Rhi*Jak*Ed

Hi guys, Well she's there :-( She hurt her little leg at daycare on Tuesday and has been a bit proppy since and occasionally she'll jump down off say the couch or the bed and give a little yelp. Well, I think her harness must have been pinching at her leg so when we arrived at the vets she yelped a treat and wouldn't put her front leg down... That made me feel even worse than I already did. I cried all the way in to work. I don't know why this is upsetting me so much, and its certainly not the fact that she's being desexed. Must be the surgery part and knowing that she's not going to be herself afterwards (recovery wise) and that I need to look after her. I've never been good at that sort of stuff, and I hate it just when she's got a sore leg! Anyway, am at work now so will keep busy. I can ring any time after 3 to check in on her. Have set a reminder for 3.01 lol.

Thanks guys :-) I can't help but worry. She's my little girl afterall... The quality time will be good, we've had a lot of that this week and I've noticed quite a difference in her actually, not as fiercely independent and more willing to be gentle with me haha.

Hi all, Well I'm a worried mum right now and whilst I needn't be, I can't help it. That's right, Jak goes in tomorrow to be desexed I'm not sad that she's getting desexed, just that she has to go through the procedure. I don't cope very well when pets aren't quite themselves (and I pass out at the sight of blood but that's a whole other story!), so I think I'm also very worried about how I'm going to cope, not just her lol. Silly bugger. Anyway, I'm sure she'll be fine. I've actually been sick for the past week and was at home in bed for 3 days. She soon realised that things were VERY different from normal and decided that laying on the bed next to me was the best place for her to be. I've never seen her so inactive In a way, I'm thinking this might be good preparation for when I pick her up on Saturday morning. She will have recognised that when I'm laying in bed, she needs to rest also. Hmm. Rhi the worry wart and Jak the brave petal

Wow that's alright! All my Council does is charge me a cheaper rate to register her. There's no vouchers or anything. I wish there were! :rolleyes:

They just mentioned that they like to keep them for an extra 12 hours afterwards, make sure they're doing ok etc. I'm ok with her being there overnight, I don't cope well when animals aren't themselves so picking her up the next morning is fine. Yeah I think that's what makes it cost more. Must be! lol. I really like the vet and Jak likes going there too (that's where she did puppy pre-school so she has a good association with the place), so I don't really want to shop around and take her somewhere she doesn't know. I'll just pay it, heck if it was $500 I'd still pay it.

I'm so glad to hear that it's all gone well Christal Jak is booked in to be desexed next Friday, mind you at my vet I've been quoted $245 for the desexing and $45 for the microchip. She will go in between 8.30 and 9.30 on Friday morning and they will actually keep her overnight, so I don't pick her up until Saturday morning. Maybe that's why it's costing more? Not sure. I can't imagine trying to keep my little livewire from jumping... Time to borrow my sister's baby playpen I think!

My friend has two cattle dogs and they are delightful girls, beautiful natured, but incredibly destructive! We both bought our dogs the same kennel... Jak's is still in perfect condition and in one piece. My friend's Kennel lasted a day and a half. The girls destroyed it. It's made of wood. Hmm. Oh, and they're 2 and 1 years respectively. Expensive doggies! I used to buy Jak all kinds of bedding and she just kept tearing it up... Eventually I bought her one that she loves to lay in so she doesn't chew on it. Thankfully!

Hi KittCat, They certainly do lose their "baby" teeth! When Jak used to go to puppy pre-school one of the pups she played with was 4 months old and after a play session she was covered in his blood because he was teething. His owner didn't know they lost their teeth either so was concerned about the blood. It can be a bit freaky, especially if you don't know about it. There has been a fair bit of blood in Jak's mouth the last two nights now. Gross

Hi Hedge, She is 5 months old... She just literally lost another 2 not even 5 minutes ago! She was chewing on a teddy and I saw more blood. Guess what though? I managed to get the teeth! They were side by side and she spat them out, quite funny really. They're now in a glass of water in the kitchen. She might just find a treat under her pillow tonight! hahaha.

I have had Clovers baby teeth for about 8 years and they are in perfect condition still . I know! lol. Pretty scary!

haha not much I'm afraid. I wish I knew where the tooth actually was, I seriously think I would have put it in a glass of water!

