katevin

Yes I was wondering whether he'd do better on 1 meal a day... He seems a little better today thanks :) I wasn't there but my husband said he ate all of his brekky. Not with his usual gusto, but he ate it all which we're happy about. Maybe he just had an off day...?

Yeah, he seems to be normal otherwise. We didn't walk him today just incase he's feeling yukky, but his energy levels around the house and in the yard seem normal. Bizarre!

As the title says, my Boston Terrier puppy, Archie, has suddenly gone off his food. We feed him Pro Plan puppy food (http://pets.purina.c...ySmallBreed.asp) 2 times a day, morning and night. Usually he scoffs it within a couple of minutes. This morning, however, he sniffed it but ignored it after we'd put it in his crate. We left it in there with him for about 10 minutes but he still didn't touch it. My husband gave him a few of the biccies on his hand and he ate them, and then very gingerly ate about half of what was in the bowl. Then tonight, he didn't eat any of it. He has happily eaten little liver treats throughout the day when we've taken him outside to the toilet etc. He has been a little growly at times today too. When my husband tried to get his untouched bowl out of his crate tonight he growled at him. So we threw liver treats into the back of his crate to distract him and then got it out. Other than the not eating his meals and a little bit of attitude, he seems completely fine. Very odd. So...any ideas? Should we take him to the vet tomorrow? It's so unlike him to refuse a meal! Thanks in advance for any responses :) (** Also posted in the health/nutrition forum.)

As the title says, my Boston Terrier puppy, Archie, has suddenly gone off his food. We feed him Pro Plan puppy food (http://pets.purina.com.au/proplan/dog/proplanPuppySmallBreed.asp) 2 times a day, morning and night. Usually he scoffs it within a couple of minutes. This morning, however, he sniffed it but ignored it after we'd put it in his crate. We left it in there with him for about 10 minutes but he still didn't touch it. My husband gave him a few of the biccies on his hand and he ate them, and then very gingerly ate about half of what was in the bowl. Then tonight, he didn't eat any of it. He has happily eaten little liver treats throughout the day when we've taken him outside to the toilet etc. He has been a little growly at times today too. When my husband tried to get his untouched bowl out of his crate tonight he growled at him. So we threw liver treats into the back of his crate to distract him and then got it out. Other than the not eating his meals and a little bit of attitude, he seems completely fine. Very odd. So...any ideas? Should we take him to the vet tomorrow? It's so unlike him to refuse a meal! Thanks in advance for any responses :)

Thanks all for your responses! I did enquire with Archie's vet regarding boarding him there but they referred us onto a dog kennel, which was lovely and did have some "deluxe" packages although we didn't really want to go down this path with such a young pup. So we enquired about an in house pet minder through an agency, went out to visit a family that were happy to take Archie into their home, but had a few concerns about their house (including a poorly fenced pool ) so had to turn them down. Next move was googling 'pet minders Geelong', where I came across a lovely retired lady who sounded perfect. Unfortunately she is booked out for the rest of the year (a testament to how great she must be!) which is a shame but because she is so busy minding dogs, her brother and his wife (also a lovely, retired couple) now take on dogs that she can't! Yay! So Archie spent 9 nights with this couple and had a wonderful time We took his crate so that he had a "little piece of home" with him, but instead he spent most of his time snuggled up on the couch with his minders! He had constant access to their backyard and was always running in and out. This has turned into a bit of a novel but just thought I'd post an update- he was well looked after and we'll be using this couple again for sure. It was $20 per night so a real bargain! Thanks again for all suggestions and responses :)

I've considered the house sitter route but I'm not sure that I'd be comfortable having a stranger in our house...how does it work? I'm sure she'd be happy to have him back for a visit but she lives so far away! One of the disadvantages of the breed I guess. Most people have to travel in order to get their hands on one!

