Puppy Survival Thread Autumn 2025 - all welcome!

[VanGoSunflowers]

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

@sunshineandkindle definitely ditch the pads and as Twiglets1 says, go back to basics. We didn’t use puppy pads as I had read that it can complicate toilet training i.e. they need to learn that outside is the place to toilet and if pads are used, then other soft surfaces like carpets can be seen as a suitable place to wee or poo.
We put a pen in the garden covered by a gazebo which made such a difference with toilet training.
It was exhausting over the first few weeks, we were constantly on puppy watch, whisking him out at least every half hour and after every nap, feed etc. It has paid off as he hasn’t had an accident inside since he was about 4 months old.

Also agree with ditching the puppy pads. I bought loads but an experienced dog owner friend said it just teaches them go inside. So we went outside every half hour, then every hour and so on and built up from there. Praise and treat every time he went successfully outside. Good luck!!

Can I ask about daily activity levels please?

I know it will depend on the breed/individual dog to some extent but any advice welcome.

W is coming up for a year and so far I’ve been cautious to ensure he is not over exercised while he is still growing/developing. Usual routine in the week is 2 x 45 min walks a day, these are a mixture of on lead pavement walks (if we are walking DS to/from school), rural walks on the long line in the fields near my house (until he can be trusted more) and off lead walks which include running round the field in more secure/safe locations. Weekends we are out and about with him more.

We also do daily training/games at home and he has various puzzle toys for mental stimulation - plus he has access to the garden.

My instinct is telling me he needs a bit more? Any thoughts??

@GoodBones85 I have cocker spaniels. Up untiI they were a year old, I followed the five minutes of walking + five minutes of sniffing x months of age guidelines. So by 6 months, they could do an hour of off lead exercise in the woods, twice a day. On lead pavement walks would have been shorter, as it's more walking and less sniffing.
After they turned one, I did as much or as little as we liked/could fit in.

That sounds about right to me though appreciate every dog is different. We used to take our last puppy to cafes and pubs with us as well as 2 walks a day, which is also mental stimulation for them being in new places. That is easier in summer than winter though so will find it harder this time round when it’s too cold for pub gardens!

Can I ask why you think he needs more? Does he seem bored or destructive in anyway or is he all good? I do about the same amount as you with Pablo - he is 9 months old (working line Lab) and I think it’s about right as he’s pretty chilled in the house (until we have visitors 😂)

Thanks all for your replies. Seems we are about right.

@VanGoSunflowers he’s all good at home, very contented. He’s thankfully never been destructive to anything. He’s a food opportunist 😂 but not destructive. He is also very excited by a visitor too 😂

It’s a couple of things. He’s become quite reactive to things like the post man, people walking past the front door or just general noises about the house. His humping of his sex cushion has gone off the chart. And on walks now he seems to want to be out longer than he did before.

Maybe it’s hormones as he approaches a year old but I was just questioning if he’s getting enough exercise? 🤷‍♀️

@GoodBones85 Pablo barks at people passing the house too. I’ve not noticed an increase in humping as yet but that may come. You could always increase it a bit to see if it makes a difference?

@GoodBones85 is it an alert bark or one where he goes a bit frantic? M will do a couple of woofs when the door bell goes or he hears a strange noise outside, but it doesn’t continue (apart from when he e
hears or sees cats in the garden). If there’s strange noises I will give treats to try and counter condition it, and this does work for noises from workmen etc.

As far as humping M was terrible from about 9 months, but he hasn’t humped in ages. I think his hormones have settled down. It was worse when he was overstimulated.

Walk wise, he has a walk of about an hour in the morning and then will sleep for the rest of the day. I’ll take him out later if he wants to go but usually he looks at me as if I am mad. He’s not destructive so I think he is just quite a low energy dog (for a poodle mix!).

@GoodBones85 the humping and barking often happens around this age because the dog has too much excess energy and their hormones are a mess and they act out in other ways. The sex-toy/cushion approach is a good one because the worst thing they'll do is just create a mess and it stops them getting into other mischief😀

That being said, I give my retrievers about 60 minutes twice a day minimum once they're about a 8-9 months old. But I am very much alone in that, I think.

