Puppies

[AladdinSane]

Our springer is 5 months next week and he’s definitely more chilled now.

On a normal day he’ll tend to have a 20 minute walk after tea and then usually sleeps on and off most of the evening then. Since it’s gotten colder, I’ve taken him during the day instead. At night when we go to bed, we tell him “bedtime” and he just takes himself off to his crate 🥲

I’m trying to leave him a little longer at a time now so have bought a pet cam so I can see how he gets on. He’s still only in his crate, so no free roaming when we’re out yet. So far he’s been left a couple of hours so I’m trying to extend on that.

What does everyone else do with their puppies when leaving them?

I'm so jealous you can leave him for that long ours is 7 months and we've only just mastered the hour. Plus he has to be super tired before we can leave.

He will definitely start to chill out though. Ours sleeps a lot more now than he did as a tiny puppy.

I just had to spend £89 at the vet today he's been sick on and off all morning (once in my car ) and refused to eat and was super lethargic but couldn't settle down (which for a labrador is super concerning!!)
He's had anti sickness injection and told to go back if he's sick again. He still won't eat but he's slept for a good two hours now straight through.
I'm hoping he's on the mend!

 

[nbt]

I'm so jealous you can leave him for that long ours is 7 months and we've only just mastered the hour. Plus he has to be super tired before we can leave.

He will definitely start to chill out though. Ours sleeps a lot more now than he did as a tiny puppy.

I just had to spend £89 at the vet today he's been sick on and off all morning (once in my car ) and refused to eat and was super lethargic but couldn't settle down (which for a labrador is super concerning!!)
He's had anti sickness injection and told to go back if he's sick again. He still won't eat but he's slept for a good two hours now straight through.
I'm hoping he's on the mend!

Yeah we have been lucky with him. I think because I’m at home basically all of the time, I’m very conscious of the fact that it could lead to separation anxiety, hence trying to build up the time a little.

Oh, I hope your little lab will be okay soon is this the first time he’s been sick? Funnily enough, ours was sick for the first time yesterday too. A very small bit on the way to training in the car which I didn’t even hear him do. I wondered if that was when he was in the car and I was de-icing it and he’d pulled at his harness to see me and made himself sick. But then it happened again a couple of hours later. He was totally fine other than that, so I was just going to ring the vets if he had been sick again, but thankfully not. Had yours had anything different? The only thing I could think of for mine was a dental stick I’d given him the evening before

 

[Bleurghgram]

Not a pup but my rescue dog is reactive. I knew that before I took her on but have been struggling with walking her, so was recommended to scale it right back as she can’t cope with the stress of the traditional two half hour walks a day. I’ve been reading Stop Walking Your Dog by Nikki French, it’s got really good suggestions of games to play to keep them mentally stimulated and she has videos of them all on her website too. They might be helpful to some of you who can’t get out yet x

 

[AladdinSane]

Yeah we have been lucky with him. I think because I’m at home basically all of the time, I’m very conscious of the fact that it could lead to separation anxiety, hence trying to build up the time a little.

Oh, I hope your little lab will be okay soon is this the first time he’s been sick? Funnily enough, ours was sick for the first time yesterday too. A very small bit on the way to training in the car which I didn’t even hear him do. I wondered if that was when he was in the car and I was de-icing it and he’d pulled at his harness to see me and made himself sick. But then it happened again a couple of hours later. He was totally fine other than that, so I was just going to ring the vets if he had been sick again, but thankfully not. Had yours had anything different? The only thing I could think of for mine was a dental stick I’d given him the evening before

He's not eaten anything that we know of. But he was at day care yesterday and could have got into all kinds of mischief. He will never eat socks or anything like that though. Only food. Something hasn't agreed with him.

Poor boy hasn't eaten since last night and won't even touch his food today.

The vet said if he gets worse, he'll need to go in for an xray.

I think he's just feeling rough and probably has a really sore throat due to throwing up bile. Poor kid has been sick 4 times in 2 and a half hours. I wouldn't want to do anything other than curl up and sleep if that happened to me.