Hello all :) In 4 weeks time we're off on a family holiday that was planned before Archie came to live with us, and we're feeling a bit anxious about what to do with him while we're away! He's very much a part of our family- spends most of his time inside with us, is crate trained, loves walks and outings with us daily...basically he's a spoilt little brat :laugh: Because he's only young and is so used to lots of human company, we feel a little uneasy about sending him to a boarding kennel. All of our friends and family members work full time so he'd be home alone all day and we're not sure how he'd cope with this either. So what do you do with your beloved pets when you go away? Would love any tips or experiences! Or if anybody can recommend somewhere/someone in the Geelong area that'd be even better! Thanks in advance :D

Thanks to everyone for your responses, you've all been very helpful and reassuring! Since I posted the original message, we thankfully haven't had any aggressive incidents with the little guy. Maybe he realized we'd had enough and he finally realized who is boss around here ;) If we have any more dramas with him in the future, we'll definitely look into getting someone to come out and assess his behaviour. We've got an appointment with the vet on Monday so will also mention his behaviour then. And yes, he is indeed a little shit/monster! :laugh: Lucky he's so cute!!

Am not sure whether my 4 month old Boston Terrier has a bit of an attitude problem or whether he's just displaying normal puppy/dog behaviour. We've had dogs before, but they've mainly been outside dogs so we've never spent as much time with our pets as we do with our Boston. He also comes with us most places we go (that dogs are allowed) so am wondering whether we're just seeing this occasional snappy behaviour because we spend so much time with him compared with previous dogs. Anyway, since we got him there have been a handful of incidents that he has gotten quite snippy with us- he has never bitten us but growls quite angrily and bites in our direction (if that makes any sense)! Here are a few of the incidents that come to mind- * He was asleep on my lap and I went to pick him up and scoop him onto my chest and he growled/snapped at me. * My husband took him for a walk and after bringing him inside, tried to take off his harness as he was pulling to get to his water bowl. He obviously became frustrated and growled/snapped at my husband, * He ate something be shouldn't have and vomited (was a one off and his behaviour was otherwise normal) on his blanket in his crate. I reached my hand into his crate to grab the dirty blanket (while he was in there) and he growled/snapped at me. * We went to the beach today and when we got back into the car, hubby put him on the floor of the car as we were all getting back in as he was quite wet. Hubby then got into the car, picked Archie up from the floor and as he did, his leash was kind of tangled (very, very lightly) around his back leg. He growled/snapped at my husband a few times. So does this sound like normal puppy behaviour? My last dogs were pugs and I don't think they ever snapped or growled at me throughout their entire lives. Guess it just surprises me that in the couple of months we've had Archie (who is otherwise a beautiful boy and brings us much joy) he's behaved this way on several occasions. Want to know whether its a behaviour we can work to correct or not. Thanks in advance for any responses :) (Hope this all makes sense!)

My Boston Terrier pup, Archie, is 14 weeks old and had his 12wk shots 2 weeks ago as of tomorrow. When is it safe to take him on walks and let him sniff etc? We're taking him for daily 10-15 minute walks at the moment, but we don't really let him stop to sniff and we stick to the footpath or road to avoid the feces of other dogs. When can we stop keeping him on such a tight leash (pardon the pun!)? We have 2 young daughters and with such nice weather we'd love to be able to take him along with us when we take our girls to the playground or beach etc. Thanks in advance for your responses :)

Thanks for asking :) He's a little better today I think. My husband was able to gently carry him outside without him growling, yelping or anything which is good. He's still acting quite 'sooky' though, he's currently sitting in his crate even though we've got the door wide open (not like him- normally he'd be out playing or snuggling on any available lap!) He just seems sad, so perhaps he's just feeling a little under the weather still. Will have another quiet day at home and hopefully see some more improvement soon. Alyosha thanks for the link! According to that site, his behaviour is quite normal for some dogs after vaccinations, which is reassuring to read! Thanks all for your responses :)

As the subject says, we had Archie (our 12 week old Boston Terrier) vaccinated today, and since about an hour or 2 after his shots he has not been himself. He's been acting very lethargic and fragile, and has growled/yelped whenever we've tried to pick him up or carry him. He's eating fine and had a very quiet, sleepy afternoon... Just wondering if all this is normal. Anyone else had the same experience, and how long did this behaviour go on for? We just want our happy, friendly boy back! Thanks in advance for your responses :) ETA pictures :D http://i211.photobucket.com/albums/bb219/katevin/image-3_zps4ace6cfe.jpg http://i211.photobucket.com/albums/bb219/katevin/image-3_zpse306a7c5.jpg http://i211.photobucket.com/albums/bb219/katevin/image-3_zps1b04c6a9.jpg

