New Puppy Mummies Part 2

[SallyBear]

Just thought I'd start the new thread!

Toby (foxy coloured yellow Labrador) is now 13 weeks old. Long, lean and lanky. Still wonderfully tempered and is sleeping through and no longer messing in the house.

[frownyface]

yawn yawn, morning all. I woke up desperate for a wee at three am and crept very quietly (not easy in a wheelchair!) to the toilet. Aoife thought this was her cue for waking up :( I ignored her for twenty mins but she was beginning to disturb my ds and so I got up and told her to go back to bed and then curled up on the sofa.

Its not like shes abandoned, she is in with our other dog. I read about the neighbours having a moan re. noise up thread and we are in the same position-not easy. We are in a groundfloor flat and im so conscious of not disturbing the neighbours upstairs. We are trying not to give her any fuss at all in the night, I just say go to bed then don't make eye contact again. She settles right down when she can see me.

I didnt realise there are different types of seperation anxiety you learn something new every day :)

I am off to my mums this morning with ds and Aoife for a cooked breakfast followed by a long walk-lets hope the weather stays dry ish!

Have a good weekend all with your pups!

:)

[SallyBear]

Morning all. Toby seems to have a huge growth spurt. I've not weighed him for a couple of weeks but he must be nearly 12kg. Anyway he's all legs and trips over his paws occasionally.
I've knocked the dog food on the head and he's been eating a diet of stewed minced beef, potato carrot and parsnip cooked in stock courtesy of a lamb bone. No more horrible poos, we now consistently have sausages. No blood or mucous in them anymore . God knows what was in Burns Puppy, but it certainly affected him. Also his adult coat is coming through and he's looking more like a young Labrador albeit a gingery looking one. Should have called him McVitie!!

[Lifeisontheup]

I've just started Finn on his raw food diet today. He gobbled it up and is full of beans. Can't wait until we can walk him.
Am prepared for runny poos for a couple of days but we will see.

[moosemama]

Frowny, I have been in a similar position the past couple of weeks. We have a downstairs bathroom and I have had a kidney infection, which has resulted in me needing to go to the toilet in the night. I tried to hold on each time, but it was painful, so ended up pointlessly trying to sneak through, then having to re-settle him before I could go back to bed. I usually just sit on the sofa in the dark for about five minutes while he drops off again, unfortunately I have hypermobility, so my joints crack the minute I stand up and wake him up all over again.

I didn't know about the different types of SA either. I'd read up a lot about it, then was advised to read --www.amazon.co.uk/Leave-Step--Separation-Anxiety-ebook/dp/B005QD0Y34/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1380368544&sr=8-4&keywords=dogs%20separation%20anxiety&tag=mumsnet&ascsubtag=mnforum-21 this]] by a behaviourist and it was a revelation. Having read that I talked through his behaviour with some really experienced dog folk and they all agreed it was ID not SA.

Hope you enjoyed your breakfast and the weather stays fine for you.

Sally, Toby sounds like he's thriving on his new diet.

Lifeinontheup, I've never had a dog get runny poos when switched to raw, even my oldies were great on it straight off when switched after years of kibble and the pups I've used it with took to it straight away - one of them at 6 weeks. She was in a very poor state and it turned her round into a vibrant, healthy little girl in days.

I've been loving watching Pip hurtle round the garden with Lurcherboy this morning, so full of life and fun. He has found a little nook between some stacked paving slabs that Lurcherboy can't get into, so he hides in there, then launches himself like a little conga eel and flies at Lurcherboy snapping and leaping off his head, then Lurcherboy chases him off, they charge round and round the garden and he retreats back into his nook before repeating the whole performance. It's hilarious to watch! I love that thing that pups do where they scootch their bums under and take off like a lunatic with absolutely zero directional control, zig-zagging all over the place and having to leap over anything that has the audacity to get in their way. Like Toby, Pip is all legs - and he looks so ridiculous when he gets a case of the zoomies.

My lot have gone to Pokemon League, so it's just me and the dogs again. I'm working on getting Pip to settle and sleep in the kitchen with me in the living room and he's doing ok - a bit of whingeing every now and again, but he soon settles himself again. Poor old Lurcherboy isn't very chuffed at having to keep sharing his bed though. Honestly, there are two huge beds in there and they always end up in the same one!

We're supposed to be taking the dogs somewhere nice for Pip to meet plenty of other dogs later this afternoon, but can't make our minds up where. Might just get in the car and see where we end up if we can't decide soon.

[moosemama]

Just bought Pip a new collar. He's grown out of his Chihuahua puppy one, but it took us ages to choose a new one, because dh and I couldn't agree on any - and we've looked at hundreds. In the end we both agreed on Spins and Twirls - 7th collar down on the list). It picks up the tones in both his guard hairs and eyes, so fingers crossed it will suit him.

I've paid for one of those slidey name tags, engraved with the legal requirements, to be sewn into it as well, so now I can get a nice dangly one to set it off without worrying about how much info I can fit on it.

