Puppy Survival Thread Autumn 2026

[CoubousAndTourmaIet]

Thought it was time for a new puppy thread, for anyone who has a pup currently or will be collecting their new family member in October or November.

@CoubousAndTourmaIet Sorry to hear about your pup's tummy troubles. Hope the vet can offer some advice & that it passes soon.

Welcome @poodlecurls and what a beautiful puppy Marnie is 💗
It sounds as if you've got off to a really great start with her.

Hopefully your cats will soon adjust to her funny little puppy ways. We're cat people too but sadly lost our old lady in June so currently a feline free household for the first time in many years. May consider a kitten or two next year...

Oh yes, squidgy tummy is a pain. His poo hasn't been great from the start @Newbabylabrador but we didn't want to make any sudden changes, especially as he had to go through vaccines and worming etc. The breeder started him on Royal Canin Giant Puppy but we're not all that happy with it, so long term we're going to switch to a lamb formula.
But yes, I think he does need a probiotic and a couple of days on chicken and boiled rice or scrambled egg/rice. Poor baby. He's been so good about toileting outside, even with a funny tum. He's only just turned 10 weeks.

Poor sausage!

If he’s not been 100% from the start, and the breeder says he wasn’t when at his (so likely a food compatibility issue vs a settling in issue) then I’d definitely look to change (although that’s opening a new can of worms!).

I’ll be honest, our puppy is on purina pro plan, as he was at the breeders. I’d initially thought I’d change once he was settled at home. When we chatted to the breeder he said he’d been using pro plan for several years since another breeder recommended it to him (after having the odd soft poo with another brand) and he’d been really impressed and stuck with it for his puppies. I have to say, we’ve kept him on it. I’m equally impressed. Not a single even slightly squishy poo (aside from those two brief incidents where we knew the cause which cleared up quickly with a bit of probiotic paste). It obviously suits our puppy- tho that’s not to say it would suit yours of course.

I think it’s a case of working out what works for your puppy as an individual. We’ve used lots of different brands over the years- royal canin, James wellbeloved, arden grange about 20 years ago, and then various premium brands like Origen when it first came out, akela, fishmongers etc. We have also previously gone raw, both prepared and individual meats and bones. I have to admit that despite what various websites etc say, how my dogs have reacted to them hasn’t always tallied up with their reputation or score on analysis websites.

Our previous old girl did best on autarky salmon and so we had both adult dogs on it for several years. We lost her in November but kept our other girl (now also an old girl!) on it -thinking don’t fix what isn’t broken!

I don’t know what we’ll do re his food when it comes to changing him to adult food- that’s a worry for another day!

Hi all, lovely to hear how you're all getting on!

DPup smashed his daycare trial and is going for a sleepover on Friday (he'll sleep the night before an early shift as my drop offs would be too early. Despite my earlier reservations this is actually really good as it means DDog1 will get a bit of puppy free time, and he'll also not be able to get overly attached to me as I'll be his whole world otherwise once STBXH moves out)

I'm also about to make the switch to raw food. I've fed raw for years but kept him on kibble as I use it for training purposes. However he's incredibly difficult to put weight on (though he is growing like a weed) and suffers from soft poo, despite trying a couple of different brands. I'm also suspicious of a poultry intolerance so tonight we move to beef and tripe. He's always been hugely jealous of DDog1's raw food so I don't see that he'll struggle to transition, I just hope his stomach is as keen!

That's interesting @Newbabylabrador because our adult girl was reared on Purina Large Robust Puppy. Her breeder started her on it and she did so well that we kept her on it until around 10 months, when she suddenly started to go off it a bit so we introduced a second food. But she really thrived on it to start with, no tummy upsets at all. This boy, on the other hand, has not done as well on the Royal Canin. I started our big girl on Calibra Life Junior Large Breed when she started being picky about the Purina, and the Calibra became her main food, partly because LGD breeds tend to do well on lamb, so I'm thinking of trying boy pup on that. It's not one of the "superfoods" but nor is it too heavy on the peas or grains, it's just a fairly decent lamb & rice formula. Our first three PMD were reared on James Wellbeloved lamb & rice and they all did fine, living to a good age. We've tried a couple of grain free foods as well - Country Kibble and Millies Wolfheart as well as Essential Estate which is our big girl's secondary food alongside the Calibra. Both are lamb but one grain free and one with rice.

