Puppy Survival Thread - May

[Doje]

Starting May off! If someone could link I'd appreciate it....

@HappyThursdays thanks, he has had some food (it was like he'd not been fed for weeks lol) and had a wee, a squatting one as he was too unbalanced bless him. Straight back to sleep so we've brought him up to bed. He looks so funny in his vest, he looks so skinny as all his fur is squished in and his loose skin is pushed out the top

@PugInTheHouse how cute does Pugpup look! Hope it's a swift recovery

“personally I feel like that just means the collar discourages them from pulling and so is borderline aversive.”

To be fair, when I do get round to loose lead walking, I’ll probably use his collar - not because it’s easier or will stop him pulling just so it’s easier for him to differentiate that we’re doing something different. I always find things easier if they’ve got contextual cues like that.

Hope pug pup feels better today

Pugpup is still feeling really sorry for himself, he has eaten a bit so I managed to get his pain meds in. He is whining a bit even when he's asleep so I think he's in a bit of pain perhaps. Just hoping he'll drop off properly in a bit which will help him recover.

Aw...

The anaesthetic can make them whiny though btw, I’ve noticed after stuff that wouldn’t make them sore, like x-rays.

Ddog was a bit off for a few days. yes the anaesthetic makes them feel a bit yukky. Not long and he'll be back to his normal self hopefully. Girls are booked in for August. One day apart which will be interesting keeping them apart for recovery

Thanks thats good to know that it may just be the anaesthetic rather than pain. He is really hungry but I am trying to feed him small amounts just in case.

yeah good idea. will keep his tummy settled.

Argh wrote this out once and lost it. Trying again.

I hope you're all having a lovely Tuesday. I have a little message I want to write to anyone who might be lurking and in the same situation as us.

If you puppy/dog has idiopathic epilepsy and is taking Nexgard Spectra for flea/worming, please ask your vet for an alternative. It isn't widely known but this treatment isn't suitable for dogs with epilepsy.

Anyway, thanks for listening

How are we all? I don't really have anything to tell, which I think is a good sign! Plodding along nicely here. His epilepsy is uncontrolled at the moment but that's life and we're just enjoying him right now.

I do have one question, we're trying to give him a more natural diet but not a raw diet. We aren't confident about executing that just yet but wonder if anyone has any tips for a natural diet? I've just been adding lots of fruit and vegetables to his meals so far but not sure if this is a good idea or not.

I’ve read some stuff on the benefits of adding some greens/veg to their diet but nothing that looks evidence-based yet.

There’s a TEDx talk I’ve bookmarked which I think covers diet but not totally sure. Might be worth a watch though I haven’t sat down and watched it yet myself!

m.youtube.com/watch?v=1sE96vd8W40

Had a stressful walk tonight. Pup growled at a skateboarder. It’s so horrible to see any aggression. I know it was cos she was frightened but it does worry me. Am I being silly?

I don’t think you’re being silly @Turquoisesol its disconcerting when they growl. I’d have the same fears. I’m trying to wrack my brains of things I need to expose my dpup to soon before the window closes and your post has reminded me of skateboards. I think most dogs would be the same if they have no experience of them.

If you’re worried it’s going to be a regular thing can you get someone with a skateboard to help and board past while you treat and praise? Gradually getting closer? If not you can pick up cheep ones that would do the job. Hope it was just a one off.

Hope pugpup is feeling better this evening! Will probably get hightide pup spayed but I’m dreading it. At least it won’t be for a while yet.

I just attempted to do Pilates with a puppy in the room it did not go well! Safe to say I didn’t make it to the end of the class.

Thanks hightideattheseaside yes we already exposed he to skateboards as my kids have them. But still wasn’t enough apparently 😕 will maybe need to do it more often

Yes I am dreading the spay too !

Feeling a little envious of you and pugpup that you now have it done and no longer need to think about. Hope he is feeling better tonight

Thanks @Hightideattheseaside @Turquoisesol he is so much better. Up until 3pm he was so sleepy and really wobbly on his feet, ate a bit but didn't have a wee all day. Suddenly he just woke up, almost back to normal which is going to be a complete nightmare. Jumped straight onto the sofa and back to his crazy self. So unexpected.

