New Puppies

[Gayle.]

I could be wrong but the ganglies seem more apparent in larger breeds. I don't remember ganglies in my Maltese You definitely get ganglies in Labs and from what I've seen, Aussies too

I love the gangly stage, which in Aussies can last for over a year! I adore the long legs, the "not quite right" fit of the body, limbs and head and I love the strange ear sets that change from hour to hour.

It seems to last forever and then one day, you look at your dog and see a well conformed specimen who's parts all fit together neatly, with a beautifully shaped head, ears that look like they're supposed to and a gait that's smooth and flowing......and you think "Oh, where did my baby go???"

[Crazy Daisy]

I like the puppy stage but could easily send them away for their teenage stage. Having said that I have a 10 month old staying with me at the moment and he is just gorgeous.

We will be getting another puppy around June so I am already mentally preparing myself. I don't know how people get a puppy on a whim. I need at least 6 months to psych myself up for it. Pretty much like having skin kids

Ruffy on his first day home

Little older

Daisy

[Mystiqview]

I would be lying if I said there were times when I have gone "OMG what have I done!". Especially after being kept awake all night from puppy crying after pulling a 12 hour day at work.

I have had bad pee'ers inside and have good pups. Pups that chew something they shouldn't. Even ones I have bred and kept myself. At times I ask my self "WHY??" but for some unknown reason, you keep going on.

But then they would do something cute and funny and it would all be forgiven.

Much prefer fur kids to two legged anyday. You don't get in trouble for locking a fur kid in a small confined space (aka Crate) as you would with a child. {joke}

[Crazy Daisy]

Much prefer fur kids to two legged anyday. You don't get in trouble for locking a fur kid in a small confined space (aka Crate) as you would with a child. {joke}

Very tempting this week when they are on school holidays

[poodlefan]

I love puppies!

[Provided they're someone elses]

I'd happily take dogs on at around the 12 months stage if I could get someone to raise them the way I'd like. That said, there's no better time waster than watching a couple of pups playing.. could watch for hours.

A new pup for me means organising some day care for a few weeks, and driving to work, not busing so I can drop pup off and pick him up. I'm happy when they move from 3 meals a day to two and the toilet training kicks in.

[poodlemum]

hehe - try having eleven puppies Of course, it's not so bad when you know they'll be going to new homes but imagine the work for 1 pupppy x 11 - getting up early to feed them & mop out the laundry - letting them out for a run.

But they ARE cute

Kirislin - Poodle puppies find some *ahem* "novel" ways of escaping

And, with Dad around to encourage them, they get into all sorts of mischief

[Nic oh lah]

Puppyhood is killing me - lol. Chase is lovely but I can't stand wee and poo in the house (although god bless the person who invented puppy pee-pads) and having to constantly watch what he's chewing on! Can't wait till he's a growed up! I love him dearly but as documented in another thread the puppy thing is really not my scene, lol.

That said taking Sophie on at 18months with no training she was still pretty much a puppy in her own mind and a handful but nowhere near as frustrating as a puppy, lol.

Anyway, here's a pic of my new baby boy.

[macka]

OMG everyone's puppy photos are gorgeous!

Leia was a very, very naughty puppy!! We were total novices, never had a dog before, and she made the most of that situation! I do not miss standing outside waiting for her to go to the toilet in the dead of winter! (I will not make that mistake twice, summer puppies only for me in future! ) But as difficult as she was, I loved her from the moment I saw her.

I took a bit longer to bond with Archer as he was very unsettled for the first week or two, and yes I did have a few "what have I done?!?" moments with him, but since then he has generally been the easiest puppy and I couldn't imagine life without him. ;)

[Bjelkier]

Lestat was the easiest puppy I have ever had! (Hard to believe of a Lab I know)

He sorted himself out right away, didn't destroy anything, never barked, he was always calm.....wonderful pup!

Mistral was a bit of a devil (still is actually at 2 years old), he ate everything, destroyed heaps of things, and took quite a long time to toilet train.

He was a very fussy eater and liked being up all night long.

Alchemy is still a puppy and is so good! She took a little while to toilet train but otherwise is very well behaved.

I like parts of the puppy stage and there are others I could live without

After Alchemy I am willing to wait a little while for our next pup though, I need a little bit of a break!

[Shelter List]

Oh the puppy pictures are so cute!

Puppies can be a nightmare.

I prefer to obtain my own dogs at the age of 8 years PLUS. I like dogs that lie on the lounge all day, don't destroy things and just generally toddle around

I like puppies like this........SLEEPING

and don't be fooled by the innocent faces......

and as usual i forgot to log out of Shelter List.......and into Matty ;)

Edited April 7, 2010 by Shelter List

[I love dribbly dogs]

Saint puppies = easy as pie and I'd have them any day.

