Puppies

[Monkeymagic85]

We do have some friends who once we said we were getting a dog wanted to puppy sit luckily my boyfriend will have the 6 week holiday coming up so we should be OK for 6 weeks. His parents live in the same town I work in so we're planning to see if they can support one day a week. Pup will be fully vaccinated when he comes to us.

Honestly I don't know how people did it when we didn't work from home. It's crazy how much you have to think about.
My boyfriend thinks I'm overthinking things but I just want to make sure everything is right and we do the best by the puppy and the cats that we already have.

Re crates, while pup is toilet training, I would go for a metal cage, they have a plastic base and easy to clean, they also fold down and can be used for holidays. We still use our cage at night as she has always slept there, it's in the dining room so I don't have to look at it .

The wooden ones are really pricey, I wouldn't bother unless you're having it somewhere where the look would bother you. I would also imagine the wood could be chewed

 

[AladdinSane]

Re crates, while pup is toilet training, I would go for a metal cage, they have a plastic base and easy to clean, they also fold down and can be used for holidays. We still use our cage at night as she has always slept there, it's in the dining room so I don't have to look at it .

The wooden ones are really pricey, I wouldn't bother unless you're having it somewhere where the look would bother you. I would also imagine the wood could be chewed

Perfect thank you. I did think this about toilet training and chewing. I don't want to spend a ridiculous amount and it be ruined whilst he's still a pup!

Honestly I keep going from super excited to absolutely terrified we will mess it up and ruin both our lives

 

[Caffeine Fiend]

We do have some friends who once we said we were getting a dog wanted to puppy sit luckily my boyfriend will have the 6 week holiday coming up so we should be OK for 6 weeks. His parents live in the same town I work in so we're planning to see if they can support one day a week. Pup will be fully vaccinated when he comes to us.

Honestly I don't know how people did it when we didn't work from home. It's crazy how much you have to think about.
My boyfriend thinks I'm overthinking things but I just want to make sure everything is right and we do the best by the puppy and the cats that we already have.

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

 

[Saddlesoap]

We do have some friends who once we said we were getting a dog wanted to puppy sit luckily my boyfriend will have the 6 week holiday coming up so we should be OK for 6 weeks. His parents live in the same town I work in so we're planning to see if they can support one day a week. Pup will be fully vaccinated when he comes to us.

Honestly I don't know how people did it when we didn't work from home. It's crazy how much you have to think about.
My boyfriend thinks I'm overthinking things but I just want to make sure everything is right and we do the best by the puppy and the cats that we already have.

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.

 

[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.)

 

[Saddlesoap]

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.

Ahh good. Have a read about socialisation, it's a bit of a misnomer and confuses a lot of my clients. It's not just about 'meeting' it's about experiences to everything - sights, sounds, textures, people, touch

 

[S4buk]

Advice needed! My partner is getting really upset because the dog keeps chasing our cat. Our cat is treated like an absolute prince, he has the entire upstairs, breakfast in bed , VIP outdoor access via the bathroom window, whilst the dog has downstairs but on the occasion they cross paths the dog tends to chase after him (obvs in a playful way). Is this something that will calm down as the dog gets older (she’s only 6 months)?

 

[Caffeine Fiend]

Advice needed! My partner is getting really upset because the dog keeps chasing our cat. Our cat is treated like an absolute prince, he has the entire upstairs, breakfast in bed , VIP outdoor access via the bathroom window, whilst the dog has downstairs but on the occasion they cross paths the dog tends to chase after him (obvs in a playful way). Is this something that will calm down as the dog gets older (she’s only 6 months)?

You need to train your dog not to chase. It could be normal puppy head behaviour that will right itself but I wouldnt count on that.

Some cats will control the situation themselves and after a few swipes of a claw the dog will learn.

However continually working on stay / leave should work wonders here. Also if they dont interract much pup will be exciteable when he sees the cat.

 

[AladdinSane]

Advice needed! My partner is getting really upset because the dog keeps chasing our cat. Our cat is treated like an absolute prince, he has the entire upstairs, breakfast in bed , VIP outdoor access via the bathroom window, whilst the dog has downstairs but on the occasion they cross paths the dog tends to chase after him (obvs in a playful way). Is this something that will calm down as the dog gets older (she’s only 6 months)?

Let me know how you go with this!! Has your cat got used to the dog?

 

[S4buk]

She is used to her, they can coexist in the garden and I don’t think he’s particularly scared of her - he just doesn’t like being chased!

 

[WilmaHun]

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

 

[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.

 

[WilmaHun]

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.

Yeah I did wonder about anxiety

I do have a camera! Generally he'll just be laying in his bed, or playing with toys then he'll take to the door frame etc. I check the camera very regularly and he never barks/whines when we're not there (unless he is being snouty out the window and spots our neighbours cat on the fence!)

He did chew the door frame once when I was at home, but I caught him, moved him to where his toys were and he's not done it with me around since.

