Puppy Survival Thread Autumn 2025 - all welcome!

[VanGoSunflowers]

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

Thanks, @CoubousAndTourmaIet (you've caught me in a post dinner haze...so I may speak nonsense)

@spartanrunnergirl so sorry for the loss of your girl - 13 is a great age for a Goldie, but I know that won't make it any easier ❤

Depending on the line (some are bigger than others - Xanthos line Golden's are particularly large, for example), he could definitely be able to break out of a playpen (or at least shift it significantly) by 9 weeks or so. One my latest litter managed to shit the entire play pen across a dining room, a 8 weeks old apparently. They're smart buggers, and they're tenacious - particularly when it comes to being with their humans (as I'm sure you know!)

Personally, I would forgo all pen/crate ideas and use a house-line. All mine are on house-lines and I send them to new homes with their house-line (unless it's a return buyer). Two reasons; it gets them use to having 'something' on them before first walks etc, but also gives you control to stop them getting into mischief. So unless you really need to be able to shut him away at points that could be a viable option. If you will need to shut him away at points then I agree with C&T that closing off the kitchen may be the best bet.

FWIW, by 8 weeks he should be able to hold his bladder very well so you may well find that if you have him in your bedroom (if that's what you want), he can hold from about 10-5 from night one - if that's what you're worried about!

@Struckbylightning - sounds like Merry is coming on leaps and bounds. You must be so pleased. I do agree that as long as she's coming back that's something, particularly given her breeds desire to run and of course no dog likes to know their leash is going on😁

If it helps...I can confirm pre/mid/post menopause, puppies are evil.

I am so glad it's better though (both the menopause and ownership of Merry). It's so hard when they're young and particularly when they're so damn spirited and stubborn! I love how her ears are getting even bigger 😍

Hi everyone, newbie here. Picked up our new puppy this morning. He’s currently finally sleeping on a sofa.

I think I need some advice please. So I have a crate, I’m feeding him in it but he doesn’t seem keen to go in it yet and I don’t think he’ll be ready to sleep in it tonight. So I think I’m going to sleep on the sofa with him in the living room tonight. Plan for tomorrow is spend more time throwing treats in the crate to see if he likes it more, time with his king in there, etc, it has a crate cover and I’ve ordered a heartbeat stuffed dog toy too.

so I mainly wfh. I have no work at all for two weeks. Then 3rd week in Jan I’ve got to go to work for six hours. I do have a dog walker/puppy sitter who can come round for 30 mins mid way. But even with good puppy proofing do I leave him downstairs roaming about? I don’t want him in the crate in the day for six hours.

So I’m thinking would a puppy pen be a good idea? I’ve seen some which would fit in a gap I’ve got and be 80cm x164cm and 80cm high. He’s a small breed. So thought I could put his crate in there with the door open, but he’d have a bit more space an be safe. His crate is 24”.

I literally only have to go into work 3 days in 2 months so it’s not like he’ll be left often it that doesn’t help on the odd day he will be by himself.

Hi @spartanrunnergirl I didn't crate train, I just had a stair gate to stop my previous puppy going upstairs and put him in the kitchen/diner when we couldn't supervise him. As soon as he was housetrained we let him have the run of the downstairs (he had learnt by then that he wasn't allowed on sofas).

I had a Lab/Retriever cross and they seem to be easygoing. I'm hoping to get a new Lab puppy in mid January so we will be tearing our hair out together.

@NorwichMom I can't give much advice on crates as they didn't work for me/my puppy - I think I just don't like the idea of them so didn't give them a fair try. I know they work really well for some puppies.

I think you will be lucky if you can leave such a young puppy alone for that long in late January, even with someone coming in for half an hour. At that stage I would only be leaving a young puppy for half an hour at a time. Either they aren't in a crate and will be doing damage if roaming about, or they are in a crate and it's a long time to lock them in in when they are awake during the day and may make them afraid to go in the crate again.

Sorry to sound so negative but I have to be honest. I would try to get someone to puppy sit for the whole time you are away if possible. It's situations like this that can make you feel like having a puppy is like being held prisoner by them. But this stage doesn't last forever. By a few months old I was leaving my previous pup for up to 4 hours, but yours will still be so young at that stage.