Hi all, I just wanted to share that Jak lost her first baby tooth last night! Very exciting and a nice warm and fuzzy moment for me lol. I got her home from Doggie Daycare (exhausted again - woohoo!) and she was curled up in her little donut bed. I got down on the floor to give her a pat and noticed that she had some blood on her leg. I inspected it and thought that maybe she'd received a nip from one of the dogs during the day. But then she lifted her head and I saw the blood in her mouth and the place where a tooth USED to be! Very exciting. Do pups begin to lose the urge to mouth once they get their adult teeth through? Rhi & Toothless Jak

Oh Deltron, you sound like I did in the first couple of months. I would stand outside scratching my head going "what the?". My living circumstances have hindered Jak's toilet training from day one - big stairs leading out into the backyard that if she fell through she wouldn't recover from, putting newspaper down etc. The newspaper was a disaster, she would sometimes pee there but then turn around and shred it all to tiny pieces so that I had urine soaked newspaper everywhere. Very gross! After MANY accidents, a ridiculous amount of paper towel and bottles of vinegar later, she is now much better. Mind you, its been a long road, a hard slog and it's only now starting to pay off. I got a little lazy there for a while too, which didn't help. One day I decided to buy her a nice new plush mat for her to be able to lay on on the hardwood floors. It cost me $40. She decided that that's where she'd like to do all her wees. So it now sits just next to the back door and when I get home from work now there's not a puddle on the floor anywhere. I clean the mat and she's good to go for another day. Mind you, I didn't encourage her to use the mat, she just decided all on her own that it was a good idea! lol. They're funny little things. It's also the one mat that she doesn't try and rip to shreds. Jak is still inside the house all day and will be until she is desexed and microchipped (which should be occurring within the next 3 weeks). I believe that if she was outside during the day the housetraining process would have been ALOT easier. The Spotted Devil gave you great advice, only use the "go wees" association when he's actually in the act of weeing. Otherwise he will think it means to run around the yard haha. I'm now using the word "toilet" with Jak and the Doggie Daycare lady does the same, so she's receiving a consistent association which is great. You'll get there, so will Charlie :p

Any pics? How was Lily today?

I've been told that about the food thing too, i.e. if they don't eat it then remove it, don't leave it for them. The reason the person gave was so that the dog recognised that you're the one providing the food (again with the leadership) and that they need to eat when you say it's time to eat (basically). I used to have dry food out for Jak for her to eat throughout the day, but I stopped that... Now at 7am she goes and sits by the microwave waiting for her breakfast, and right on 6.30pm back she goes by the microwave waiting for her meal. Nothing is left behind. Mind you, I've started cooking her food now and previously I was feeding her can food (yikes!). She would often leave it for a good half hour before even touching it. But the bowl was never licked clean like it is now! I honestly didn't know how I'd get through the first couple of months. I've always had dogs, sure, but never a pup that I have been solely responsible for (and it's just her and I, no OH or kids to help out), so it used to get me down alot. I think I said in my other post, either your persistance and consistancy starts to pay off and they learn, or you get used to it haha. I remember that I ended up putting her in bed with me because I couldn't possibly go another night without sleep. Some people advise against it, others support it. Again, each to their own How did he go with the chicken neck? The first time I gave Jak one she practically swallowed it whole, regurgitated it and then had another go. Freaked me out so I haven't given her one since hahahaha. She gets lots of bones though :-) Honestly, it may seem like your situation "sucks" now (have you cried yet??), but stick with it.... It does get easier

OMG how beautiful!

Deltron, I just remembered... I used to give Jak rawhide bones all the time until someone told me they would make her thirsty, which of course meant that she would pee more! She only gets them occasionally now and I actually did notice a reduction in her peeing frequencies! So the salt thing might be an issue!!?? Hope this helps :-)

It is very confusing, for both you and Charlie because there really ARE so many differing opinions. You do ultimately just have to do what's best for you and Charlie, figuring out what that is though can often be the frustrating part. I wish you all the best and if you ever feel like chatting about it please feel free to PM me :-) Yeah I've certainly had a hard time of it, but it does get easier. Either they improve or you just get used to it. Not sure which!! haha.

