[Wilverley]

Hi,

Woody is 12 weeks today and I thought it would be really interesting to compare notes with people who picked up their puppies at the same time.

He has grown so much already and suddenly has very long legs Some things have been going really well (crate training, toilet training, feeding). Others a bit more tricky. He was starting to calm down a lot on the jumping up and nipping as we ignore him or put him in the bathroom when he's really being a monkey. Unfortunately, a visit from my in-laws at the weekend seemed to put things back to square one...in fact make things worse than they'd ever been before which has been a bit of a pain! Don't know if it was because he was really excited to have new people around (and they weren't great at ignoring him if he was biting) or whether he would have hit this stage anyway?

He has learnt 'come', 'sit', 'fetch' and 'stay' (with varying reliabilty I have to admit!) We're having problems with 'leave' though as he wants to play with anything and everything and hangs on for dear life. (Any tips welcome as it gets on your nerves walking around with a puppy hanging off your jeans).

We've taken him out a few times now which has been lovely. We need to do a bit of work on walking on a lead though as he is all over the place. He is constantly busy - things to do, people to see!

Puppy training classes start on Monday so we're looking forward to those to get lots of tips and make sure we're doing the right things. I've definitely found it quite difficult from time to time (totally new experience and not previously a 'dog person' - in fact he makes me a bit nervous at times which I know doesn't help at all) but also had lots of fun with him. He is part of the family now and we love him, even if we don't always love what he's doing!

 

[Lozza]

Great idea! It's lovely to hear how everyone is doing. Boston has really settled in well and we absolutely adore him. Can't really imagine life without him now!

He is doing very well with his crate training...he sleeps through the night from 10:30pm to 7am without a sound and with a clean crate 99% of the time. He is really getting the hang of going to the toilet outside, and now sits at the door whenever he needs to go. We still have the occasional accident inside but it will now be at the door whenever we haven't seen him quick enough.

His training is also going well. He has mastered sit and down like an absolute pro. He can also do (with varying degrees of success): fetch, drop it, off, gentle (when taking a treat) and heel. He is struggling a little with stay, so we are currently focusing on that. He is a whisker away from doing roll over...I reckon the next session I do with him, he will get it. We are also practising lots of "good manners", like sitting before getting his dinner or leaving the house. Most of these he now does without being asked. We start puppy training classes on sat 5 November. I am sure he will love it!

We've been going for walks every day and like Woody there is sooooo much to see and smell, we don't get far. Plus, he loves to eat everything in sight, so I am constantly dragging stuff out of his mouth. As we live in south London, this is actually a big challenge, as there is so much litter on the ground. His loose leash walking is ok and we continue to practice. He is starting to learn that kerbs mean to sit and wait til mum says its safe to cross and then we have to go quickly. Once on the other side he is starting to look up to me with the "where is my treat?" face.

He had an upset tummy over the weekend with diarrhoea and vomiting, so he has been on the chicken and rice diet. He is on the mend tho, and we are starting to reintroduce NI from today. I have never talked about poos so much in all my life!

He is a little bit bitey, but he is mainly focused on his toys and stag bone for that. So far he hasn't even chewed anything he isn't supposed to (fingers crossed, touch wood etc etc). We've been working a lot on giving him feedback so he develops a 'soft mouth'...he is starting to reduce the intensity of his mouthing when we say "gentle" if he bites too hard.

He has a mountain of toys and he gets to pick out which two or three for the day. His favourites generally are squeaky toys...Terence the turtle is a particular fav! He has also discovered the TV and will happily sit there with his little head cocking from side to side sometimes for up to 15mins. It's hilarious to see his reaction, particularly to intense drama scenes.

He is growing fast, despite being unwell. He was 3.7kgs when we got him, and is is now just over 5kg. He doesn't really bark and we've only heard him bark twice. He has a very deep bark which is quite gruff! First time he barked I was like a parent hearing their child speak for the first time. So proud!!