Actually, I've spent a fortune on him this morning, as I've been waiting for payday to come around so I could buy his harness, longline and collar. He has a Perfect Fit Harness, 10m longline and new collar all on the way. Having palpitations at how much it all cost, but dh didn't bat an eyelid. Think he's just relieved he got the new job he went for at the beginning of the month!

[SallyBear]

Vair posh collar! Toby just has a medium red nylon adjustable one. I don't collar him at home just for walks. DH said about getting a long lead, what sort would you suggest? I have never used one and don't fancy the cassette extendable ones.

[sweetkitty]

Lovely new collar moosemama, Nala has a red nylon one one a small breed one from Wilkinsons, I'm not spending money as she will grow so quickly.

She had her second set of jabs yesterday, got weighed and she's put on 3lbs in 2 weeks she's now 6.3kgs. She's very skinny though, have upped her food and going to get her some tripe as well, don't want her porky as she's supposed to be a lean dog but would like a bit more covering on her ribs.

Sallybear - she's been fine on a Burns so far, I am nervous about raw feeding as with the kibble at least you know they are getting all they need. I do like the look of Eden though and have heard good things about Simpsons. I do want her on grain free kibble if I can help it eventually.

I don't know why mixed feeding is such a big no no either?

[Lifeisontheup]

I've got Natural Instinct www.naturalinstinct.com/products/Puppy.html but not sure if they only deliver locally. It's a complete food with fruit,veg,chicken and salmon oil. So far no change to poos except they're smaller which is supposed to happen as they use most of it up.

[Lifeisontheup]

Yes it's raw, he seems to love it. The bone is all ground up for puppies and the rest minced. I also got him a bit of a reindeer antler which he spends ages chewing.
DD is busy teaching him to 'go and kill Rudolph'

[sweetkitty]

The downside of having a large dog is that she's going to need a lot of raw food

[Lifeisontheup]

Finn is now out for the count across my feet so obviously I'm unable to get up and fill the dishwasher. I have gone completely soppy but he looks so adorable.

[moosemama]

Pip has only had cheap collars up till now, but being a Lurcher, even as he grows taller, his neck is likely to stay quite slim and that one adjusts to 15" which is bigger than Lurcherboy's. I've been waiting for him to get up to a 10" neck so I could buy him a nice one - I want him to look his best for puppy classes.

I have bought soft-weave nylon longlines off ebay here. Hoping they'll be ok, they have very good feedback, so should be I think. I've bought a 10m one for beach and open fields, so he can run with Lurcherboy and a 20'/6m one for local walks.

Took him into the village on the lead for the first time this afternoon, he was totally chilled, didn't even react when a bus let off it's air brakes right next to us. Then we picked up Lurcherboy and went to a local park.

We didn't take his flinger and he barked at every other dog that had a ball - he never barks normally, so this is totally new behaviour. Then, when we were sitting by the play area while the dcs played, a Miniature Schnauzer pup (about 7 months) that belongs to some girls from ds2's year came up to us and stood there staring at Pip, so he barked at it. Just one bark, then turned his back and sniffed the ground (calming signals) but then stoopid Lurcherboy jumped up from where he was dozing and barked too - although he had no idea what he was barking at. Schnauzer wasn't bothered in the slightest - all three were on the lead and well away from each other - but it stressed me out, as Lurcherboy has a deep houndy bay so can sound quite scary to some people even when he's being friendly and I don't want him getting a rep at the school for being aggressive. Lots of people are frightened of him just because of his size and houndy appearance as it is.

Fortunately there was a lovely lady there with her JRT x ? (poss Maltese) and she approached us and asked if her dog could say hello, which was lovely of her. Her little dog was so sweet, she said hello nicely to Lurcherboy, then lay on her back and exposed her belly, so Pip was brave enough to approach her and sniff her nose. We had a bit of a chat about him being a pup and why he'd had delayed vaccinations etc, then he went back to say hello to her again. First time he's voluntarily approached another dog.

Should've seen his eyes when a Great Dane walked past though!

[SallyBear]

Moose those leads look good. I will get one this week.

[moosemama]

Sweetkitty, some people don't advocate mixed feeding because raw and processed are digested at different rates, so the theory is, if you feed kibble one feed and raw the next, the raw may sit in the gut waiting to be digested while the body processes the kibble and being raw, that can cause bacterial overgrowth.

I think that's quite outmoded now though, as once the food hits the stomach it's already being digested by pretty serious acids. It's generally accepted that as long as they're fed at different meal times and not actually together it's fine. Good article about it here.

I know lots of dogs that are mixed fed though, Lurcherboy is really as he gets the odd kibble feed if we can't get to the butcher or the butcher hasn't got what we need in. We also give him kibble on holidays because it's easier to transport and handle.

Lifeisontheup, I had to at 'go kill and Rudolph'! I keep doing double takes when I read your posts as your pup has the same name as my older dog.

I was considering getting some antlers, but was put off by the stuff about tooth injuries and splintering. How have the reindeer ones held up? I heard fallow deer ones are softer, so thought I might give them a try.