 

[Murphygirl]

How did everyone crate train your puppy at night? Our crate is in the kitchen and he loves snoozing in there, however we haven’t closed the door much. At night he has been sleeping upstairs on our bed but he’s been unsettled the last few nights trying to get to sleep so think it’s time to bite the bullet and let him sleep in his crate downstairs as once he toilets at night he can last until about 7am. The vet did also think it was a good idea and suggested I just have a glass of wine and try to block out his crying! I just wondered do I check on him in the night or will that unsettle him more. Dread doing this but know we have to get into a routine sooner rather than later

 

[S4buk]

We were quite strict. She went to bed around 10pm and then covered the crate with blanket. I think she cried or woke up early the first few nights but we just ignored it after a while. She now sleeps until one of us wakes up, loves her crate (make it feel like her bedroom/own space). She will take herself off to bed most nights if we stay up later than 10pm (which upsets me as I don’t get my goodnight cuddles!) but yeah, stick with it.

 

[Caffeine Fiend]

I wouldnt personally leave him to cry it out. Im quite shocked a vet has advised that

If you want him to sleep in the crate Id bring it upstairs initially next to your bed to get him used to it , especially if you havent yet closed the door. Or if youd prefer sleep downstairs next to the crate gradually moving away.

Have you played any games with the crate in the day? Stuff like initially treating when your dog goes into the crate and then moving to treating when your dog stays in the crate with the door open. Creating only positive associations with the crate is really important.

Im not a vet or a dog behaviourist just a dog lover and we have slept downstairs with all of our pups until they have settled overnight. One of them took a good bit longer than the other two despite doing absolutely nothing different. None of my dogs have SA, are able to be left for short periods of time and are generally quite secure individuals however I have found building that secure attachment has been key for us.

Im not sure if you are on the Dog Training and Advice Support page on facebook. It really is an absolute treasure trove of info. They talk about a game called 'flitting' which really helps teach/train your dog how to settle in a room without you during the day and its actually quite simple to train. No heavy lifting for owner so to speak

 

[Murphygirl]

I’ve slept downstairs with him a couple of times but usually bring him up to bed with me when he settles but think tonight I’ll try leaving him in his crate and sleep nearby then build up to leaving him in the room alone as he’s not used to having the crate door closed for long periods so think I need to do a bit more work on that first

 

[Former_Antelopee]

I think I’d just let them cry it out especially if he is used to going to sleep in the crate in the day and go the night without needing the toilet. We did it with my dog and he was absolutely fine within a few days and as someone else said he also goes into his crate throughout the day and loves it.
I’d be careful covering the state as someone suggested as a puppy could easily pull it through slightly, chew and eat parts of the cover imo.

 

[nbt]

I don’t have any advice for them crying as ours took to it quite well fortunately. But I would echo making the crate a fun and positive place to be.

Throw some kibble in there and let him go in and out of his own accord to get it. You can then push the door closed but not lock it, giving him more kibble. Then just leave him in there a few seconds at a time, building that up. We did that straight from having him and I think it helped.

You could also put in a blanket or Teddy that smells of you for comfort? We didn’t have any issues with ours chewing any blankets or toys (that’s just started happening with toys as his teeth have gotten sharper!).

When ours woke in the night for a wee, I would go down and take him out, not fussing him or anything. At first it’d take perhaps 30 mins for him to settle again but this only happened for perhaps the first week. He just needs to know he’s only coming out for a toilet break, not for playtime or fuss.

 

[jayne2240]

We also did the cry it out method and they got used to it very quickly. Unfortunately for us we couldn’t spend all night sitting up with them & I really didn’t want them upstairs. Maybe I’m horrible but it worked for us and our girls

 

[Caffeine Fiend]

Its never been a long process for us at all. We sleep beside from the get go, one was sleeping all night no wakes by night 5 (this was the first one so no doggy siblings) one from about night 12, the other took 5 weeks but was settled in between toilet breaks. Woke up to toilet only, so straight out, no chit chat, back to bed.

Once my dogs are big enough though theyre welcome to come and go as they please, they have a bed in our room and tend to go between that, our bed and the kids rooms. They dont shed hair though so thats what makes it easier.

