Our First Few Days With Daphne.........

[chugo101]

The latest on Daphne....

We're still going great through the night, Daphne goes to bed in her small pen in our bedroom about 10pm and doesn't wake until 4:30am when she cries to go out for a pee & poo. In the day when I pop out for an hour or 2 she goes in her larger pen in the laundry, she cries when she goes in but is good whilst in there and theres rarely any mess for me to clean up when I'm back.

However, when I'm in its a different story, and she seems to be getting worse not better! She can be outside playing for ages, and pee whilst shes out there but then she'll come back in and just pee where she's standing. Until yesterday she had never pee'd on the living room carpet (only the tiled areas) now she's peeing there too. Also if she follows me into the kids room when I'm distributing clean washing she squats as soon as we get in there and pee's, even if just moments before she's been outside for one? She does this in my bedroom too?? It just doesn't make any sense? Would there be a reason for her doing this? (these are rooms she's not allowed in normally) Also sometimes she doesn't even look like shes peeing, she sits down and does it without even squatting, resulting in her having a wet bum, wet paws and me having a wet floor. We never tell her off, we just say 'No Daphne' 'Outside' and put her outside whilst we clean up. It just seems never ending as I'm following all the training advice of taking her out all the time but she'll pee outside then inside 2 minutes later. This morning she even went outside, pee'd then came in for her breaky then stopped mid chomp to pee where she was sitting, then continued to eat!?

Its a bloody good job we love her so much!!!!!

Oh you do make me laugh and I so know the frustration your feeling. I don't have any perfect answer for you though. I'm kind of wondering if she is marking. We deny access to any carpeted area (have barriers up all over the place) Mine are 13 weeks old now and only now really showing signs of very few accidents. It's constant and you're still in early days yet. I'd deny access until she's better toilet trained. Have you tried puppy training pads. While mine will shred them if left with them overnight, they are attracted to that spot and I have one placed near front and back door when they are loose in the house to encourage them to head in that direction for pee/poop.

Do they mark then?I thought maybe she was but wasn't sure they did this? I haven't tried puppy training pads but maybe I'll have to give them a go if she's no better soon!

It is funny though, and at least I'm seeing the funny side of it rather than getting wound up by it. She doesn't poo inside so thats a bonus (although I shouldn't speak to soon as she'll probably be doing that next too!!!)

Just a shame they don't do potty training pants for pups!!

[CliftonPark]

Do they mark then?I thought maybe she was but wasn't sure they did this? I haven't tried puppy training pads but maybe I'll have to give them a go if she's no better soon!

It is funny though, and at least I'm seeing the funny side of it rather than getting wound up by it. She doesn't poo inside so thats a bonus (although I shouldn't speak to soon as she'll probably be doing that next too!!!)

Just a shame they don't do potty training pants for pups!!

Well re the 'marking' the reason I say that is we visited the family (who has dogs) and they wee'd inside (no poop) everywhere (very embarassing and why we now travel with crate and playpen), not big amounts but lots of little wees as though they were marking and I think it was because of the other dog smells. They have not ever done that type of wee marking since. Only guessing mind you, but that's what it looked like to me and I know Daphne isn't doing it because she can smell other dogs but she may want to mark her smell into each room?

[chugo101]

Do they mark then?I thought maybe she was but wasn't sure they did this? I haven't tried puppy training pads but maybe I'll have to give them a go if she's no better soon!

It is funny though, and at least I'm seeing the funny side of it rather than getting wound up by it. She doesn't poo inside so thats a bonus (although I shouldn't speak to soon as she'll probably be doing that next too!!!)

Just a shame they don't do potty training pants for pups!!

Well re the 'marking' the reason I say that is we visited the family (who has dogs) and they wee'd inside (no poop) everywhere (very embarassing and why we now travel with crate and playpen), not big amounts but lots of little wees as though they were marking and I think it was because of the other dog smells. They have not ever done that type of wee marking since. Only guessing mind you, but that's what it looked like to me and I know Daphne isn't doing it because she can smell other dogs but she may want to mark her smell into each room?

