Update on Harriet and new pics

[AnnieMoon]

It's been now two weeks since Harriet got home and a lot of things have changed, for her, and for me too.

I'm really tired, I knew this wasn't going to be easy, but I didn't know really how tiring would it be having a puppy at home and working at the same time. But life is what it is and we really wanted this so we're doing the best we can.
But at the same time we are happy, she's adorable and we love to see the little daily accomplishments and celebrate with her.

We're solving the problems one at the time. She now eats very well with the help of a little bit of wet food. The kibble the breeder gave us is running out and now we are looking for a better one, but we haven't decided yet.
From the beginning she was able to sleep trough the night, which was essential to me, as I need my sleep if I want my brain to function haha. She continues that way with a couple of exceptions, so we try to keep the routine so this won't change.
We have a webcam to see her when we are at work, she cried a few minutes when we left the first couple of days, now I think she already understood we always come back, we leave her the kong with some foods and treats the very moment we leave, and she seems too entertained to cry.
We started outside pee and poo training on Monday as the weekend was really rainy, and we are getting results: she always do something outside so we can reward her, most of the times both things. She still has accidents at home, but I think it's because we can't take her out as frequent as we want, and because it's too soon. I'm happy with this.
The most challenging part when we go out is that she's very excited, and she wants to follow every single person and every single dog. I understand it's all new to her and she will settle down in the future, or at least I hope!
The most worrying problem for me right now is the biting part, as she is biting a lot and I'm not sure if it's a teething thing or a bad behavior.

Overall she's a really good little bitch, very intuitive and quick learner so I would like to try some commands with her. I must say I don't want her to be like a little robot, but I would like advice on some useful commands and the way to teach her, because sometimes she can be stubborn and she won't let you do anything.

Thank you all for this space to talk about all the doubts we have.



Don't worry, she's not eating, just sniffing XD

[schnauzer]

Welcome Annie & Harriet, love your name. Enjoy your puppy I'm sure Harriet will give you so much fun, Gino is our second MS after losing Suzi who left a huge gap in our life. We needed another to make us smile again.

[zeta1454]

Harriet looks very sweet

While puppies are teething, they will nip, bite and chew anything they can get their teeth into. They are in pain or discomfort with the teething and they chew to try and relieve the pain and may nip or bite at times because they are hurting and feeling grumpy. Offer plenty of chew toys, Kongs, antlers, roots - anything that is safe. There is a link here to a UK site but they may be available in Europe too:

https://www.ancodistributors.co.uk/roots" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Make sure Harriet gets plenty of rest as tiredness can also make puppies grumpy and biting. Try to direct her to a chew toy every time she starts nipping, if she is biting your fingers or feet and, if this does not work, leave her for a few minutes and then go back to play but stop again immediately if she is nipping. She will learn not to use her teeth on you. This is a phase all puppies pass through so do not worry - even if you did nothing, in all likelihood she would not continue to bite once her adult teeth are through.

As regards training, clicker training is a good method to use and, if you have no good training classes nearby, there are videos and downloads to help. There is a link here to one of these:
https://clickertraining.com/puppy-training" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Good luck - and love the photos

[Fergus]

Hi. If Harriet nips you, give a loud yelp like her siblings would have done.
It is how they know the have gone too far.
It is hard to be upset for long when those eyes look ito yours.

[Bodee]

You have a gorgeous wee companion there Annie, who, from what you say seems to be coping with your circumstances very well. Always remember, Harriet desperately wants to please you and fit in, so praise, praise, praise every time she does ANYTHING that reflects this. Doing this will make her so happy and keen to keep co-operating with you.

I can echo everything Leigh has said above - most of what you are experiencing is par for the course, the main thing is not to lose patience and as I said because dogs are pack animals they have a built in drive to please their alpha members (that's you of course) It is how they survive and co-exist in the pack.

As I have said elsewhere, almost everything that goes wrong or seems to give you concern, will be your fault. Try to remember this and figure out how you could have done things better and never lose patience or your temper even if you are tired.

My puppy is 6 months old now and after some time she has stopped biting. I was of the "Colin school" whereby you let your puppy know when she has been too rough and nipped you by giving a little cry/yelp - being a Scot mine was "Oooya! that was sore Milla" then follow it with "No biting" It will take time but as I say they are trying their best and they are in pain/discomfort from their teething.

Going back to their instinct to co-operate and please, Milla's worst time for nipping was when I came down in the morning or when I returned from being out and she was over enthusiastic with her welcome. So she worked out that if she welcomed me with a "stuffed sock" in her mouth, she could nip and bite away to her hearts content without hurting me

Make sure she has plenty of toys. Milla liked the ones I made her the best although she loved to lie in my lap and chew on her antler as I held it for her. Stuffed old wool socks, used 2 litre milk cartons (label removed) which she loves to "sledge" about the hard floors and bite on, I also bought her a rubber ring, ball, and bone from https://www.ethicalpets.co.uk" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; a site recommend to me on here. I don't trust the materials, colourings used for many of the dog toys available in most shops these days but that is just a personal thing.

Reference Product Unit price Quantity Total price
BecoBone - Colour : Baby Pink £7.99 1 £7.99
BecoHoop - Colour : Baby Pink £6.99 1 £6.99
BecoBall - Colour : Baby Pink £4.99 1 £4.99
BecoRope Double Knot - Size : Medium £3.99 1 £3.99
Products £23.96
Discounts £0.00
Gift-wrapping £0.00
Shipping £3.99
Total paid £27.95

Anyway Annie the best comfort I can give you just now is that all these things will soon pass quicker than you realise and you will find yourself "through to the other side" The main thing is for you not to have lost your temper with Harriet or damage her trust and that will pay huge dividends going forward with her training and behaviour. All the Best.

