Primrose Puppy Log

[Ashley]

7 months old next week! While we have some wins like walking on leash improving, there are a few behaviours that I thought we would be done or easing off by now (but I don’t have a reference point beyond Quinn):
- chewing up every single thing she can get. All my throw pillows, clothes (she can open the laundry hamper), shoes, leashes, towels, the rug, etc etc. Just discovered she chewed off the seatbelt in our car.
- eating plants
- has started mouthing quite a bit - esp if she doesn’t like something (like getting off couch, not getting what she wants - it’s frustration)
- is also water obsessed and pulls and cries to get to water. So now we have two of those but she’s also a car barker when she sees water.
She also bothers Quinn when swimming, she goes after her and will bite at her face and drag her out of the water by her cheek. Im using a long line and working on redirecting her with some success but I don’t like it. We may have to split them up for swimming. There is so much to work on. The good news is she is still cute and her recall is still super strong.
In case anyone was concerned, we now have a second bike trailer so both dogs can come biking with us (but more work to do on that too - only at a short ride after lots of work getting in/out and then being walked around in it.)

 

[Oberon]

Haha, good thing she so gorgeous

Chewing seatbelts sounds expensive

Obi was a big grabber of hands, arms and clothes at 9 months - very firm mouthing…. He also grabbed faces, now that I recall. Fortunately only ever mine and hubby’s

 

[Ashley]

Chewing seatbelts sounds expensive

Yes - and we thought her chewing the leather door was going to be the money hit!!

 

[Emily_Babbelhund]

Haha, good thing she so gorgeous

Exactly.

I admit I have pangs of "I want her, I want her!" every time you post photos, so thank you for reminding us that she is still a puppy and puppies are hard work - even though you are dealing with her foibles amazingly calmly.

So no worries about Prim kidnapping, I'll just keep admiring her from afar.

 

[Ashley]

puppies are hard work

Everyone thinks potty and crate training is the hard part...haha that’s the easy part! It is a lot of work. I will say that having an older dog to learn from and who will play helps a ton....think about it

 

[Lab_adore]

Oh dear, she sounds exactly like Maxx at that age. [shudder]

 

[Ashley]

We got Prim weighed today at the vet and she's 61lbs at 7.5 months. She's almost the same weight as Quinn (64lbs) but slightly shorter. I think she will fill out another 10 lbs and likely be the same height as Quinn which is much smaller than we predicted (PHEW)! It might be time to move her over to the teen section of the forum though! I ended up bringing her back to her training class and she did SO good -she was one of few dogs that would respond to commands at a distance and when I was out of sight. Our practicing 'stay' all these months really paid off - she did not budge with distractions like me doing jumping jacks and toys being dropped near her. Her recall still blows be away - she started to run after a dog in the field from a yard we were playing in with an open gate and stopped on a dime. Still working hard at her focusing on me (she's so interested in smells) and her pulling is still insane, but made great progress in regular non-exciting locations. She's still chewing things at an alarming rate (RIP to her leash, my flip flops, 3 toys, a kong and another couch pillow this week alone).

She met her two human sisters for the first time this month and just cannot believe they are here again every morning! She barges into their rooms and is just as excited as she was the first time she met them!

 

[Ashley]

 

[Joy]

It brings a smile to my face to read how delighted you are with Primrose!

 

[Stacia]

Super photos, they made me smile and feel happy.

 

[HAH]

Fab photos and updates - that one of Prim and Quinn in the pool is fantastic! For my money, you're doing brilliantly as you've got a strong recall, stay and great relationships developing with her dog and human family I'm guessing the chewing will subside once she's moving through adolescence.

 

[Ashley]

one of Prim and Quinn in the pool is fantastic!

This is actually Prim's boyfriend, Duke! He's 9 months and looks SO much like Quinn but is now bigger!

the chewing will subside once she's moving through adolescence.

I spoke to one of her littermates owners last night, and they are managing almost identical issues, so that makes me feel better. That pup has gone through 4 leashes! They are very much "puppy" still!

 

[HAH]

Oh Duke, what a lovely boy! I can see that’s not Quinn now you’ve said it. Glad littermates’ owners give some comfort, it’s handy to have other puppy barometers out there.

 

[Ashley]

8 months old now and presenting some challenges! She’s exhausting right now - just constantly wrecking everything no matter how much exercise, play, enrichment and training we do in a day. Jumping up and nipping at me is her new thing - she bites at the top of my legs and bum. I know it’s excitement because if I go out alone and come home she goes wild. The most concerning is that she’s showing signs of being fear reactive - yesterday she saw a horse for the first time and was freaking out and barked at it and for about 15 mins after it was out of sight. OH had to carry her she was so scared the second time we saw it. She’s also developed a fear of strollers and barks her head off. This is either a fear stage, hormones going nuts as her first heat might be around the corner, showing us that she really is a pandemic puppy or all of the above.
Anyway, her leash walking is improving oH took her to the pet store this afternoon and they said she was super well behaved compared to other labs that have been in and eating and wrecking stuff. But she also chewed off the other seatbelt on her way so yeah.

 

[Cath]

Lovely photos @Ashley

 

[Candy]

Some of that reactivity might calm down with age, growing up and just getting more used to things. It has with GGJ, although that has taken a bit of work and some stuff remains a work in progress. The best of luck with it all.

 

[Jacqui-S]

Lilly was awful with that jumping up and nipping as well as ripping clothes when she was around that age too.....several walks around that time were accompanied by many tears.
She has a good role model though.
Consistency and time will get you through this

 

[Loraseal]

Gorgeous photos of the pair of them.
Hopefully the reactivity will calm down with age. I do think hormones play a big part of this phase though.
All dogs have some sort of work in progress.
I can imagine that the seat belt chewing is becoming an "expensive" phase.
She is looking vert nicely toned.
I think you are doing an amazing job with her and of course big sis is an excellent role mode too!

 

[mbf199t]

Gorgeous photos!

 

[Natalie]

She's looking lovely! I don't meant to sound like a broken record, but you could be describing Bear in so many ways! the bum biting, jumping up, it's when his barking started too. I must update his teenage log as lots has happened.