My youngest is getting about the same amount of exercise as your boy and she's only six months. Her mother/grandmother/great-grandmother etc (and her pointless brother) all had the same and have been fine joint wise. Exercise is more common sense than anything else, I think. Obviously you need to build it up - so don't randomly start doing 90 minute walks twice a day out of nowhere, but I don't see the harm in upping it. Instincts are usually there for a reason when it comes to dogs! 😊

(And if you want to show us a latest photo of W I certainly wouldn't mind)!

@Nella68 its definitely more an alert bark than a frantic bark. I always reassure him with “it’s ok” and sometimes that works to stop him but other times he continues for quite a while. Not frantic - but persistent 😂

We have the same with cats - W goes CRAZY if he sees a cat. 🤦‍♀️

@TheHungryHungryLandsharks it’s reassuring to hear that this may all
just be normal behaviour
for his age, thanks for your wisdom as always. I think I will try upping the duration of walks slightly and see what happens. I agree about instincts though.

I’ll try and get a half decent picture tomorrow and share…..

Please may I have a rant and you can tell me if I am being unreasonable? 🙂

One of the owners of Pablo’s sibling text on the breeder’s group chat to say they were having issues with their dog pulling on the lead, especially towards other dogs and people. Now as many of you know, I had the exact same issue with Pablo a few months ago so thought I would tell her what I did to see if it would help. Basic ‘training’ and rewarding for walking well etc plus I just bought a new harness for him and have attached a double ended lead to both the front and back of the harness.

The breeder replied and said to the other lady (and also in response to my advice) to say

“You should not need any sort of gizmo or tricks to make a dog walk on a lead. Please get help and teach your pups rather than bribe. It will be so much better in the long term”

Am I being daft, does ‘bribing’ mean ‘reward based training”?? I’m tempted to go back and ask her how she teaches her dogs to walk to heel then!

@VanGoSunflowers The breeder sounds like a bit of a tosser...(sorry!) 😂

It sounds to me like she thinks 'bribing' is reward based training...but the only alternative is to be forceful and use aversive methods. No dog ever did anything without either a reward or being abused.

I'm never going to understand people who would rather their dog was scared of them than loved them.

@GoodBones85 have you upped the exercise? How did it go?

@VanGoSunflowers We all know your breeder has form for giving shit advice. I would be tempted to politely ask her what method she would recommend, as she hasn't actually said anything constructive. Just had a snide dig.

Sometimes a piece of food can be a bribe or a lure - eg. when P was frightened of the car, I'd put a treat on the seat to bribe encourage her to jump in.
Other times it's a reward - jump in the car and then be rewarded with food.

Same with loose lead walking. Hold a treat constantly at their nose to bribe to stay close. Or reward with a treat when they choose to do so.

@SpanielsGalore @TheHungryHungryLandsharks yep she does have form for giving shit advice. I was tempted to ask what she would recommend but all she kept saying was ‘get a trainer’
In the end I went back and basically said that it worked really well for us and Pablo is now 90% there with his lead walking. I then text the other woman separately with some links the harness and lead I bought and told her politely that I don’t think the breeder’s advice is very good and she thanked me and agreed with me! I said it may take a while to get your dog walking nicely but at least you have better physical control over him while you’re working on it!

Also agree that the only alternative to rewarding for good behaviour is to punish for bad!! I wonder if the responses from her a little ego driven tbh 🤷‍♀️

@VanGoSunflowers agree that your breeder sounds a tosser.

If you find something that helps, use it and recommend it to others as a suggestion that may help them too. It's not easy getting a dog to walk nicely on a lead so if you have 90% achieved it with Pablo, your input is valuable.

Breeders can be a funny bunch (no offence to any breeders on here).