We had to take him to cricket tonight and he was generally calmer than normal so he's clearly not feeling himself still but he cocked his leg when we arrived and wee and pooed at the same time right at the entrance just as everyone was arriving

I have no idea how I am going to keep him calm for the next week! I am glad its done now though, definitely a relief.

So glad to hear he’s feeling better @PugInTheHouse. He sounds like such a character!

Can I ask about how many times a day everyone walked their puppy at 13 weeks? I’m conscious of over exercising, especially as hightide pup is a Labrador and so prone to hip problems in later life.

The advice is 5 minutes per month so a 15 minute walk. But is this just once a day? That doesn’t seem enough for her energy levels. Yesterday I took her for 2 x 15 minutes walks, one in the morning and again in the afternoon. But I’ve been worrying it was too much! What are peoples thoughts on this? Thanks

“The advice is 5 minutes per month so a 15 minute walk. But is this just once a day?”

No and it’s not even all of the walk either, anything that’s at her pace, so off lead or on a longline doesn’t count towards it.

It’s basically a rule of thumb to remind you little and often is better for building up muscles. So on lead at your walking pace or anything frantic that’s too exciting for her to think about resting (fetch for example) you want to limit and build up gradually but anything that’s just her doing her own thing is fine.

@Turquoisesol

Had a stressful walk tonight. Pup growled at a skateboarder. It’s so horrible to see any aggression. I know it was cos she was frightened but it does worry me. Am I being silly?

No because that’s how lots of people view growling, but growling isn’t aggression in itself, it’s just a noise.

Growling in that sort of situation is just a - I’m not happy about this and slightly unsure sort of noise, it’s actually better than barking because barking means they’ve gone from I’m not happy to WTF? Get away from me!!!

At 13 weeks we very much kept walks to 15 minutes, twice a day. As he got older we've pushed the boundaries of the 5 mins per month, but only by 5 minutes, and always when he's off lead. It's so vague though, and so many different interpretations, that who knows!

I'm officially back sleeping in the living room with Dpup. 🙁 Not the whole night but I did 10-12.30pm and then went up to bed. Hopefully it's not for too long.

We're definitely experiencing a second 'fear period' though. He's proper skittish at the moment, it's like he's re-wound his puppy clock by two months! He's always been a nervous pup though, so it's not a great surprise I suppose. Xx

“It's so vague though, and so many different interpretations, that who knows!”

Because it’s not a “real thing” as such, lol

I spent a fair bit of time talking about it with an ortho specialist because my last dog had elbow dysplasia.

Basically you want to build up the muscle supporting joints nice and gradually - but some things need limiting. But that’s too vague, so people start going, well how long? and 5 minutes per month is fairly easy to remember and does build it up gradually, so someone came up with that...then my assumption is that people have a time so they get all rigid about it... and you end up with a hard and fast rule that doesn’t really make sense.

But really it should be - fetch is terrible for joints, stairs and jumping on and off furniture are also really bad, keep an eye out for them overdoing it if they do things like play with other dogs and don’t march them for miles on lead...but their normal pace and just moving freely is fine.

Little and often is better for building muscle than long walks.

That’s a really helpful post @tabulahrasa. Thanks!

Thank you tabulharasa that really makes me feel a lot better. I was thinking growl so next step is bite. But maybe it is more of a grumble and I don’t feel too happy noise

dpup 2 occasionally growls but only ever if people walk past us in front of our gate at home! she doesn't do it normally!! I wonder if she feels protective as its her home?

Hello all. @PugInTheHouse what a sweet little chap in his vest! Hope he's feeling a bit better. I haven't got my head around neutering at all yet except that I want to wait a bit as the vet said that shyer dogs benefit from having it done a little later than normal.

Puppypup is nine months tomorrow and has settled down so much. He sleeps much more in the day now so it's much easier to get things done and he's also a lot less clingy than he was. We've been gradually introducing him to more people and situations as things are opening up and he's taking it all in his stride so far. He's done some cafe and pub visits and been so good, next thing I want to try is some public transport.

In teenager news he is pretty ok so although his recall has gone when he sees a dog up for playing and so he's on the long line. He does have mild zoomies still in the evenings which mostly consist of chewing inappropriate things (My rug! My trousers!). He's definitely had some of the secondary fear phase but it's mostly been manageable. At one point I never thought I'd be able to sit at my desk for a two hour meeting with him snoozing calmly next to me - so for all of you in the intense little pup days - things do get better!