Thanks twiglets, I’ll have to sweet talk dh to work from home those days!

Hi everyone @VanGoSunflowers @CoubousAndTourmaIet @Idstillratherbepaddleboarding @SpanielsGalore @Struckbylightning @TheHungryHungryLandsharks @Houndymumma @Nella68 @Twiglets1 and anyone else I have forgotten!

Wishing you all a very merry Christmas and a happy new year - and many thanks for all the fab advice I have had on this thread since we brought W home in April. I can’t believe he will be one in February - it’s gone so quickly.

He’s done brilliantly this Christmas - we were at my dad’s today with all the family and he was beautifully behaved and got a lovely walk in the forest. I feel like I must be doing something right.

Have been rubbish at replying but have been reading all the posts ❤️

If he could work from home that would be so much better.

Good to get the puppy used to settling while a carer is working from home anyway, though again your husband may find it hard to concentrate as will need to keep taking the puppy out for wee breaks.

Thanks you @CoubousAndTourmaIet and @TheHungryHungryLandsharksand @Twiglets1

this is very reassuring. I have a kitchen/diner which I can shut off with a stair gate. So I’ll do that. Pup will be 11 weeks old so bladder wise I’m hoping he will be able to hold once he gets into his routine. Having those pre puppy nerves and feeling like I’ve lost my confidence a bit!

in 20 years I’ve only been with out a dog for 6 weeks and I’m so excited to welcome my boy home, who is related to my old 13 yr old Goldie 💗

Aw that sounds lovely @GoodBones85 - happy new year to you too.

I'm glad your puppy has turned into a well behaved almost adult dog - it's like magic when that happens and really, they learn so fast compared to humans.

He can work in the garden office with the puppy and then they’re under close observation and the door to the garden is right there.

other option is a doggy daycare set up in the village. I’ve just emailed them enquiring but just not sure about a small puppy going to such a set up. With possibly lots of other dogs. I don’t want pup getting traumatised.

Amazing that your new boy is related to your old dog.

I'm getting nervous myself now about our new puppy. I'm worried he will be harder to train than the previous one. But they all get there in the end with gentle dog raising so if it takes a bit longer I guess it doesn't really matter.

Thank you for the warm welcome everyone! The puppies food came today. We ordered from Bella and Duke as that is what she eats currently. The breeder said she feeds them twice a day but the book I'm reading says should be 4 times a day. Should I feed her 4 x a day when she is with us?

I fed my previous pup 4 times a day at first … they have little stomachs so little & often with feeding seems right to me. Don’t know what others think.

@sunshineandkindle we fed 4 times a day to start and then 3 times. I’m paranoid about bloat so he’s still fed 3 times a day as I’ve read that smaller meals can reduce the risk.

Thanks @TheHungryHungryLandsharks

Welcome @NorwichMom , I hope things will fall into place with sorting out a routine for your new little one.

@spartanrunnergirl , you've done it before, I'm sure you will be fine but there's always support here if you need it.

Seasons Greetings @GoodBones85 ! It's wonderful to hear that W's first Christmas has gone so well.

@Twiglets1 I'm so pleased for you!!!

I still feed mine 4 times a day as adults @sunshineandkindle @Nella68 @Twiglets1 because giant breeds are all high risk for GDV.

Puppy slept (on a sofa) from 11pm to just after 6am and didn’t make a noise. I slept on the other sofa in the room! He started wriggling around a bit after 6am so I put him straight outside and he had a wee and a poo.

i can’t sleep on the sofa again, had the worst nights sleep ever and my neck is killing me. I’m not sure he would sleep so well without me in the room. Plus if he’s not in a crate I’m worried about him possibly roaming about the room unsupervised.

@NorwichMom as he has proven to be clean overnight why not have him upstairs? If not on the bed then a dog bed by your bed.

In all honesty, I think a lot of people find puppy training/managing a young puppy a lot easier when the dog sleeps in their room - both sleep better, and both are happier. It’s when you start to lose sleep that the general puppy wankyness hits so hard.

@sunshineandkindle whatever works best for you. I feed all my Goldies (I have five right now) three meals a day. Partly due to risk of bloat and partly as it stops them scrounging.

