Is there a new puppy survival thread?

[Isadora2007]

I could only see one from Autumn so assumed it was older?
Anyone with a new pup wanting to share the trenches?

@FoxandDuck sounds like he is doing really well. Good to be getting out and about.Few more days for us but 3 weeks if waiting for the second lepto to kick in.

The lack of sleep is really hard. I'm sleeping on our sofa which is comfy, but not my bed. I am conscious of my dds bedroom being downstairs so can't really let her (dog not dd) cry and moan herself back to sleep.
I told myself this morning at god awful o'clock I am not getting a puppy again. I don't remember it being hard last time. I don't mind the land landsharking, but it's the constant accidents in the house. I can stand out there with her for half an hour and nothing but soon after we get in she goes. The thing is she is so willing to learn. I've been training her with come and sit and she does them beautifully most of the time. But toileting! I am taking her on a lead to a concrete part of our garden with little to no distractions as if we go where the path is there is grass and all sorts of interesting things to look at eat. The thing is she will go for a wee out there through the night so she can do it. Is there something I am missing to make it click with her? Help!

It’s hard when you’re in that first week or two of them coming home especially with the lack of sleep a puppy brings, and you’re in the thick of it, I think you’ve had her maybe a week? So she must be around 10-12 weeks old max?
Its easy for me to say as we’re on the other side of it now he’s one, but she is still very much a baby, she’s been removed from everything she’s ever known and brought into a completely new environment with new humans, no Mum and no siblings, everything looks, smells and is different and she’s probably finding it just as hard as you. It’s just a case of sticking with it, just as children don’t toilet train in a matter of hours nor do puppies. It is really hard, but we just took PieDog out every hour and stayed with him telling him “go wee” as he had a wee. Now he goes on command. Sometines I was out there 30 seconds other times half an hour, and sometimes even longer. She will quickly try to tell you she wants out but we have to learn their signals and get them out quickly, just as much as they have to learn ours. PieDog is a Working Cocker and aside from he now often goes to the door, as a pup and sometimes still now, when he was sat with us he got/gets mouthy and combative and thats a signal he needs to go out.
Please stick with her, I know it’s hard and you have my sympathy, but it’s only VERY temporary, and she WILL get it, she’s is still so very young. PieDog was pretty consistent within a fortnight to three weeks I would say, with the very odd accident upto around 6 months old.

Thank you @PieonaBarm I know in my rational brain this is the case, but like you say, in the thick of it it's really hard. I know she will get it, it's just time. She is 10 1/2 weeks old, born in 31st Jan, and we will have had her a week tomorrow.
I won't give up on her, she is wonderful 90% of the time. I think we were spoilt with Neela as her breeder got the toilet training started and we just continued her good work, but this breeder seems to let mum and the pups do their thing. This has however made her very resilient and she will happily play alone or take herself off to sleep, she will even stay in her crate nice and quiet even though she wasn't crate trained. Neela was such an anxious dog and I was very keen Rosie wouldn't be, as much as I could help her not be.
I will take the little wins as and when they happen as they will happen more and more

DDog is five days older than yours @longtompot and each day is better than the last. Today was the first day with no accidents in the house at all. So maybe it will be soon for you. We say “go peepee” when he is weeing, and now he can go on command, even if it’s just a small squat lol.

This last wee while he has been pooping overnight though- morning his crate- he cries to get out. But I’m wondering why he’s doing this now when he didn’t before? Are his food timings wrong? He’s on 3 meals a day at 7, 1 and 6.30pm. We are about to change his kibble to Legend brand but haven’t yet so his food hasn’t changed… I’m lying next to his crate now but about to go back up to bed as he’s settled. If it’s after 3.30/4 I tend to just spend the remainder of the night here on the floor bed. lol.

