Puppies

[S4buk]

It’ll be fine in time - our cat is living the dream having the second floor (the penthouse) to himself, we used to feed him downstairs in the kitchen but now he gets breakfast in bed and a VIP exit out the bathroom window. I’m sure you’ll make it work and they’ll at least learn to tolerate each other!

 

[GoofyPrincess]

Pup may feel a bit trapped in their sling if they are shy and hands are grabbing them so it may be best to tell people not to pet them then . When pup is on their lead they have the flexibility to step away from people. If someone asks to pet my ( now older) , I say if dog wants to be petted, the dog will either interact and go to them or move away. If pup goes to someone warn them they nibble.

That is a good point so will definitely think about that now when I take him out, thank you!

 

[S4buk]

Not sure if anyone is interested but we have progressed with puppy and cats! (The other one is there, you just can't see her!)

We're trying to reward him every time he doesn't bark or lunge forward. There is the occasional pull or bark but he's come on so much from just yesterday! They've been walking around that window all morning and he's only occasionally stood up and stared a bit.

Still not ready to have them in the same room for the cats sake but there is huge progress.

Ah please keep me/us posted. I’ve been navigating the dog/cat situation for the past 7 months (!). Cat still very much stays upstairs (without a VIP exit out the bathroom window and breakfast in bed) and we try to keep the dog downstairs although he thinks managing to get upstairs is the funnest game ever!

It’s quite sad because I know our pup just wants to play with our cat, she’s very gentle and gets quite upset when the cat hisses or meows at her (and gives her the off swipe). I am noticing it changing in that our pup is much calmer when the cat does appear and the cat tends to tolerate her a little bit more!

Keep going, looks like you’re doing a great job

 

[Magwitch]

Hey. So we’ve stuck it out (through many moments and shamelessly telling my husband we need to rehome him) and our pup is now 4 months old. The biting has calmed quite a lot (although he bit my toddler this week for the first time properly ) but he is fully toilet trained and we can leave him for 4-5 hours during the day now which makes life SO much easier. I know it will get even easier eventually so there is light at the end of the tunnel. Someone told me that the harder the puppy to train, the better the dog. I really hope this is the case. He is a clever pup but very demanding and clingy.

Well done for sticking it out so well. I have a cocker spaniel and I found it SO HARD when he was a puppy. I can't even imagine what it must be like with a toddler as well. He was an adorable puppy but like yours he was a terrible biter. It will be the cocker in him, they are notorious for it. I didn't have a single pair of trousers without holes in the legs, where he would cling on for dear life, and he was not a cuddly puppy at all, he would just be constantly nipping at your hands and clothes.

At four months your boy will still be at that stage (they go through two teething stages) but I promise you it will get much better soon. It's almost like a switch goes off when their adult teeth have set in. At four, my boy is the best, softest dog ever and so clever.

 

[Haneyg]

If the breeder is the type of breeder who would allow you to do video call (I know you don’t want to) then I would walk away.

I think she offered cause I live far from her. She is happy that I’m going in person. I said to the person going with me that I said I’ll tell them that I’ll think about which puppy I want on the way home incase I notice any red flags when there. And so my friend can also tell me if she notices any. That way I can walk away after seeing them if I need

 

[littlepup]

My 6 month old cocker is chewing everything at the moment I didn't mind so much when he was just chewing cardboard, destroying his cuddly toys etc. But in the last few weeks he's moved on to door frames and skirting boards and it's driving me crazy

He only does it when we're not in the house. We both work full time, but my bf goes home at lunch time to feed him and play with him for half hour, and we also have family members which drop by in the morning/afternoon for a quick toilet/play break outside. He has 2 baskets of toys, he's got loads. I always leave a puzzle toy out with treats in to try distract him, or a kong, he's always got loads of distractions but he's still going for my woodwork My bf has said if it carries on he'll put a play pen around his crate so he's very limited in where he can go. At the moment he has the dining room and kitchen to roam in, I don't really want to have to restrict him to just a crate and play pen as I'd rather he had the space he's got now but it's hard when he's then taking to chewing my wood

Is he a working cocker? To be honest, a cocker is a working dog even if it's a show type, hundreds of years of instinct is telling him to 'get out, get going, get busy' so he'll be bored and lacking stimulation if he's on his own all day bar half an hour or a quick wee. He's making his own entertainment. Toys you play with him with wont be fun on their own and puzzle balls and snuffle mats only fill a short time.
Could you stretch to a dog walker so he gets a good run out in the day time. Some scent work or agility training might be an idea if you have a free evening. Does he have time off lead before or after work? Have you tried frozen kongs? He needs masses of opportunities to do what his body is telling him so he's tired when he's alone.
There's a forum called cockersonline which can give you tons of help.

