# Feels like we have had a step backwards



## polly1harg (Jun 6, 2013)

Hello, 

So i am feeling a little sorry for myself today... Daisy was not herself yesterday and i feel like we are taking a step backwards.

Issue 1 - I took Daisy for her second vaccination yesterday... long story but she ended up not needing it until 10 weeks so she now has to go back again at 12 weeks for it again. BUT she had a check up and all was well until... we found out she has ear mites!  i felt awful... apparently it is really common with puppies. We have got some ear drops which we have to put in 2 times a day... she hates it because we have to pin her down... we feel awful having to do it and i really do not want her to hate having her ears touched... any tips with making this a little easier on her? 

Issue 2 - Daisy has not yet been a big eater... she picks at the food (Orijen) out of 100g she is eating about 75g.. but yesterday she must have only eaten 50g and that was an effort to get her to eat that. Its odd she will eat the food off the floor... as treats... out of our hands but seems to not enjoy eating out of a bowl... ODD. I don't think its because she does not lile the food she seems to love it just not in her bowl. How do i get her to chomp down like normal dogs? 

Issue 3 - She is still not using the crate as a safe place. She does not go in during the day or anytime by choice. In the night time for bed i have to lure her in with a treat and then as soon as i leave the room she cries. 
The first night - not one single whimper
Second night - Cried for 30 mins 
Third night - Cried for 5 mins 
Last night - Cried for 10 mins (cried for 5 then stopped then cried again for 5)
Also last night or this morning for the first time since we had had her she had a wee in the crate. 

I think because she still does not like the crate she is not happy being left in there alone. I am doing all the right things (i think) making the crate exciting with treats and praise then when she comes out ignoring her. If i put her in during the day and shut the door and stay in the same room she cries immediately... Its hard because i want to start her getting used to being left alone as i don't want to start separation anxiety but i cannot even leave the room without her crying. HELP PLEASE. I cannot work out how to get her used to being left alone in the crate and i don't want to do anything which will make her worse. I never go back to her when she whines. 

Issue 4 - I have had to wash her mums scented blanket today due to the accident in the crate... do you think it was too soon after 5 days to take the scented blanket away? 

I do however want to throw in the some positives because i feel like i spend all my day worrying that i am doing things wrong and i am so worried about permanently making her worried about being alone or being in the crate. Firstly she is doing fantastic in the car. I have driven in the car a few times now and she now sits in the front seat really happily. She has a couple of whines sometimes but on the most part she is absolutely fine. She even fell asleep in the car yesterday. She can now sit really well and does it pretty much every time i say it. Also she let me put a treat on her foot today and left it on my command. VERY PROUD. She also (apart from the wee in the crate) went a whole day without any accidents!!!!! AMAZING! 

I know that i worry alot and i hate myself for that... i do not want this time to pass by without me enjoying it but i also no how important it is to get her to happy being left alone especially in the crate. Its been 5 days am i being silly? When was the first time other people started leaving their puppies to leave the house?

Advise to put my silly worrying mind at ease would be much appreciated. 

Thank you!!


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## Marzi (Sep 17, 2012)

Polly - you are doing brilliantly and it sounds to me as if Daisy is settling really well and is just being a puppy 

Try and relax and enjoy the ride, this stage of acute worries does not last so very long.

1 - others will help you more - lots of other puppies on here have had ear mites, but I have no experience except to say dogs are incredibly forgiving and loving - she will not hold it against you at all and as soon as the first treat is offered her bum will be wiggling again.

2 - Food - again others will help more, I'm lucky Kiki is a piglet - but again there are lots of fussy eaters on the forum and non of them have actually starved themselves to death!
If she eats her food off the floor - I'd scatter a bit on the floor at a time and when she has hoovered it up and is looking at you scatter a bit more - you can turn meal times into training sessions - sit, leave, get it, down, stay etc etc. Make food time rewarding and fun.

3 - Again I didn't use a crate, but it sounds to me as if all is going really well - if she was screaming for hours I'd worry more. Kiki had the run of the kitchen with her bed and a piece of vet bed in the corner. We either had a gate across the door and it open or actually shut the door. Have to say she is fine being left, really decide on your routine and stick to it - try scattering some of her food just before you go out - so she is hunting for it. If you go out the front door for 10 minutes can you still hear her?