[moosemama]

Just read my first post back. It was Lurcherboy that barked at the other dogs who had balls, not Pip. Didn't word that very well.

I'm playing firework simulations full volume while I'm on here to get Pip used to the sounds before they start up for bonfire night. There are loads on YouTube and I'm going to download a couple to play on the stereo as well so I can up the volume and reverb. Oldgirl was seriously terrified of fireworks - it was actually a relief when she became deaf enough to not hear them - so I want to try and head it off at the pass with Pip if possible, as he's very like her in personality/reactivity.

[Awks]

jarvis has an antler from pah and he will chew it for 30 seconds then go back to whatever piece of cardboard he can steal from the bin.

I've enrolled him in training sessions. He's really good for me but bloody takes the mick with dd2. She is so soft with him and feels mean for disciplining him but at 13 she has to man up a bit, hence the classes. he doesnt nip me or dh but nipped her lollister joggers and her topshop jeans yesterday cos he knows he can

Wish us luck

[moosemama]

Good luck Awks.

Pip loves cardboard best as well. He currently has 3 different cardboard boxes in the living room in varying states of destruction and he loves charging around 'killing' them and sliding across the floor with them etc.

It's such a pain, as I'd like to find something he both wants to - and is allowed to - chew while I leave him, as kongs etc just don't last him very long. It seems all the things he'd want to chew and may stick with are the things he can't have unsupervised though. I need something he only gets when I go out, so it's a really A-Grade reward, but keep drawing a blank.

[SallyBear]

Moose great post about the food. I loved the poster who said "is this the doggy equivalent of breast vs bottle". That did make me laugh!!

Right I've ordered the 20foot lead off eBay, hope that its ok for Toby-Obi-Wan-Kenobi. I'm taking him to puppy socialising on Wednesday but not back to the training class. He hated it. Very stressed out by the whole thing. So I think we are doing very well on our own.

[moosemama]

That made me laugh too Sally.

I think formal training is often a bit much for pups at this age. They need to be interacting and having fun, not lined up next to each other being expected to perform and behave.

[basildonbond]

I'd love to find something that Fitz wants to chew when I'm out which he's also allowed to chew ... I've been giving him a whole peeled carrot while I cook tea which seems to go down well but I wouldn't want to leave him unsupervised as I'd be worried he'd choke. He has the odd rawhide chew when he really needs to calm down (just the little tube shaped ones) but don't want to give him too many of those. Kongs last him about ten minutes and he can demolish what's in a busy buddy in what seems like seconds (he does love them though)

We went to pick up dd from her riding lesson this pm - it was harvest festival at the farm and it was heaving but he took it all in his stride - because he looks just like a teddy bear he gets loads of attention especially from small children but is so chilled about it

Our two niggles of the day are 1) he's discovered the trampoline - keeps jumping on and zooming about like crazy then tries to eat the padding and 2) for some reason he goes for ds2's feet every time he sees him - he doesn't go for my feet ever but it's making ds (who has asperger's and hates change) v wary of him which I think is making the problem worse - any thoughts?

The bf/ff comment made me laugh - I'm v happy feeding Fitz highly engineered commercial food (partly cos he will now eat kibble and that makes life so much easier) but also cos I was getting worried about the hygiene aspect of raw meat - and since switching him over his poo's so much better, however I EBF'd the dc so maybe I'm in the wrong camp!

[SallyBear]

I agree with you moose about the training. I've just weighed Toby. He's put on 2kgs on two weeks. So I think that this down to the homemade food. Little Porker!

[SallyBear]

Pigs Ears. Have you tried those? Bloody catnip for dogs!

[moosemama]

Pip loves my dcs' trampoline as well. It's only one of the low ones though.

What does ds2 wear on his feet. My ds1 is 11 and also has AS and refuses to wear socks or slippers at home, just wondering if perhaps the rest of you perhaps wear slippers and ds doesn't?

Could you do some Kikopup style, 'leave' exercises around ds's feet - I know it sounds ridiculous, but it would probably work if you could get ds to agree to it.

Other than that, all I can think of is that somehow going for your ds's feet was reinforced the first couple of times he did it. In which case some clicker work about making the choice to ignore them would still be the right thing to do. Just make sure you have something super tasty to work with as a reward. Warm, fresh-cooked meat is one of the highest grade rewards if you want to make quick progress.

[moosemama]

Eurgh, but they're pigs ears! [veggie wimp emoticon] I have considered it, but can't bring myself to do it, same with bullies or whatever they're called.

I'd have to remove all his bedding again as well wouldn't I with something that stinky?

I have no clue how much Pip weighs as dh didn't make a note when he had his second vax (despite me specifically asking him to - mind you he also forgot to take his vax record to the appointment ) and our home scales died a death a long time ago and I'm scared I'll have to weigh myself if I buys some more. At a rough guess, I'd put him on a par with a baby elephant at the moment! I'm so relieved I don't have to carry him anymore. Fortunately he still folds up small for snuggles on my lap though.