Waiting For A Puppy This Thread Is For You

[Lauren Golden]

Bahhhhh been trying to get Maggie to go wee outside for the last hour and a half - we're exhausted, she's exhausted - so, even though it's breaking the rules, we've let her inside, and she's out to it on her bed!!!! We fed her lunch around 1.00pm and now it's 3.30pm, is it normal that she hasn't gone yet or could she just not need to go? We had this same problem after her lunch yesterday too - took her an hour and a half to go after her lunch! Draining! ;)

[Elsha_UK_AU]

Bahhhhh been trying to get Maggie to go wee outside for the last hour and a half - we're exhausted, she's exhausted - so, even though it's breaking the rules, we've let her inside, and she's out to it on her bed!!!! We fed her lunch around 1.00pm and now it's 3.30pm, is it normal that she hasn't gone yet or could she just not need to go? We had this same problem after her lunch yesterday too - took her an hour and a half to go after her lunch! Draining!

My little one doesn't always go right away either. She may genuinely not need to go. They do say after food, water, play, sleep etc to take them out for a toilet break BUT mine doesn't always go. This morning he went to puppy class and for nigh on 2.5hrs he didn't pee - not even with food, excitement and other dog smells.

Sometimes if mine is tired, he just won't pee - he goes and has a sleep and then runs out afterwards and has a looooooonnng pee

If you are worried though, check with your vet

Susan

[nicolatu]

Susan - my puppy is the same as yours. He only goes toilet in 1.5 hour after his meal.

Lauren - don't worry so much. I think the training guides are just generalizing. They design the training and call it "errorless" because it has the least chance of the puppy causing accident at home by taking them out on every opportunity. I tried giving a high-pitched yelp but as a man, I think I got pretty deep voice. But he is biting softer so that's all good. I have to give him more time because the breeder told me that Oreo is a rough boy.

I cleaned up my backyard to create more spaces for him to run in and made it more secure. I also went to Bunnigs to buy some grass seedlings to plant so that it would cleaner for him to play outside. I had been walking Oreo on the driveway and he has now walked quite well. He enjoy the outside surroundings and by walking, his nails are not as sharp and that is good for playing with him.

Nic

[Lauren Golden]

I'm starting to think that maybe she needs a bit of privacy... Now that she's feeling a lot more safer outside on her own, she'll go when we leave her out and shut the door. She finally went 2 hours after eating, then late returned for a poo! Hurrah!

Nic, my husband is the same, he tries to do a high pitch yikes but it sounds like.... actually I don't know what it sounds like but it makes me laugh!!!! It's definitely hard for a male to make a noise that high pitched!

[spirrall]

Ooohh yes. my chowy is coming soon... around 21st april

[Bluefairy]

Zoe doesn't so much bite as 'mouth' things, I always so no and keep my fingers out the way, very hard when you are holding them Its funny you should mention men's voices, my OH when he says in his deep growl of a voice NO to Zoe she stops looks at him and then continues doing what she isn't suppose to The girls she ignores, but me she listens to, it must be the tone of the voice, I have never had a problem saying a command and a dog listens. But then I am boss and pack leader in our house, so its only natural everyone pays attention

Lauren ~ I agree any training is a very general thing, it is meant as an idea, and not to be taken literally. Because all dogs are different, as well as owners, you find what works for you and your dog, then stick to it. I can't do the high pitched yelp, so a stern NO and Zoe gets it. As for the TT Zoe usually goes to the toilet about 20-30 minutes after having her meal, so again its you having to find out what works for your dog. Its exactly like kids, some forms of punishment (sitting on a naughty chair, time out, removal of possessions works for some but not for others). You'll get there and then you will be amazed at how quickly she learned that

Spirrall ~ Welcome and congrats on your upcoming new Chow. How exciting

Well it looks like Zoe's diarrhea has cleared up she is now on the vets food totally. I guess the supercoat doesn't agree with her, because all the while she was on it she had this problem.....at least the bag will last me nearly 2 months each time.

My house stinks of vinegar, I am pickling onions this is my first attempt, so in 3 weeks I'll let you know whether it was a good or bad thing

I also got the paperwork for Zoe's Pet Insurance, and I have faxed through the vets report on her health and her not having luxating patellas, so now she doesn't have to wait 6 months for the waiting period. So now she is fully covered.

BF

[Lauren Golden]

Who did you get your pet insurance through? What does it cover?

[Bluefairy]

Hi Lauren,

I got it through PIA (Pet Insurance Australia) I went through and checked a lot of insurers, and these appeared to be the best, plus they come highly recommended by other pet owners.

We have the Comprehensive, illness and accident cover:

http://www.petinsuranceaustralia.com.au/ht...are-covers.html

Total payment is $17.05 per fortnight with $100 excess.

