New puppy stresses - help plz!

Hi all,

Last Wednesday we picked up our new 8 week old border collie puppy. I have a wife and two kids aged 6 and 8. My wife does shift work as an emergency services worker and I’m 9-5 working remotely from home (almost entirely) at the moment. The contrast in our work patterns was probably the main reason I finally agreed to get a dog as there will be someone around most of the time.

That’s the background. Now I have to admit the new puppy is way more challenging than I ever imagined. Probably as stressful as a new born child, perhaps more so. I’m going to list some stresses / worries I have and I’d be very grateful for any input /advice you have on some or all of the issues..

1) The puppy bites and chews on anything and everything, including wires. We do our best to puppy proof our stuff but what’s the best technique to phase out or reduce this behaviour?

2) In the garden I’ve found her on several occasions crunching on small stones in her mouth. Obviously i pull open her mouth and get them out ASAP when I see this. Is there anything I can do to stop her doing this? It’s very worrying as I think she may have swallowed one or two that I haven’t been able to remove from her mouth in time. Will she grow out of it? For now I’m buying some fencing so I can cordon off a section of grass in the garden where there are no little stones.

3) We’ve had her 4 days now. Her poop was normal For the first two, but the last couple days it’s been quite runny. I know switching food can have an impact. We should’ve asked what she was eating before, but it’s too late now we’ve started her on a different food. I hope it is just a food change and she’s not feeling poorly (she seems happy in herself though). We’re feeding her Iams for puppies. A relative commented it’s not the best food. Is that true and, if so, what’s the best food for puppies and good for sensitive tummies (just in case she has one,)

3) the first couple nights she didn’t soil her crate at night but she has done the last couple nights and I’ve had to do clean ups in the early hours. What’s the best strategy here? Should we be setting our alarms to let her out in the garden every few hours just in case?

Sorry for all the questions - I’ll probably think of more after I send this! I‘ve never cared for a puppy before and it’s very daunting

thanks in advance for any help and guidance!

EDIT - looks like the runny poop is now diarrhea :-(

Hi.

I'm no expert, I've not had puppies myself, but this information is what I've picked up from forums and websites like this. I'm sure someone will come and correct me if I'm wrong about anything, though.

Xplosiv said:

1) The puppy bites and chews on anything and everything, including wires. We do our best to puppy proof our stuff but what’s the best technique to phase out or reduce this behaviour?

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Puppies are going to chew and bite anything they can fit into their mouths - that's how they learn about their world. They don't know the difference between wires and chew toys, so it's up to us to teach them. Redirect her on to something more suitable, such as a chew.

Xplosiv said:

2) In the garden I’ve found her on several occasions crunching on small stones in her mouth. Obviously i pull open her mouth and get them out ASAP when I see this. Is there anything I can do to stop her doing this? It’s very worrying as I think she may have swallowed one or two that I haven’t been able to remove from her mouth in time. Will she grow out of it? For now I’m buying some fencing so I can cordon off a section of grass in the garden where there are no little stones.

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Cordoning off an area is a good idea, although I'm not comfortable with you prizing her mouth open to drop the stones. Prevention is better than cure, so keep her on a long line and distract her with a toy or chew before she gets the chance to pick up some stones.

Xplosiv said:

3) the first couple nights she didn’t soil her crate at night but she has done the last couple nights and I’ve had to do clean ups in the early hours. What’s the best strategy here? Should we be setting our alarms to let her out in the garden every few hours just in case?

Click to expand...

Yes, set the alarm - at least once a night. Puppies cannot hold their bladder and bowel all night, and it must be distressing for them to go to the toilet in their crate.

I'm going to suggest you have a look at the threads linked here, but please do come back with any questions.

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OH! great big challenge! Puppies are WORSE than having a baby! You can at least put a baby down and it won't move! Best of luck, keeping it safe will be your hardest chore! Beware the tummy upset it will be far more serious in a pup than a human of any age!

The breeder should really have given you some of the good the pups had been weaned onto & then you transfer over to new food by 10% a day.

Could also be a change of water type, where I live has incredibly hard water & I boil all my dogs water when I have a new dog.

Add to the stress to the pup of leaving it litter & familiar surroundings.

Pups should be taken out to toilet everytime they wake up, been fed or display pre toileting behaviour, like circling as well as every couple of hours in between. Always stay with the pup when outside & praise & treat when they "perform" outside.

As to puppies nipping & mouthing, totally normal behaviour. Adult dogs tolerate a lot of this behaviour in young puppies I never react if a puppy nips & totally ignore the behaviour. I make myself very boring to the dog & the behaviour stops

Re. runny poo/ diarrhea we discovered that our puppy had managed to nose her way into drinking from the water butt run off. Worth checking for stagnant water sources and making sure they're out of reach.

Re. stones ours does this all the time, also any bits of plastic she comes across on the ground. I'm assuming its teething related so we've been trying to swap it out for a chew toy or bit of frozen carrot when we catch her at it but I'd be interested if anyone has other advice.

Hope she's doing okay!