Puppies #2

[Curly]

My 7 year old daughter won't stop asking me for a puppy and I would love one too but I am in two minds about it. Firstly, it's only me and her at home so when I'm working I'd need to take the dog to my mums to be minded as I'm out for 10 hours on the days I work. Secondly, I'm worried that I'll regret it. When training is challenging I'm scared that I'll wish I'd never bothered. Any advice would be appreciated.

Not to be negative but it is a HUGE commitment.
After a 10 hour shift you need to come home and see to your child but the dog also needs lots of attention. Walked, fed etc. I imagine working long shifts and being on own with a child a dog will be stressful.
I work part time from home and I still get stressed BUT there is no other feeling than having a dog to love.

 

[N0sey.P4rker]

Ha ha I think they go through phases like toddlers and small children. Doubt you've done anything wrong. It's all a learning curve for me I'm a complete puppy mum novice x


It appears my sweet little girl (Dachsund Cross, nearing 8 months) has started bleeding today. I'm not surprised as she hasn't been eating as well and become quite clingy over the past week and the vet estimated August, so have been on the look out. She seems to be keeping herself clean and being very licky. She is drinking well, which is good. If anyone knows what she might find tasty to encourage her to eat a bit more. Or any tips in general, I would be really grateful. How long can I expect the bleeding to last? Many thanks x

Aw bless her, our girl was only 6 months old when she had her first season.

Try using pate. I'd recommend the JR Pet pate. You can cut this into chunks or even grate it into her food. You can also use it as a reward too.

Our girl was off her food, she eats kibble, so we were quite happy to leave it out for her to go back and forward too. I did give her scrambled egg occasionally if she hadn't been near her bowl for a day or so.

We came out of her season and went into a phantom pregnancy, so just be mindful of that

 

[Caffeine Fiend]

Personally I wouldn’t pay a deposit, how do you choose which pup to get if all the people who have put deposits down want the same one lol? Also if they have any health issues or accidents are they going to let you know or give you the option to have deposit back?

Generally first to pay deposit gets first pick. When we got out first ever pup, you didnt pick until 6 weeks when theyre little personalities have come out. We were actually the last people to pay a deposit.

We saw the pups at 3 weeks with mum and siblings and agreed we wanted one of them and paid deposit. We then went back to meet our pup at 6 weeks.

With our breeder if your pup was found to have a health issue after deposit is paid then you'd get your deposit back if you no longer wished to proceed with the purchase.

 

[Former_Antelopee]

Ended up taking my pup to the smaller puppy party yesterday he was the smallest and a bit nervous still but getting better. Went to the bigger one today and he was much more confident than the first time and didn’t just spend his time mostly on a kids knee and he actually played a little.
Took him to two one to one trainer sessions and he started his puppy classes last week. Just walking home now after a few hours rest so he goes to the toilet before his next class

Started letting him off the lead for the first time yesterday and he is doing great with recall and mostly stays by me anyway

 

[Lady1980]

Yeah between 6-18months they will become 'teenagers'

I feel like from 8-12 months he really calmed down and was much more manageable, then just the last couple weeks is being a dick again

 

[Bleurghgram]

@LifeOfMog My dog is muzzled in public and honestly she barely takes any notice of it. She was trained by the rescue so I didn’t have to do that but she puts it straight on for a reward and gets excited when she sees it because she knows what’s coming. Most people are still very sweet with her, a child asked their dad once why my dog had something on her face and I loved hearing the dad explain ‘maybe she’s scared of something, or maybe she eats things she shouldn’t’. None of it was placing any negativity on my dog

 

[Former_Antelopee]

My puppy (well he is one now just) had his last puppy tooth removed at the vets today. He is a sad boy tonight although quieter so it's a nice change for me

 

[Rodneytrotter]

I didn't go and visit the puppies in the end. I had a gut feeling that it was a puppy farm (or whatever you call it when they just keep getting bitches pregnant and selling the puppies cheaply).

So I'm a bit disappointed but probably dodged a bullet.

 

[Former_Antelopee]

Found out pets at home do puppy socialising and their classes only have 4 puppies. I’ve booked one for my pup but I did already book another. Hopefully the original place will allow me to change the date I go as I think my puppy needs to get more confidence first before going back there as there was too many dogs

 

[epl000]

Soak a small towel or blanket and freeze for a couple of hours, twist it and fold in half while its wet so it freezes in a rope shape- they will hopefully chew and enjoy! With my pup you can see her resting it in her mouth and it soothing her gums for a few seconds she is clearly relieved from pain

Old tea towels are great for this. Our pup preferred chewing on that to any of the chew things we bought her. We also found slicing up a banana and freezing it and giving her a slice or two was good to have something quick to grab when she was getting a bit mouthy/bitey.

 

[Former_Antelopee]

I keep adding another puppy to my pets at home account when I need to go so I get a new voucher for food and a discount voucher for anything else . Currently have 3 puppies on there, my actual puppy I’ve had nearly 3 weeks

 

[Curly]

Can’t wait till my puppy can do wait, leave it and drop
Right now it’s a whirlwind! He’s crazy and there has been a few moments of have we done the right thing but I also can’t imagine him not being here.
He’s 14 weeks and started puppy classes and we have noticed such a difference in him

 

[N0sey.P4rker]

Hey - little bit off-topic given current discussions. If you haven't already, download the Biscuit app. It basically pays you to walk your dog.

