Puppy Survival Thread Autumn 2025 - all welcome!

[VanGoSunflowers]

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

My cats are indoor cats, so they don't kill anything.
Some dogs quite often kill things too, including people's pet cats, which is another reason I keep mine safe indoors.

@Houndymumma ohh that's a lovely photo!

Sounds like your pup is quite the smartie 😀Mine quite like a bit of milk foam from my coffee!

I'm so glad there are so many of us suffering whenever we use long-lines! I always felt I was alone and incompetent 😂

@Struckbylightning I think if you've not had a puppy recently, it's very easy to think people exaggerate how awful the little turds are! But no judgement here - we all hate our puppies (and love them as well). And it sounds like Merry might have learnt something from that experience, and it's not like you did anything other than raise your voice. Puppies are incredibly resilient once they settle into a home (4/5months old) and I think people forget how quickly they just move on from things.

@Idstillratherbepaddleboarding how is Rory doing? Don't feel guilty towards Billy (although I know it's easier said than done). As we've said upthread, you learn a bit with each new puppy. It doesn't mean what you did before wasn't right or fair, it was just based on what you knew then.

@VanGoSunflowers can we have photos of Pablo and his sexiphant? 😀Did his eyes bulge out of his head and then light up? That's what Twatdog's do! Just remember not to let him go at it for too long - 10/15 minutes is enough!!! 😂

I feel like the only valuable piece of advice I have ever offered on Doghouse is 'get your dog a sex toy for days when s/he is a bit manic and you can't cope.'

@CoubousAndTourmaIet only horrible for a few weeks!? I must be doing something wrong because Twatdog was horrible for about a year!!

The cat we have now is mostly an indoor cat by choice, out for just a few hours in the morning, and I do keep him in at night. He’s very lazy and only very occasionally catches stuff. But a previous cat I had (female) was terrible and yes @Struckbylightning that does really get you down. I only have male cats now as I think they tend to catch less because they’re lazy. Females are programmed to catch for their young. The cat in that photo was an absolute dream and never caught anything in the whole 20 years I had him.

@TheHungryHungryLandsharks I think you’re right about the 4-5 months old and being settled in. I think that’s when they feel a confidence in where they are and what their life is. I’ve noted a change this last month. Although behaviour is still obviously up and down, there’s a familiarity that makes it easier, you’ve kind of tuned into each other. Those first few weeks are so tough though, I’d completely forgotten what it was like. Puppies definitely need to come with a health warning and we’re only human after all.

@TheHungryHungryLandsharks Nah! Don't believe you about TD.
It's genuinely only that phase of 6/7/8 months that I'm tearing my hair out with our PMD. Before that their cuteness means I forgive them anything, after that they're easier to manhandle because there's more dog to get hold of. It's just that in between horribleness that gets to me and I lose patience with them.
She's lovely now though🤗

Oh god yes @Houndymumma , I totally agree - boy cats are so much nicer in every way. I've always had male cats, but my chap wanted us to get a female kitten last time and we ended up with two tortie sisters 😮 Never again! Seriously. Wouldn't have another female if someone paid me. They're just too temperamental. When F goes we'll get two boys.

@CoubousAndTourmaIet totally this! Female cats in my experience are much more aloof, very temperamental, not so cuddly and kill so much more. Male cats are more like teddy bears. In fact that’s what our present boy is called.

Hoping our 6/7/8 month onward phase (adolescence) is not going to be too much of a nightmare as we approach it! She’s a tea stealer as already mentioned, she’s also taken to stealing anything off the table she can get (my dressing gown/books etc) and she loves any footwear! although short legged, because she has a long body, she can reach further than you think. Still undecided if to have a full Xmas tree or not? We do have a fake one so no needles as such but it could be a nightmare as this stealing phase progresses! 😂 she’s still chewing everything too. Every day is a learning day for me of where not to put things! 😂

Our girl cats destroyed our sofa despite having a floor to ceiling cat tree with umpteen scratching posts @Houndymumma The four big boys we had at the same time were all cuddly lap cats and just loved to be with us. So different.

I'm the same with dogs, I've had 5m, 4f and I love the boys. Previous two pups were both male - one when we still had our two girls, the other was an only dog so this time we went for a girl. I do want another boy but my chap has reservations because of my age and state of health. I'm working on it though.