@Twiglets1 that’s my philosophy on it too, “we did this and it worked for us so may work for you too” rather than “my opinion is the only correct one and my way is the only way”

Its started some of the others asking for advice on things now too and I’m reluctant to reply to them because I know the breeder’s advice will be the polar opposite to mine and I don’t want to come across ‘that way’ if you see what I mean. I’ve asked for advice from the others too on there, it’s not like I think I am the fountain of knowledge or anything - hell I am a total rookie - but it’s good to share experiences with each other without the breeder coming in and shitting all over what we are saying!

Definitely is a good thing to share experiences and we do that on here too. Doesn't mean anyone thinks they have all the answers or are experts but it can be so useful sometimes hearing what works for others.

Anyway, try not to let it upset you. The other dog owner was grateful.

Thank you. @Twiglets1 ❤️

@VanGoSunflowers could also passively aggressively start a chat without the breeder 😂But that's probably my inner petty cow talking.

FWIW, I agree with @Twiglets1 that sharing experiences is important. Particularly for first time owners, I think, as people place too much (blind) trust in the advice of people they deem knowledgeable (breeders, dog trainers etc) and may well make mistakes if they follow that advice. No dogs are the same, so it's good to have a variety of advice to consider 😊

@TheHungryHungryLandsharks she’s gone quiet now, someone has asked about using treats for training and saying that they feel they shouldn’t need them anymore and I daren’t reply because I was hoping to rely on treats pretty much until he’s mature before phasing them out?!

But that’s just it, you can try something and as longs it’s not aversive in anyway you haven’t lost anything if it didn’t work!

@VanGoSunflowers I still given Hen treats when she does something she should and she's 13 so you're in good company if you plan on continuing to use them! Whilst I trust her to do what she's told, it never hurts to have an incentive ready😂Tbh, I give DDs treats (not dog ones) if they do their household chores or do well in exams.

I am not above bribery (being bribed or bribing) in any part of my life...except work because it's definitely frowned on.

@VanGoSunflowers Why would you phase them out? If it ain't broke, don't fix it. 🤷‍♀️

I'm with @TheHungryHungryLandsharks . Mine all still get treats for doing what I want them to do. N has just earned some very easy ones - the other two recalled to the whistle, but she was already by my side. She still got her piece of tuna bread.
They get them daily for recall, self check ins and getting in the car. Although two of them are lifted in, so I think I should be getting a treat really. 🤔
And then some days they'll get extra if we do any training. And they have licky mat bribes to get them to stand still for grooming and vet or physio appointments.

I was the same with the DCs. Pocket money was earned by doing chores. Or doing chores was rewarded with a financial treat. Trying hard in school or sports was rewarded. DD had to have an operation once, so was treated to a rather expensive leotard. On the day, the bloody surgeon cancelled it. Lesson learned - never pay up front!

@TheHungryHungryLandsharks it’s been an unusual few days for us so we have been out of routine.

Yesterday we did a session with a friend of mine who trains gun dogs. W was exhausted afterwards but mainly from using his brain I think 😂

This morning DS (6) was dragging his feet and so we were not ready in time to walk into school and back as planned so walks today have been all over the place - he’s had one normal 45 mins walk but then 2 x 20 mins that DH and I could fit in around everything else 🤦‍♀️

May start upping to 2 x slightly longer (50mins - 1hr) from tomorrow and see how we go. Plus we will be practicing some of the things suggested to us by the trainer - so plenty to get on with to use up his adolescent energy.

@VanGoSunflowers I also plan to keep using treats and rewards - both with W and with DS!!!! 😂❤️

Ok so junior Spartan is doing well, being treated for Giardia at the moment bright and happy in himself and growing well. Basic training is good and he is quick to learn. I am though really struggling with barking- hyper conscious of my (lovely) attached neighbours. He will yap to let me know he needs to go out but also when I’m cooking when he want attention etc. over tired yapping also. I’m trying to ignore and reward calm and quiet. Withdraw attention when he barks. But he is so persistent, it is so draining and I feel like I am not getting anywhere. I’ve had a chat with my neighbours and they are really understanding but it is so yappy and piercing. Any tips ?!