4 - don't worry about the blanket - give her one of your old t shirts, or a towel or something else that smells of you - you are her mummy now


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## polly1harg (Jun 6, 2013)

Marzi said:


> Polly - you are doing brilliantly and it sounds to me as if Daisy is settling really well and is just being a puppy
> 
> Try and relax and enjoy the ride, this stage of acute worries does not last so very long.
> 
> ...


I could leave the house and stand by the window with it open... would you say 10 mins was a good starting point. Thanks for your advise i know i am worrying and not enjoying... i guess i just feel like she should be progressing with things faster.


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## Jen62 (Sep 20, 2012)

Hi Polly
Sounds to me like Daisy is a lovely and much loves little girl so don't worry!!
Can only offer advice on the fussy eating-Harley is exactly the same and I've given up using bowls now as he would only eat off the floor, so now I just pop his food on a plate! Actually makes my life easier too as it can go in the dishwasher instead of constantly having to wash up and rotate the 2 bowls we had!! He has been thro every combination / variety of wet & dry foods out there and constantly got bored of them after 2 or 3 days. At the moment he is on dry mixed with some tuna which he and the cat seem to share!! As everyone says, as long as they are healthy they won't starve themselves and tough as it is try not to pander. I did and think it made things worse.
Keep going and will all be worth it in the end!!
Jenni & Harley


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## DB1 (Jan 20, 2012)

On the crate issue I really don't think there are many pups who go in voluntarily at her age, with Dudley it was more just acceptance that he went in, he is not allowed upstairs so to start with he went into the crate every time I went upstairs so I knew he was safe, when I say he went in I mean I put him in with a treat. It was only from around 10 months when I could leave him out of the crate when I went upstairs that I would occasionally find him in there when I came back down, and I thought 'oh, he does feel safe in there'. He is still in it at bedtime (we are lucky, it fits under our stairs), occasionally he dashes back into the lounge and throws himself onto his bed after his last wee when he knows its crate time, we just laugh and say 'come on you, in your crate', but most evenings he knows the routine, comes in from the garden and goes straight in there, very occasionally when he is very tired he will put himself in there earlier...sorry, going on a bit, but you get the idea! Your pup is doing fine, some people have hours of screaming at bedtime! When he was a young pup we had to do ear drops - nightmare! he hated it, alternated between pinning down and doing by stealth when he was really tired, stroking him and flopping his ear open then trying to get the drops before he knew what we were doing and getting some in, that didn't work very often, he seemed really sleepy but the second my hand touched that little bottle his head turned!! Good luck, everything you are going through is just usual puppy stuff, it sometimes just feels like it's worse for yourself than anyone else (was the same for me when I had my son too!!).xx


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## loopyloo (Aug 18, 2012)

Hi Polly
All your problems sound like the normal puppy stuff but I worried myself about it all too. I wondered if I'd made a terrible mistake for about 3 months and then you suddenly realise that things are calming down without you even noticing  It sounds as if you are doing all the right things. We had to wash Raffy's puppy blanket pretty early on too because of poo incident but I just used one of my old t shirts as suggested.
As far as crate is concerned-we had an old pen we used for our rabbit which luckily attached to Raffys crate (I think they have similar on Amazon, just 4 wire panels linked together with plastic lugs) so he had a play pen. When we left him we would put him in this with toys, puppy pad(which he generally chewed up so we didn't use it for long) and a treat ball with some kibble in and a reassuring 'won't be long'. He used this right up until a couple of months ago. As soon as I got the pen out he would go and sit in, waiting for his treat ball.
Raffy also had ear mites but he soon got used to having drops put in and we have no problem touching his ears now (his feet however are a different matter but, apparently, this may be a 'poodle thing').
I know it all seems such a big deal when all you want is for them to grow up to be healthy and happy and love their family-I know this from personal experience but Poos are such loving dogs that they seem to do anything to please their owners for the most part and, you might not think it now, but this will soon be all water under the bridge. I hope that you don't think I'm saying this to belittle your concerns because that's not the case. I'm just trying to reassure you that you're not alone in these problems and, in a few months, they will be superceeded by the lovely teenage angsts  again all normal in the life of a puppy.
I hope I've managed to settle some of your worries,
Lynne


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## polly1harg (Jun 6, 2013)

*Dawn thank you*



DB1 said:


