Puppies

[Caffeine Fiend]

Arrhh no I know you wasn’t ..It can just be very stressful at times and I can’t really move for him ..If I leave the room he’s right behind me It can get a bit much ..And my husband is finding him hard to bond with because of the gowling ..So we argue about it ..It’s not how I imagined it that’s for sure ….

They are velcro pups for sure. Both of mine get stood on constantly and never learn Ive been close to a sore one with them being under my feet too.

Licky mats are good at training them to stay put.

I dont think its ever how we imagine. Before I got my 2nd pup I used to say I wish I could just get a dog that was 18 months old and trained the puppy stage really put me off getting another dog.

 

[Hamburglar]

What are your best toilet training tips. We picked up our pup (15 weeks) a few days ago. First night she got 2 pees in the garden but since then they’ve all been in the house, and pooing on the stairs

we’ve been leaving the back door open and I’ve actively been putting her out even when it’s open but any tips would be greatly appreciated.


also, does anyone have one of these, are they worth the money? I feel it might be creating a rod for my own back with it though

Despite following all the usual advice about taking them straight outside when waking/after play/food etc, my boy was a lot older when we finally cracked it (to the point where I thought he was just going to poo in the house forever ) - the thing that finally did it was taking him out every 90 minutes through the day and staying out till he’d been.

We’ve also taught him a cue “go wee wee” which is brill cause if we need to go out or we’re going inside somewhere like a shop and he’s not necessarily needing the toilet, he’ll go on cue and then I know he’s ok for a few hours. But that took the best part of the first year

 

[freshhead]

I have a 3.5yr old and considering getting a dachshund puppy.
Does anyone have any experience of this age with a very small dog? Will it be better for me to keep them separated for a while?

 

[Maid22]

What is everyone planning for Bonfire night? We've got the pup and two cats. The cats have never really been fussed about Bonfire night and will happily sit and watch the fireworks but with a pup I'm not so sure.

We're thinking about going to my parents in the country but then I'll feel guilty about leaving the cats alone

Tbh, I'd stay at home, try to keep him distracted, put the volume up on TV or radio, try not to see you worrying about it, easier said than done I know, but I've never had an issue with fireworks with any of my dogs, but thunder used to really bother my old boy!

 

[S4buk]

Re: Crates, we've also kept our puppies bed in there but its now taking up quite a lot of space and the dog tends to sleep half in and half out (she's grown a lot!) do you all have beds in your crates or is it fine to just have blankets, which will give her more space and means she can relax in her bed outside the cage? I think we may need a bigger cage!

 

[Caffeine Fiend]

Which vaccine did you pup have first? Your vet should continue on that? If not then youd need to do the full course if its a new one. So if your breeder hasnt used Lepto 4 then its unlikely your pup will have that.

Personally I havent heard great things about Lepto 4 but neither of my breeders have used it so hasnt been an issue here.

 

[vanilla cupcakes]

@vanilla cupcakes we are definitely the same person also have cockapoos.

Im in work atm but will come back later. They are definitely v v v bitey pups.

Haha I was thinking this when I was reading through the thread

 

[Caffeine Fiend]

I feel really bad for writing this, but am struggling with pup and my other dog, we really thought our other dog would be ok as he was brought up with other dogs, but he really doesn't like him, I soo want it to work but it really is hard work.

How long have you had your pup?

It took quite a few weeks for us for them to even be friendly. We're about 3 months in now and they are happy enough around each other and play but my older one still gets v sad if I pet the younger one

If you can still walk your older dog alone, play with your older dog and give them 1 on 1 it will help a lot. Not saying ignore your pup but dont overly fuss them.

 

[SonicTheSpikeyThing]

Hope it’s okay to ask but how did today go @Maid22 I’ve been thinking of you

 

[S4buk]

That’s brilliant news! How are the cats getting on with the pup? We’re still trying to keep the separate (the cat now has a vip entrance/exit to the garden via the upstairs bathroom window) but Pup is desperate to play with him but he ain’t having none of it.
Any other cat/dog experiences?

 

[AladdinSane]

How old will he be when you get him if he's going to be fully vaccinated? It's going to leave you with a small socialisation window, so maybe ask the breeder if they are doing any.

Oops I've just Re read the message and he's going to have had his first vaccination not his second when he comes to us. He will be 9 weeks as we are going to pick him up the weekend my partner breaks up from work so I'm not home alone with two cats and a new pup (ill definitely need back up!)

The puppy is from a friend who works on a moor. He's got 6 dogs, two ferrets and some cats. And 4 kids. So the puppy will definitely be around lots of animals and people.

I've also got a few friends here who have smaller dogs who they've said I can bring him round to meet once he's vaccinated and settled.

Youre definitely not over thinking. Much better to be over prepared than underprepared. If your partner will be home for 6 weeks thats brilliant. Definitely approach a dog walker or day care for when they go back to work.

From reading posts here youl see theyre still v wild until at least 6 months but can take them a good 18 months to fully mature and stop doing really silly things

Id agree with a metal crate for now if you plan on using one. Wood is too easily soaked with piddle or chewed. They do love a good chew on wooden things

Thank you for the reassurance!

