New Puppy Owners

[kid]

I know there are a few of us that have recently picked up new pups.
Were your puppies lovely and calm when you first got them or were they mental straight away?

I can't believe how calm Teddy is being so far. He has slept a lot but even when he is awake, he just nibbles gently on your fingers or rolls his ball with his feet.

He has not had any accidents in the house yet which is a miracle.

I am wondering if this is the calm before the storm?

Good morning all

Quick post before I pop into town. Will be back later to see how everyone is doing.

pinkanimal BIG yay for your first good night! I wonder if it anything to do with taking him off the milk? I am amazed you were told to give it to him, cows milk is usually very badly tolerated, goats milk is often ok, what else was the breeder feeding him and what are you feeding him now?

Purplefrog they are just sent to try us......I always carry Rudy until we are outside for the first wee, to stop him scooting off to somewhere more cosy.....

ilove you might want to have a little think about what you are feeding, and it might be that it is totally fine, but I had a little look at it and personally I wouldn't want to feed anything so high in carbs and fibre and where the meat sourse is from 'meat meal' (v. low grade mechanically extracted meat).

I am not saying it is causing his hyperactivity and biting, all puppies are like this and Springers are particually mental anyway, but it may well not be helping things, again only my opinion but I think diet is really important and I would be wanting to feed something higher quality.

There was a discussion about puppy feeding on page 6 and a link to recomended foods, oddly Skinners isn't on the list although they do review it, but it is a very non-commital review.

Again you might decide it is totally fine and I hope you don't mind me mentioning it, certainly there are far worse foods.

WTWTW thanks for comments on food, v much appreciated. I also looked thro' your previous list and noted Skinners not there at all. It's what the breeder provided us with and we have another huge bag to go, but I think I will now start to change over. Sounds like you have done all the research and I wil simply switch to the one you recommend. Anything that may calm her down is worth trying.

watsthestory - I'm sorry to hear that

WTWTW - to start with I was grabbing him from the crate, and sprinting outside with him under my arm, just stopping to exchange my slippers for crocs....

Over the past week I have become more relaxed about letting him walk. And have you any idea what the temperature was at 5.30am this morning? I was freezing yesterday without a jacket.

Hmmm - guess I had better start carrying him again..... but for how much longer? We weighed him at the weekend and he is around 9.5kg!!! I'm not sure I will be able to carry him under my arm whilst swapping footwear for very much longer.......

Teddy still has a bit of an upset tummy, but not properly. His poo starts off normal but goes a bit jelly like at the end. What a delightful conversation to be having!

Took him for a walk to my sisers house today and he met her dog (staff x sherpei) They were okay together but her dog is a bit big and rough for them to play together so they just went for a walk together.
Much better lead walking today and also sitting on command at the roads.

He woke up at 5:30 today and followed DH to the bathroom. He then decided to pee in the hall which made me get out of bed super fast!

first of all, yuck I am eating my lunch!!
hope pup feels better soon wats. No only did we have an excellent night but I left him for 2 hrs to go shopping and there was a clean crate again when I came home! Fed him his lunch and he started going mental so I thought and took him outside and he pooed!! yay and on the poo discussion it is less runny now.
WTWTW The breeder tried to feed him Wagg but it didn't agree with him and his siblings so she put them on bread and milk. Dinner last night was before 6 so maybe that helped. I am currently feeding him Royal Canin Maxi Baby Dog.

Hope Ringo is feeling better soon. Chicken and rice is much gentler on the stomach so will hopefully help it settle quickly.

wats hope Ringo is on the mend soon.

kid poo that is mostly normal and then very soft at the end (last bit to come out) is usually a result of overfeeding, the quantity is too much so the last of the meal just comes out pretty much undigested.

pinkanimal christ on a bike, Wagg is one of the worst foods on the market, had he just been fed on bread and milk since weaning? Sorry this is none of my business, but your puppy looks like he had a bit of a dodgy start, where did you find the breeder? (You can tell me to mind my own business, I won't be offended)

Ok, thanks for that. I did wonder how much I should be feeding him so am just guessing. I should take the time to weigh it and them spread it out over the day.

I need to weigh him today so I can worm him. The vet finally replied to my email regarding worming but I have already bought one. They said they would need to see him as it's a prescription only. They couldn't care less that they did in effect kill my last pup (I know that's a bit harsh but their attitude stinks) so stuff them. I'll go there only as an absolute last resort.

As our puppies start to go out and socialize, try and make time to read the following article if you can.

He just wants to say hi.

It's really interesting and helps you to understand (amongst other things) what is appropriate adult dog behaviour towards your puppy.

kid is there not another vet in your area that you could go to? I have changed practice now I have Rudy, I was never very happy with my old vets, but they way they dealt with my old dog having to be pts was terrible imo, the lack of sympathy was astonishing. And when we went to pick up his ashes the receptionist just shoved them across the counter without even looking up.

Anyway, my new vets are fantastic, exactly what I wanted. I think a good relationship with a caring vet is really important.

i did email a new vet to enquire about worming but they haven't got back to me even though I know they have been open for 2 days since I sent the email. That doesn't make me feel happy about them despite them supposedly being a small family business.