I keep reading your posts and just feel more sorry for you because I've been through it and can't believe I came out on the other side! haha. Tough love is certainly the go, he needs to trust that he is being looked after and protected by the leader of your pack (i.e. you and your OH) and that he needn't worry about certain whings, because you're not worried about them! I think I mentioned that Jak also weed in her crate/bedding. I never cleaned it until the next day. She soon stopped it, I guess she got sick of laying in her own urine??!! I would too lol. Oh, Jak was the same with me moving away from her crate - she'd carry on and go ballistic until I moved closer or back into vision. She doesn't do that now. Maybe its a time = acceptance thing? Not sure on that one. It used to drive me crazy though so I can understand how you must be feeling :-( I felt like I couldn't do anything because she'd cry and carry on. In the end you either have to consciously decide to tough love it, or you crack the sh*&s and leave them anyway. The first ones probably better... lol. I'm suspecting the lap comment might be so that he doesn't see himself as the dominant one and therefore leader of the pack? Same with sleeping in your bed, might see himself as an equal. I could be wrong lol. I use white vinegar on my polished floor boards - it apparently eliminates the smell so that they don't pee in that spot again. I also wash the floors with it too but mine still pees. Hmm. Oh, Jak peed alot too. My dad once commented that she was a peeing machine, but there was never anything wrong with her. Don't pups just pee alot?

Hi Janis, You must be getting really excited now... All the best for the first night with your new addition. I look forward to hearing about your first night together :-) Rhi & Jak

Mine is nearly 5 months and as far as I can tell hasn't lost a single baby tooth yet! Yikes! She's always been a cranky bi#@h though so I wouldn't really notice anything different from her once she started losing a few. lol.

I know how you feel being sleep deprived Deltron, and it can make your reactions different too, and you can be frustrated with something that otherwise wouldn't frustrate you. I don't think I got a "good" nights sleep until Jak was 3 months old. Grrr haha. I brought her home at 6.5 weeks so a good nights sleep was certainly a long time coming! I used to get real snappy and annoyed and in actual fact hated having her there for a little while. I call it my post natal puppy syndrome. But they get through it, and thankfully we do too :-) When sleep did eventually come I was able to enjoy the little things with her again. She still has her moments, but she makes me laugh more than cry now... Always a good thing! haha. I haven't got any advice on house training because mine still isn't. Without getting right into it and boring you, my living situation hasn't enabled a consistent approach to house training and as a result she still has (many) accidents. I was initially putting newspaper down for her and then one day bought a fluffy mat for her to lay on in the lounge. Well she decided that that's where she'd like to pee! It's ALOT easier to clean up than soggy newspaper and she has decided on her "spot" of her own accord. I am about to embark upon the transition for her to pee outside, fingers crossed! Jak only uses her crate to sleep in now... I used to leave it out in the lounge for her during the day but she now has a little bed to lay in if she is wanting a nap (she seems to prefer the couch though). So yeah, she only goes in there when it's time for bed. I think I said in my first post that I don't hear a peep out of her now. All the best with it - it will all be worth it in the end :-)

I'm certainly no expert, but I don't think your crate training is ruined by any means. It's salvageable! One thing I have learned is that you can't give in them because even by giving just an inch, they really do take a mile. If you attend to your pup when he's carrying on in his crate, he learns that by carrying on he gets your attention, and therefore wins :-) I know how hard it is to ignore them, trust me, but they really do eventually learn that it's by being calm that lets them out of the crate, not digging and scratching at the door etc. My pup used to pee in her bedding, which drove me crazy because everything I had read stated that dogs aren't meant to pee where they sleep. But mine did :-( She doesn't now though, which is good. I didn't do anything differently with her, apart from taking her out more frequently during the night. You may just have to put up with the unbearable whining for a few nights in order to teach him. Ear plugs are great for this, and you will learn too the difference between him crying to be let out to pee and him just crying to be let out. It's a hard slog, but well worth it in the end. I can now put mine in her crate and I don't hear a peep out of her when I first put her in. Like you though, I started to put her in bed with me and she started to sleep through the night, despite having a sheepskin blanket in her crate to snuggle up in and I also covered the crate with a blanket to help keep her warm. She now wakes up after about an hour or so and I put her in bed with me. My alarm wakes her in the morning and she seems most put out by it Each to their own, just do what you feel comfortable with in terms of bedtime.

OMG what a drama lol

Alright last try and then I'm giving up