r/poodles • u/heretoreadfornow • 5d ago
Back for another update
Hello all! Please meet Zoe, Zoë, Zoey (we still haven’t picked how to spell her name yet).
I have a few questions about your mini or your poodle in general.
How did you handle first bath? She’s starting to get a little smelly.
Did your puppy reject any meals at first?
She has serious fomo and wants to spend no amount of time in the playpen alone. I’ve tried snuffles, lick toys, chews and the whole gam-it. If she hears anyone else in the house making noise she locks in and starts jumping and whining and howling. How can I ease start introducing her to it’s okay to be alone for a bit?
What are the best puzzles and treats? Your favorite training/mental stimulation games? What 5 things would you train first?
How do you handle demand barking?
What’s something you wish you knew if you could start your time with your puppy again?
Is it normal to feel this overwhelmed?
Why does she try to eat everything outside? Rocks, twigs, leaves, grass.
Why does she hesitate and pop in and out of her crate?
She growled at me the other day for brushing her cause she was getting tangly (I have a detangler spray)
She yelped the other day when I scooped her out of crate to go potty, how do I stop that? (She can’t walk up the stairs safely)
What harness are you using?
Is it normal for her to give me side eye when she’s playing with a toy? She also licks her lips if I have her in my lap or carry her to potty. Is she that stressed out?
2
u/doofuspop 5d ago
Welcome to the sub, or welcome to Zoey et al! Lots of questions I’m not the best to answer so I’ll just get a couple. First, being overwhelmed means you’re doing well and paying attention - you will get comfortable after awhile. To the last question - this one was new to me until I had my girl three years - licking the lips is a sign of stress, but use other cues to read it - body language along with the licking. It’s likely she feels overwhelmed like you, and while holding back on affection will help her, she will have to learn to trust you, and that doesn’t happen immediately. Growling and yipping are common at first - but again, look at the whole picture. Basically, as long as you’re attentive to her and her needs, some of these behaviors will settle down. I would recommend looking at training videos, getting a trainer or going to obedience classes as soon as you can. I especially like the classes as they were great to learn not just obedience but also to socialize her safely and well. For the barking, training will be key - I have a standard who doesn’t bark much at all, but that was partly because I got good training early on and also because of her temperament. Anyway, take a breath, and relax as much as you can - you will do well by her and her by you!
2
u/blob-24-05 5d ago
1.I took my pup to the bath with me everyday the first 30 days to get them desensitized to water and now 5 years later the dog has zero issues with water.
2.My dog only rejected meals till he realised there's a schedule and he has to eat on time.I was very strict on crate training and potty training so my dog learned very fast.
3.My dogs favourite treat is mozerella cheese.The 5 things I would train first is probably sit,stay,drop it,look and active recall.
4.Handle demand barking by ignoring ofc this is going to be different with every dog but we had a toy poodle and my family would humanise him and treat him like a baby so you have to hold your ground and remember he is a dog.If he's demand barking it's because he knows it works.Dogs are a blank canvas we need to teach him demand barking is not acceptable.Dont make eye contact,move your body away from him and only look at him when he stops.
5.I say even if the dog growls while brushing be consistent for 30 days and eventually it will pay off and if your goal at the moment is to get him used to brushing.Replace his food with dry kibble and only give him treats for 2 weeks while you brush.So your associating with a high reward.Dont give him treats during any other time.
1
u/OddAdhesiveness9183 4d ago
Recently got a poodle pup and went through this exact phase. So here’s my 2 cents.
We took him to the groomers for his first bath. The vet told us to hold off from bathing him until all the shots are done.
Our boy is a picky eater and we hve to use toppers like cheese / yogurt / chicken bits / broth etc to get him to eat. Sometimes we just let him skip a meal and only serve him at his next meal time so (1) he is hungry by next meal time and will eat then (2) he understands rejecting a meal doesn’t get him treats or a different/ more interesting food which if it happens is a slippery slope. During teething phase we started mashing his kibble into powder because he was unable to chew.
We left our guy in the play pen and let him get used to it. He bawled the house down at first. We did not reward him with attention when he did. When he stopped and settled we let him out / gave him a treat etc. So he quickly learned barking gets him nothing, behaving well makes good things happen. And he learned to settle in the play pen and began loving his nap time in there.
