Puppy Survival Thread Autumn 2025 - all welcome!

[VanGoSunflowers]

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

@VanGoSunflowers oh I don’t know, Rory might pip Pablo to the post on that one! He’s worse than Billy!

You’ve picked the worst breed of you turn out to be allergic to dogs 🙈😂. The waterproofing in Labrador’s fur makes them extra allergenic!

We have to shut our bin in the utility room.

@SpanielsGalore think I have been in denial and convincing myself we hadn’t got to that stage yet 😂
That bin looks perfect though, he wouldn’t be able to prize the lid up himself it looks like? He snaffled a piece of burnt toast out of there earlier 🤦‍♀️ managed to get it off him though

@CoubousAndTourmaIet thank you for the advice and you’re right about speaking to a GP. The last time I had breathing issues like this was when I was doing my house up and cutting up laminate floor without a mask 🤦‍♀️ stupid question but what times of year are the worst for moulting?? Or is it different for different dogs?

@Idstillratherbepaddleboarding I had no idea if I would be allergic 😂 to be fair, my ex’s dog used to live with me for half the week and she moulted far more than Pablo does so I assumed I would be ok. But it could be anything and might not even be him 🤷‍♀️ hopefully the air purifier will make a difference 😊

@VanGoSunflowers My sprocker never managed to get into the bin. And he was a thief of the highest order. The lids are on a level with the outer edge, so they can't nose it open. Unless P is really clever and trains himself to stand on the pedal. 👀😂

With most breeds the heaviest moult is said to be vaguely spring and autumn @VanGoSunflowers , but in my experience it doesn't always work like that. With PMD, the girls shed pretty constantly, but the boys not so much once the adult coat comes in. With bitches hormones, seasons and pregnancy can play a part.

Allergies can vary so much. I'm generally better with long haired dogs and cats - I seem to react to finer shorter hairs more than I do to a woollier fur coat like on a PMD or our cats, but it doesn't mean the same would be true for you.

I'm really sorry that you feel you may be allergic to Pablo though. That is a bit of a nightmare for you. I'm guessing he won't have a full adult coat yet, so things could change in the coming months, but it might still be worth asking for some allergy tests and getting a blue inhaler for emergencies. Especially as you've had reactions to things before.

@VanGoSunflowers hope it turns out to be something else! I know Rory has just malted off his summer coat and got his winter coat so perhaps it’s to do with that if it’s something that has come on suddenly?

@SpanielsGalore if he was clever enough to do that then he would deserve the contents of the bin as a prize 😂

@CoubousAndTourmaIet that would tie in with the time of year in that case, and you’re right I don’t think his full adult coat is in yet, there’s still a lot of ‘fuzz’ coming off him. It’s hard to pin point the cause of shortness of breath, I wouldn’t say it was really bad just more uncomfortable and lasts for half an hour tops. It’s always worse before I get a B12 jab although that’s usually after exertion rather than just waking up with it. I’ve also been stressed with work so may be that as well 🤷‍♀️ how do you manage it with yours? I know you said that you don’t react as much to Brie or your cats but presume you still get symptoms of some description?

@Idstillratherbepaddleboarding yes you may be right, certainly fits with the time of year! It’s hard to see how much Pablo moults because of his colour and the fact that everything in my house is dark 😂 but I can see it on my white kitchen worktops and in my washing machine filter when it stops draining because it’s clogged with hair 😂

Couple of other questions if I may (sorry, I’ve been AWOL for ages and now bombarding everyone 🤦‍♀️)

How much exercise is everyone giving their dogs around this age please? Just want to reassess getting the right balance as he’s started to have more energy around the house 🤦‍♀️ I would say he gets around 1 hr 15 mins a day and usually split between two walks, but they’re always mostly offlead with loads of sniffing, running around in long grass or through muddy puddles/different terrains

Also, thinking now might be the right time to invest in a better harness as I would imagine an adjustable one will fit him when he is fully grown? The one he has now is a pets at home purchase and has been fine - it fits around his chest nicely but it loose around his neck. The lead pulling improved immensely as soon as I hooked his lead to the front of the harness rather than at his back - it seems even the slight feel of a slack lead against his front reminds him not to pull and even if he does, the lead pulls him to the side rather allowing him to keep pulling forward but I think a better harness is in order.