Brie drinks tea out of our mugs if she gets the chance, but she hasn't been too bad for stealing, despite being very tall. The only thing she does steal is tissues from our pockets. If she sees my dressing gown she goes straight to the pockets for a tissue to suck on 😝

We don't bother with a tree because there's only the two of us but I can see the dilemma for all those with younger pups that are still at the chewing stage.

It's blowing a gale here this morning so kiddo has a chew stick to occupy her for a few minutes. Hopefully she'll snooze until lunchtime then.

Yes I’ve always favoured boys generally although I’ve had both, but I went for a girl this time as it was a breeder I particularly wanted and knew, and the litter was mostly girls. There’s limited litters from known reputable breeders for my breed. Guessing it must be the same for you @CoubousAndTourmaIet

Yes my daughter is coming up 20 yrs old now and it’s mostly just us as we’re not massive Xmas people with big family gatherings etc. So I’m thinking maybe having some fairy lights to cheer up the dark season, plus I have a few 3ft fairy light silver birch type decorations that can go up higher. So a rather more simplistic approach. Think if I put a tree up, it’ll be a total pain as pup will be fascinated. The Xmas tree going up is also what spurred my daughter to crawl many moons ago. They’re just so tempting!

Very wet here today too, although as I’m far south not so bad as you probably. Might be an indoor day!

Yes, it is exactly the same in our breed @Houndymumma , the registrations are very low. It is difficult to find a breeder who has a litter planned, the ones we've had pups from before don't seem to be breeding currently.

There were no boys available when we got Brie, although my partner was favouring a girl anyway on the basis that it would be easier for me. I'm 61 with neuro/spinal issues, so everyone was telling me to size down 😒 Ironically, Brie didn't get the memo and is massively bigger than our other girls were. She is boy size with girl attitude 🙄 Next year feels like the ideal time to get a second dog if we are going to; a 2 year gap seems about right. We'll see how it goes.

Some fairy lights for Yuletide does sound lovely - much less hassle than a tree but still marking the season.

I don't know if anyone buys Lily's Kitchen - but the 12KG Chicken, Duck & Sweet Potatoes bag on Amazon is currently £50 instead of £87.😊(I may have bought two bags).

@Houndymumma I always smile whenever people say 'you must hate to say goodbye to the puppies' because I always think 'Oh just you wait...in a few days you'll be begging me to take them back'😂

@CoubousAndTourmaIet Ah I see! That stage where they're wiggly little buggers but not quite big enough to just manhandle without them slipping away is tricky.

Oh he was evil. He went through this awful stage where he barked for attention at me or the girls and if he didn't get it, he'd jump up at me or lunge at their faces and cling to their jowls. Tbh he was bloody lucky they're as patient as they are because I think most other dogs would have really told him off instead of just air snapping.

How is your migraine doing today?

I managed to pretty much stave off the migraine before it got too severe yesterday thanks @TheHungryHungryLandsharks I think a 90 minute walk helped shift it.

That Lily's Kitchen offer sounds tempting!

Yes, that stage is what I hate, they seem to be all over the place, a trip hazard on the lead because their puppy brain still lacks the ability to focus. It may follow a different pattern with other breeds, but with most of ours that was the point that I struggled most. It feels like big body, tiny brain. They're so much easier to handle when they're huge, makes no sense but it's true. Even when she's arsing with lead biting I can kind of reason with her now, but this time last year, at 8 months, she was a nightmare to walk.

@CoubousAndTourmaIet so glad you managed to stave off the migraine ❤

The two bags of Lily's Kitchen I've bought will last less than a month. Sometimes I do wonder about what life would be like with less dogs.😁

@VanGoSunflowersthanks for the new thread puppy blues have gone for now more so because he is sleeping through the night 😆

I didn’t know that about girl cats being more hunt-y, but it does make sense now you mention it. Re breeds and sex of dog, I think I was pulled into a false sense of security by our old dog. She was a girl collie and was the love of my life so I kind of felt I knew a bit about what I was doing. What a fool! 😂 I see now that she was so easy, and probably quite lazy. Merry is definitely not…

We have also been wondering about a Christmas tree. It would probably be very unwise. Our larger pot plants are still living on mantelpieces and the dining table, out of reach of the pup. I have not yet risked putting them back on the floor where they used to live as Merry still loves digging, and chewing sticks. I dread to think what damage she would wreak on a whole tree with dangly things on!