But we're in a rental at the mo while our house is being built and the previous tennants had a dog and a cat? maybe thats it? Oh, whatever it is I hope she gets over it soon, its just strange that its took her a week to start doing it? you'd think she'd have done it straight away?

[NoodleNut]

Ahh Chugo101! it is funny reading .. sorry to make light of the torment you have with pups weeing left right and centre..... if you go back and find some of my posting you will find one where Noodle flicked her poo around the pen so it was hanging like stalectites and stalecmites (sp?)) on the wire of the pen I can laugh now .. not at the time when it was some unearthly hour of the morning! And to top it off when I took her out of the pen and wiped her down and tethered her to the drawers while I cleaned up the mess .. she peed all over the floor ... stupid stupid me .. should have taken her outside .. but it was in the wee small hours (no pun intended) and it was a bit hard to think straight when confronted by such a mess.

I agree with you we have to love them lots through their phases of torment ..

Our back yard sounds very much llike yours .. LOTS of bark chips and only a small patch of grass .. I put the pen on teh small patch and if she did not go then she would come inside and go in the crate for 10 minutes and then back out in the pen until she went.

I wont let my Noodle near carpet .. my thought is she thinks it is grass!! The times she has had an 'accident' is on carpet so she is not allowed in the kids rooms or on the large rug in the louge unless we are sitting with her.

Keep the stories comin' !

[NoodleNut]

I agree with you we have to love them lots through their phases of torment ..

Before anyone out there misinterprets my comment above .. no they are not doing it deliberately ... it just feels like that to us sometimes but it is the same as a new born bub I reckon but no Huggies with no leak sides makes it frustrating ...

[Joan of Arc]

I have to agree with Tess32 here. In a puppy it doesn't necessarily mean they have good hips. However saying that you would very rarely see an older dog lie in the 'froggy sit' if they have hips that are not great, as it may cause pain

A few people had also told me the same thing about the froggy thing - that it is a sign of great hips.

So I watched my dogs and I have 2 that do it regularly - one just came back with hip score of 3:4. and the other has always done it and still does and she has crap hips. :D

This is a whole other topic that would rage for ages. I can tell you that different vets also have different opinions on hip scoring. It is my understanding that the score you achieve can be affected by your vet's efficiency in achieving the position that Wyburn requires to achieve a consistent reading. The only way for a true consitent reading would be for all dogs to go to him and be xrayed etc.

When you are looking at a breed average of 12 some of the scores mentioned here are not that bad. Our black girl rarely lays in the frog position and she is 0/0 all round, The yellow boy is 3/5 hips and he lays like that all the time has done since 8 weeks and is now 5.

I have been interested in other peoples' responses to this topic for a couple of years and have asked the different vets we know. thier general opinion is that it has very little to do with hip scores and more to do with the general health of the dog. If your dog is fit and gets plenty of running exercise - suitable for age and breed - then they are often very comfortable in the frog position.

Having said that all our bitches are fitter, faster and more energetic than our boy is or has ever been. They all lay in that position sometimes but he prefers it.

Now I am not certain I am sold on all this info I just know what I have been told.

[CliftonPark]

This is a whole other topic that would rage for ages. I can tell you that different vets also have different opinions on hip scoring. It is my understanding that the score you achieve can be affected by your vet's efficiency in achieving the position that Wyburn requires to achieve a consistent reading. The only way for a true consitent reading would be for all dogs to go to him and be xrayed etc.

When you are looking at a breed average of 12 some of the scores mentioned here are not that bad. Our black girl rarely lays in the frog position and she is 0/0 all round, The yellow boy is 3/5 hips and he lays like that all the time has done since 8 weeks and is now 5.

I have been interested in other peoples' responses to this topic for a couple of years and have asked the different vets we know. thier general opinion is that it has very little to do with hip scores and more to do with the general health of the dog. If your dog is fit and gets plenty of running exercise - suitable for age and breed - then they are often very comfortable in the frog position.

