Dog thread 🐾🐶🐕🐾

[grievoustim]

they look a little bit ashamed TBH

[maggieloveshopey]

Letty’s day is just laying on her bed in the sun, getting too hot, getting up and going to lay on a cooler bit of floor, and then five minutes later going back to the sun. That’s not too bad, but she is struggling at nighttime. Her usual sleeping spot is against a wall, the other side of which gets direct sun all afternoon and into the evening, so the brickwork is pumping out heat late into the night. She finds it difficult, but trying to persuade her to sleep somewhere else freaks her out and she won’t have it. Cue getting up to give her water at 2am…

[maggieloveshopey]

[Brainfreeze]

Lidl?

[bunique]

Making herself at home. Feeling slightly less stressed this afternoon after a long time spent in the garden

[dingaling]

So close, yet so far

[SmittenMittens]

Missy finally got her hair did today. I’ve been more bothered about hers than mine!

[urbanfox]

Look at this good boy I just stumbled upon whilst doing a bit of bored Streetview-ing

[shinymcshine]

Can’t be too careful.

Experience: my dog stole my tractor

[anon5266188]

She’s so big now

[bunique]

Sorry, after advice again. I can’t read another book/website or watch another YouTube video, I need actual real life reassurance!

I know puppies bite and it’s normal and natural and part of their play. For those who are through the puppy stage, can you recall when it started to ease up and/or what steps did you take to manage it? She is launching herself at the kids and they are fed up already, as am I as I know I’m not supposed to be punishing her but don’t really know how to stop her. It’s at its worst when she’s tired but she’s terrified of the crate so simply putting her in there is not an option. She will eventually wind down on the sofa after trying to give everybody a good nibble and sleep for a bit. When she’s first awake she’s fairly calm, will engage in a bit of play and some training (trying to get her used to the crate by launching chicken in there liberally the second she shows any interest). She walks really well, using the garden to toilet brilliantly so far, she is great for being handled, but the biting and not sleeping is so stressful. I had to abandon our bed last night (the only place she will sleep at night right now after two horrific nights in the crate - I know, I know) as she was so bitey but she did eventually settle and sleep for 8 hours. She has the potential to be a brilliant dog but aargh.

Anyway, after all that moaning here she is looking cute with a teddy

[weeber]

We saw Reggie for the first time in months yesterday. He got a bit bigger in the interim:

[shinymcshine]

Yeah I’d agree with @wileycat that probably six months-ish but it becomes less and less frequent as they get closer to that stage. It is totally natural and in their dog packs they would normally try this behaviour for play/fun but as soon as they push it too far their mother or other older member of the pack would put them in their place - pinning them down or giving them a good warning bark.

I would suggest that rather than punishing you think of it as positive and negative reinforcement. If the dog gets too bitey you just stop playing with them immediately and the more they play sensibly the longer it goes on and maybe even give them a wee treat. I know that not all the biting will happen during play but that’s the time to reinforce these messages. Don’t be afraid if it is at other times to firmly but not painfully pin them down until they show their belly - that’s them being submissive. Or don’t be afraid to just put them in another room or the corner of the room and ignore them, until they calm down. I know it’s difficult with kids but screaming and running away is going to make the pup more excited and boisterous - stopping the fun as quickly as possible and a loud and firm ‘no’ is best.

I’m no expert but that’s what has worked for me in the past.

[bunique]

6-8 months sounds fairly common from what I’ve read. As soon as she gets bitey I’m trying to engage her in playing with a tug toy until that wears her out a bit. She will sit on the sofa with a chew toy for a while and she loved ripping an empty tissue box to bits yesterday. She likes to stick her nose right behind our backs to sleep, I guess a hangover from sleeping with her brothers and sisters?

Honestly never appreciated how stressful this would be despite all the background reading (that I’ve completely forgotten now she’s actually here) so have a newfound admiration for how you’ve dealt with your difficulties with Sascha and Willow!

[bunique]

The kids have coped with it better than I have. Thank you for the tips - for a vegetarian household we’re going to be buying a lot of chicken for the next few months, she’ll do anything for chicken

[dingaling]

6 - 8 months was when the biting calmed down here, too

I think as well you just get to know her habits and know what different behaviours are a cue for? Like after football, a drink, a hump ( ), fetch, a tug, Misty usually then starts getting a bit bitey or takes a soft toy and starts destroying it. But 9 times out of 10 it means she wants a good gnaw on something, so I’ll dig out one of her antlers or chew toys for her and she usually takes that and has a good chew before going to sleep

[bunique]

It’s definitely the not knowing each other well that makes it worse. She doesn’t mouth at all in the kitchen, so I’ve been taking her in there today to chill out a bit when she’s getting too much to handle in the living room. She’s started choosing toys out of her basket today, and has laid down in her crate, woohoo! With the door open but small steps. No idea how I’m actually going to work from home and entertain her, mind you. I think I’ll perfect the art of standing up in the kitchen typing while dangling a toy from the other hand

[anon5266188]

A lanky, beautiful gal!

[dingaling]

This looks like an oil painting

[shinymcshine]

“Mildred, they’re at it again.”