Does anyone else feel like the internet has made things more difficult? When I got my first dog, I think I bought a book, and talked to a few friends for advice. Now I find myself watching endless TikToks and scrolling for websites. In some ways, it’s great as you can instantly look up information and useful training tips and videos and I have learned a lot, but in other ways it
is just overwhelming. It can also make you feel so inadequate. I had been looking up tips for loose lead walking but the videos all show it with a clearly perfectly trained and obedient dog, not the days and weeks of having your arm pulled off!

There is also some terrible stuff out there. Today I was on YouTube and this trainer was talking very knowledgeably about why dogs pull, why it’s bad for them etc etc. Then he finally got to the ‘solution’ and it was a prong collar. I was so shocked! Now I guess the algorithm will keep showing me training videos using adverse methods. I should probably just stop scrolling!

I'm 100% with you on this @Struckbylightning and I've had this conversation recently with @VanGoSunflowers on one of the threads.
I'm an oldie, I've been around dogs for nigh on 50 years, and with our previous pups it was a couple of books, but aside from that just trusting our own instincts. Yet, we muddled through and ended up with happy, well adjusted dogs. Now there are so many opinions and we're being bombarded with information from too many different sources; it just confuses the issue. It is very much harder. And it's demoralising.

Yes, there are advantages to having more information available to us, particularly in regard to sourcing food and dog related products, but there's also a lot of bad advice and it can be overwhelming.

I had a trainer and a behaviourist in for my current pup, although she probably needed neither, it was just my own inadequacy because being here had made me feel as if I wasn't doing enough "training". Like you, I started watching training videos (and I presume you're referring to a guy with initials WA...?), but none of their ideas aligned with ours, so I've given up on that. I won't use aversive techniques and I don't want to train with food, so now I'm going my own way, trusting my instincts and ignoring everything else, just as I was (unknowingly) doing with my previous pups.

Agree totally with too much information online, much of it conflicting and it causes stress, anxiety and can be judgemental. Sometimes you find something useful but online support from fellow puppy owners like here has been the biggest help I’ve had. People actually going through the same thing as me. Like others here, I had dogs well before the internet and managed just fine. I think information online causes anxiety and stress for us in many other aspects of our life too, that’s why I often have a month or so’s digital detox. People constantly telling us how we should live, look or be and leading us to overthink or over analysis everything. Or maybe I’m just getting old and turning into a miserable old woman! That’s a strong possibility too! 😂

Also glad I’m not the only one thinking a Xmas tree might not be a good idea with a thieving pup. I can see myself doing laps of the house chasing her for baubles or her pulling the tree over on herself. Part of me quite likes the idea of a more simplistic approach anyway, as we usually celebrate it more as a simple midwinter celebration these days.

For those worrying about Christmas trees, I was the same when Billy was a pup but we never had an issue and he loved watching the tree lights. Rory will be the same as he’s fascinated by lights, he loves even just watching headlights when he’s in the car.

We had our tree up when Twatdog was only 8 weeks old and it was fine. I mean he did a lot of staring at it looking shifty, but he never actually did anything (and reading @Idstillratherbepaddleboarding comment, it's possible he was looking at the lights tbf).

@Struckbylightning 100% agree the internet has made it more different. Lots of people giving opinions/advice on breeds they now relatively little about but classify themselves as trainers or behaviourists because they have some qualification that really means nothing.

One of the reasons I hate puppy classes with a fiery passion is because so often the trainers fail to understand basic dog behaviour and mentality and I think it actually makes it harder for the owner. 99% of dogs will never be at their most attentive at 6-8pm on a weekday, when most training classes are, and definitely won't be attentive when there's lots of other dogs around. Get the basics in a quiet place first, then work up to a big one - but trainers don't tell people this as if they did, no one would use them. I tried going to the one near me that everyone praises, but I walked out half-way through the first session (very dramatically) as she suggested people bring a Kong to the class to keep their dogs entertained (she also said she'd be bringing her adult dog to the class for part of the puppies socialisation - idiot!). Yes...let's give a bunch of overstimulated puppies something chocced full of food that over-stimulates them and then let's stick an adult dog in a room full of puppies (knowing how much most adult dogs hate one puppy, let alone 8) and make them play nice. Definitely not a recipe for disaster...

