swain

Simple is the best!! We make things way too complicated...sometimes. ...well... most of the time!!!!

I know this is quite an old thread but what a great idea Westiemum!

Thats great news that she has made it to 6! Enjoy every precious moment. I'm hoping he responds well to meds. I didn't ask about diet. Will ring vet tomorrow. Thanks

That is so so sad - devastating for you. You, Buddy and your family have my deepest sympathies I have meds compounded for one of my dogs and I get it in beef flavouring and to be able to give it via a syringe is so easy. My first two dogs, about 23 years ago, were a Maltese boy and a girl from different breeders. When they were old enough to come home, I collected the girl in the morning, took her straight to my vet and he immediately picked up that something was wrong with her heart. :cry: She had a short (three and a half years) but happy life and barely a day goes past still that I don’t think of her. I hope you have some happy and wonderful times with Buddy. Thank you! Thats sad for you too. You want to just give them the best for however long you have them. We will make some happy times :)

Cool - we had chicken. I tried a tiny dab once - tasted like chicken twisties ;) Oohhh...love chicken twisties!! Nice of the pharmacist to care what it tastes like

Breeder is heart broken too. She agrees to keep him comfortable and happy. When the time comes she's offered to replace him. Bit to hard to think about at the moment though. When we got him we knew he had a heart murmer but it wasn't detected during his final check up before coming to us. It was originally just a level 2 murmur. Even last week his murmur was only detected as a 3. Didn't reflect the state of his heart unfortunately. Nobody could have guessed.

Thank you. Will have a look at that. Will also help with deciding when it's time for my 16yr old kelpie x to go. She's being kept comfortable too at the moment

Thank you! We have a local chemist that compounds. Just dropped off script. They were really nice. Pharmacist was going to see if he could get some beef flavoring. Nice little touch ????

Hi everyone Unfortunately I'm joining this group. My 5mth old German spitz has Pulmonic Stenosis. There are other structural issues that doesn't make surgery a good option. Slight chance it would give him a few extra years but at $4500 we can't afford the gamble.We found out lastnight that there is a bit of fluid already on the lungs. So the 2yrs we thought we would get with him (with beta blockers) looks like it might not be that long after all. Poor lil mite! He's jumping around like a normal pup except the huffing and puffing. Off to chemist this morning to see if they can compound his medication as he's only 4.5kg. Anyway...thats Buddy's story. Only had him 7 weeks and he's such a part of the family. Anyone else been through this? What did you do? Wings straight away or let him be with you while happy? Urgh life sucks sometimes ????????

Thanks Scottsmum. Our other 2 dogs are one of each....a girl and a boy. I'm yet to start a diary of consumption....i think measuring the amount of water that is in the container is a good idea....as you said no one really knows what a "large" or "small" bowl contains. I am going to get him checked out cos he is panting a bit.....tho he is very long haired and a running around pup. When he was little he had a heart murmer but thats supposed to be all closed over but can't help but think that could be related. It's like having a baby again....you have to guess whats going on!!!! ????

Thanks Spotted Devil!! I'll observe a bit more over the next few days and try to find a pattern...will call vet monday if it does seem excessive ☺

Thanks Peresphone ! As i don't feed my other dogs kibble i wasn't sure if thats a factor. Think I'll start a bit of a diary. Didn't think about the long hair either

Thank you Papillon Kisses. I'll take note of what he drinks and when he pees! So hard to know whats normal ????

We have a nearly 4 mth old German Spitz pup. I'm a bit concerned about how much he drinks and wee's. We have a big container of water out the back door (we have 2 other dogs) so its always accessible. I'm not sure if he's just drinking it cos it's there or if it's his kibble. He will make special trips through the doggy door to drink (not to wee or poo though ) and every time i take him out for toilet he has big drinks. Any ideas? Should he be checked out by a vet? Or am i reading too much into it? Thank you :D

Yep..that makes a lot of sense. Its been 11yrs since we last had a pup and I forget that he's still so little and everything is about learning. Appreciate your help Showdog!!!!!

Thanks showdog! Agree he's relying on us for fun too much. Don't want to overuse the pen but he piddles everywhere whenever we don't / can't watch him. We've done lots of outside work today. Went for a walk then car ride and more walking and going to lunch and shops etc. He didn't wee or poo the whole day. Get home....does a wee out front....praise praise praise.... inside for a bit, take him out does a poo....praise praise praise....comes inside for like 10 mins and does a wee n poo inside! Do we just clean up inside and ignore that he's done it? I can't find a pattern in his pottying. And he doesn't wee out n about

I took him for a little walk last night...so glad i did! He didn't wee or poo but he actually started to get used to cars going by. The times I've taken him before it wasnt busy so no cars going up our street.Thanks for the reminder of how important going out for a walk is Willem. Sounds silly but I've not considered that overly important when owning small dogs ????