> On the crate issue I really don't think there are many pups who go in voluntarily at her age, with Dudley it was more just acceptance that he went in, he is not allowed upstairs so to start with he went into the crate every time I went upstairs so I knew he was safe, when I say he went in I mean I put him in with a treat. It was only from around 10 months when I could leave him out of the crate when I went upstairs that I would occasionally find him in there when I came back down, and I thought 'oh, he does feel safe in there'. He is still in it at bedtime (we are lucky, it fits under our stairs), occasionally he dashes back into the lounge and throws himself onto his bed after his last wee when he knows its crate time, we just laugh and say 'come on you, in your crate', but most evenings he knows the routine, comes in from the garden and goes straight in there, very occasionally when he is very tired he will put himself in there earlier...sorry, going on a bit, but you get the idea! Your pup is doing fine, some people have hours of screaming at bedtime! When he was a young pup we had to do ear drops - nightmare! he hated it, alternated between pinning down and doing by stealth when he was really tired, stroking him and flopping his ear open then trying to get the drops before he knew what we were doing and getting some in, that didn't work very often, he seemed really sleepy but the second my hand touched that little bottle his head turned!! Good luck, everything you are going through is just usual puppy stuff, it sometimes just feels like it's worse for yourself than anyone else (was the same for me when I had my son too!!).xx


Dawn, 

Thanks this post kinda made me stomach stop churning for a min... its so nice to hear how similar our pups have been. It is very comforting to know that your pup does not like the crate that much either. Did your pup cry in the crate? If so how long for? When you put him in the crate to go upstairs did he cry? 

Thanks again

Polly


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## polly1harg (Jun 6, 2013)

loopyloo said:


> Hi Polly
> All your problems sound like the normal puppy stuff but I worried myself about it all too. I wondered if I'd made a terrible mistake for about 3 months and then you suddenly realise that things are calming down without you even noticing  It sounds as if you are doing all the right things. We had to wash Raffy's puppy blanket pretty early on too because of poo incident but I just used one of my old t shirts as suggested.
> As far as crate is concerned-we had an old pen we used for our rabbit which luckily attached to Raffys crate (I think they have similar on Amazon, just 4 wire panels linked together with plastic lugs) so he had a play pen. When we left him we would put him in this with toys, puppy pad(which he generally chewed up so we didn't use it for long) and a treat ball with some kibble in and a reassuring 'won't be long'. He used this right up until a couple of months ago. As soon as I got the pen out he would go and sit in, waiting for his treat ball.
> Raffy also had ear mites but he soon got used to having drops put in and we have no problem touching his ears now (his feet however are a different matter but, apparently, this may be a 'poodle thing').
> ...


Thank you Lynn! 

You did help massively!! THANK YOU!! 
Its nice to hear that the ear drops get easier. The pen idea is a good one... do you just do this when you leave him during the day or at night time too? 

Thanks 
Polly


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## dmgalley (Aug 19, 2012)

This sounds like Willow! Where to start. She did not like the crate never did. We ditched it at like s month old. She only goes in a crate more if Jake hired in his, she will go with him. (Jake loved the crate. Still does) 
Some days she eats and some days she doesn't. Both of mine are like this and have been since day one. I also feed orijen mixed with nutrisca. Most days we play the bowl game. She wants gets on the floor. Then Jake comes over to see what she has which is the same thing, and she runs to his bowl. Done days they both just look at me and walk away. They are both healthy and growing so I no longer worry.
She had a yeast infection in her ears. We also had to pin her down. She hate every second of it but she also got over it.  
You are both doing awesome! 

Sent from my SGH-T989 using Tapatalk 2


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## polly1harg (Jun 6, 2013)

dmgalley said:


> This sounds like Willow! Where to start. She did not like the crate never did. We ditched it at like s month old. She only goes in a crate more if Jake hired in his, she will go with him. (Jake loved the crate. Still does)
> Some days she eats and some days she doesn't. Both of mine are like this and have been since day one. I also feed orijen mixed with nutrisca. Most days we play the bowl game. She wants gets on the floor. Then Jake comes over to see what she has which is the same thing, and she runs to his bowl. Done days they both just look at me and walk away. They are both healthy and growing so I no longer worry.
> She had a yeast infection in her ears. We also had to pin her down. She hate every second of it but she also got over it.
> You are both doing awesome!
> ...


THANK you!!!!


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## dio.ren (Jan 18, 2013)

Molly wasn't a big crate fan at first either so I would put a treat in there and put her in. At night she was fine cause I think she knew I was beside her and it was night time. During the day for her naps she would sometimes whine for 20 minutes but I would leave her there and ignore her and she would stop. Now she naps etc without a peep.