I guess it depends if you are ok with him sleeping upstairs or not?

I’m in the Not camp, so I make my puppies sleep in the kitchen alone. Again this may be breed specific to Labs or maybe we got lucky but the 2 previous puppies we had, they only cried for one or two nights then accepted it. When they cry someone goes down to reassure them by the way & clean any mess. We leave water out and a cuddly toy in their bed & a blanket smelling of mum that breeders provide. And we go downstairs very early in the morning like 5am.

I know it sounds harsh but as I say, our pups have soon got used to it and we don’t want dogs in the bedroom. I don’t know what we’ll do if our next puppy doesn’t settle after 2 nights. Possibly give in & let them sleep upstairs but I’m hoping for 3 times lucky!

The downstairs is now as puppy proofed as I can for now and her little car seat has arrived :)
We are going to have her sleep in our room. Can she sleep in her crate in the first night? If not would she sleep on her dog bed but then I was thinking she could go anywhere and feel less secure. This is like having a new baby!!

We've never had ours in the bedroom either @Twiglets1 , the combination of smallish house, with steep stairs up the middle, and giant dogs, means they don't go upstairs. In any case, the cats sleep on the beds in our house.
We use dog gates downstairs and pups are in the kitchen from the first night. We've reared 6 in this house and not had a whiny one yet beyond the first couple of nights. But with the three solo pups (that is when there was no adult dog already here) I did sofa sleep until I felt they were ready to be left. But I often sofa sleep anyway, because of my medical issues, so that's no hardship to me.

When we brought our oldest lab home we didn't consistently get a full night's sleep for 4 months until she moved into our bedroom! Should have done it sooner.

Wow I would have cracked well before 4 months.

It's tough enough having a new puppy without being sleep deprived too!

Good morning all! Lots to catch up on so sorry if I miss anything out!

@Nella68 see, Pablo is very much like that exuberant Goldie you experienced around other dogs and that’s why I never let him off lead in busy places and always clip him back on if other dogs are around! I couldn’t trust him around loads of strange dogs. I’ve been going out super early and making a point of walking around wide open spaces so I can see who is around. I agree that you shouldn’t worry about the growling, it’s their warning system. Pablo has never growled at another dog, but he has been on the receiving end of many and it’s always when he is being a menace. Unfortunately for me, he just doesn’t seem to take no for an answer 🤦‍♀️

@sunshineandkindle hello and welcome! I basically moved furniture around to cover wires and plug sockets. I only thoroughly puppy proofed one room but Pablo has had access to all of downstairs since I brought him home. I basically watched him like a hawk and wouldn’t let him chew things he wasn’t supposed to. I didn’t remove rugs or cushions but taught him not to chew them instead. I have been very lucky with him in that he hasn’t destroyed anything (he is nearly 9 months old now) save for the odd tea towel or sponge. He’s not interested in the remote control, wires or toilet rolls 😂 he does have quite a collection of different textures of stuff that are his that he is allowed to chew and he tends to go for those over anything else though. I do still have to keep shoes and socks out of his way though!

@Idstillratherbepaddleboarding Rory is so good! I do think it’s the command that he understands. When I throw something for Pablo to fetch, sometimes I make him wait and sometimes I don’t and he does the same thing. It’s the retriever in them I guess! I don’t know much about gun dogs, but a retriever that would go straight out to fetch a kill wouldn’t be very useful in a field of guns being fired?! It’d be mayhem! Pablo is pretty good wit impulse control. He waits before having his food, waits when being let off the lead before running off. It’s just other dogs that he can’t seem to control himself around although we are getting better 🤞

Hello @spartanrunnergirl and welcome! I have a Lab and tried a pen with him when I first got him home but he could have climbed out of it even back then so it was too dangerous. Decided free range was the way to go and just watched him like a hawk (see my earlier post) I don’t know if that made a difference as I was able to teach him what was allowed and what wasn’t very early on. @CoubousAndTourmaIet says, I ran the pen along the edge of the room to block curtains, wires and bookshelves. It’s still there although he has not interest in curtains or wires but I wouldn’t remove it yet just to be on the safe side.