault. He is mostly out at work though, or in his room, so as a pp said, he’s more of a novelty.

This thread was a bit of a life-saver for me; it was so reassuring that it was normal puppy behaviour, and I wasn’t failing, or had been saddled with a satanic dog!

Clearly we have all told our dogs to fuck off on occasion. When I say it, it has zero effect. When my DH says it, she actually does fuck off and amuses herself or goes to sleep. So annoying!