cherlee Posted December 2, 2008 Share Posted December 2, 2008 Hi all, I have a 8 weeks old sheltie and he has been weeing pretty frequently - every 30 minutes whenever he is not sleeping. Is that normal? Also, I have a question on playing. He doesn't seem to be very interested to play if not he loses interest very quickly (not even 5 minutes). Is it because he is too young to "learn" how to play? We've bought him several toys - a puppy kong, rope bone, squeaky soft toy and kong wubba. I tried stuffing treats into the kong and he doesn't seem to be very interested so I thought perhaps he is not interested in dry biscuit treats so I tried stuffing cooked chicken breasts. He will attempt to dig it out for like a minute and he quickly lose interest if he is unable to get it out. Well, other than being not very interested in playing and weeing every 30 minutes, he is otherwise a happy bouncy little pup. Perhaps I am just letting paranoia get over me, but I'd really like to hear any advice from experienced dolers out there. Thanks in advance! Cheryl Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
persephone Posted December 2, 2008 Share Posted December 2, 2008 How long have you had the pup? I would say everything sounds normal at this stage... depending on what you are feeding him.. if he is getting lots of liquidy stuff.. puppy milk..canned food,etc.. he may need to toilet more frequently... not sure. as for playing,, pups have VERY short attention span at this age have a read HERE, if you haven't already Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lilyandjazz Posted December 2, 2008 Share Posted December 2, 2008 Before i got my sheltie pup from the breeder she had a urinary tract infection. May be just keep an eye on her for the next few days. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cherlee Posted December 2, 2008 Author Share Posted December 2, 2008 Hi Perse/lily...thanks for replying me. I've called the vet and she's told me to keep him under observation. Now he's stopped the regular peeing - he just woke up from his afternoon nap. As for playing, I think what Perse said made sense and I've read through that post. I guess I'm just being an over paranoid owner Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VJB Posted December 2, 2008 Share Posted December 2, 2008 My puppy didn't really know how to "play" when we first got her. If I'd throw something, she'd just look at me strange. It didn't take long though, and before long, I bet your puppy will know all about game playing. As for the kong, keep it simple to begin with. Try a little bit of grated cheese, and a smear of peanut butter. Make sure the stuff can easily come out for now, because if it's too challenging, they don't stick with it long. Gradually make the kong harder to work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cherlee Posted December 4, 2008 Author Share Posted December 4, 2008 Hey all, you were right! He's now a naughty little boy tossing and dragging his toys all around the house. I'm really glad. I have another question (sorry for asking so many questions). He doesn't seem to be very motivated by food. Vjb, I tried to stuff peanut butter in the kong, and initially, he seemed interested and gave it a lick, but it didn't last more than 3 secs. After that, I tried smashing banana and put it in the kong. He gave it a quick sniff and gave me the disgusted look. I bought for him pigs ear and he showed the same disgusted look too. I bought innova biscuit treat and he rejected that too. Does any of you have furbabies that aren't motivated by food at all? Perhaps I am passing a judgement too soon again but my past dogs (starting from when I got them as young puppies) were all foodlovers and never had this issue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
persephone Posted December 4, 2008 Share Posted December 4, 2008 use DOG stuff as treats... chicken wings,or frozen chicken hearts/livers, a small amount of roo mince, a mix of whatever dry food he has, with 3 or 4 dried liver treats mixed in.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VJB Posted December 4, 2008 Share Posted December 4, 2008 Maybe you could try smearing stuff on the outside of the kong, and just put a little bit of kibble inside the kong. As he licks the outside (hopefully) it will roll the kong around and he will learn that a reward comes out of inside. It's a bit tricky when they are not food motivated, but being young, he may develop an interest in time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
persephone Posted December 4, 2008 Share Posted December 4, 2008 Just reminded myself this is an 8 week old! .... at 8 weeks.. a puppy isn't going to be that focussed on a task !! He is still a baby... and if he is getting his 4 meals a day.. then a food filled kong isn't going to warrant much of his time! At 8 weeks.. he is still learning about smells and textures, and associating them with either food, things to chew, or things to play with.... he will spend a small amount of time on a squillion tasks during the day ... don't worry. Put the kongs etc away for a week or 2,... then try again :rolleyes: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cherlee Posted December 4, 2008 Author Share Posted December 4, 2008 Thanks guys!!! He's actually having 3 meals a day. He never ever finishes his meals no matter how much me and hubby reduced it. We mix kibbles + boiled chicken breast, which of course, he is in favour of the chicken and rarely touch the kibbles. I'm kinda worried he'll have lack of nutrients since chicken breast meat probably doesn't give enough nutrition. He didn't take raw chicken wing well so I thought to stop it for a while. Plus he's got abit of kennel cough (maybe that is why he has poor appetite). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
persephone Posted December 4, 2008 Share Posted December 4, 2008 Ok.. he has kennel cough... BUT What are you going to feed him as regular thing? pick a food.. and stick to it! Don't just give him what he will eat.... or he will refuse everything else UNTIL he gets that particular thing You teach a pup very bad habits by letting THEM choose the food , sorry. Pick a very good quality, MEATY puppy kibble if you want..so he is getting his nutrients.. and /or some good RED meat and chicken wings.turkey necks, lamb necks..all UNCUT.. and with meat on.. so he can suck and chew and play ( and if he's hungry, he WILL) ! What puppy kibble are you offering him? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cherlee Posted December 4, 2008 Author Share Posted December 4, 2008 Opps He's on Innova puppy at the moment. I've decided to stop giving him the chicken breast so he don't have a choice but to stick to the kibbles. And you're right. I got to be more firm on him rather than spoiling him now. Me = baddy owner Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VJB Posted December 5, 2008 Share Posted December 5, 2008 (edited) cherlee said: Opps He's on Innova puppy at the moment. I've decided to stop giving him the chicken breast so he don't have a choice but to stick to the kibbles. And you're right. I got to be more firm on him rather than spoiling him now. Me = baddy owner You are not a :baddy owner".... You will learn heaps from this forum, believe me! It's great to hear other peoples perspective, and sometimes things are so OBVIOUS, you can scratch your head and wonder why oh why did you not think that yourself! It's easy to spoil our dogs sometimes..... hey, I'm guilty too Maybe reserve the chicken breast and put it in the kong in a few weeks time. Edited December 5, 2008 by vjb Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anna H Posted December 6, 2008 Share Posted December 6, 2008 nup, not a 'badd owner' at all. Use the chicken breast as training treats... they love it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cherlee Posted December 8, 2008 Author Share Posted December 8, 2008 Thanks all! I've stopped adding chicken breast into his meals and I'm feeding just kibbles. He's doing fine now. Eating well and he knows how to play with his toys too! About weeing too much, I've observed quite a bit and I think at times he do it for attention - me and hubby always run to him when we hear his footsteps on newspaper because we don't want him to step/drip pee all around the house. He's really clever (more like being naughty) and sometimes he will just run to the newspaper, without weeing, and wait for us to come rushing to him Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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