@TappingTed that's good to hear. Our command is do wees! which comes from my previous dogs breeders command word for her to toilet.
One thing I am very thankful for is she hasn't gone in her crate. Neela was terrible for this so I bought extra vet bedding so I could wash daily, but so far so good. Probably jinxed it now 🫣
I saw an interesting idea earlier as to why puppies go in the house, and it's because it doesn't smell of them & this is a way of marking their territory. Now this was on an a dog pheromone company so could be just a sales pitch, but I'm planning to look into it more. I do find it interesting she can go no issue through the night, but come day time, it's another story

I’m aware of all of the information about how many hours of sleep puppies need but does it matter if they are just lying quietly rather than actually asleep? I put DPup in his crate 30 mins ago by which time he’d been awake for a couple of hours. During those couple of hours he’d had a play with me, done some training, pottered around inside chewing on toys at various points, had a lick mat, been on a walk and been on a car journey. He was still on good form but definitely due a nap. Except for he’s just lying in his crate with his eyes wide open and, as soon as I go near the crate, he sits up. I ignore him and he lies back down. He was like this this yesterday and the day before too. One bit of me is delighted that he’s happy to relax in his crate but the other part of me is thinking “you need to be asleep”. Does it matter if he’s not?

Maybe resting is sleep equivalent to puppies if they doze on and off?

Urgh pee accident within an hour of getting up! Not a good start to the day. But we changed his kibble and the good news is his poops are a little firmer today! He slept in the crate from 10.30-4 then I woke him for a pee (as I was awake and find he sleeps past 6am if I do this!) then 4.15-7am back in crate.

However we find he does still need company the whole time and cries if we leave the room for 5 mins- any tips for building up resilience and being able to be left? Even just for half an hour or so at a time? We’d be in the house but do need to get on with stuff lol

@FoxandDuck I think I would see it as him being happy to be in his crate and therefore help with preventing any separation anxiety. Rosie sits in her crate watching quietly but I leave her alone if it's been less than an hour. I read they need to be in there, usually asleep, for 1-3 hours. It is really helping her not need to be near me all the time, something that was an issue with my previous dog.
We have had a breakthrough with regards to toilet training. It's like something clicked and now she asks to go out for wees! We have gone from nearly all toileting occurring in the house to 90% happening outside! Hurrah 🎉 And last night she slept from 12.30 until 3.30 and then didn't stir until about 6am when she had a wee & a poo and then snuggled with me on my sofa bed until about 7am. I feel like a new woman

@longtompot any tips for how to manage to leave them happy in the crate? At night when he is tired Ddog will settle and go to sleep but during the day he will whine then get frantic and bite the bars if left. We can’t do a kong or lick mat as he’s currently got loose stools as we are trying to change his kibble- so don’t want to add any more food into the mix.

@TappingTed to start with we did just let her cry for a while, no more than 10 minutes, and then the second she was quiet we took her out just in case she was desperate for the loo, which a couple of times she was. But then we put her back in and she just settled down. I then go off and do things with the tv or radio down lowish and give her at least an hour. I think looking at how they are behaving is a good guide to when they should go in there. When extreme landsharking starts happening in she goes. If she is trying to find a corner to sleep, but keeps getting up and is generally unsettled, I pop her in.

At night, after I take her out for a wee, I then pop her on the sofa with me until she settles back down and then I put her back in the crate. I'm hoping I will just be able to pop her straight back in, but I think I mentioned before I am very conscious of disturbing my dd who sleeps downstairs so don't want Rosie crying and howling

I tried treats in there, but that didn't really help. She has a couple of toys that the breeder gave her, and sleeps on some vet bedding and the crate is covered so it's nice and dark in there.

I don't know if any of that is of help, but I think trust that he is safe. Obviously check if he sounds too distressed but don't leap to let him out as soon as he makes a noise. Rosie does this but she settle back down quite quickly. Quite often she is just sat there looking so I try not to make eye contact.

There are other ways I've seen that can help, but they take time. You need to build up him spending time in there with the door open, having treats, playing with toys so they feel comfortable.

Good luck!