Re eating, a dog wont go hungry and but he will show preference and be stubborn to hold out for the better option if you keep offering 'nicer' alternatives. 3 meals a day aren't necessary now and if you're offering too much he won't eat it so it'll be a vicious circle or you thinking he's not eating because he's poorly, giving chicken and then he'll only want that. Stick with the kibble at set time, if he's really not interested after a few days you could try a different texture brand, add some wet food etc

 

[WilmaHun]

Can't believe we've had pup for 4 weeks, it's been hard work as my other dog still isn't keen on him! But out of all the dogs I've had he's been the most bitiest and growly!!

mine is really bitey and growly too atm! He doesn’t growl in an aggressive way but if you try move him when he’s comfy (ie on the sofa and we want to go to bed so want to move him to his bed in a different room) he’ll growl to let you know he’s not happy to move! His biting is hard work though tbh, it’s not constant, only when he has his mad 30 mins a few times a day, but it’s relentless during those times!

 

[Caffeine Fiend]

Speak to your vets. There is no blanket straight answer*, it should depend on their breed and behaviour. There are many reasons to neuter, but equally many not to.

As a loose rule my practice (I'm a vet nurse) says after 1yo for many dogs and +3 months post season for a bitch, but we also have a handout that explains there's a lot to consider.
Personally my bitch is still entire and is 2yo. She is reactive and neutering her is not in her best interests.

*ETA and I think any vets who are saying neuter at X age regardless of breed need to update their guidelines. It's a bit of an old-fashioned view!

Agreed. Our vets will only consider neutering when a dog is fully grown (which is obviously different for all dogs) and even then its not a blanket every dog should be neutered approach which is v old fashioned.

All of my male dogs have been kept intact. I do not plan on neutering them.

 

[101d]

I've posted in here before about our spaniel, she's a 19 month old show cocker and ever since the clocks went back her early morning starts have just gotten worse!

it's been the odd 4 am, sometimes it's 5, or after 6am. she used to get up for 6, do everything eat then backup for a couple of hours.

now it's go out for a wee, back up for a bit then back down for breakfast, then back up, we can't do the clock method as it's so in consistent 🥲 (if it was always 5 am then we'd push the time but it's not ) she gets a good walks, mental stimulation, play time, sleep time (she is very FOMO and likes to be with you or on you) very food motivated. (we have switched from Ava to Millie's wolfheart)

but I guess if you need a wee, you need a wee. there have been times where she got up at 7 even 8! but she has always been like this as a pup, she never liked her crate , (even though we made it the best thing ever!) she had beds but doesn't use them (sleeps upstairs with my mum)

just wondering if anyone else is going through similar/any tips? 🥲

Have you had her checked for any bladder infections?

 

[Haneyg]

I’m going to see some puppies on Monday so excited! I was going to wait till March but I thought why? I want to be able to go on long walks with the dog. If I get it in January then by summer it’ll be able to go on longer (obviously not too long as don’t want to over exercise as still a pup) walks than if I got it in March.
Going away for 2 nights in feb (although tryna change this if possible) and my friend will come look after the pup which I think will be good for socialising as want it used to as many people as possible.
I did originally want a papillon but going to get a cross breed (papillon cross), makes the insurance is cheaper which is a benefit.
They are papillon spitz crosses. Did find some poodle papillon crosses but didn’t want a dog I’d have to clip - I’d rather deal with shedding twice a year (although the breeder said one she kept before only sheds once a year).
I did want a female really but only 3 males left, I wasn’t to bother. I did originally always want a male but my mum convinced me to get a female .
Got a crate and playpen from fb mp ready. They are ready before Christmas but I’ll collect in January

 

[Padfoot]

Thank you! We know it'll pass as well but when you are in the moment it doesn't feel that way! What age did your pup stop? We have training classes a week Monday we also do some training ourselves (we went to puppy pre school and got some tips!) We know we aren't alone either but it's so hard!