I asked Mobys vet about the cost of worming and they said it would be £7 something. Not sure if that would include them actually seeing him and the tablet or whether there would be a consultation fee on top of that.

WTWTW I know she wasn't that experienced but for all her sins Wagg was actually recommendded to her at a pet shop.
Is what I'm feeding ok?

Yes I think it was just bread and milk. He has had his first day off the bread and milk totally today and has eaten less than he was eating before.

He is actually starting to ask to go out now which I am amazed at, I thought it was way too early for him to be able to do that.

We have had a great day today, two poos outside and no wees on carpet, either outside or on his potty training mat.
My vet is newly qualified which worries me as when we went to have his injection she did it wrong and had to redo it. Did anyone ever see that episode of vets in practice on BBC1 years ago? Just like that, the fluid squirted all over his coat. I mentioned what had happened to Moby {sorry if it upsets you Kid} and the fact that someone told us Huskies don't take to anasthetic very well and she said "I would do research on the breed before I neutered him" All I could think was "if you haven't got any surgery experience no F***g way are you touching my puppy" {scuse the language} Not sure if we will have him done, not sure if we will keep the vet either!

It doesn't upset me pinkanimal. I want people to know what happened to Moby so they are aware that even if your pup appears healthy, they can still die during a so called routine operation.
Everyone that hears about Moby can't believe it happened, its just so rare. I feel so cheated that it had to happen to him. But I do believe there was an underlying problem. But, if the vet had detected a problem, there is no way I would have let him have the operation. It broke my heart and I still cry for him and miss him like mad. I burst into tears the other night when DH was talking about the day he died. Its so fresh in my mind and I will never forget the awful feeling when the vet told me what had happened.

But, Moby was more than likely going to die young. I take comfort in the fact that he died at the vets and not in my arms. Mobys tragic death meant we have been able to get Teddy who is a wonderful dog. He isn't Moby, but he is wonderful in his own way.

Teddy has been wonderful today. My nephew let him in the garden and Teddy just laid on the stones. I told my nephew to look and learn. I took Teddy out there and said 'Go toilet' and sure enough he walked outside and did a wee!

The breeder phoned me today, she is awaiting news on Teddys mum at the moment. They did a biopsy on her and the results should be available tonight. Please God let her be okay. The breeder reasured me that th e condition is definitely not hereditary. I am pleased to hear that but thats not what was on my mind when I was asking after the mummy dog. I just want her to be okay and for their family to not be going through this.

Yes I understand kid. Storm wees on command too and he asks to go out as well. sounds like we are all doing fine with our pups.
poor Teddy's mum, I hope she gets better soon.

Yay well done guys it sound like you have some happy well trained puppies there

Teddy cracks me up. He will sit in front of DH and bark at him. He doesn't do it to anyone else except DH.

He was having a little barking episode tonight and it didn't matter what DH did, teddy kept barking. He tried ignoring him, he got his feet nibbled, he started at him, teddy rolled over and played dead. As soon as DH sat back, Teddy was up and barking again. DH picked him up, Teddy started trying to eat him! While this was going on, me and DC were laughing quietly.

I took Teddy for a walk instead and he did do a poo and a few wees, maybe he was trying to tell DH that he wanted a walk. I don't know why he was telling him as I am the one that always walks him.

Puppy had second jabs yesterday - vet said she may be a bit quiet - she is running round like a loon !!

Oh for a lie in !

Bed times getting better .

wats I am having the same problems with the crate fouling. I actually found out yesterday that it is a common sign of separation anxiety. I am going to consult a behaviourist from the APBC maybe you could google it and find your local one too.

minimu told me to remove the paper I had in there so I wouldn't put it in.

PMSL he is hypo today, has just found his tail!
Should I out him in his crate when he is like this? has been nibbling the kids, kids toys, settees, my toes!

Hi, everyone seems to be doing so well with their puppies. I hope I will be able to say the same in a few weeks. Belle comes home with us on sat, we will have the crate with us in case she needs it as it will be a two hour journey. My dd intends on holding her all the way, which is fine, but I have been told that we needed a car restraint for the future. I have bought a seat belt thing from e-bay but can I use this on her collar or do I need a harness, and if so what size would I need, belle is a cockapoo? If she is in the boot loose I am afraid that she will just jump and run as soon as I open it. Do i need a waterproof rug for the back seat if this is where she is travelling? As socialisation classes start in a few weeks, I need to be ready.

Also how do you dispose of their poo from the garden?

5.40am this morning! Best waking time for over a week! Carried him so he didn't dive under the kitchen table this time.

Second lot of jabs booked for Friday.

Now, I just have to sort out pet insurance before the end of the week.

How long were you told to leave between sets of vaccinations? The vet (a locum) we saw first time said 4 weeks. He wrote the date of the first one in Rory's record card as 9/8/10 with the next one due 9/9/10. When I phoned yesterday to make the appointment for the second I asked the receptionist if it had to be exactly 4 weeks. She asked someone in the surgery and came back with "no more than 4 weeks". So it sounds like I could have got it done sooner? Grrr!!!