Just trying to ‘prep’ as much as I can for the adolescent behaviour if this is at all possible 😂

Sorry - one more thing, and perhaps the biggest worry! He seems to have regressed with greeting new people. The jumping up has returned the past couple of days only he’s bigger and heavier now and so clumsy 🤦‍♀️ he is now taller than my son when he jumps up and has started to ignore ‘off’ - anyone had any success with training this out of their dogs? Do I shut the baby gate over and keep him in another room until he has calmed down? I’ve also seen people put their dogs harness and lead on to physically correct and then reward too? Agh, sorry / starting to get a little nervous about this stage 😂 I love him to absolute pieces but he’s turning in to a lot of dog 😂 I know we will get through it, just wanting to make sure I’m doing right by him!

@VanGoSunflowers Rory loses his shit when I come me home or he sees his other favourite person who looks after him when I’m in the office. I fold my arms, putting a hand out to say stop makes him jump at my hands and say “sit” and “wait” until he’s calm and then greet him. If he starts again, we repeat the process until he gets it. It’s working… to a degree… but we have to go through it every time I come home, even if I’ve only been to the shop at the end of the street!

My allergies are worse in summer @VanGoSunflowers , I rarely have asthma symptoms through winter although I can still occasionally get reactive to both Brie & Freija with tingly mouth and tongue, itchy ears. I wasn't too bad with Brie this year overall, because her big spring/early summer moult had finished by the time my seasonal asthma kicked in. I do use a steroid inhaler twice a day though so I suspect it helps to minimise what I do get. The only advice I can really give is to try to give a daily brush to get the loose stuff out and do it outside, if you can. I put a buff over my nose and mouth when I groom. You may find it's better when his full adult coat comes in next year but I know it's worrying, especially as he shares your bed...It sounds like you need a Ventolin at least for that early morning tightness. A hot drink always helps me.

As regards exercise: we were probably doing less at that age but ours is a low energy breed and all on lead so I'd imagine what you're doing is fine. I'll let the Lab people advise how much is right for Pablo, but trust your instincts, they've been good so far.

The best harness I've found is a Haqihana one, but I need quite a minimal design for Hairy Mary, so it may not necessarily be what you'd want for Pablo. The quality of it is amazing though. I use it with an Ezydog checkmate collar and a double ended training lead for ultimate control of my 55kg chunk.

As far as jumping up... nightmare! Brie is terrible for it. Everyone that wants to pet her gets paws on shoulders, so we really have to be careful around kids and older people. We've tried so hard to stop it but doggy people get such a buzz out of an almost 6 foot tall dog looking them in the eye that it's an ongoing battle trying to discourage it. That's where the harness really helps me. I just hang on for dear life to stop her flinging herself, but honestly, there is no easy solution to the jumping up, especially with larger dogs, and people's reactions don't help. You mostly get "oh, it's fine!" 🙄And it really isn't. Since winter weather kicked in it's become "Pet the Polar Bear" every time we set foot outside, so it's hard work at the moment.

@VanGoSunflowers With K I followed the 5 minutes walking + 5 minutes sniffing guidelines, which meant at 8 months she could do 80 minutes twice a day. So I didn't clock watch anymore and just walked for around an hour each time, but didn't worry if we occasionally went over. Apart from the first and last couple of minutes walking away and back to the car park, it was all off lead.

Mine wear Dog Copenhagen Comfort Walk Air harnesses, which have adjustable chest and neck straps. It also has a front attachment D ring.
P used to have a Perfect Fit one. They come in three sections, so are also fully adjustable.
They both also have side fastenings, so don't need to go over their heads.

Can't help with the jumping up, as mine are buggers for doing it. 🙈

But Two Out Of Three Ain't Bad. 😁

@VanGoSunflowers - how much does he weigh these days? Mine both have the dog copenhagen harnesses mentioned above but little pup at 21kg is in a medium, and big pup at 25.5 kg is in a large so you might not be able to find a harness that fits and still has a bit of growing room.

I bought K's when she was around 7/8 months and hoped to god she didn't grow much. 😂
She has a tiny head and neck, so needed an XS, but was almost at the limit for the chest straps. Fortunately she stayed tiny, as P's S harness is way too big for K.

Sorry been off the net the last week or so but just caught up on the last few posts. I’m a Copenhagen Comfort Walk Air harness here too I’ve got two large sized ones from my late pair of dogs, and pup currently has a size medium until she grows into the large( probably very soon). I like them as they’re very secure but don’t go under the armpits and not too restrictive or bulky. They also rinse off well and dry so quickly. I tried various types before, but these were by far the best.