I also have this cover for my cat. You pay upfront any vet costs and they will reimburse you up to the maximum amount. Pugs can suffer from Luxating Patellas so there's a 6 month waiting period. I got my vet to examine Zoe for this condition and filled out the form, to say she does not have this condition (not yet anyway) so they will waver the waiting period. I signed up over the web. And when you get excepted they send you out the Certificate of insurance, your 1st claim form, a credit card thing with both my pets details on (like policy Number etc.) and a little tag for the dog to wear on their collar.

I think its great. Its well worth the money even just for the peace of mind

BF

Edited April 12, 2010 by Bluefairy

[Niques]

We've gone with PIA as well for insurance.

Spirrall - not long to go! Chow's are utterly adorable! Have you picked a name for him/her yet?

Have been teaching James to "spin" this evening. He caught on quick, as usual, but eventually it occurred to me that a pup spinning around is going to get dizzy Thought it best to end it for the night.

He is so hilarious. Apparently I've been asking him if he's "ready" a lot before he does a command and he has, for some reason, taught himself to tense up and start trembling with excitement if I rile him up by asking him "Are you ready?" constantly. And then when I finally ask him to do something he'll throw himself into the task. If I say "come", he'll jump with excitement and come bolting towards me. I started doing it with "drop" this evening and he'd throw both his paws into the hair and just slam into the ground to complete the command as soon as possible. It is just side-splitting to watch

[Guest belgian.blue]

I think we need some puppy photo updates! They grow and change so much over the first few weeks/months and I need a puppy hit

[Lauren Golden]

Yeah PIA looks great, we signed up for the same cover.

Hey if you guys have a chance, can you look at the post I just put up under Puppy Problems, i'm a wee bit worried about Maggie not eating much of her food!

[MAD]

BB - Here is a bit of a hit for you! Casey has grown so much!

Casey at the beach

I have a few questions to ask about her...

I want to get into Canine Freestyle with her. I understand that it isn't too popular here, especially in Cairns, but I want to give it a go anyway.

So far she knows how to Sit, Drop, Hi 5 and Crawl, but she will only do it in a sequence. She will sit when I tell her to, but the others she won't do unless it's a sequence of all that she knows. Is this a bad thing? Or should I just keep doing it this way until she is a bit older and will understand more (or is that wrong? She should understand now?)

Also, am I forcing too many tricks on her? She is only 12 weeks old and sometimes I think she still needs 'puppy time'. I just thought it would be better to teach her as much as I can as soon as I can. I only teach her tricks twice a day for 10 minutes at a time, she gets a bit sick of it after that.

I just want us to have a great bond, and I think something like Canine Freestyle, or Agility would be the way to go. I'm just not sure how to go about it all.

[Niques]

Aww, Casey is beautiful! Her markings are very interesting and unique.

As for training, I like to make sure that he can do every command independently from the others. I imagine it would only get harder to break the habit as time goes on. I would focus on the steps later in the "sequence" that she does, even if you have to reteach them to have her do it completely separately. And to prevent sequences from building, throw things up a little. Sometimes make her sit without then asking her to go down, etc.

We've got the same problem with "shake" at the moment. Whenever he's asked to sit, the little paw pops up to try and shake. Very, very cute.

Two training session a day sounds very reasonable. That's all James gets. Well, some days he might get a single half-hearted session, other days he might get three really good sessions. Depends what sort of mindset he's in.

[Bluefairy]

Niques ~ Yeah I see spinning as a dizzying thing wow he is learning so fast. I have been saying ( without realising) every time she goes toilet outside, I ask Zoe are you finished, then she comes running over to me to be picked up (we have 3 steps out the back she hasn't yet mastered). Now she is going and running over to me. I didn't realise it until I read you post clever aren't they?

BB ~ here's some, I'm not sure if I posted them or not....but saves you going back through the pages....

We were comparing Stenotic Nares (the nasal opening of their nose) on the Pug thread, Zoes' are narrow but might widen a bit when she gets older.

Lauren ~ I'll go over and have a look....

MAD ~ I agree with Niques, the sequences are a learned thing, I am teaching Zoe one thing at a time, then when she has mastered it, I try another while still doing the learned one as well, but just in every day thing, not as a timed event. Zoe has gone from a bouncing ball who I had trouble holding on to when her dinner was placed on the floor....she was "FOOD FOOD, its mine gimme gimme, NOW!!!!" and now she will sit calmly and wait until I say go. She has the "Wait and Sit" down pat, she is learning the finish and up now. As for the classes I don't know, we don't have anything here like that....well I don't think so.