Bit of a rant there 😳

@Houndymumma if you're a miserable old woman, then so am I! Although given my rant above...maybe I am.

Sorry, haven’t caught up on the thread completely but inbetween having a very productive Saturday doing chores, just wanted to agree with @Struckbylightning - way too much information!

As soon as I stopped googling stuff or watching training videos and whatnot, and listening to the advice I got from the wonderful people on here, I calmed right down. Stopped feeling inadequate. Prioritised what was important only to me and my dog and the whole puppy raising experience improved ten fold. That advice was - train the dog in front of you and follow your instincts. Everything else is just noise. So what if Pablo pulls on the lead sometimes, I know he will get there eventually. So what if he loses his recall at some point? I will cross that bridge if/when I come to it. So what if we don’t use a crate anymore? We manage fine without it. So what if he still jumps up sometimes, counter surfs when I tell him not to, or (like yesterday) gets so excited at new visitors he pisses on the rug for the first time in months 😂😂.

I know I’m not doing this perfectly, but I don’t care. My pupper is happy, I am happy and we will muddle though our relationship, getting to know each other better along the way, fucking it up sometimes and getting it right others. But feeling less anxious about it means I am enjoying it so much more than I did in the early months. This won’t be linear. We will take three steps forward and two back.

Sorry for the waffle. I’m all misty eyed (in a happy way) about the walk we just had trudging through waterlogged fields in my wellies and watching Pablo living his best life leaping around in all the water 🥰

I took my pup to a puppy meet group today, a hour of all under 6 month old dogs, chasing, playing and barking! She did venture away from my ankles after a while but preferred to say hello to the adults rather than the other dogs!

@Isabelle70 IMO puppy parties are pointless. The confident ones have a whale of a time rough housing. The quieter ones try to keep out of the way or the other dogs bully them. Puppies need adult dogs to learn from. Not other puppies.
My 4 year old would have hated it. She says hello to dogs on a one to one basis, but doesn't do groups. And she'd much rather greet people than other dogs.
My 13 month old would have been in the thick of it. 🙈

I did take P to a socialisation session once for the adolescent age group. She got pinned on the ground and duffed up twice by young thugs males. The trainer said it was her fault for being too submissive. I told him to fuck off with his victim blaming.

Hello! Can I join in please? We recently bought home 2 new puppies, sibling boys( I know!) they are now 12 weeks and absolutely adorable, getting ready for the first adventures outside soon

@SpanielsGaloreshe has a 12 year old dog at home to teach all his good and bad ways! My Dd has a similar aged puppy as well so she gets a bit of puppy madness when he comes for a morning or evening. Carnage for 30 mins and then they all calm down.

Guys, help, How DO you teach bite inhibition without breaking their spirit?! Very bitey 11 week old here and we're getting ground down with it!

Suggestions we've tried:

Ignoring (she just bites us unimpeded!)

Redirection (Very little, if any, interest in toys, she just stretches her neck to reach round them to bite our hands!)

Praising the good behaviour. (We do this, constantly. Probably too much if anything, so the words are losing meaning.)

Time-outs in crate. (Work temporarily, but are giving her an aversion to being put in there which I REALLY don't want! When she's drawing blood from us or splinters from the furniture though, we really do have to give her a few minutes in there to reset.)

Yelping. (She pauses temporarily, looking worried, then goes right back to it with renewed vigour)

Rolling her over, hand on chest to establish dominance, probably thoroughly outdated advice now, but we're desperate at this stage!. (She just bites feverishly at the hand on her chest and as soon as she pauses and we take the hand off she goes for the jugular again)

Removing ourselves. (She goes for the furniture instead)

As I say she has lots of toys but little interest. We're at home all day so she has plenty of interaction and she's being taken out in our arms for socialisation. We're doing as much training as we dare without unbalancing her diet. She loves training and is learning the basics fast. It's just the bite inhibition we'd really like advice on!

Also, how can we establish the crate as a positive place to be?

Thanks!