Thanks so much for all of your replies! The idea of little Archie hurting himself trying to escape his playpen had me very worried so today I ducked down to Bunnings, bought the wire compost panels (thanks for the tip Christina ) and made a roof for his pen! I feel so much better knowing that he can't injure himself or escape...now if he would just stop throwing tantrums when we put him in there :laugh: Here's a pic of my handy work- not the most attractive looking thing but at least he'll be safe!

We brought our 8 week old Boston Terrier pup, Archie, home 2 days ago. He's a gorgeous, funny little guy who is fantastic most of the time, however when we put him into his playpen (which is set up with his open crate, water bowl, toys and some artificial grass for him to toilet on) he carries on as if he's being slaughtered or something! Tonight during his hissy fit he actually managed to get his two back feet up onto the bottom rung of the playpen- we thought he was going to climb out! Anyway, his tantrums seem to be short lived which we're thankful for- the longest he's carried on for is about 10 minutes and this was last night. Just wondering, will this behaviour stop once he gets used to us and his new home or is he likely to protest like that forever when we put him in his playpen or crate?? We ignore him while he's carrying on and he eventually retreats to his crate and goes to sleep, which is great. I just worry that he might hurt himself if we're unable to watch him while he's trying to break out...or that he might actually successfully climb out of there sometime soon! Would love to hear from others more experienced. Thanks in advance :) Oh, and here's a few pics of the little rascal- http://i211.photobucket.com/albums/bb219/katevin/EA5A3BDB-F032-4EBD-9F95-15CB15B38A68-8644-00000688D2184411.jpg http://i211.photobucket.com/albums/bb219/katevin/7D89D756-E5CA-4437-B656-1BF22D11D118-8644-00000688C7D18180.jpg http://i211.photobucket.com/albums/bb219/katevin/AC492B3F-CF01-4B8A-BD5C-6D2CD23998FC-8644-00000688CB448E46.jpg

Any other Boston owners out there?! We brought our gorgeous little guy, Archie, home on Monday and we already love him to pieces. He is hilarious and so gorgeous. Such a little character! Would love to chat with other Boston owners and share pics of our little ones :)

Yes I was a little worried about him being too active for us but he's (so far!) actually quite a placid little fella and my 5 year old is also full of beans so they can wear eachother out if he does get more active as he grows :laugh: Anyway, here's some pics of our gorgeous boy (hope this works!)... http://i211.photobucket.com/albums/bb219/katevin/EA5A3BDB-F032-4EBD-9F95-15CB15B38A68-8644-00000688D2184411.jpg http://i211.photobucket.com/albums/bb219/katevin/099CF2F0-40F9-4E5D-AA52-FADDCE872029-8644-00000688CDBA1223.jpg http://i211.photobucket.com/albums/bb219/katevin/AC492B3F-CF01-4B8A-BD5C-6D2CD23998FC-8644-00000688CB448E46.jpg http://i211.photobucket.com/albums/bb219/katevin/7D89D756-E5CA-4437-B656-1BF22D11D118-8644-00000688C7D18180.jpg http://i211.photobucket.com/albums/bb219/katevin/924D4A80-0DAB-47BD-B814-416FCEF31D2D-8644-00000688A3B5C3B2.jpg More griffon pics too please!! :D

Oh and the griffon is absolutely adorable by the way! I love squishy little old men faces! :laugh:

Just want to share with the world that we finally brought home our beautiful Boston Terrier pup, Archie, on Monday! He is absolutely divine and we're all smitten with him already! He has been such a good boy, only a tiny bit if carrying on when we put him in his crate/playpen at night and for naps and has been great with his toileting too. We're surprised at how easy he has been! Is there generally a calm before the storm?!! Anyway I'd really love to share pics but don't think I can do that from my iPhone (please someone correct me if I'm wrong?) so will try to jump on the computer ASAP. Oh and one more thing- the puppy smell!!! BLISS!! :D

