Can anyone offer any advice on a new baby, sorry puppy?

[Cob-Web]

i don't think that is a good idea, yes the pup is a part of the family now but you have to have ground rules from day one, other wise its not good....

Why not? What do you expect to happen? 

I know everyone does things differently, but I did exactly as Vera suggests and slept downstairs with Molo for a few days while he settled, so I'm interested to know why you think "its not good" ?

[claireandmartin]

surley the pup will get used to that and then when you try and get back to the norm routine that surley would be when the probs start, i dont claim to be a expert or anything i just think it would be better in the long run to start  from day one.
sorry if i upset anyone

[LurcherGirl]

surley the pup will get used to that and then when you try and get back to the norm routine that surley would be when the probs start, i dont claim to be a expert or anything i just think it would be better in the long run to start  from day one.
sorry if i upset anyone

You're not upsetting anyone... 

The reasoning behind this is that once the puppy is settled and more comfortable because he knows his surroundings, the noises, the people... it will be easier to get him used to sleeping on his own. In fact, in many cases, they then don't mind sleeping on their own because there is nothing there anymore to scare them. 

Vera

[Cob-Web]

The reasoning behind this is that once the puppy is settled and more comfortable because he knows his surroundings, the noises, the people... it will be easier to get him used to sleeping on his own.

I agree - if you consider how many changes you are asking a puppy to absorb all in one go on the day you bring him home (change of surroundings, loss of dame, and possibly littermates, as well as being taken away from the humans they are familiar with), then it is almost guaranteed that they will be distressed, so to add to that trauma by expecting him to sleep alone seems unnecessary to me 

[Helen]

I would get hubby to sleep downstairs another few nights until your pup settles, then I would move upstairs gradually.
 

I would go for this method too 

me too...

[claireandmartin]

i agree when you look at it like that , you know what i never had any probs with bailey at all she didnt bother about leaaving her litter mates etc , no crying or anything on a night, i guess i was lucky but when we brought bailey in she just sniffed round and started away doing what she does best stealing my little girls toys  

i must admitt i have had it easy compared to some

[mikenlisa]

Hi everyone,

I have posted pic of Poppy. Thank you all for your advise, I intend on putting them into practice from today/tonight. I brought her a crate today, she has been in it a few times since I brought it home (she is sitting on my lap whilst I am typing this message  ) still it's early days yet! I have spent more time pottering about the house today rather than sitting and giving lots of cuddles. Popped out for an hour today and left her alone whilst Mike (hubby) caught up with some sleep, so she wasn't totally alone, he said he didn't hear her crying, just her squeaky toy!The real test will be tonight of course, Mike is not too keen on letting her stay in the crate in the bedroom (he's already feeling pushed out!) and he has made his feelings clear about sleeping on the sofa again so I think it will be my turn tonight!

I know she is a puppy, but I don't like the thought of her being sad and lonely, I feel guilty - I know she is a dog, but she has had alot to deal with, being taken away from her mum, then her brothers & sisters.

Toilet training is going ok I suppose, one or ten accidents. I've been reading about washing the floors with washing powder - does it really work & does it have to be biological? I have washed all the floor in washing powder tonight (about the 20th time they have been washed today!) and so far so good.

I do have one concern at the moment - If I'm not quick enough, Poppy eats her doo dodo. Is this common, if so, will she grow out of it?

I'll let you know how I get on tonight.

Thanks again.

Lisa, Mike & Poppy

[cazza]

Fern never ate her motion yet  But some pups do 

Jock my 8 yr old lab does tho occassionally    I just try and stop him and pick it up as quick as poss  not always easy tho.

Just make sure she is being fed the right quantities and a decent food and at least that way you know she shouldn't be hungry or lacking in nutrients 

Good luck, I'm off to find the pictures of Poppy now 

[michelle123]

Hi Lisa

Just wondering how Poppy got on last night

Hope you all had a good nights sleep

[ali]

you know what i never had any probs with bailey at all she didnt bother about leaaving her litter mates etc , no crying or anything on a night

barkley was exactly the same. i suppose it's hard for those of us with pups who seemed to adjust very quickly and happily to life without their littermates to understand what it is like for those with puppies who find it harder.