Zoe cried for maybe 2 minutes last night, then she woke up sometime when it was starting to get light....I forgot to look at the clock, but I know she was let out around 6:30am. But she is getting much better We now have to watch there is nothing near the crate, as she loves to pull things through it and spend the night eating them Her diarrhea has stopped and is back to normal, so it appears Supercoat wasn't agreeing with her. She loves the Royal Canin food, so at least thats great. Its so funny to see her get so excited when you pick up her bowl, she follows you around the house until its put down again. I'm glad I have a table top to add the food otherwise she would be sticking her nose in it

BF

[Lauren Golden]

Very cute pics guys, here's a couple more of Miss Maggie...

After a very scary bath - she did not like it at all!

All tuckered out !!

Thanks for your help on the other forum guys... hopefully Maggie's appetite will change. I've anyone hasn't seen my reply, could someone please tell me their home made fresh meat/veggie recipe?

Thanks!

[Lauren Golden]

By the by, does anyone have any tips for getting your puppy used to being outiside on their own? I'm trying with Maggie, but she just hates it. We're both on holidays now, but next week we are back at work and will be out for a loooong time!!!

The trainer at puppy pre school said to just pop outside every now and then and do things like hang out the washing/put something in the bin and just ignore her and go back inside.... I feel this is almost making her worse!!! Any other tips?

[Bluefairy]

Lauren ~ I was told by another pugger to given boiled chicken, and mashed pumpkin to a pup with an upset stomach. Then as they got older change it to raw chicken. I have known some owners to give raw veggies (not sure which ones) and raw meat (remember red meat can upset a young pups stomach, so better giving chicken for now). One guy on here, not sure who it was gave his dogs mixed veggies (the frozen ones, peas, carrots, corn, etc thawed) and mixed it with home minced meat (any thats going cheap) and some oats I think.

My breeder had Zoe on pasta (the shell ones), mince chicken or turkey, mixed veggies (again the frozen ones above), spinach, parsley and eggs (I'd say raw). Zoe wasn't all that keen on it and only ate it very slowly and like Maggie would leave it after a few mouthfuls. Thats why I changed her diet.

Zoe is only on dry food with the occasional added, sardines, raw egg, mackerel, etc Dogs don't get bored with food....or so I'm told. Also in Coles they have a Yoghurt especially for dogs (in the dry food and treats section), adding that would be good too, I am getting some of these in the next shop.

I guess you have to watch what you give Maggie as it has to contain the right amount of carbohydrates, proteins, cereal, etc for a growing dog. This is mainly why I am choosing to feed a good quality dry food, its all done for me. But I can add little extras now and again to make it more appealing, plus the occasional meat bone or dog biscuit to break it up is all your dog needs.

I hope that helps.

BF

[poodlefan]

For those of you feeding home made puppy foods, make very sure that any mince you feed regularly as part of that diet has bone in it. "Chicken pet mince" is usually minced carcasses and just the thing. However it should be fed raw.

Feeding meat without bone means your pup won't be getting the right calcium/phosphorous ratio for good bone growth. There are two ways to ensure that this ratio is kept correct:

1. Feed a good quality puppy kibble

2. Mainly feed meat on the bone or with bone in it. Even tiny pups can handle chicken necks. Larger pups can handle wings. :D

Lactose free milk is a fraction of the cost of puppy milk and just as good for pups. They don't really need milk after they're weaned but most enjoy it. :p My dogs love goats milk!

All my pups have been fed raw meat (all kinds) from when they were babies. Personally I think varying a pup's diet discourages fussing eating. If they dont' want what they're given, take it away and wait until the next meal to feed them.

Edited April 13, 2010 by poodlefan

[Bluefairy]

Lauren ~ Why not give her a bone or fill a kong with dry food. Occupying her while she is outside is the ONLY way to get her used to it. I don't think coming and going is going to make it any better, I agree it would make her want you more :D Also you can hide little treats around the yard, so she has to find them, this also occupies her outside. Start by putting them outside where she can see them as well as smell them, then start by hiding them, so she has to follow the sent to get the next one. These things will amuse her for ages.

BF

[Lauren Golden]

Sounds great! At lunch time we fed her the kibble that we originally bought her - Eagle Pack, soften with some warm Carnation milk (it looked like cereal!) with a teaspoon of Pal puppy (apparently for flavour, says her breeder - will def move onto a better brand once this can has gone!). She enjoyed this very much and pratically ate everything! Yay, a much more happier Mummy! I left her outside by herself today again, and let her cry for about an hour and a half... then suddenly it went all quiet ... I thought she had escaped, but alas she fell asleep! Maggie 0, Mummy 1! I guess it's just being persistent.

I think I might get her some chicken necks to add to her diet... my cats loved these too!!