He has his naughty moments tho, and can be very stubborn. At the moment we are having a battle of the wills about going into the bottom half of the garden where he isn't allowed. But overall, he's a good little boy who loves to be around us and have a cuddle or two. We are absolutely smitten with him.

I'll add some photos shortly. He is currently rocking a red collar and he looks so dashingly handsome in it!

 

[Lozza]

Sorry...correction! Boston weighs just under 5kg, at 4.8kg.

 

[ali-s.j.]

lovely to have an update on the pups but where are the photos?

 

[RubyCockapoo]

Pepper at 12 weeks!

Hi everyone

What a lovely idea! It's great to hear what you have all been up to with your new pups.

Pepper is coming on really well and we adore her. She was about 2.5Kg when we got her and is now 3.5Kg, so a little tiddler compared to Boston!

We've found it interesting introducing Pepper into the house where Ruby had previously ruled the roost! She's very different to how Ruby had been at the same age - quicker at some things (learning her name, sit etc.) and slower at others (toilet training..) - I'm sure some of this is due to the added distraction of having Ruby around. We seem to have made some progress over the last couple of days though.

We are allowed to take her out for her first walk tomorrow so can't wait. We've begun clicker training and our Puppy classes start on Tuesday so we are looking forward to seeing how she will progress. Need to get her started so that she can take part in the Cockapoo Olympics next year!

She's a feisty little girl, as is Ruby, and I'm not sure that they have worked out who is 'leader' yet, so we've had some interesting play fights. Pepper never wants to give up and we have to recognise when she is tired and put her in her crate for a break. They always want the toy that the other one is playing with. In the garden last week Pepper had a leaf, and it was the only leaf in the garden that Ruby wanted to play with - there were plenty of others to choose from, but she stole the one Pepper had!

Here's a few pictures that I took of her at the weekend - she has the sweetest face and her fur is beautiful!

It's hugely rewarding watching them both develop, and we can't imagine life without both of them!

Keep the updates coming!

H & I
xx

 

[ali-s.j.]

Ooh, Pepper is gorgeous

 

[P Weeks]

Hi,

Woody is 12 weeks today and I thought it would be really interesting to compare notes with people who picked up their puppies at the same time.

He has grown so much already and suddenly has very long legs Some things have been going really well (crate training, toilet training, feeding). Others a bit more tricky. He was starting to calm down a lot on the jumping up and nipping as we ignore him or put him in the bathroom when he's really being a monkey. Unfortunately, a visit from my in-laws at the weekend seemed to put things back to square one...in fact make things worse than they'd ever been before which has been a bit of a pain! Don't know if it was because he was really excited to have new people around (and they weren't great at ignoring him if he was biting) or whether he would have hit this stage anyway?

He has learnt 'come', 'sit', 'fetch' and 'stay' (with varying reliabilty I have to admit!) We're having problems with 'leave' though as he wants to play with anything and everything and hangs on for dear life. (Any tips welcome as it gets on your nerves walking around with a puppy hanging off your jeans).

We've taken him out a few times now which has been lovely. We need to do a bit of work on walking on a lead though as he is all over the place. He is constantly busy - things to do, people to see!

Puppy training classes start on Monday so we're looking forward to those to get lots of tips and make sure we're doing the right things. I've definitely found it quite difficult from time to time (totally new experience and not previously a 'dog person' - in fact he makes me a bit nervous at times which I know doesn't help at all) but also had lots of fun with him. He is part of the family now and we love him, even if we don't always love what he's doing!

Hi
Brodie is 13 weeks old yesterday!
Has learnt to sit (well he tries it on a lot though) comes(sometimes) when called. Hard work at the moment, as all I seam to say is ..NO, LEAVE, COME and OUCH!
Guess we have to keep going to make them really lovely well behave adults, but OH its exhausting at times...

 

[Wilverley]

It is tiring, I agree! I must admit I felt pretty worn out yesterday. Reading my post back I seem to have mentioned quite a lot of negatives when in fact we've really come quite a long way in a short time.