Having said that all our bitches are fitter, faster and more energetic than our boy is or has ever been. They all lay in that position sometimes but he prefers it.

Now I am not certain I am sold on all this info I just know what I have been told.

Thanks for your opinion I have heard this before and that how you grow your pup and it's health, diet and exercise play an important role. (Billinghurst's book 'Grow your pups with bones' goes along the lines of what you are saying regarding health of the dog).

[Joan of Arc]

Just checking on Daphne's progress.

[chugo101]

Just checking on Daphne's progress.

Hi, Daphne is great, she's now 11weeks old and has settled in really well.

She's still sleeping in a small pen in our bedroom and we have very peaceful nights, she just walks right on in there, crashes out and we don't hear from her til my hubby gets up for work at 5:30am which wakes her. He then takes her out for wees and then puts her in the laundry with the back door open while he gets ready for work. He generally gets to play with her for about 20minutes before he leaves when she's put back in the laundry til I'm up and showered at about 7am. She seems happy with this routine and only whimpers for seconds when shes left.

When we're all up she just plays around my feet while I'm organising the kids. She still follows me everywhere (she's asleep at my feet in the study as I type) but I enjoy the fact she loves me and likes me close.

Through the day she's good and goes outside to play loads. She still loves digging, her stone and dirt eating has reduced but she still does it.

She doesn't have a spot for weeing, she just tends to do it anywhere but she seems to go to the same area for poos 90% of the time (this isn't the place we trained her to go but at least its in one place!). The only time she wees indoors is if I leave her with the kids with the hall door shut while I race to the loo, she occasionally wees by the door while shes waiting for me.

The other thing she does which is quite annoying is everytime my son leaves his bedroom door open she'll run in, give a quick squirt of wee on his big teddy and then act like she's done nothing; I'm assuming she's just marking as she's not supposed to go in the kids rooms?

She'll sit on command almost everytime and we're teaching her to fetch now too. I've been trying to get her to sit and stay but that's not sinking in as yet. I figure if I can get her to do this it'll be great for keeping her out of the kids rooms while I'm popping in and out.

She eats Eagle Pack Holistic Large/Giant Breed Puppy formula and loves it, she also loves, cheese, carrot, pasta and anything that will make a right mess on the floor. Her favourite toy is a big cuddly polar bear who she fights with regularly and she also LOVES ice cubes!! I was getting one for my wine one evening when I accidentally dropped one on the floor, she had so much fun that now everytime I'm in the kitchen preparing dinner with my nightly glass (or 3) of wine she has icecubes to entertain herself!

My only real issue I have is the constant nipping and it is constant, all the time, non stop and no matter what we do she just won't stop, she also jumps up all the time. I'm not look forward to when she can actually get onto the sofa as the kids 'safe place' will be no more! I guess its an age thing and she'll grow out of it - fingers crossed.

I haven't took many piccys as she doesn't keep still long enough, I'll try to take more soon.

Thanks for your interest.

[Joan of Arc]

And just how gorgeous is your girl now!!!

No dont tolerate the nipping business and you must work hard to let her know that it is not ok. there are several ways of doing it and in some ways you have to find what works best for you. Can I ask how old the children are because that will help determine how they deal with it.

[chugo101]

And just how gorgeous is your girl now!!!

No dont tolerate the nipping business and you must work hard to let her know that it is not ok. there are several ways of doing it and in some ways you have to find what works best for you. Can I ask how old the children are because that will help determine how they deal with it.

Tom is 5 and in prep so out most of the day and Holly is 4 and only in 3 year old kinda once a week so in most of the time with me. At the moment they say a firm 'Daphne No Bite' and stand up but she just keeps on doing it. She jumps lots too, and we say 'Daphne No, Down' but this isn't working either. She's brilliant at sitting for food, and when she knows we'll play fetch with a toy, even in doorways but she just isn't getting the 'stay' and 'no nipping & jumping' rule.