my pup (cocker spaniel) was exactly the same at that age. I was at my wits end some nights in tears because I just didn’t know what to do. in the end i had to just keep putting him in the crate or behind the stairgate in the other room to calm down. sometimes he would be straight back on it like you say, so straight back behind the gate he would go.

all i can say is that the phase does pass and the pup will grow out of it. i promise, i know its hard, but it will pass

 

[carblife]

My 5 month old pup snatched a brownie out my hand a few days ago emergency vets, injection to make her sick & £300 later… she’s fine thankfully!! It was dark chocolate which had me panicking! She’s so fast I didn’t even see her coming, acts like she’s not fed

 

[epl000]

I've applied to adopt a retriever puppy from a local rescue. I'm nervous though! How did you all approach sleeping at night with your puppies? I don’t mind having them upstairs with me but I don't know how to go about it.

We have a golden retriever who is 10 weeks old and she has been really good at night sleeping alone in her crate. She cried a bit the first night and we just came downstairs and talked to her and she settled back down and went back to sleep, or if it was a more frantic cry we let her out to the garden, you could really tell when she needed to go to the toilet. We had a couple of accidents in the first few nights but generally we would wake up hear her cry and come down and let her out if needs be. She stopped with the crying for attention during the night by like the third night, and so only would cry out when she needed to go. For the past few nights she has only needed to go out once, and that has been getting later so the last couple of nights she is going from 11-5 fine. The key thing is making sure that she is playing enough during the day and going out to the toilet frequently during the evening (even when she is dozing, we wake her up and then encourage her to go out to the garden) and it has made such a difference. If we could just stretch it to 6am that would be great, and I think we will get there in a couple of weeks. The breeder recommended this - Amazon product and our pup loves it, would highly recommend. Good luck!

 

[Maid22]

Ahhh this is wonderful. Lots of positive thoughts being sent your way. Hope it works out.

Thank you, it went ok, my dog had 4 of them to contend with, he was good as gold, she's very nervey and wouldn't leave her owner alone, but she was abit feisty with my boy, and he didn't retaliate, next plan, she comes over here for a day, without her owner so she's out of her comfort zone, fingers crossed it works!

 

[37BBL]

We have a poodle, her mum is a toy and her dad was a mini, she is slightly bigger than a toy. Fantastic family pet, she can run for hours, daft as a brush and smart (when there's a incentive to be). Not too clingy but loves cuddles. I also own a 7 year old brat!

All I would say is don't expect no hair loss if you get a doodle type, when my dog was a pup she was dropping fluff everywhere! (Turns out its a thing but people pretend it doesn't happen) now she has her big girl coat she doesn't lose much, mostly notice it mixed with dust (joys of laminate).

She has lovely paws!!

Some of the suggestions here have definitely given us lots to go on. We're certainly not jumping into anything and want to make sure we do our research and have everything ready before we welcome a pup.

I think we are leaning towards a labrador, but haven't settled 100% on that yet x

 

[101d]

I love Rico. My colleague just got a puppy called Nico so I feel it’s too close but someone said he won’t care

Nah he won't care! My bestie had an Alfie who sadly crossed rainbow bridge, now I have a Ralf (Ralfy!) She loves him

 

[Maid22]

She’s a cocker spaniel. It’s weird because she loves people any other time (postman, delivery drivers etc) and she used loved making pals with other dogs when out a walk lol

I don't know the breed, but maybe she's about to come into season ?

 

[Felix08]

Does anyone use clicker training with their dog?

 

[rebeccasaurus]

You guys have really opened my eyes to the stress of owning a puppy and how tough they are. We have two cats and are considering getting a labrador puppy.
Has anyone had experience of cats with puppies? Our cats are quite chill with one of them being more than happy to be boisterous with the other one (she hates it!)

Everyone I know who have had cats then get a dog, the cat usually ends up being secondary to the dog.

I can’t speak for everyone. I was brought up with both. But a lot of my friends this has ended up happening.

 

[Murphygirl]

Has anyone got a second puppy after the first is around a year old. Just found out my boys parents may be having another litter and husband is keen to get one of the pups as would be a full brother. He thinks the older one will help mentor his younger sibling but I’m not so sure. My boy is nearly 8 months and while he’s amazing it’s been hard work and don’t know if I could go through it a second time