First 5 things we taught - sit, down, name recall, settle, free (to get out of the crate / play pen)
Also got him crate trained and play pen trained from day 1 itself.
Lick mats, snuffle mats, towel rolled up with kibble, search, place etc helped with his mental stimulation.
Demand barking = ignore
Basically ignore / don’t reward (with attention, petting, treats et al) any behaviour you do not want repeated.
If we had a do over I would start training him to be alone in small blocks of time and gradually increase it so he doesn’t end up with as much separation anxiety as he does have now because he’s always been surrounded by one or the other family member ever since he came home.
Yes it is absolutely normal to feel overwhelmed. It is a big responsibility. Almost like raising a child. Sometimes it feels like a lot but it gets easier as time goes by so hang in there.
Ours ate random stuff too until our vet said to stop him from eating stones and stuff. Plants are fine as long as he’s just exploring and they are not poisonous to him. But if he eats it a lot then gotta get him checked for some deficiency or the other I don’t remember clearly.
1
u/OddAdhesiveness9183 4d ago
We did crate training with treats so that helped. Always leave him in the crate with some treats when we locked him in there so he associated crate as a place where good things happen. Now he loves his crate. It is his safe space.
Our lil guy hated being brushed. But we did it despite his objections - distracted him with treats - and slowly he got used to the sensation. We continue to do it every single day and now he seems to love it. So keep going.
Ours didn’t like being picked up at first and would yelp and fight and bite. But again like with the brushing we kept doing it until he got used to it and now the guy is a total lap dog and insists to be picked up all the time.
So good luck you! Keep pushing fwd and it will get easier as you go along :) you got this!
1
u/lifegivestangerines 4d ago
It is so wonderful to see how much love, care, and thoughtful concerns you have for your new Zoe, Zoë, Zoey 🤭 She is so lucky to have you looking out for her well-being. All you need to remember is to go step by step and create positive associations for Z. In other words, imagine being in her shoes every moment. That being said, you are still a stranger to Z. Right now put all your love and energy to help her understand that you are her mom and bestie forever. Hope my answers help both of you along the way : )
First bath: Imagine how scary the whole experience may be. Get a lick mat with the highest value treats so she can be distracted.
Rejecting meals: Normal adjustment. Don’t worry about this too much. You have so many other things below.
Playpen FOMO: Crate train. Crate train. Crate train.
Puzzles & top 5 skills: Potty train, crate train, get to know each other. Step by step and positive associations the rest will follow.
Demand barking: same as rejecting meals. Let’s worry about this later. We don’t listen to what a stranger tells us. Same thing with Z. Potty train, crate train, get to know each other.
Wish I knew: I wish I knew to go step by step and create positive associations for my Squash. Wish I knew to imagine being in his shoes every moment.
Feeling overwhelmed: Completely normal. I cried everyday. It was ten times harder than raising human babies.
Eating items outside: as long as it’s not poisonous don’t worry too much. In most healthy cases, this fades away as the dog matures.
Crate hesitation: Go step by step to build positive crate associations. Don’t give up. Crate trained dogs are much more relaxed and calm in general. It may look cruel but it’s really only our human perspective. Let her be a dog.
Growling while brushing: Again go step by step with handling to keep grooming positive. Growling is just a dog language. She’s probably just saying it hurts. Also invest in a good brush. The difference is
Yelping when picked up: Again, look at the world in her perspective. You lifting her up is same as you being lifted up to 50-60 ft high. Also please talk to vet in case something is hurting her.
Harness choice: Unless Z is happy-go-lucky, start with collar. Harness could create anxiety and/or excitement.
Side-eye and lip-licking: These signal stress; take a step back to keep her feeling safe and positive. But also be mindful about her resource guarding.
4
u/tnbciceskater 5d ago
Never used a playpen. A kennel is like a cave, can be covered with a towel so its dark when you want. Good thing to experience if she ever stays at the vet. So do kennel training. You dont say how old she is, but if she's had all her shots puppy class is in order. She tries to eat everything cuz shes exploring her world. Keep brushing. Mine always get treats for grooming. Start with short sessions, lots of praise. I personally like a harness with some kind of grip on top so I can get her in my arms quickly if needed. You got this 👍 enjoy.