It doesn't seem to affect the kids too much, Tom just gets disappointed with her and I explain that she'll grow out of it and Holly cries if she gets hurt but then forgets about it and says how much Daphne is 'her baby'! They've never lost their temper with her either which is good; I just keep explaining that Daphne is only a baby and we as a family need to teach her how to play nicely.

Any advice you can give me would be great!

[NoodleNut]

And just how gorgeous is your girl now!!!

No dont tolerate the nipping business and you must work hard to let her know that it is not ok. there are several ways of doing it and in some ways you have to find what works best for you. Can I ask how old the children are because that will help determine how they deal with it.

Tom is 5 and in prep so out most of the day and Holly is 4 and only in 3 year old kinda once a week so in most of the time with me. At the moment they say a firm 'Daphne No Bite' and stand up but she just keeps on doing it. She jumps lots too, and we say 'Daphne No, Down' but this isn't working either. She's brilliant at sitting for food, and when she knows we'll play fetch with a toy, even in doorways but she just isn't getting the 'stay' and 'no nipping & jumping' rule.

It doesn't seem to affect the kids too much, Tom just gets disappointed with her and I explain that she'll grow out of it and Holly cries if she gets hurt but then forgets about it and says how much Daphne is 'her baby'! They've never lost their temper with her either which is good; I just keep explaining that Daphne is only a baby and we as a family need to teach her how to play nicely.

Any advice you can give me would be great!

Great to hear your updates of Daphne.

This is what we did with regards to the jumping problem .... (I took it from one of my other posts)..

Lots of visits out and about (safely of course .. the mental stimulation of just going out in the car can be enough to subdue a pup and in addition good socialisation and getting to 'show off' our people magnet (people are usually suckers for pups so the pup gets rewarded for four paws on the ground .......gets you a pat from people).

Noodle is still not free to roam the house (she is 6 months as of last Saturday). She is sitting on the kitchen floor as I type this (off leash) .. the computer is in the kitchen and this is where all of us spend 85% of our time. She only comes off inside when I do the training sessions inside with her and late at night when the kids are in bed and the house is quiet. Outside she has full reign of the backyard. Update: Noodle is now offlead in the house about 70% of the time now and when the kids are around too now .. .she stays close by and refrains 95% of the time from jumping up.

In the morning when she is inside (after she has been outside from 6 - 7am) and the kids get up (and she is hyper and excited to see them) she is on a long lead attached to the kitchen drawers (Update: still doing this .. she is still hyper in the mornings)... kids take one step back when she tries to jump and they are out of range. No nipping .. again out of range .. same with my husband and I. Lots of reinforcing back turned, arms crowwed and looking at ceiling .. kids have it down pat, admittedly older than your daughter. Four pwas on teh ground gets you a pat. Our six year old was fearful of Noodle's mouthing but is now very confident and Noodle only occassionally tries to mouth .. usually if she is very excited or losing teeth ( the situation for the past 2 weeks). Update: She has a lovely set of adult teeth now and there is a marked drop in her need to mouth at all.

I would definately recommend a pup being restricted inside until they learn good manners (not jumping or mouthing or nipping) and toileting is 100% successful. We have had no damages either inside or outside with Noodle chewing things she shouldn't. As an aside a friend of ours had $3000 worth of damages in the first month that they had their lab pup at home ... I kid you not .. yes, you counted the zeros correctly..... chewed up a Blackberry her husband had for work and then chewed up his designer glasses ... great when he was giving a presentation the next day to 350 people! That pup was getting very close to being re-homed LOL (tongue in cheek .. they knew it was their fault not their pups)

Our pup only has access to her rotated toys of which there are many.

Lots of home training .. doggy push ups now (our ten year old son does this with her .. sit, reward, drop reward .. up down up down ... she loves it and the tiny bits of cheese she gets).

This puppy training is incredibly hard work but as others have said it has dividends of having a social dog that everyone loves and is a part of the family. keep looking around the DOL site .. there are plenty of ideas that will assist you.