Looking after a puppy

[hollysh]

Hello,

I have recently been given the responsibility of taking care of a puppy while the owner is at work.

I have only just started this and pop in twice a day for 3/4 of an hour. Play, take her for a walk in the garden on its lead and give her lunch. She is a 9 week old Cockapoo and is very gorgeous. Though there are a few teething issues which I need to address, as I haven't really looked after a puppy before, wondered if I could get some advice?

First of all what is ok for her to eat? She is now being allowed to go to the end of the owner's driveway on a lead. It's quite a leafy drive way and also their garden is full of sticks and pine cones and soil. Which she is constantly picking up and chewing. Do you think she could come to any harm doing this? At the moment I am attempting to take everything off her but feel quite harsh, as she needs to experience things and explore her surroundings. Also it is very time consuming and I am worried all the time. What is ok?

Also she is quite bitey. She is getting better with this, I have read about the ouch technique. But what can I actually do to stop her biting my clothing and hair? She's like a little baby lol

There's also an issue regarding to how much time I have with her. I am scheduled to look after her for 3/4 of an hour twice a day. But its very difficult to leave her. Her owner asks me to put her in a room and shut the door when I'm leaving but she wont stay and keeps running out. Is there a way I can get her settled in that room before I leave to make the process a bit easier for both of us?

Thanks in advance for the advice

 

[gypsysmum2]

This must be quite hard for you. Puppies are hard work. As soon as you think you have cracked one problem they come up with another one.

Firstly - the most important thing to remember is that puppies will do what gets them attention. They can never get enough attention! This mostly manifests itself in jumping up, mouthing, eating rubbish, chewing inappropriate things. Our job is to get them do good things that we can give them attention for so that they do those things and not the naughtly things.

As she is not your pup I would not let her eat anything unless you have checked with the owner. Try taking an exciting toy out with you and distracting her with that. Some tasty treats in your pocket will help so that you can encourage her to leave things in order to get a treat. Be careful that she doesn't grab things in order to get a treat. She should come right away from the rubbish and look at you to get the treat.

Hair and clothes biting should be treated in exactly the same way that skin biting is treated. Say "ouch" and ignore her for a few minutes. When you resume play make sure her teeth go on to a toy.

A puppy this age will crave lots of attention and she will miss you when you have to go. Try to phase your attention out as your allotted time runs out. Make your movements calmer and withdraw attention from her. Ask the owner to have some different toys on a shelf somewhere that you can give her them as you wind down your session. Stuffed Kong toys are excellent and can be kept in the fridge until needed.

Ask the owner what commands they are teaching for "sit" and "down" etc so that you can do a little of that each day. Perhaps you could offer to take her to a Puppy Socialisation Class? Make sure it is well run by a member of the APDT. You will learn lots.

The Perfect Pup by Gwen Bailey is an excellent little book on puppy rearing.

 

[hollysh]

Ah thank you. That helps She's such a sweet little thing. I just want to make sure I am taking care of her in the proper way.

She's actually only 9 weeks and hasn't had her vaccinations yet. So, its only the garden and to the end of her drive way that I take her. She cant mix with other dogs at the moment.

 

[JoanneF]

A puppy can be taken out before that as long as they don't mix with unvaccinated dogs or areas they could pick up parvo (transportable by rats) so ideally in a pet carrier. Cat carriers are ideal. This allows them to see and experience what's out there from a safe place and is incredibly helpful for their development. Some people just carry them or use a sling.

 

[Kate75]

Echo what Gypsysmum says about the Kongs, our Holly (GSD 6 months) has had them since we brought her home. She started with the puppy ones and we used them everytime we went out so she came to associate us leaving as tasty Kong time! She loves the filler you can get and you can mix it up with a few treats inside which keeps her busy for a while. Holly now has a large red one with lots of slits in the sides to hide treats and she rushes to her bed for it everytime she sees me making it or taking it out of the freezer. She's totally engrossed as we leave the house!

The biting does get better, Holly got worse around the 10-12 week mark especially when she was tired but the whole family persevered with the ouch and ignoring technique and although it might feel its having little affect the penny drops eventually and suddenly you realise you can walk across the room without a pup attached to your leg!

You are able to socialise her with other dogs as long as they are up to date with their vaccinations and if she's small enough to carry you could take her out and about just don't let her on the ground. A friend of my daughter got a cockapoo not long before we got Holly and used to take him out in a stroller!!

I also echo what Gypsysmum says about socialisation classes. Our vets ran some specifically for non vaccinated pups aged between 8-14 weeks and Holly loved them! As well as letting the pups have some supervised play we were also given basic training and health advice!

 

[hollysh]

It does feel its getting better already. I was able to leave her in her room a lot quicker, although I had to push her back and put my leg in the door to stop her running out. She has started licking a lot more rather than biting which is good news. I think I might have to start wearing a bobble, as I occasionally like to rest her on my shoulder when I give her a cwtch and my hair is just too easy for her to chew.

 

[gypsysmum2]

Well done!