As you rightly say, it's finding what works for your specific dog and the one thing I've learned is that the foods that look best on paper aren't always the ones that suit them. My breed is often kind of weird about fish, our last two wouldn't even eat salmon oil so we use flax instead. They also ideally need a large breed formula which makes the choice even more limited. So right now the Calibra Junior is looking like the on=bvious one to switch to but I'm still open to suggestions...

Ah, so pleased that the daycare trial worked out for you and your pup @TreacherousPissFlap A sleepover is going to take a bit of getting used to, I imagine, but clearly there are positives to it and hopefully he'll adapt quickly.

Please let us know how the raw food switch goes and whether it does sort out the soft poo. We used to feed part raw because we had six cats on it so it made sense for our dog to have it some of the time too, but now the cats are no longer around, we have reverted back to feeding kibble. Would definitely be interested to know how your pup gets on with it, as our boy's breeder gave us a big bag of DAF stuff, so our freezer is crammed with raw. And I'm a veggie...😨

It's only on this thread that anyone apart from me will care, but this morning saw a much smaller, firm and most importantly not stomach turning poo. Granted the tripe smells rank going in but nothing like the kibble smelt coming out 🤮

That's interesting @TreacherousPissFlap and very much confirms what a dog walker has just said over on the Adolescence and Beyond thread...

I just wish I was a bit less squeamish about feeding raw.

Mouth breathing @CoubousAndTourmaIet <wise nod>

Hi All,
Anyone have any ideas for indoor games or training for a clever pup please? I'm normally a bit lazy and do the minimum of training, due to having a LGD breed that isn't the most biddable, but this pup doesn't seem to settle quite as easily as my others did and I think he might need more brain stuff.

He's just shocked us a bit; I was chatting with my partner over lunch in relation to pup's morning, mentioned the word Kong, and pup immediately trotted into the next room and picked up his puppy Kong 😮 Coincidence? Dunno, but it freaked me a bit. He's 10 weeks old and yes, mine is a breed that many people seem to think is a bit dopey.

So brain games please folks, if anyone has any suggestions. Otherwise this MENSA child will be wasted on me.

We taught puppy ‘where’s DS3?!’. He picked it up VERY quickly and is now possibly his favourite game… Altho I will be honest, we mainly play it outdoors as indoors it is so exciting that he crashes into things. 😳

We started with DS3 about a metre or so away, me holding puppy’s collar and saying ‘where’s DS?’ and DS then showing him the treat so he went to him. Then just made the gap bigger, then round corners etc. Then hiding in the garden to then hiding behind trees on walks. We only attempted it a few times in the house due to flying into things with excitement- I didn’t want him skidding about and hurting his joints. So probably not that useful! Sorry! 😂 Tho possibly the initial stages might be ok for a day or so before making it harder in the garden?

Im all ears if anyone else has any ideas?

Otherwise, we do daily practice handling paws etc- started with I hold it and you don’t pull back, you get a treat. Then I tap your nails gently with the clippers, you stay still you get a treat etc. He now sees the clippers or knock off Dremel and lies down and offers a paw. I know it’s not mind games as such, but it seemed to keep him busy and thinking, and is actually useful.

Otherwise we taught paws on a small step (toddler loo step). He’s got that down to a T. Not sure what to do next with it! But if you get it out he immediately runs to it and stands on it!

Thanks @Newbabylabrador ,
We do "where's Brie" (she's our adult dog), but that aside, we're probably just very old and boring. The handling stuff is good. We do groom and do ears and claws etc. that's vital with a breed that has double dewclaws needing regular trimming, but I don't make it as fun as you do, I admit.

But overall, I possibly don't offer them enough challenging stuff to do. And I think that's what I need to work on with this pup.

Puppy thinks I’m very old and boring… a small step up from the ‘spare human’- DH… but not a patch on the fun exciting small human! I try not to take it personally (she says knowing she’ll be up at 4.30 on the weekend whilst everyone else is ticked up in bed)!

So I noticed something today that might make you smile. We do a lot of training on our walks- so five min of ‘go play’ - sniff, splash in puddles (best thing ever), generally please yourself, interspersed with a few min of sits/stays/10m of offlead heel work etc, before go play again. I noticed today that despite his penchant for flinging himself in any puddle he can find…. We don’t like sitting when the floor is wet and cold on our bum! 😂

I have made a real effort with the nails thing. Partly he made it easy as he was fairly chilled out and thought a piece of kibble was a fair trade and was fairly agreeable to the idea without a drama. And partly because all our previous dogs have rather disliked it.