My partner has also said he does not want to work in a school anymore so this may be the kick he needs to get a WFH job!

He just got a promotion in his secondary role (sports coaching). Not enough to quit entirely but enough to take on a part time role (whether that's at home or in an office I'm not sure but we could certainly make it so his days at home, I'm in the office and vice versa.)

 

[Caffeine Fiend]

Could he be chewing as hes anxious? The fact he's only doing it when youre out and the fact its a new thing would indicate this.

Cockers are dogs that thrive on human contact and it wouldnt be unusual for them to have seperation anxiety. Usually its the floor / skirtings / doors that get the chomping.

Whilst restricting the space may stop the chewing, if it is separation anxiety, it could manifest itself in other ways like howling, barking, crying, toileting.

Do you have a camera on when youre not there? What is he doing before the chewing starts.

 

[Be creative]

How did everyone get on with crate training? My pup hates his crate and screams for 30-40 mins each night when I put him in.

 

[Haneyg]

If theyre 8 to 10 weeks Id collect asap personally. Youre missing out on socialisation time if you wait until January.

Also gets them used to your christmas tree this year. I collected a pup just before Christmas last year and it did go ok and has ignored it this year!

Your dog wont be able to do really long walks until theyre about a year old / fully grown. But will be able to do long plays on grass / sand / soft ground

Yeah I plan on carrying on long walks although I’d probably not go on very long walks anyway till they are older. Anything to get me out the house is better than I do now. A lot will be socialising as well like going to garden centres etc so won’t be hard walks. A lot will be going somewhere in the car so it’s used to the car as well. Once old enough I plan to do agility as well
I’m waiting till after Christmas because I can get more time off work then plus I have some extra work over new year whereas after I won’t. It’ll only be 10 weeks when I collect anyway, they aren’t old enough to go until end of December. Going to pick one on Monday as I’d rather go in person rather than do it via video call.

 

[GoofyPrincess]

Kongs are genius but found our pup was cleaning it out in a matter of minutes. We now fill it with dogs peanut butter and freeze it - lasts much longer and I think helps with the teething

Great tip, I'll try that thank you!

 

[Former_Antelopee]

Thank you for all your replies! I got two crates last night from family (one large and one smaller for pup stage) so they are sorted. Beginning to feel real now
At the weekend I’m going to head out and get other stuff, toys, pads, a bed, bowls, treats etc. I’m getting a bag of food for him from the breeder so that’s one less thing to buy straight away.
Regarding insurance, is there a specifically well renowned company any of you use?

Definitely Petplan. But otherwise heard good things about the big supermarkets and also bought by many.
One thing you could do is ask your vet what insurances they deal directly with if they’ll tell you. I know they could change their policy, you could end up changing vets who may not deal directly with them or need to go to a specialist who doesn’t either but it could be handy to know. Definitely get covered for life insurance (that’s what petplan call it, maybe called different by different companies).
I’d probably get at least £12k cover for a dog but definitely not less than £6k cover. As monkeymagic said your breeder probably will give you so many weeks free cover, probably from petplan and you can phone to carry this on but not sure how much cover it will be.

 

[freezelouise43]

When a dog is in public, onlookers have no way of knowing knowing if that dog is up to date with vaccinations , or if it has had recent worm or flea treatment. All other dog owners can do is take these preventative measures for their own dog, to reduce their own risk of catching anything that may cause them ill health.

I would just say you don't have time to check on her dog as much anymore , and ask to return her key.

Thank you for replying! It just makes me so so angry how neglected she is…I lost my last little girl at a younger age and she had a wonderful life, same as My current dog. Not fed proper food, left alone sometimes over night, no vet care. Her attitude is “in the wild they wouldn’t have all this nonsense”…but they aren’t in the wild

 

[vanilla cupcakes]

Does anyone have any tips on resource guarding? A lot of the research I’ve done says to just leave them to it and reassure them that they’re not getting things taken off them etc, but our boy does it with things he picks up off of the ground (crisp/sweet wrappers, bags, food) so it’s not things he can keep or we can give him time with because we obviously don’t want him to swallow them. We’ve tried the highest value rewards with things he really likes and would usually do anything for (liver paste, cheese) but he pays no interest and totally focuses on whatever he’s picked up. He’s went for/bit us when trying to get the stuff off him and he’s around kids quite often so don’t want this to get any worse. We obviously try and stop him from picking things up but there are odd times he does it before we notice, especially when he’s off lead

 

[Felix08]

What breed is he? How often do you wash him?

He is a Shih Tzu. Not that often really, we have him for 2 months and Think he´s been washed 3 times by us, once at the groomer.

Most dogs smell especially when they're wet! My collie has bladder issues, he can smell of immonia, so if that's a smell, take him to vets!

No it´s not immonia, it´s that typical dog smell.

 

[epl000]

Its v likely related to the season. She will be completely out of sorts. It should pass

Fingers crossed, she has been really good for the rest of the week, but so clingy and wanting all the belly rubs and just looking quite sad. Have been telling her I know how you feel! I'm hoping some nice Yorkshire sunshine and all the fusses from my parents will cheer her up this weekend (and plenty of titbits too).