All you do is start the app before your walk and remember to finish it when you get back - or if you're like me half a day later

It only requires you to walk your dog 3 times a week to get 50 "biscuits", each walk you receive 25 "biscuits". I am currently sitting at 40 minutes walking, but this can be split however you want. One big walk, or smaller shorter walks.

You get bonus points for putting in their vaccination details, flea and worm treatments etc. These biscuits earn you points that can be used to buy vouchers for the likes of Tesco, Amazon or even conservation donations.

I've attached the link to the website for you to check it out - Biscuit | Get rewarded for walking your dog | Biscuit (biscuitpetcare.com)

I am in no way affiliated with the app, I know the above probably sounds like it. Just thought some of you might find it useful. Quite good if it's getting to the end of the month and things are a bit tight. A friend done all their shopping for Christmas dinner using all the points they'd earned!

 

[Mrsptobe]

Hello
I’m new to this thread & I’m so glad I’ve found one about pups!
I’ve just been gifted my first puppy (pedigree whippet) and I wish I’d have known how exhausting it was going to be!
I need some words of encouragement to know it does get easier…please

 

[Lady1980]

my puppy was a big biter and the best toys I got for it were £2 from home store and more. months later it’s one of the only ones he had that’s not totally ruined. he also liked rope toys with the rubber ball at the end, and toothbrush chews.View attachment 2710497

Great, Thanks, I've not actually tried any of those.

Mine liked these “flavoured” ones:

https://www.petsathome.com/shop/en/pets/just-for-puppy-small-milk-bone-puppy-toy

https://www.petsathome.com/shop/en/pets/nylabone-dura-chew-x-bone-beef-dog-chew-toy-puppy

https://www.petsathome.com/shop/en/pets/benebone-puppy-chew-toy-bacon-x-small-2-pack

Check the sizes for your pup but the nylabone and benebone you can get on Amazon so I think they’d have more choices size wise.

I do have some nylabones but he doesn't touch them. I don't think they're flavored though so will try the bacon ones. Surely he can't resist those?!

 

[Caffeine Fiend]

Is the pets at home site a good place to buy a puppy?

It can be ok but puppy farmers can also be on there.

If you're after a specific breed then Id try to find a well known reputable breeder. You will often find with an above board good breeder they have very fewer litters so you may need to wait a while and go on a wait list.

Go with your wits about you, ask to see mum with pups as a non negotiable, if Dad can be seen, ask to see him too. Ask to see papers and relevant health testing certificates. If anything seems not right or dodgy, walk away.

 

[epl000]

It appears my sweet little girl (Dachsund Cross, nearing 8 months) has started bleeding today. I'm not surprised as she hasn't been eating as well and become quite clingy over the past week and the vet estimated August, so have been on the look out. She seems to be keeping herself clean and being very licky. She is drinking well, which is good. If anyone knows what she might find tasty to encourage her to eat a bit more. Or any tips in general, I would be really grateful. How long can I expect the bleeding to last? Many thanks x

Aww, hope she is coping okay and you're giving her lots of cuddles. Our girl was really off her food during her first season, but when I spoke to the vet they said not to worry too much as long as she was drinking. We tried all sorts, adding chicken or sausage to her dry food, gravy, scrambled egg, and to be honest, I'm not sure how much difference it made but at least she was eating something. I think on average its about 2 weeks, it felt like it was going on forever for us as she was just so sad and mopey but looking back it probably wasn't even a full two weeks and she bounced back quickly afterwards and was back into her food and playing again.

 

[allthingschocolate]

When I was looking champdogs seemed a good place to look and was recommended to me as a good place. I did contact a few breeders on there but then went against most of the advice I'd give people . If I did it again though I'd pick my breed and look for a breeder who did health tests particular to that breed, usually if you Google the breed and health tests that the parents should've had before breeding. I'm not 100% sure but I remember something in champdogs where if I clicked a breed/breeder it would show some recommendations for what should be health checked.
As you said see the mum. A lot of good breeders may have waiting lists for a puppy so better to contact sooner than later. I've seen some that will instead of letting you go and pick a puppy will match the puppy based on personality. Some will also have contracts to sign and I think it's the same as with cats but may be wrong but if KC registered I found good breeders will put them on the inactive register so if they are bread the pups can't be registered to prevent breeding. I also wouldn't get a puppy unless it has had its first vaccine just to make sure it's been vet checked beforehand. The person I got my dog from asked me if I wanted the vaccine doing before I picked her up because she said some people don't want it doing as they'd rather get a package deal at their own vets. I was just more concerned it would be easy for them to say the pup was vet checked if I didn't get any vaccine record.
I think some breeders will also have a clause to say you can return the puppy within a certain time frame if any health issues so I'd maybe check that and if so get a health check asap before I got too attached.
You could always Google the breed as well as a lot of breeders have their own websites which goes into detail about their breeding

Ahh thankyou all really helpful advice! I Definitely will make sure first vaccine is given like you say at least you know they’ve been seen by a vet, yes I will Google the breed and tests they should have really appreciate it

 

[allthingschocolate]

I'd also advice getting insurance. And looking into puppy classes if that's what you'll do as from what I found they get fully booked so best to get your name down/on a waiting list

Yes already been looking into this Thankyou

 

[Hamburglar]

Someone in my puppy class was asking about fussy dogs. The girl suggested putting the bowl down and remove it after half an hour, if they’ve not eaten it. And continue this. The dog will learn if I don’t eat it, the food goes away so I better eat when it’s there

We tried this with ours and he gave absolutely no fucks and just wouldn’t eat for days He’s better now but we do have to leave it out for an hour or so some days and he’ll eat when he feels like it