As puppies they squirmed and mouthed (I’m sure that was my fault). As adults, they tolerated it, but looked at you like you might chop off a toe whilst you’re there. Our sadly departed old girl got wise in her dotage- she used to lie down as asked and wouldn’t struggle or try and get away… but would bend her legs back on themselves and tuck her feet into her elbows so you couldn’t see them! 😂 She got very much like that in her last year, ‘I’m old and I don’t fancy it, thank you very much!’.

This puppy is brighter than our previous puppies for sure (and god love her, our current old girl is the nicest, kindest soul you could wish to meet, but her one brain cell has regular annual leave). He has been very easy in many ways because he thinks before jumping in, his arousal level is lower… but if he doesn’t have a job I can see him going self employed! I am also in the same boat as you in that I’d like to find some more mentally taxing stuff for him to keep him busy.

We’ve got a lot of the ‘normal’ puppy commands sorted, but trying to make them a bit more challenging as I’m not sure what else to do. We’ve got his down stays to 2 min at home. He's done just over that at puppy school. But less on our walks, just building it up. We can walk away/around him/towards him, do a little dance/make a cup of tea and he stays put. We’ve started going out of sight for a few seconds and we’re building that up. He’s pretty good at waiting in doorways until you tell him he can come through (as opposed to pushing past). His heelwork is good, as is lead walking. His recall is good for his age. He goes in his bed when asked. Knows leave it (altho not infallible).

Our big thing im aiming to work on this week is being relaxed in his crate whilst awake. He goes in beautifully for naps, and just falls asleep without a fuss but being put in if I want to go have a shower etc, or eventually go out without him (How dare I?!) isn’t great. He doesn’t get distressed, just impatient and a bit cross!

Again, any suggestions I’d love to hear them!

Ah that's hilarious about pup not liking wet bum @Newbabylabrador .
Ours have all hated wet feet. All of them have been phobic about walking on wet grass and would either cross their legs to avoid going outside at all, or do a very theatrical mincing walk, a bit like a dressage horse, to go across the lawn in rain.

My parent's dog had complete paranoia about the claw clippers and I think it's quite a known thing, but ours haven't been too bad. One of our boys was phobic about the smell of ear wipes though, and used to shove his head in the corner underneath the kitchen cupboards if he ever got a whiff of the tub being opened.

Little Boy pup is very bright, like yours. In some ways he's really good, he has nice manners around food, will sit and wait while I prep his meals, and he is a nice slow eater. The breed in general isn't really food driven anyway. But the Witching Hour is hellish! He is so bad for crazy loud barking, which is something I've never been through with any of the others. Our two year old female is the total opposite, she hardly barks at all. They are the same breed but chalk and cheese.

Your pup's level of training sounds really impressive! We aren't doing puppy school but we will start lead training proper next week, when he can go out for his first walks, provided we are careful to avoid water and mud. Because he was too heavy to carry, we haven't really done much socialisation as yet, so it will be a big challenge for him and for me.

No suggestions from me regarding crating; all ours have been reared free range. We do have dog gates up, so pup can be restricted to the kitchen when need be, but he has the run of two rooms at night, so he can choose whether to lie on carpet or tiles. Same is true of our big girl, but she has the living room sofa as a bonus. He won't get that luxury until he's very much bigger!

Can I just have a rant? If you were an experienced dog owner with a well trained dog, and you saw someone obviously struggling to control a very bouncy puppy who is having a manic day and desperately wants to run to other dogs, would you throw your dogs ball right in front of them so that your dog sprints past literally two meters away? In an open park with plenty of space? I don’t know if it’s a deliberate showing off or just complete cluelessness, but it’s happened to me twice today. The more common issue is badly controlled dogs off leash whose owners shout “don’t worry” or “he’s friendly” or “sorry” from the other side of the park, but at least I know those humans are just 100% dicks!

And if anyone has tips for calming the desire to run to other dogs please do let me know. I’m consistently training the focus on me (treats whenever she looks in my direction), walk to side (treats in place, no movement or walking in other direction when pulling), and sit nicely and look (yet more treats 🤣), but it does feel like very slow improvement.