 

[Bleurghgram]

My dog’s started sleeping about half the night in the spare room on an inflatable mattress I had set up for when a friend stayed over. It’s made me wish I never caved and let her come in my room 🥲 she’s got all day to groom and lick herself, why does she have to do it when I’m trying to sleep. Stay strong everybody!

 

[Caffeine Fiend]

Omg the licking at night is horrific

I have boy dogs and its always the penis!!! Slurping away at themselves.

 

[Elle Woods]

My dog is now 1, he's brilliant. Still has his moments but generally he's good. I never ever thought I would say it, but I really miss the puppy stage At the time I don't think I appreciated all the good bits enough because I was so overwhelmed (and crying a lot) over the hard bits but now we're on the other side I miss it so much Desperately trying to convince my partner that we should get another but it's not going too well atm

 

[whisperchat]

You guys are being kept awake by licking, I'm getting kept awake by my dogs snoring.. He doesn't come in my room, he sleeps on the landing outside my door and he snores like what I can only imagine a hippo sounding like.. worse than a human sometimes.. This morning it woke me up at 5:30 and I opened my door and had to physically lift his head away He's a British bulldog so obviously its expected but god almighty give me strength.

 

[AladdinSane]

This may be a daft question but hoping for a little advice!

How do you know when your pup is ready to be left home alone? We're currently doing desensitising training with him and, if he's fed, watered, fully stimulated etc. We can leave him in his crate and he will drift off to sleep. He's stopped panicking so much when he wakes up as well and more often than not will wait for us to let him out. He does have the odd day where he loses it if he's not let out straight away but I'm guessing that's to be expected. He currently sleeps for around 1 hour at a time.

Do you think he's ready to be left? My biggest concern is him waking up and losing his mind but I'm not sure how to work that out of him without just taking the jump?

 

[Caffeine Fiend]

This may be a daft question but hoping for a little advice!

How do you know when your pup is ready to be left home alone? We're currently doing desensitising training with him and, if he's fed, watered, fully stimulated etc. We can leave him in his crate and he will drift off to sleep. He's stopped panicking so much when he wakes up as well and more often than not will wait for us to let him out. He does have the odd day where he loses it if he's not let out straight away but I'm guessing that's to be expected. He currently sleeps for around 1 hour at a time.

Do you think he's ready to be left? My biggest concern is him waking up and losing his mind but I'm not sure how to work that out of him without just taking the jump?

Have you got a camera? Theyre relatively cheap on amazon. Id start by staying local or even in your car on the drive way

That way you can watch and see how he is.

Good job on the desensitising training btw, you sound like you are doing a great job.

If he does wake up and is distressed just come back in as quickly as you can. When you do come back in youl probably know this anyway but be as neutral as you can be. You dont want to make you returning a positive thing as difficult as it is. I want to just smoosh my babies when I return

 

[AladdinSane]

Have you got a camera? Theyre relatively cheap on amazon. Id start by staying local or even in your car on the drive way

That way you can watch and see how he is.

Good job on the desensitising training btw, you sound like you are doing a great job.

If he does wake up and is distressed just come back in as quickly as you can. When you do come back in youl probably know this anyway but be as neutral as you can be. You dont want to make you returning a positive thing as difficult as it is. I want to just smoosh my babies when I return

To be honest that was my plan but didn't want to seem too much of a scared mum haha.
Ideally, both my partner and I would go out on Mondays and Tuesdays to play sport for a couple of hours which we've been splitting to ensure someone is at home with puppy. So I'm thinking I'll take a couple of weeks of testing him on those evenings but sitting outside rather than making the jump to going out both of us at once straight away.

Thats super helpful thank you!

Eta that yes I have a camera. I have far too many cos I'm a crazy pet mum

 

[G_man]

Start it off in stages, start by going upstairs and having a shower etc and giving him access to one place alone downstairs ie living room, restrict him to this room only as allowing him too much freedom is asking for trouble, start small and work your way up. It does depend on the dogs maturity and breed too.

Best advice i can give anyone is make sure you feed your dog the best you can afford. Honestly when it comes to animal nutrition you do pay for what you get, you dont have to feed raw but a good quality kibble. Please dont be temped by the fancy packaging you see in vets with gold writing, its usually full of tit fillers and animal derivatives