Tibetan Mastiff puppy = A lot of hard work, she had me wanting to scream and cry many times.. actually I think I did.. along with being headstrong and a general turd she was very aloof so I didn't even get cuddles to make up for it

But.. as she is getting older.. she is becoming more affectionate, more intelligent and more beautiful than I thought possible and so I would do it all again

[Mystiqview]

hehe - try having eleven puppies Of course, it's not so bad when you know they'll be going to new homes but imagine the work for 1 pupppy x 11 - getting up early to feed them & mop out the laundry - letting them out for a run.

But they ARE cute

Kirislin - Poodle puppies find some *ahem* "novel" ways of escaping

And, with Dad around to encourage them, they get into all sorts of mischief

Yep. Been there. My girl last year delivered 11 puppies. One died in the nest, leaving 10. There were some small ones, so they needed supplimenting twice-three times a day. One boy I had to PTS at a week old.

Puppy poop and pee by 9... plus three adults (including the mother). I had one week off to do the litter, then back to work.

I remember asking myself "WHY did I put her in whelp". But watching 9 puppies terrorise the back yard when I got home from work, was worth it. Stressful, but stress relief at the same time.

I was happy at 8 weeks when all bar one puppy left. (I could put my feet up) But still had the all night crying, puppy pee/poop in the house.. But he is cute and goofy.

[I love dribbly dogs]

Aww

[RallyValley]

Toby was the puppy from hell! He was a very bitey pup and often left out hand bleeding! He also took to Lilly straight way and just ignored her growling at him to go away

The worst part was at 9 weeks he broke his left fore and was then in a cast till 5 months, in winter, his toilet training didn't go great obviously! But he picked it up pretty quickly after.

For those who can't see my sig Toby's cute little button ears ended up rising up and being huge.

[cashew]

Puppyhood was a bittersweet period for me. My 4-mth old pup came to me and developed parvo-virus the next day. He is my first ever dog. I spent the next week shuttling between the vet and home. When he came home from the hospital, it was more of a time to really watch him as he developed other problems like fungal infection and kennel cough. It was almost hellish and I woke up every 2 hrs at night just to check on him. He could not really digest his food and had the runs for weeks...poor baby. Inbetween all that I had to work full-time so it was really a terrible period. Then he turned into a monster during his teenage months..destroying my newly renovated apartment while I was at work Bloody dog cost me so much ;)

Having said that, I will go through all that in a heartbeat for what he gave me, the love, is inmeasurable He taught me what love is, taught me how fragile life could be and most importantly he showed me what responsibilities and care meant, for all he had was me and if I had given up he would not have been here today. I am still in contact with the vet who gave us a chance...we are good friends now. He can't believe what leap of faith we had 8 years ago...my dog was also the first successful case of parvo he had seen, fresh out of school.

[Bundyburger]

Bundy..

Well, as much as we love our little dude, we've decided NO MORE PUPPIES He slept through the night from week 2 in his crate like a good boy. Toilet training took us so long, even now while we KNOW he can hold on we don't trust him to be fully "house trained". He steals EVERYTHING and is such a destructo.. latest toy is toilet paper... OH doesn't remember to shut the door so we lose two rolls a day He won't play with tugs, balls, squeakers and his ultimate fave, soft toys don't even get a look in at the moment..

He was great on the lead from day one.. brilliant on walks, but general obedience still needs lots of work ;) Love my boy but I so don't think I could do it again... The tears, the fights with OH... the tearful phone conversations with Cathy, all over toilet training.. I felt like such a failure and couldn't believe why I was putting myself through it! lol.

Edited April 8, 2010 by Bundy's Mum

[Dame Aussie]

Whils I lost a lot of sleep with Lili I would go back in a second, I absolutely LOVE puppy hood!!!

They're so cheeky and naughty, I love it

[Faolmor]

I found the 2nd and 3rd pup easy, because they were so keen to fit into the pack routine when they came home. But puppy No 1...god. He was a sooky little monster. I think he cried at night for the first 4 months! I have since learned that it is best just to bring them into the bedroom. Contrary to what I was told, it doesn't mean they'll spend the rest of their lives sleeping there - mine are all crated now at night with no issues. Puppy No 3 cried because I had her in the bedroom and she wanted to go out with the others lol...put her out in her crate, and silence. That was a first!

[Mas1981]

Puppyhood was hard for me, the last time I had had pups was 10 years earlier so I had forgotten how hard it could be, the thing i struggled with is that my pup would go to the loo up to 5x a night ( number 2's) when we went in for desexing we mentioned it to the vet and they said it wasnt normal ( we didnt know) and they put him on Protexin which helped a lot and i ended up changing his food. He was the cutest puppy ever and very easy to train.

[Bjelkier]

Saint puppies = easy as pie and I'd have them any day.

Tibetan Mastiff puppy = A lot of hard work, she had me wanting to scream and cry many times.. actually I think I did.. along with being headstrong and a general turd she was very aloof so I didn't even get cuddles to make up for it

But.. as she is getting older.. she is becoming more affectionate, more intelligent and more beautiful than I thought possible and so I would do it all again

OMG she was so cute!

Its amazing the change in her from when I first met her to a few weekends ago, such a difference!

Edited April 8, 2010 by Wolfsong