 

[Monkeymagic85]

Yeah I did wonder about anxiety

I do have a camera! Generally he'll just be laying in his bed, or playing with toys then he'll take to the door frame etc. I check the camera very regularly and he never barks/whines when we're not there (unless he is being snouty out the window and spots our neighbours cat on the fence!)

He did chew the door frame once when I was at home, but I caught him, moved him to where his toys were and he's not done it with me around since.

You could try granny's bitter apple spray, this stopped my dog licking her paws. You could also maybe put a radio on for background noise and maybe put something that smells like you in his bed?

I also wouldn't let him have too much space to roam around in , dogs get stressed if they feel they have a large area to patrol.

If we go out for a short while we keep our dog in her cage, if we're out for longer she is just restricted to the kitchen. In both scenarios she just sleeps!

 

[Padfoot]

Can't believe we've had her for two weeks now and it's been quite wild and an eye opener but she's so cute and cuddly but can also be really bitey

 

[WilmaHun]

Can't believe we've had her for two weeks now and it's been quite wild and an eye opener but she's so cute and cuddly but can also be really bitey

omg she is beautiful

 

[WilmaHun]

My pup is 6 months old but he's still currently having 3 meals a day as the vet said to keep it that way until 1 year. The last few days he's just not interested in his breakfast or lunch at all. I walk him early morning then give him his breakfast after, but he just isn't interested. But in the evening after his walk he'll scoff it all down. I wondered if he'd decided to be picky about his biscuits so I tried him on a handful of different ones and he ate them but wasn't particularly bothered - it took me a few minutes of waving them under his nose. I boiled some chicken and gave him that with a handful of his usual biscuits which he scoffed down. Could it be that he's just being picky, or gone off the biscuits we were giving him? I know you shouldn't change a dogs biscuits suddenly, but if he's not eating them I don't know what to do? Or could this be his way of telling us he no longer needs 3 meals?

He seems fine in himself, really playful etc. I get access to an online vet service through my insurance so I think I'm going to speak to them tonight as I can see on the camera he's still not touched his biscuits from breakfast but I just wondered if anyone had experienced similar or had any thoughts?

 

[Caffeine Fiend]

We dropped to 2 meals at 6 months but made them bigger to account for his whole daily intake. Has the vet given any reason as to why to continue with 3 meals?

Whatever you do, do not start topping his food with human food etc because itl make him fussy. Put the food down, if not eaten within 10-15 minutes lift it and put it down at next meal and repeat. A dog wont starve itself but they are clever little buggars and will learn v quickly if I dont eat this I'll get something better. I have seen so many people come a cropper with their dogs and fussiness.

My two are raw fed, get one meal in the morning and one in the evening. They eat right away and bowls get lifted. Dont leave it out as a grazing platter.

 

[WilmaHun]

@Caffeine Fiend Thank you, your advice is so helpful on this thread! I think I have come a bit of a cropper because I panic about him being hungry or ill so I leave the food down for him, or as I already said, boiled him some chicken! Everytime I google it, it instantly says it's an infection or illness etc which makes me panic! I'll try what you've said about lifting the food and offering it again at the next meal. The vet didn't really give any reason to be honest, when I took him for his last checkup as he goes monthly for his flea & worm treatment I asked about dropping a meal and the vet just said no, I recommend 3 meals until he's 12 months. Now he's 6 months though they will finally give me 3 months worth of flea and worm stuff so I don't have to take him every month!

 

[Caffeine Fiend]

@Caffeine Fiend Thank you, your advice is so helpful on this thread! I think I have come a bit of a cropper because I panic about him being hungry or ill so I leave the food down for him, or as I already said, boiled him some chicken! Everytime I google it, it instantly says it's an infection or illness etc which makes me panic! I'll try what you've said about lifting the food and offering it again at the next meal. The vet didn't really give any reason to be honest, when I took him for his last checkup as he goes monthly for his flea & worm treatment I asked about dropping a meal and the vet just said no, I recommend 3 meals until he's 12 months. Now he's 6 months though they will finally give me 3 months worth of flea and worm stuff so I don't have to take him every month!

Youre very welcome. I have learned a lot by lived experience unfortunately

Try not to panic, he will not starve himself but they are clever and will learn quickly that they can get what they want.

I know its not the same but Im the same with my kids, I never force them to eat but I wouldnt add mcdonalds chips to every meal to get them to eat it. I give them food, always something on the plate I know they like, if they dont eat it that time no biggy, they can eat at the next meal (not the same food obviously!! )

Just go back to basics, food down, lift if not eaten, repeat. If they know its not left there to graze on theyre more likely to eat it when its put down.

Also if feeding kibble you can do it in a variety of ways so in a kong, snuffle mat, puzzle bowls, sometimes working for the food makes them more interested.

I'll attach a link below, its from the website of the food we use but the hints and tips are definitely not affiliated with the brand. They can be helpful for all food and all dogs.

Dog Not Eating? What to Feed a Fussy Dog – Bella & Duke

Is your dog not eating? Perhaps they are a fussy eater? Use these sure-fire methods to get your dog eating again, find out what to feed a fussy dog.

www.bellaandduke.com