I sympathise @AirborneElephant , we have this problem all the time on our local meadow. There's a couple with two black Labs and a ball flinger and they take over the middle of a busy field, showing no consideration to any other dog owner. They'll fling the ball within feet of other dogs, including our big girl, who is walked on a long lead, and allow their dogs to skim right past within inches. It makes me furious, it's rude and inconsiderate behaviour. Clearly there are people like this everywhere.

Oh hello everyone can I join? We have a very cute, bossy and charming 13 week old terrier/shihzhu cross. Our older dog is the mammy. I am finding it a totally different experience trying to train a pup with mum on the scene - she is endlessly distracted by her mum/ must do what mum is doing etc. Over the summer, she loved to be outdoors with her siblings. They have left now of course.

my problem is, we had almost no accidents while she had another pup to go outside with. It just happened naturally. I thought we were doing wonderfully. No!!

now mum always wants to come back in quickly, so puppy thinks oh! Yes great idea. In we must go.

if I put her out, it’s tap tap tap on the door, the second mum wants to come back in, which is a shame as she loves rummaging about but is governed by her mums actions.

I’m not sure how to get around it? The accidents are getting worse not better!

DPup was accosted a couple weeks ago by an out of control terrier that ended up pinning him to the floor and ragging his neck. He was on a lead at the time as well.

Fortunately it was wearing a harness and I was able to pluck it off and hand it back to the owner who was most affronted. Apparently as it hadn't bitten then it was absolutely fine 🙄

Can you split them up @Boobyslims or will pup not tolerate that? Possibly something to work on at times during the day so puppy gains more confidence alone. In the meantime I guess my choice would be to force both to stay outside until pup has done its business. I think I’ve been exceptionally lucky with the toilet training - I think we only had about three accidents in total - so I may not be the best person for advice. But what we did was a very strict schedule starting every hour and increasing five minutes a day. Outside for five minutes, in pen for five, repeat until pee then reset timer.

Thanks for replying. Yes, we are doing every hour outside too. If I put mum out with her, mum doesn’t want to be out so comes right to the door and Pup follows. If I put her out without mum, she taps at the door the whole time to come back in. I go out with her to keep her out and she will mostly relax and toddle off exploring (and wee) but I am not always able to do that (I work from home but am frequently on teams calls!).

worse again is they can see us though two sets of double doors if we are in the living room or the kitchen so we get stared at until we relinquish 😆

but I suspect there is no easy route but to persevere.

I walk her both on her own and with mum as I want her to be ok without her. They sleep separately too, so she has a bit of independence. But it’s much harder to train a puppy when mum in this scenario - I didn’t anticipate this at all! I am not sure what is the right step forward!

Yes, I can see that’s really tough. We were luckily enough to have someone available to go out every time for those difficult first couple of weeks. A harder heart is probably required, together with going out with her as often as possible. Do you have any option for a smaller outdoor space you can partition off that she’ll associate just with toiletting?

i agree @AirborneElephant I need to tough it out! And I should use her pen more.

I suspect the dam/puppy dynamic is very different from having unrelated dogs as most of us do, so I have no words of wisdom @Boobyslims
The only thing I will say is that we take our puppy (currently 10 weeks) outside to toilet without our adult female (2.5 years). I think with toilet training, the fewer distractions the better. So we make sure he has done the necessary before we let the older dog out.

I feel very foolish because I didn’t anticipate this happening at all! 6am standing by the clothes line in my dressing gown in the pitch black looking at my feet so she doesn’t think I’m here to play but she is distracted enough to stay outside without mammy, I am not a fan 😁

I have to say, accompanying toilet trips in sideways rain and howling winds was not on my bucket list!

I often take ours out on lead for toilet trips if I want him to be quick. Otherwise he wanders about, tries to find fallen sloe berries to eat, sticks to munch, climbs the wood pile (why?!? Are you part mountain goat?!).

And if I let him out with older dog all he does is play until either I take him in, or when the weather was lovely, he is so desperate he has to peel off to pee.

It’s the 5.45am in the pitch black, sideways rain and dressing gown that’s a killer! That’s most definitely an on lead one! Thankfully he’s usually pretty quick for that one!

DPup is at his first sleepover at daycare, DDog1 and I are bereft 🥹

DCat OTOH 😆