Today has been lovely so far though. The sun is shining and I have been having a go at teaching Woody 'down' which he cottoned on to really quickly. He is starting to calm down again after the chaotic weekend and he has been lovely. We've had the odd few minutes where he's monkeyed up but I have put him in his crate for a rest. Sussing out when he is getting overdone seems to be key. I guess that's what its like really - good days and not so good days.

I did try to measure him this morning although he wasn't at all keen on the stack of tins. I reckon he is about 2.5 tins high though. Tried to weigh him but scales conked out. He was around 4 kgs when we went to the vets last week (approx as he was leaping about).

Will definitely add pics as soon as poss - just need to get techy husband on the case. His colouring is beautiful though and I noticed today that he looks bigger (again) and is possibly getting a bit more of a bouffant hairdo!

Thanks for all your replies. Its great to hear how other puppies are getting on.

 

[doreen]

Hi having trouble on here 4th attempt lve got buddy from jd he weighs 5kg weighed him before giving him his mthly wormer he seems to be forever hungry he eats so fast is anyone feeding the NI raw meat diet not sure if lm giving him too much or not enough hes having150gr twice a day plus chicken wing, he his very naughty always up to something and yes he likes to play tug of war with your trousers hes always biting quite hard as well he seems to be getting the toilet training some commands he will do depending how naughty he feels he doesnt like the word no probably because he hears it so much he can go out from monday so hoping it will get rid of some of his energy l have a parrot who as decided to be very vocal since buddy arrived so buddy barks quite a lot the parrot screeches very loudly its really lovely just hoping things will get better.

 

[doreen]

Hi having trouble on here 4th attempt lve got buddy from jd he weighs 5kg weighed him before giving him his mthly wormer he seems to be forever hungry he eats so fast is anyone feeding the NI raw meat diet not sure if lm giving him too much or not enough hes having150gr twice a day plus chicken wing, he his very naughty always up to something and yes he likes to play tug of war with your trousers hes always biting quite hard as well he seems to be getting the toilet training some commands he will do depending how naughty he feels he doesnt like the word no probably because he hears it so much he can go out from monday so hoping it will get rid of some of his energy l have a parrot who as decided to be very vocal since buddy arrived so buddy barks quite a lot the parrot screeches very loudly its really lovely just hoping things will get better.

 

[ali-s.j.]

Izzy is on N.I., weighs about the same and I feed her 300g too. She is also very greedy

 

[doreen]

Hi do you give her any dry food in between the NI lve read that on here just to fill them but not sure if that would be ok he is only just over 12wks Izzy looks very similar to buddy in colouring,he is very full on with the biting l know its to be expected at this age but he gets quite aggressive with it no matter what l do or say.

 

[ali-s.j.]

no, i don't give her dry food, just chicken wings and lamb ribs as supplement/treat

 

[RubyCockapoo]

So proud of Pepper! We went for a walk to the park for the first time on Saturday, intending to keep Pepper on a flexi lead while Ruby had a good run. Shortly after getting there we both felt confident to let Pepper off the lead. She had a great time chasing Ruby but came came every time she was called, trotting over to us to sit and get her reward! We couldn't believe how good she was, and she was just as good today!

Now we just need to crack the house training and biting!

 

[Wilverley]

Hi,

We are having a few issues with the biting too. I've read lots about it here and its reassuring to know its usually just a phase but its not much fun.

Woody is definitely worse when tired and barks a lot then too. Any idea what age this usually gets a bit better?

 

[doreen]

Hi buddy seems more hyper when hes had a good sleep or if hes had his food l do keep giving him his kong or something to distract him, it works for a while but then he will come back biting,hoping this stage doesnt last too long l seem to be forever telling him off hes nearly bitten through my electric heater cable and my modem is just hanging in there l think hes sleeping not realising hes chewing away,took him out today he was really scared of everything but after a while he was ok let him off the lead, and he was really good came back to me when l called him lets hope it lasts