I must admit i haven't been very good with walking. Taken him out maybe 5 times. 5mins per month so 15 mins each time ...there is quite some room for improvement...the best toilette training is walking the dog with a regular routine...different smells outside plus walking triggers urinating etc... It is also very important for socialisation...just keeping the dog in the backyard is - IMHO - a recipe for disaster. ETA:...as the dog miss out on leash training, socialisation with other dogs, people, cars, etc., mental stimulation, bonding (it is different when walking the dog outside the home) and basic obedience training. Excellent points Willem! I'm off work from tomorrow so will get started on a walking routine. Do you agree with the 5 mins per month of age? He's 13 weeks so 15 mins? Would you recommend once or twice a day at this age?

Thank you showdog. He has worked out the door to get a drink.....he just hasnt clicked with outside for toileting. Will try some extra stress free casual visits outside without the others. We have set our timer take him out, he usually does something then back inside.....often he will do another one inside. Is it best to keep him in his play pen most of the time to stop accidents?

This. Go back to bare basics for puppy toilet training and crate / place / pen training. I'd be focusing on the toilet training more than worrying about the doggy door - yes they go hand in hand - and you want the pup to realise the two are connected - in and out for the loo. But in my experience a well house trained dog will make that connection and take them selves out for the toilet and Spitz breeds tend to be pretty switched on yeh? It should get how to use the dog flap pretty quickly. Don't muddy the toilet training waters so to speak. Bare bones loo basics: As for crate training - there's lots of info out there - and on here. For us - we practiced - lots of rewarding for going in on his own and we still give him a "good boy" when he picks his crate for a nap. But Scottie, mostly has choice about being in there and I haven't had him from a pup. I'd say go do the reading, pick a method which you like the sound of and start. I do still occasionally have to settle Scottie if he's having a bad time. I can think of 3 occasions in the past 12 months where I've had to go out, give him a cuddle, settle him and put him back in his box. I always like to make sure he's warm (well - weather appropriate). He also likes having a toy with him and I usually throw something of mine in there with him - a worn dog walking T-shirt or jumper or even socks to help him stay settled. He also gets treats (bully stick or other appropriate chew thing) when I'm leaving him in there for a longer period and I leave something playing for him on the computer/radio too. but thats just my 2 cents worth - focus on the loo training. Thanks Scottsmum. Some great ideas! Probably expecting too much from him. At the moment he's outside....just given him a bone. ..and he's having a hissy fit to get inside. I think he's definitely smarter than we are. Knows exactly whats gonna be effective to get us to give in.

I must admit i haven't been very good with walking. Taken him out maybe 5 times. 5mins per month so 15 mins each time

Have you tried calling him through the open dog door to go outside to toilet? You need to set up a behaviour pattern for him. With regards to noise, reward quiet, cover pen with large sheet for noisy, remove sheet, wait for quiet, reward. Don't feed everything in a few meals but spread it out as training. Thats a great idea! I suppose at the moment he probably just associates having back door open and us going out with him to toilet. Makes sense! I've tried rewarding quiet in his pen but when i go to get his treat he starts again. Will cover crate when he's noisey. Thats a good idea to. Thank you!

He's a german spitz. We have a doggie door that ideally we'd like him to use. Our other adult dogs just come in and out as needed. That is our goal with him to. He uses the dog door now to get a drink but not interested in going outside for toilet.

So we have this beautiful 14 week old pup that has been with us for 2 weeks. He is quite attached to us already which is fair enough cos he's left his home, his Ma and bro's n sisters. When i first bought him home i put him in a pen and he carried on and on. So i let him out. Now he doesn't like being kept in his pen at all (i know i know...my fault) anyway what i want to know is do i just start again and put him in the pen regardless of his barking? Will he eventually stop? Not surprisingly we are having toilet training issues so would like to confine when we can't supervise 100%. Any tips please ???? Also he's super vocal at meal times....best way to handle this? Ignore? Remove? I'm a bit lost. Poor fella... don't wanna screw him up before he's 6 months!!!!! Thanks ????

Haha I was so paranoid I've set up a camera system. Here is the absolute cheapest, if it is possible. Get a ye olde cheap webcam, link it up to your computer or laptop and point it at the puppy pen (you may new to move things around or get a really long usb cord. Or get a wireless webcam). Make a skype account for yourself AND for the dog. Set the dog's skype account to always accept video calls from friends. Make your two accounts friends. Download skype on phone. Ta-dah! Cheap and free webcam viewing of your dog :D More expensive, the dlink wireless baby monitors. That is an awesome idea!!!!! Glad I'm not the only one a bit paranoid ???????? thank you!!!