That is really helpful thank you.

How is everyone doing?

I miss being able to effortlessly hang my washing on the line (taking running jumps at it seems to be her favourite pastime) but we are mostly good now.
I’ve really bonded with her, and we can’t imagine life without her now.

The firm “no”, distracting her or removing her seem to have made a difference to her boisterous behaviour, although ds still has to wear shoes at all times, just to be safe. she used to go nuts for his feet.
I always have something ready for her to play with if she is in a bitey mood- an empty milk carton, a chewey toy, etc, but she’s much more chilled in general these days, and sleeps a lot

She took to the lead like a star from day 1, despite the breeder admitting that she had never had her on a lead, so walking is very enjoyable

12.5 weeks now. I look back at her photos at 10 weeks now and laugh at how nervous and unsettled she looked. She’s queen bee now.

This is a cute thread. I remember when I brought my puppy home many years ago and I’d read one book on how to raise a puppy. Two hours after I fed him, I put a pad under his bum. When my dad asked why, I proudly told him that the book said my puppy will poop two hours after eating. My dad, bless him, who had had two working dogs in the past, absolutely fell about laughing. I love how naive I was.

Good luck all - dogs are the best.

On the back of this, a new regime has been introduced! As soon as he starts biting, I pick him up, say a firm “no”, put him somewhere he can see me but not get to me and turn my back on him for 10 seconds. I did it three times in a row during one of his wake periods yesterday evening and then had to do it twice this morning. Last night, when he came into the room after his third time out, my son had appeared so that was a distraction but this morning, after his second time out, it was just me & him and, rather than going for my ankles, he went & attacked one of his toys instead. It’s too early to say we’re making progress but I do feel a more positive about the situation. With what we were doing, I was worried that he would see attacking ankles as the fun first step to get a toy/treat/us freeze in position so he could attack for longer and that we were essentially reinforcing the behaviour. DH, the teen DC & I are all healthy & robust so can deal with the biting even it’s tedious. However, it would be a different kettle of fish with MIL who is quite frail or little nephews or nieces. I’m also glad I am doing this now as he’s getting harder to grab each day.

How are the troops doing? DDog is being particularly cute and cuddly to me and I am becoming a reluctant dog cuddler. He’s actually so sweet and I am embarrassed to say I use my bay voice for him now, when I used to think that is pathetic. It’s a dog. But he’s such a sweet one and my “good boy good boy” 🤣🤦🏻‍♀️
His poos have firmed up well and he is now on 2/3 new food and 1/3 old- and learnt a new trick today “high 5” where he kind of begs… different from “paw”. Still doesn’t do settle or stay or down or drop though 🤣

Slowly getting there. Not had an indoor poo accident for a couple of days, still having the odd wee indoors though. All my fault and missing key signs.
This evening she has been very trying, lunging at feet, trying to bite, play bowing and barking at me. All testing boundaries, and a tired pup who just won't sleep for longer than an hour in her crate during the day time. I think I need to take her out for a wee when she wakes and then pop her back in to go back to sleep. It was over an hour of chaos before she gave in and fell asleep on my feet.
She is starting to get fetch and has been bringing whatever item I've asked her to fetch back to me. She can sit, come, lie down (sort of, only from sit and if treat is close to the floor when in my hand), touch and paw. I need to work on getting her to leave dropped items and find out how to stop her picking up stones

Has anyone any tips for “get down” or “drop/leave”? We don’t want DDog on the furniture though we are hoping to relax this as he is older and can learn to be “invited” up- so as to avoid him jumping on furniture automatically. But currently as he has grown he has realised he can jump up on some of the sofas, and we would like to teach him get down. Also handy for getting him to not jump when trying to greet people…

Leave or drop would be handy as he wants to chew things and steal things. And I want to avoid making it a game of chase
🤦🏻‍♀️

Leave or drop is my biggest problem right now. All that seems to work is to trade for something higher value, but if he gets in his head that he REALLY wants whatever thing he's got then it's hard to persuade him he'd rather have anything else. I spoke to a dog trainer yesterday who said the key is to find the thing that they consider the highest value (for her dog she said it was cheese) and use that in situations where you absolutely have to get the thing back. My pup has ruined a couple of precious things lately (beloved clothes he got off the washing line for example) and it's very stressful. We want to be extremely careful not to encourage resource-guarding behaviour, but for him to learn that not everything is his!