@VanGoSunflowers sorry I have no advice about jumping up. M doesn’t do it to us but he’s a real bugger if someone makes eye contact with him when they’re talking to me. I have to keep a dog’s length away and try and get him into a down. Once the initial excitement has worn off he’s good at keeping his feet on the floor.
It’s a bit of a problem as he’s booked for his PAT dog assessment after Christmas, and one of the criteria is a calm greeting. I have warned the assessor but he’s said to go ahead. He had his KC silver assessment recently and did everything perfectly apart from the controlled greeting when he suddenly lunged to say hello. He didn’t get to the assessor but it was close. He still passed though!

@Idstillratherbepaddleboarding that’s pretty much what we try, he does remember eventually but you still have to go through the jumping up every time I (or anyone!) comes in to the house. Even worse, he still does it sometimes on walks and has put muddy paws on people if I don’t recall him fast enough when I see them. Luckily they’ve been accommodating!

@CoubousAndTourmaIet well my air purifier came and it gave an immediate reading that the air quality was perfect 😂 still going to keep using it though, had it on in my room last night and my breathing was ok this morning. Have started brushing every day and outside as you suggested, thank you.
It must be so frustrating for you with people encouraging Brie to jump up! Is it ‘calm’ jumping though? Pablo will either ‘place’ paws up on my chest and stretch up for a calm cuddle which I don’t mind, or he will leap will full force because he’s so excited and that’s what I’m trying to get him to stop 😂 especially to my son, who is now slightly shorter than him! I guess a lot of it will be them gaining better impulse control as they mature?

@SpanielsGalore that’s useful to know about the amount of exercise, thank you. I love walking Pablo, but didn’t want to go straight to ‘just walk him for longer’ to try and get him a bit calmer in the house if that makes sense? Having said that, he seems back to his normal chilled self in the house the past few days so maybe it was because I was distracted with work so much the past few weeks and he wasn’t getting as much attention as normal 😂

@tizwozliz I would say he’s about 23kgs at a guess? I keep meaning to pop in to the vets to get him weighed as he hasn’t had a weigh in since September. How much exercise did your two get around that age?

Thanks everyone for the harness recommendations!

@Nella68 hope all goes well with the assessment! It does make me feel better that it’s a universal problem at least!

I was probably aiming for walks of about 45 mins at that age, but was also quite comfortable being out for an hour from time to time. Especially as we'd rarely do an hour long walk distance wise in an hour if that makes sense, as we'd generally do some games, or hunting etc. and it was all off lead on soft ground apart from maybe 5 mins on lead at the end.

If he's 23kg you might find that the large dog copenhagen will fit him now with growing room to spare. I don't know if you have a just for pets nearby, but they carry them in store so can try on.

We had a walk earlier which made me think maybe we aren’t doing too badly after all. One woman walking 4 different dogs ranging in size from Dalmatian to toy breeds and they were all lunging and barking at Pablo - it was chaos. I felt bad for her! I had recalled him and put him on lead and managed to walk past them without him kangaroo leaping at them!

He almost followed through on a ‘sit and stay’ on the walk back, but those dogs started snarling and lunging at him too so he got all excited and started trying to pull towards them. He was fine doing that with any other dogs we past. So I think we are making progress hopefully!

Funnily enough I've just mentioned the jumping up, and using the harness to control it, on the other thread @VanGoSunflowers . It's a bit of both with us too - sometimes it's calm, just paws on shoulders, and if people know her they don't mind. Other times it can be her flinging herself at us like a mad thing, which is another reason for not letting her off the lead in public. It's always a work in progress with big dogs because it is something they like to do. I once had a Great Dane do it and his owners were having kittens because the dog towered over me. I can understand how it must feel like that for you, seeing Pablo jump up at your son, but P will get gentler. Again, this is something I've just said on the other thread. Brie is no longer hurting me during play. She really has calmed down a lot in the last few weeks. She's now 20 months, so you still have a way to go, but it does get easier, I promise you that.

There are definite signs of maturity in Merry! Hurrah! I’ve started training her to recall with a whistle; (touch wood) so far so good. Having said that, I did the riverside walk this morning, didn’t realise that it was pretty high and flooded in places. Took the lead off so we could practice recall, next thing I know she had launched herself fully into the river! I nearly had a heart attack. Not a good morning to find out if we can swim or not. But apparently she can thank god. I think she was so fixated on a bunch of ducks on the far bank that she forgot about the actual river between them. Bit of a chilly lesson learned (or maybe not).