Ps try to make as much time for her to be physically with you. I put a lot of stock in having Milla on my lap or sitting at my side while I stroked her or held a toy for her to chew. I think it helps to strengthen the bond,

[AnnieMoon]

Thanks to all of you! You're amazing!!
We're trying all that, the first thing we changed this weekend was to shorten her walks, maybe we were enjoying them and not seeing it was too much for her, our fault! Now we reduced the walks to 10-15 minutes each. And sometimes she seems a little less excited when we come back home.

When she's biting we give her a chewing toy. I think when the biting is because of teething, you can tell because she will chew anything you give to her, toys, carrots, etc. When that doesn't work, it seems more a behavior thing, so she will only bite you and nothing else. When she does that, we use the loud yelp. Most of times she stops with that, if she doesn't we get her off the sofa until she's calmed and let her come again. It usually works too, she loves the sofa and being between us, so much that if we kiss each other she comes running to kiss us too

Also, we found a good kibble that she loves and it's a natural cold pressed grain free kibble, and the great thing about it is that she can't swallow the pellets, she has to chew the kibble a lot before swallow, so that's good for her right now.

Leigh thank you for the training link, let's see if we can do something with that ;)

Boyd, I find impossible to lose my temper with her as she's basically a great girl and in any case I think there's a reason for anything she does and I try to figure it out

I have one more question, stupid one, but english isn't my mother language so... when you say antlers, do you mean deer antlers or is it something else I don't know?

Thank you again!!!

[Fergus]

Yes they are deer antlers. I have read that many vets believe the are a major cause of broken teeth.
http://www.dentalvets.co.uk/index.php/n ... sial-teeth

[AnnieMoon]

Ohh deer!! Not sure now if it's a good idea... I bought her yesterday dry bull intestines and she seems very happy with it, I'll try with other dry parts if it helps.

[Bodee]

Yes they are deer antlers. I have read that many vets believe the are a major cause of broken teeth.
http://www.dentalvets.co.uk/index.php/n ... sial-teeth

That is good to know and when Milla was raging through her teething period she picked up stones in the garden and I'm sure they are even more likely to cause fracturing.

I was told that coal from the coal scuttle was my favourite teething "toy" of choice.

Thankfully Milla has got past that stage now and I haven't seen either of her antlers in a month She will not be getting them back in the light of that article.

What I would say is I would prefer to give something natural to my dog (she also has the "root" which she never goes near now) than most of these man made "safe" chew toys/bones that end up in their stomachs and lead to who knows what as they don't break down properly.

Her favourite just now is natural rubber toys and jute rope from ethical pets and of course the fish4dogs fish jerky which she crunches away at and loves.

Where are/were all these concerned vets when Dentastix came on the market or much of the rubbish foods and treats that are now available, were launched.

Here are some more suggestions.

https://www.care.com/c/stories/6384/kee ... 5-best-an/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[AnnieMoon]

Well, Harriet biting my hands is getting worse in the last few days. I feel like I'm doing something wrong and I'm not sure what it is. The only thing I can think of is that she's punishing me for the hours I leave her alone, but when I see her in the camera she just sleeps or plays by herself, never bark or cry.
But as soon as I get home and try to spend as much time I can with her, she starts biting my hands in a pretty hard way. I try to let her know that it hurts me with a loud yelp, but now she doesn't seem to care and keeps going with the biting. So I say no two times and if she keeps going (she never stop) I get her off the sofa or walk away from her, but I have to do this a lot of times in the afternoon and I hate I have to spend my precious time with her that way. I feel frustrated. Also, when she bites me, my hand gets all red and bumpy, like a reaction, so it's really something I need to stop.

[Oscar 12345]

Annie, the first thing to keep at the front and back of your mind is that this phase will stop. I had two weeks solid of rough biting from my first schnauzer and just wanted to put myself in another room and cry. She is so excited that you are back. Just think, whenever you are there all the best things happen, attention, feeding, playing. You are doing all the right things. Rather than always walking away after several no's, keep swapping toys for your hands, always have one in your pocket and try to use games that are going to mentally challenge. I used to have toys absolutely everywhere so that one wasn't too far away. Keep 1 or 2 toys very special that only come out at certain times. It will get much better soon. We all go through it to some extent.

[Schnauzer Sam]

Hi Annie,

Rosie was a real little crocodile when she was a young pup like Harriet (who is just gorgeous by the way). Her teeth began to fall out at around 16 weeks and now at 27 weeks old she has all her adult teeth and has suddenly stopped biting. It was like a switch.

Try not to let it get you down too much Annie, it will stop. Just keep rewarding the good behaviour and enjoy watching her develop into a loving companion.

[jacdales]

I read the dentist article and put all the antlers and buffalo horn in the bin. Suzi now has the wooden roots to play with but I think I might bin them too. and leave her with her daily carrot or cabbage heart. Waiting for insurance clearance for Marhri who broke an upper canine on a marrow bone and Hamish who has a loose front tooth and I think a chipped back tooth.

[AnnieMoon]

Thanks Sam and Julie for cheer me up. I know it will pass, or at least I hope. Being the first dog I have on my own, there are a lot of things that scare me, and I feel that everything I do right now is extremely important for the bitch she'll be in the future, so I feel it like a big responsibility. I don't want she become an aggressive bitch for something I'm doing wrong right now, or that she could have any other problem. She's 16 weeks old now, so I guess the teething has already begun.

[mikegoodson1]

I guess like most things, everyone has an opinion

Oscar has had the split antlers for quite some time and hasn't developed any problems, Sasha is on them now too. I wonder if the split antlers are better than the whole antlers? With them being split already, the inner 'goodness/marrow' is more easily available.

Saying that, I have stopped using Dentastyx as I was concerned by what was in them, being informed by other posts a few months ago.