Good point! :D Thanks everyone for your responses! We've done a lot of research on the breed and our crate and playpen etc are ready to go, so I'm sure we'll be fine with the little one. Just wanted to be prepared, and wanted to know what those with more experience with puppies had to say about the "character" of the litter! Looks like we might have our hands full for a little while but as minimax said, I think that's just life with a puppy :p We've also got an energetic 4 (nearly 5) year old daughter so I'm sure they'll be good for each other energy-wise! The "liveliness" isn't so much of a problem that we'd consider not taking the pup. I don't think that the breeder would try to sell us the pup if he was that much of a problem and she didn't think we could handle him- Boston's are in very high demand here and I'm sure she'd sell him to someone else instantly! I met a lady at our local show over the weekend who waited 4 years for her Boston, and she had to order him from Adelaide! Thanks again for all responses :)

As the subject says, we found out today which puppy (Boston Terrier, litter of 4 pups) is ours. Very exciting! We've been in touch with the breeder for months now, and have seen several pictures of our pup. From the very beginning, based on looks, we had hoped that he was the puppy that would end up being ours. Tonight the breeder mentioned that he is the liveliest of the litter, I think she even used the term "character of the litter" who likes to "stir the other puppies up". Another couple visited the breeder this afternoon to select their puppy (we had last choice)- apparently they first selected our puppy but then changed their minds as the other remaining puppy was quieter/calmer. Is this something we should be worried about? All of the puppy websites and books say not to choose the lively, dominant puppy in the litter...? The breeder said he's a beautiful, lovely little boy but I'm just wondering whether his liveliness/character will mean that we will have a little monster on our hands in a few weeks time?! We're excited and can't wait to adopt the little guy no matter what, we just want to be as prepared as we can be for what might be a "spirited" little puppy. TIA for your responses/advice :)

I could've written this word for word. No idea where my fear came from though! It pained me to look at the photos in this thread but for some peculiar reason, I couldn't not

Thankyou all so much for your responses, they've all been very helpful. I've checked out the vebopet.com website and it looks great and very affordable! Have bookmarked it and will order the crate and everything else we need from there closer to our pups arrival. Would definitely love to grab a copy of that Susan Garrett DVD- I googled it and found one called 'Crate Games'... Is that the right one? Oh and I'll definitely come back and share pics of our little one when he/she joins us in December (feels like an eternity away!!) :D

We're getting a Boston Terrier pup at the end of the year (yay!) and are planning on crate training him/her. Hopefully those with experience can help us with a few questions we have in regards to crate training... 1) What size crate should we purchase? We were thinking the 30" one but not sure whether this would be too big? We'd obviously be using the divider when our pup is tiny, to make his/her sleeping area smaller. 2) How much did you spend on a crate? At the pet shops we've visited, they tend to be $150-$200 but on the Internet we've seen some (that look the same as far as I can tell?) starting around $30-$50. Any ideas why there is such a huge difference in price? 3) Any other tips re crate training or type of crate we should purchase? Thanks in advance for any help/advice :) Edited for spelling.

Hmm no I've never met any in the flesh- in what way do you mean they're "terrier-ish"? Obviously you're into Frenchies...I've always loved these too, not quite as much as Boston's though. Any idea how French bulldogs differ from pugs and Boston's?

Thanks for the quick replies! Yep we're well aware that they're rather expensive to purchase and are prepared to pay around $3k for a good quality pup. I have heard that about them (being boisterous and a bit nippy around young kids) but from what you've described and what I've read elsewhere they sound quite similar in temperament to our pugs who also did that funny zooming around the place thing! Obviously I would never leave our children unattended with the puppy, and I think any negative aspect of having a puppy around our girls will be far outweighed by the benefits of having a dog as part of our family. Boston's are perfect for us in every other way. I think the nipping/boisterousness could be a potential problem with any breed, so this isn't too much of a concern for us. And I've heard that they're hilarious little things just like pugs- which is a very appealing trait to us! Our pugs never failed in putting a smile on our faces and were great with the kids. Thanks again for your replies, would love to hear any more experiences or tips etc.