[supaspaniel]

I think the most important thing is to relax and enjoy Poppy, then routines will just slip into place with an equally relaxed pup
I'm now going thru puppy stage no.5, which by no means makes me an expert. Every pup has been different and bloomin hard work at times. Aidee has been a bit of a nightmare at keeping quiet all thru the night. I've been getting up between 3am and 4 to let him out for a wee, but he now goes thru till 5.30ish when i get up anyway, so we've got there! (he's now 19 weeks). But he is an absolute joy in the daytime. Very chilled out (I think thats George and Linus's influence tho ) I gently make him wait for his food rather than barge into the bowl and he has learnt to wait and not barge thru the back door after a walk. But at the same time he has his playful wall of death moments around the house, which are fun to watch He is really quite obedient (at the moment ) I do have a problem with him meeting other dogs apart from our own and some people, but I'm working on that
Advice is great on COL, but everydog is different and not all things work for each dog, so you do have to work a few things out for yourself, take on board all of the advice and then see which bits of advice can be adapted to suit you and Poppy

Crates are the safest and best thing in my opinion, (having brought up George without one 11 years ago ) and I hope it has worked for you  and you had a reasonable nite

Have fun

[mikenlisa]

Hi everyone,

Well last night didn't go as well as planned. I put her in her crate (which I have now taken back to the shop and exchanged for a large one) and went to bed about midnight. Well Poppy cried and cried and cried - then there was silence for a while, not sure how long I must have nodded off, then my god did she cry. Poppy was so crying so loud, the whole road must have heard her. At just after 3am I got up to try and settle her and she was in such a mess - she had knocked her water over and must have done a dodo and ate most of it. All her bedding was wet and she was wet too and I was just too tired to do anything so I go an old towel for Poppy and a pillow and quilt for me and we snuggled up of the sofa together until 7am.

I know I am not making things easy for myself, but I couldn't leave her to cry. One of my neighbours, is not the friendly type, so I can't knock to explain anything to him unfortunately.

So I now have a larger crate for both Poppy and me (only kidding!) I also brought some wee mats today to. I have made a new bed for her, which she seems to like. I have been making more of an effort to not pay her too much attention and I've been showing her to her bed when she wants a cuddle to go to sleep. Toilet training seems to be doing well, only weed on the floor twice since this morning. Which is really good compared to yesterday.

Taking Poppy for her healthcheck shortly, so I hope that won't unsettle her. The real test will be tonight again.

With regards to eating her dodo, I feed her 3 times a day with 50g of her complete puppy food, as per instructions - Should I be feeding her any differently?

Thanks again everyone - I'll keep you all posted on tonights events! 

[supaspaniel]

There are a lot of different theories as to why they eat their poo.

Harmy did it for a while and my vet said it could be a vitamin b12 deficiency..in that he couldn't absorb it. We were going to wait until he was a few months older and test him if he was still eating the stuff, but he did stop doing it.
Some say they are  cleaning up  their area..I'm not sure what theory I go with, but it is not pleasant whatever the reason is. I wouldn't think its because she is hungry. I just cleaned up any mess as soon as to stop him, so it means being very vigilant.
Dont worry about getting up to poppy..if thats what you had to do then so be it..dont stress about it
I got up to Aidee , but I would clean him up gently and without saying anything, then put him back in his cage, then I sat near by, gradually moving further away, rather than actually snuggling up with him some nights he would be fine ..then some nights he be a pain. He gets told to be quiet now firmly and that works , but he is older and settled now, so I wouldn't do that with Poppy
It will get easier honest

[Cob-Web]

If you shut a young pup in a crate overnight, then you need to be prepared to let them out in the middle of the night, until they are able to hold their toileting all night 

Crating is often used as a method of toilet training, as they WILL cry in the when they need to go to the toilet rather than soil their bed space - and it sounds like this is what happened last night; poppy cried until she fell asleep, and then woke up needing the toilet and told you (and the rest of the neighbourhood) so  It should only take you a few days to work out the difference between the "I need the loo" cries and the "I'm lonely" cries......... 

Leaving a puppy crated, but then not going to it when it tells you it needs to toilet, is not really very fair - so if you really can't face getting up in the night, then its probably best not to shut the crate door, and be prepared to come down to a mess each morning 

[mikenlisa]

Hi everyone,

Poppy has just had her healthcheck and all is well. I thought Poppy would be a bags of nerves, but she had a great time rolling about in the vets table having her belly rubbed and bitting the vets nose.

I asked about her eating her dodo and I think it is something I'll have to get her out of. She doesn't do it when I take her in the garden (I do take her away as soon as she has been & clean up immediately) I'm just concerned when I am not round, like during the night.

The vet also spoke with me about pet insurance. I have already taken out insurance for Poppy with Tesco, but he suggested Petplan. I did shop around on the internet and Tesco seemed to offer the better deal. Can anyone make any recommendations?

Many thanks

Lisa