When she was about 10 weeks she had an ear infection so we had to put drops in and do an ear flush. The minute she spotted the bottle she would lose her mind. It took 2 of us to put that stuff in. We used lots of treats and had to hold her down. She wasn't happy about it and I felt bad but it was for her own good. Oddly enough the vet could do it no problem but I think maybe she could sense our anxiety about doing it and it made her freak out.

I have washed Molly's blankies several times and she never really seemed to care. She has 1 toy in her crate that she has had since she was a baby. I slept with it for a week before we got her so that has always been in her crate.

Seems like you are doing everything right...if she cries when you leave ignore her cause if you pick her up she will use this to manipulate you. Molly would cry when she was small but I would never give in I would only get her if she was quiet. I would not even say a word just sit and wait til she stopped it was hard but you have to be strong! She is still a baby so give her a while and she will be ok!


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## loopyloo (Aug 18, 2012)

Polly
Always glad to share experiences. We just used the pen when we left Raffy during the day. He was very good in the crate at night and still sleeps in it now with the door closed. We let him out for his last wee, then he comes into kitchen from garden, comes up to both of us for little fuss, we say 'go nite nites' and he trots into his crate and we close door and pull blanket over. He does still sleep in it sometimes in the day time but he also has an ordinary bed in the kitchen which he also uses but his preferred sleeping place is next to John's or my feet. I've also thrown caution to the wind during this hot weather and given him the run of the lounge as it's cooler in there, even when I've left him on his own. I expected to get home and find it wrecked but I think he just chilled on the sofa, oh and nosed out of the window  We were very lucky in the fact that he settled well at night from the word go. We had a couple of nights when he cried so I got up, took him to toilet without fussing and straight back in crate. Within a week or 2 he was going through the night from 11 until 5.30 and he still loves his kip now-we usually wake him up even at the weekends.
Just had a thought. Have you tried leaving a radio on for Daisy? just on low so there's some background noise.
Raff still whines a bit when John and I go out together and leave him but he soon settles (we've listened outside the door, how sad are we???) It's as if he's saying 'why aren't I going if you both are?'
I'm sure Daisy will soon get into a routine. Or should it be - you'll soon get her fitting into your routine


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## loopyloo (Aug 18, 2012)

Dawn
Your post about Dudley and the ear drops made me laugh. How do they know what you're going to do when they're seemingly fast asleep. Raff is the same. He's lying there asleep and as I run my fingers through his coat I feel a matt, I think I'll just get the scissors and snip that out, as soon as they're in my hand he's miraculously awake even when I've only reached onto side table. It's as if he saying 'you're not going to catch me out on that one!'


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## Lexi&Beemer (May 5, 2013)

In terms of eating, Lexi was never and still is not a problem eater. She is a boo Ed supercharged. Beemer was the exact opposite. For about two weeks I had to feed him from my hand. Since I wanted him to get used to the bowl, I would put the bowl down then pick up a few kibble in my hand bringing it closer and closer to where the food was and trick him into eating a few bites from the bowl. When he stopped, I would do that again. I also experimented with different bowls. I noticed that he seemed particularly sensitive to any remains of dish washing soap as he would eat perfectly fine when his bowl came our of the dishwasher. Got him metal nonskid bowl and he doesn't fuss at all.


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## arlo (Mar 11, 2013)

You sound like a brilliant poo mum. The way you feel is just like I was with Arlo, I was so worried I was letting him down. He HATED his crate with a passion and I couldn't leave him in it as I was scared he would hurt himself as he would frantically bite the bars and shake the crate. Through reassurance on here I ditched the crate, he was so much better without it. Savannah just accepted to sleeping in crate so I didn't have to make the decision, I was so much more relaxed with Savannah. Both Arlo and Savannah have had ear problems, I try to feed treats at the same time as doing drops, ear washing is not so easy They are both fussy eaters especially Arlo I have a cupboard of various foods that have been flatly rejected , the vet would tell you if Daisy was underweight. Try and relax and enjoy as much as possible, Daisy is a very lucky girl, to have such a caring mum


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## tessybear (May 1, 2011)

Personally I don't think keeping them with you all the time when they are small will lead to separation anxiety. I believe it will make them more secure and confident. When they are little they can become anxious if they think you are going to leave them alone, especially if they can hear you in another part of the house and they want to be with you. Dogs are pack animals and like company. As they get older they will become used to having time alone and will also get used to being without their siblings.


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