JenniR Posted April 12, 2013 Share Posted April 12, 2013 Our 10 week old GSP spent his first morning away from mum and his last litter mate went to her new home last night. Was so stressed after 2 1/2 hours I rang vet who suggested 1/2 a valerian tablet which I had on hand. Does anyone know the correct dosage.. My tabs are 2000 mg. I gave him 1/4 tab which seemed to calm him for a while and he slept for an hour or so. Also heard you can use human product Rescue remedy. 2 squirts on the tongue as in humans. Any further advice welcome. Thanks Jenni Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
persephone Posted April 12, 2013 Share Posted April 12, 2013 Must admit never dosing a pup ...rather keep them REALLY busy ..playing , training , grooming / chewing the BEST EVER bone they've ever had ..and digging food out of a soft drink bottle or kong ...then sleeping ....... By all means use rescue remedy .. on GUMS ..or on skin just behind the ear , instead of opening pup's mouth every 15 mins or so initially .... RR can also go in clean drinking water . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
persephone Posted April 12, 2013 Share Posted April 12, 2013 ..and there' s a lesson here . perhaps - forgive me if you have already done this .... make SURE pups spend alone time before they are rehomed . Weaning /independence should be a gradual lengthening of time away ..my take on it has always been pups are at least used to sleeping a few nights without Mum before they are 8 weeks ..and have been weaned for a little while before that ..and spending alone time .... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JenniR Posted April 12, 2013 Author Share Posted April 12, 2013 ..and there' s a lesson here . perhaps - forgive me if you have already done this .... make SURE pups spend alone time before they are rehomed . Weaning /independence should be a gradual lengthening of time away ..my take on it has always been pups are at least used to sleeping a few nights without Mum before they are 8 weeks ..and have been weaned for a little while before that ..and spending alone time .... Yep we did that but there were always litter mates with him. For the last two weeks he and his sister were joined at the hip. I think he's missing her more than anything:( Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
persephone Posted April 12, 2013 Share Posted April 12, 2013 poor boy ...alone time , 1:1 time is a really important lesson ... he will probably enjoy car rides ( and they'll tire him out) playing fetch etc ...in very short bursts ..and having meals he has to work at ..like chicken frames , turkey necks , or treat balls .Give him cardboard boxes to jump on/rip up ..... a soccer ball that rolls around .... lots of new challenges :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mita Posted April 12, 2013 Share Posted April 12, 2013 (edited) Our 10 week old GSP spent his first morning away from mum and his last litter mate went to her new home last night. Was so stressed after 2 1/2 hours I Get some soft toys & rub them all over his mum to transfer her scent onto them. Also, is there a blanket or rug that his mum & litter mates used? Give these to your puppy. Dogs can get some comfort from smells, like we get some comfort from a photo. Keep on doing this, from now on, with your scent on. Rub your hands & feet over some soft toys for him. Put an old unwashed T-shirt of yours on his bed. Edited April 12, 2013 by mita Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Salukifan Posted April 12, 2013 Share Posted April 12, 2013 Perhaps first separation from last littermate and Mum on the same day was too much? I'd be putting him back with Mum and working on building his level of interaction and focus on you. I would also be working on physical separation from Mum while he can still see her (eg. sleeping in a crate in the same room) What he needs is to learn coping skills, not to have the problem dealt with chemically IMO He also needs to be kept busy mentally. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rebanne Posted April 12, 2013 Share Posted April 12, 2013 good lesson learnt. If the pup you kept is stressing so bad in a familiar enviroment how on earth is his sister going? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
persephone Posted April 12, 2013 Share Posted April 12, 2013 good lesson learnt. If the pup you kept is stressing so bad in a familiar environment how on earth is his sister going? Mmmmm . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JenniR Posted April 12, 2013 Author Share Posted April 12, 2013 poor boy ...alone time , 1:1 time is a really important lesson ... he will probably enjoy car rides ( and they'll tire him out) playing fetch etc ...in very short bursts ..and having meals he has to work at ..like chicken frames , turkey necks , or treat balls .Give him cardboard boxes to jump on/rip up ..... a soccer ball that rolls around .... lots of new challenges :) Many thanks for the advice. Jenni Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JenniR Posted April 12, 2013 Author Share Posted April 12, 2013 Our 10 week old GSP spent his first morning away from mum and his last litter mate went to her new home last night. Was so stressed after 2 1/2 hours I Get some soft toys & rub them all over his mum to transfer her scent onto them. Also, is there a blanket or rug that his mum & litter mates used? Give these to your puppy. Dogs can get some comfort from smells, like we get some comfort from a photo. Keep on doing this, from now on, with your scent on. Rub your hands & feet over some soft toys for him. Put an old unwashed T-shirt of yours on his bed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JenniR Posted April 12, 2013 Author Share Posted April 12, 2013 Our 10 week old GSP spent his first morning away from mum and his last litter mate went to her new home last night. Was so stressed after 2 1/2 hours I Get some soft toys & rub them all over his mum to transfer her scent onto them. Also, is there a blanket or rug that his mum & litter mates used? Give these to your puppy. Dogs can get some comfort from smells, like we get some comfort from a photo. Keep on doing this, from now on, with your scent on. Rub your hands & feet over some soft toys for him. Put an old unwashed T-shirt of yours on his bed. Mums still here but was out training with my hubby most of the day. She's a working GSP. They have been seperated before but this was his first time alone without siblings. Will try bones and toys but I'm told gsp's shouldn't chew toys as this impedes their training in the paddock when retrieving birds. Will see how we go next time. Many thanks for the advice Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JenniR Posted April 12, 2013 Author Share Posted April 12, 2013 Perhaps first separation from last littermate and Mum on the same day was too much? I'd be putting him back with Mum and working on building his level of interaction and focus on you. I would also be working on physical separation from Mum while he can still see her (eg. sleeping in a crate in the same room) What he needs is to learn coping skills, not to have the problem dealt with chemically IMO He also needs to be kept busy mentally. I totally agree re separation from both mum and sister was too much but hubby made that decision not me. I'm just the one left to deal with the stressed pup. Will take all the wonderful advice on board and try a few. Hubby got a serious talking to when he returned. Our first litter has certainly been an eye opener and a steep learning curve. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JenniR Posted April 12, 2013 Author Share Posted April 12, 2013 good lesson learnt. If the pup you kept is stressing so bad in a familiar enviroment how on earth is his sister going? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JenniR Posted April 12, 2013 Author Share Posted April 12, 2013 good lesson learnt. If the pup you kept is stressing so bad in a familiar enviroment how on earth is his sister going? Was wondering the same thing. Will contact them tomorrow Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sas Posted April 12, 2013 Share Posted April 12, 2013 Wowzers!!! Drugging a puppy?! What Vet recommends that!? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WreckitWhippet Posted April 12, 2013 Share Posted April 12, 2013 I've never heard of anyone drugging a puppy because it's struggling with the loss of it's litter mates and mother. I'd like to slap the vet that suggested it. You could run the puppy with it's mother or another adult that is known to tolerate puppies and is of a calm nature. Put the puppy back with the bitch and work on taking the puppy away for short durations to play, train and have one on one time with you. Increase the time away over the next few weeks. Then move the pup into a run with another dog beside it. Giving a puppy any form of sedation or calmative is in my opinion overkill. Start separating pups early on when you next have a litter and ensure they get plenty of one on one time, short amounts of time alone in a crate and driving in the car. You have to give them the tools and the life experience to cope with the big change. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Spotted Devil Posted April 12, 2013 Share Posted April 12, 2013 Our 10 week old GSP spent his first morning away from mum and his last litter mate went to her new home last night. Was so stressed after 2 1/2 hours I Get some soft toys & rub them all over his mum to transfer her scent onto them. Also, is there a blanket or rug that his mum & litter mates used? Give these to your puppy. Dogs can get some comfort from smells, like we get some comfort from a photo. Keep on doing this, from now on, with your scent on. Rub your hands & feet over some soft toys for him. Put an old unwashed T-shirt of yours on his bed. Mums still here but was out training with my hubby most of the day. She's a working GSP. They have been seperated before but this was his first time alone without siblings. Will try bones and toys but I'm told gsp's shouldn't chew toys as this impedes their training in the paddock when retrieving birds. Will see how we go next time. Many thanks for the advice A soft mouth is part genetic and part training. Too much pressure in the field from the handler will do a lot more damage than a few puppy toys ever will :) Puppies have to manage teething and keep busy somehow. If you don't supply something appropriate to chew pup will just start on your furniture and garden! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
corvus Posted April 12, 2013 Share Posted April 12, 2013 I'd like to slap the vet that suggested it. Why? 'Cause you know better than a vet? For better or for worse, the pup is now apparently totally stressed out, poor thing. I think it's fair to prioritise reducing the pup's distress. I'm not going to pretend to know how safe valerian root is, but you can find plenty of information here: http://www.webmd.com/vitamins-supplements/ingredientmono-870-VALERIAN.aspx?activeIngredientId=870&activeIngredientName=VALERIAN and in veterinary science here: http://csuvets.colostate.edu/pain/articlespdf/valerian%20root.pdf And here's some information on dosage: http://www.vetguru.com/2012/06/21/dog-valium/. In the past when my vet has suggested an over-the-counter product for humans I have asked for a dosage and they'll work it out for me. But it usually goes by weight. If you don't have that information you can assume the dosage on the packet is for a 70kg adult human and go from there. I'm kind of bewildered why someone would call up a vet for advice and then ask on the internet for dosage advice for what the vet recommended. Ask the vet who recommended it, maybe? What the hell does anyone on an internet forum know? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JenniR Posted April 13, 2013 Author Share Posted April 13, 2013 (edited) I'd like to slap the vet that suggested it. Why? 'Cause you know better than a vet? For better or for worse, the pup is now apparently totally stressed out, poor thing. I think it's fair to prioritise reducing the pup's distress. I'm not going to pretend to know how safe valerian root is, but you can find plenty of information here: http://www.webmd.com/vitamins-supplements/ingredientmono-870-VALERIAN.aspx?activeIngredientId=870&activeIngredientName=VALERIAN and in veterinary science here: http://csuvets.colostate.edu/pain/articlespdf/valerian%20root.pdf And here's some information on dosage: http://www.vetguru.com/2012/06/21/dog-valium/. In the past when my vet has suggested an over-the-counter product for humans I have asked for a dosage and they'll work it out for me. But it usually goes by weight. If you don't have that information you can assume the dosage on the packet is for a 70kg adult human and go from there. I'm kind of bewildered why someone would call up a vet for advice and then ask on the internet for dosage advice for what the vet recommended. Ask the vet who recommended it, maybe? What the hell does anyone on an internet forum know? Thankyou for the more measured response. Homeopathic medicine is being used more frequently by vets and rescue organisations. To me valerian is not doping a puppy it is in the same group as rescue remedy. Yes I queried the vets dose with the vet as it seemed a lot to me. I'd rather be prudent. Going to have a coffee and a ciggy now. Not homeopathic but they'll do. Seems I opened a can of worms.. You're right none of us are experts and experts aren't always right. Edited April 13, 2013 by JenniR Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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