And for 'down' @tappingted we are aiming to capture the behaviour - so pup is jumping up at the sofa, as soon as four paws hit the floor (usually by accident!) we praise. He jumps up again, we say 'down', repeat! He is getting it now.

Though reading your post, if he's already on the sofa that won't work! I have not tried to teach 'place' but could you do that - have a bed or something that you teach him to get in with the command 'place' or 'bed'? I don't know as haven't attempted that, just seen it online! I think if he's somewhere you don't want him to be, you have to show him where you do want him. I guess putting a treat/exciting toy on the floor and if he gets down for it, say 'down' and praise?

I have a miniature poodle puppy who is 9 months old. This autumn and winter with a first puppy has been the hardest I’ve experienced but I’m pleased to say things have eased up a lot and life with sunshine and walks is now lovely!

My pup is clingy and definitely my shadow, but he has become more independent and will take himself off to look around, find mischief or be with other members of the family. We still keep a look at for what he’s up to, but he feels ‘safer’ than those early puppy days when they are into everything!

My pup prefers to walk as a family/ pack and walking with just one person is still tricky for him, but he’s making progress from the days he wouldn’t leave our driveway!

We used a crate in our bedroom for 8 months but one day he refused to go in and despite our best efforts, that was the end of that! He spent a week sleeping on our bed until moving onto his own bed on the floor, where he happily sleeps now. He wakes up a bit early for my liking but other than that, it’s going well!

To those in the early days, keep going - it does get easier! I was under a shadow of puppy blues for a good few months after bringing our boy home, but I’m feeling so much better now and enjoying him a lot.

Dogs prefer to wee on grass than concrete so encouraging weeing on the grass may work faster than concrete.

@longtompot what about a patch of fake grass? Thats what ddog uses in his “boring toilet garden” (we have blocked off a small area with nothing in it except paving slabs and a fake grass patch where he can freely roam to toilet without distraction or excitement!)

@RaptorShark we will try the praising for being down and we do say “get down” when he jumps up. We currently sit down on the floor (we have a large cushion thing) so he can have cuddles and eventually we would like to be able to teach a “settle area” or a “yes you can come here but only with permission” but to avoid confusion we are currently no for furniture… but he has learnt he can jump up now as his wee legs have grown lol

He loves his food but as we had switched his kibble he has had a few upset stomachs so we don’t really give much extra like cheese or anything to avoid runny poops. He has a carrot stick most days (frozen to chew) and 2 blueberries or a slice of banana on a lick mat. Or pumpkin for when he’s been loose. But I’m not sure any of those would be a high value item for him lol

@Twiglets1 @TappingTed there is a patch of soil next to the concrete and she is going on there. I stopped taking her out on a lead and it seems to have helped. For the most part now she is going outside with the odd accident indoors. She had her second vaccination on Friday, so just a few more days until short walks and two weeks before we can go to the local park. The vet said it can take up to two weeks for the Lepo to form full immunity and rats are the biggest carriers so need to avoid areas with rats until then.
She is sleeping much better at night now she is in a crate in our room. Daytime however, she doesn't sleep for longer than 20 mins at a time and then is a bitey bitey thing in between. It's very wearing. I'm trying to ignore her initial whining as she can sometimes fall back asleep, and if she gets more vocal, the frantic sort of noises, then I'll take her out as that has indicated in the past she's needed the loo. The thing is, if I let her out she crawls behind my feet and falls asleep there, so I put her back in the crate and round and round we go.