She is much calmer in the house and is in a nice nap/ play routine. I actually left her in the house for about 20 minutes just now. We had just got home from a morning session at work and I was asked to pop to a neighbour for something, she made it clear she didn’t want to come, so I left her lying in the hall. When I got back I crept up the drive and peeped through the window to find her still lying the same spot. So pleased about that!

I’m also grateful for the harness suggestions, I’m struggling to find one with a good fit. She is really slim around the neck but has a deep chest so it’s quite tricky. Also, I hadn’t even thought about using the front clippy thing, so I might try that. Her worst pulling is when she knows we are going to the park with a ball, she nearly pulls my arm off. Evening on-lead walks are not so bad.

@VanGoSunflowers Merry has about 1 hour in the morning and about 45 mins on lead walk in the evening. She also does some mad chasing a toy games at home.

I am also struggling with the jumping up. I find the best people are other (responsible) dog owners, who are firm with her about staying ‘down’ and only fussing her when four are on the floor. She does seem to respond well when people are firm. Something about their tone of voice I think. She still does the ultra invasive nose poke up the groin, especially with women. A friend of mine said she felt like she’d just had a smear test 😂

@tizwozliz thank you, I will pop down to Pets at Home and see if they have some in stock!

The type of walk rather than just how long you go for definitely factors as well. At most we’ll do ten mins of lead walking but sometimes none at all depending on where we are going. We got lost in the woods yesterday 😂 completely lost the path and I was ducking under trees and walking through bushes myself - Pablo was having a whale of a time.

@CoubousAndTourmaIet thank you, it’s good to know it definitely gets easier! I always think of Pablo of having such a lovely nature but he’s just so clumsy 😂 he loves it when both me and DS are on the sofa and he gets so excited to join us that he doesn’t know what to do with himself and I get slapped and scratched by him sometimes 😂
I’ve also stopped taking him to see my friend’s elderly greyhound girl in case he’s too boisterous and hurts her in some way. Perhaps I am being too cautious but he really is a bundle of energy when he is excited!

@Struckbylightning yay I am so glad she is calming down! The river thing must have spooked you! The rivers around here (two of them run through the town) are all very fast flowing at the minute so I must admit I have been avoiding them recently. Pablo loves splashing about in water but doesn’t seem too keen on actually swimming. It’s all the muddy puddles he seems to prefer 😂

Also agree on the firm voice thing! Once I got a bit more confident/assertive with commands he seemed to listen sooner! That bit about the smear test made me laugh 😂😂

Having a bit of a battle with myself about my pup’s sleeping arrangements, he’s 12 weeks.

He slept in his crate from when he arrived with us quite happily, after a couple of mins of low level crying. But the last couple of nights he’s been putting up more of a fight and crying for longer. I don’t really like crates and I know he’s very young and just wants to be with me. However it would be really handy if he was crate trained because I compete in a dog sport, and if he’s happy being left in a crate for periods of time that’s a huge bonus.

I never crated my other dog, she sleeps on my bed. So I feel really mean crating the puppy. I don’t know what other option there is though, if I let him out he will a) pee on my bed and b) annoy my other dog and no one will get any sleep. But his crying though 😔. He stops after about 5 mins, but I guess because he’s realised he’s stuck in a cage and no one is getting him out which makes me really sad for him.

@Theonewiththewagglytail sorry to hear you’re battling with sleep arrangements! I crate trained my pup and used it for night time sleeps, and the occasional day time nap, until he was 5 months old. I did get him to a point, very slowly, where he was comfortable enough in there - perhaps he was just tolerating it. The reason I got him in to bed with me is because I knew he would sleep for longer and then so could I 😂

How long have you had him? Where is the crate? Is it in the room with you? After crying for 5 minutes, does he usually sleep for the night at that point? Is it more of a whine or does he sound distressed?

I think ultimately, it’s a personal choice for how you wish to proceed with it all - I don’t think he would
wee on your bed though. As far as I can tell, they won’t toilet where they sleep. I know mine has never urinated on the sofa, for example - has never wee’d on my bed and only had one accident in his crate.

Slept downstairs with mine for the first week and a half. Everytime he cried I sat by the crate and stroked him for a while. When he started sleeping through with me there I went upstairs. He sleeps though now at 15 weeks.

I am now considering what to do in the day. We haven’t left home longer than 3 hours in the day in his crate. Starting to think we might need a pen. To leave for slightly longer times as seems mean squished in a crate. It won’t be very often. What did other people do once they got a bit older and started leaving them? I worry a pen won’t feet as nice and comfy and dark though.