Looking for a Maltese cross or any lap dog.

[Loving my Oldies]

2 hours ago, Phyl. said:

........we are terrified, and walk around shuffling along instead of stepping, in case we hurt her. Oh how she loves me, and me her.    

Oh that brought back memories.  My first dogs were two tiny weeny little Maltese puppies:  one was 8 weeks old and one was 9 weeks.  I was terrified. A friend of mine from Brisbane decided to come down to visit me as I’d taken a couple of weeks off work to get to know them.  The kitchen floor was covered in newspaper and we would step gingerly around the place carefully avoiding little bodies.  One day my friend said to me:  Cynthia, do you think we will ever walk normally again?  Still makes me laugh to think about it.  

[Phyl.]

Good idea thank you Scrappi&Monty.

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So funny Dame Danny's Darling. That's us lol.

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Roova:  telling my cute husband now. Thank you.

[RuralPug]

Definitely familiar with the "puppy shuffle" - it becomes second nature to breeders of toy-sized breeds, i might add! Fortunately, for pet owners, it is just a passing phase one that is literally grown out of!  (apologies for the grammar, but new family member beats grammar every time!)

[mita]

RuralPug, this is mainly for you.

 Remember the tibetan spaniel boy, Coby,  you spotted as a possibility...at Central Goldfields pound in Victoria (before you realised Phyl stipulated a female)?   I replied that a tibbie-owning family were driving down from NSW, having adopted him.  

Meantime, the shelter had desexed him & fixed his cherry eye.  Hence the cone in this pic taken by his new family when they picked him up today.  

New 'mum' says he has a gorgeous nature & he looks like a stunning example of his breed.  They took their resident tibbie, Jesse, with them & the 2 already get on like born brothers.   Coby now on car trip back to NSW.   Very happy ending!  He reminds me a bit of Billy who you once rescued.   Click to enlarge:  

Edited April 30, 2017 by mita

[RuralPug]

Mita, he is stunning! I love it when a breed gets adopted to a breed-knowledgable home or to one that is willing to take the time to learn about that breed! If you remember Billy, he is going strong with valbitz, doing his obedience classes (!) and being an excellent friend to fostered dogs! Funny, just the other day I ran into an old DOLer on FB - we were chatting about tibbies and I mentioned Billy and lo and behold a certain WA lady fessed up! She says she might come back to DOL for a visit!

Apologies for the off-topic peoples!

@Phyl. have you or Peter worked out how to upload photos here yet? I'm hanging out waiting to see your darling girl!

[Phyl.]

Rural Pug we WILL get the hang of it any minute.

 

We took Pebbles to the Vet for her 3rd shot this week and the Vet did not want to let her go, so she must be cute,  but a funny looking little scrap

whom I absolutely dote over, and she has made my life so very happy.

I am now having a 'nanna nap' afternoons as I am run off my feet watching she is safe, mopping up pee, and playing with her along trying to salvage

anything which can be ripped by her tiny teeth, lol.

I jump in the shower morning and drop a fresh bra and knickers on the carpet in front of a fan heater to warm up (freezing here 

mornings)  and Pebbles runs off at the speed of lightening, with one or the other and drops it/them in her water, but sometimes I am lucky and they just end up in her little igloo.

Just beyond cute and my God given happiness. 

This little scrap at 16 weeks of age is just 1.1 kilos and not interested in food whatsoever, and runs at the speed of light, between naps all day.

I feed her puppy dry food (rather try to) milk sticks, puppy milk, and every type of puppy food I see ie tins , little roll, minced steak, chicken, 

but she has no interest 

I would be beyond grateful if anyone can tell me how I can increase her weight, as it appears to me what little she does eat she uses up in energy.

Of course sleeps on her own pillow next to me, but as the night gets colder under the covers but I worry as she is SO tiny.

 

 

  

[RuralPug]

36 minutes ago, Phyl. said:

 

 

... 

This little scrap at 16 weeks of age is just 1.1 kilos and not interested in food whatsoever, and runs at the speed of light, between naps all day.

I feed her puppy dry food (rather try to) milk sticks, puppy milk, and every type of puppy food I see ie tins , little roll, minced steak, chicken, 

but she has no interest 

I would be beyond grateful if anyone can tell me how I can increase her weight, as it appears to me what little she does eat she uses up in energy.

Of course sleeps on her own pillow next to me, but as the night gets colder under the covers but I worry as she is SO tiny.

 

 

  

I hear you - the last puppy I raised She is 12 months old now) was also a fussy eater - which is REALLY unusual for her breed and I did despair at times, she would "like" something so I would rush to stock up on it, and then of course she would go right off it. More often than not she would let the cats steal her food. Even today, she plays fetch with a chew stick before she will eat it, after a while they get soggy in the mouth and then she eats them! But somehow she has managed to grow to a decent size LOL so there is hope for your darling too.
Unless your vet has said she actually is underweight I wouldn't worry too much - both of her parent breeds are quite small so 1.1 kilos at 4 months is well within the range you would expect, considering that the cross breeders usually select for the smallest possible.

My advice is don't worry too much about her weight, if she has meat over her ribs and hips she is fine. When she is older you want to be able to feel a slight indent at her waist but puppies can be a bit roly poly without too many problems in the very small breeds. 

[Phyl.]

Rural Pug:- thank you for that, as I was really worrying so will just keep offering small amounts of a lot of things.

This morn. Peter suggested small pieces of cheddar cheese and ureka, she ate a bit.

Like you, when she eats something, I  think wow at last  found something she likes, but again like you, I have a growing amount of discards lol.

I feel much better after your post thank you.

[Scrappi&Monty]

As RP said, as long as she has meat over her bones she should be ok. She's a Maltese x poodle right? So she might just be a little girl.

Make sure you are giving her food which has good ingredients in (if you don't know what those are, have a look on petfoodreviews.com.au or something similar  ) 

Cheese is a good high value treat but only for special occasions. 

 

For food, has she tried things like BARF mince meat? (Big Dog brand, or there are other brands that I can't remember)  She might like that. That's my dogs' favourite dinner  

[persephone]

@Phyl.

be careful - your munchkin is on the way to training you to provide better & more delicious food on demand ;) 

pups rarely starve themselves ... provide one or two nutritious foods several times a day .. remove if not eaten .. do not give treats in between ..and offer a meal again later .  I'm tough . ;) 

You might also enjoy reading/watching  the following : Pick out bits which are doable ... 

CLICK HERE   Nothing In Life Is Free 

CLICK HERE    great youtube videos 

CLICK HERE   Socialisation 



 

[Loving my Oldies]

Phyl.  I’m with persephone.  Don’t try your pup with a multitude of different foods as she will just get fussier and fussier.  I have had some dreadful eaters over the years and at time despaired.  But dogs are like people: some will eat until they burst and some will eat the bare minimum to stay alive.  I have one of each at the moment and another who prowls around the food bowl full of suspicion that I am trying to poison her.  

 

If they haven’t eaten after 15 minutes, the food comes up.  The only treats my dogs get are various meat jerky and dried roo tail.  Please don’t get your little girl any of the junk treats like smackos and rawhide.  These are rubbish at best and dangerous at worst.  

 

And remember, even 1.1kg dogs are still dogs: they like fresh raw meaty bones.   

[Phyl.]

Scrappi & Monty:- Thank you for the good info. Pebbles strangely when I felt her, as you said, has got a covering over her bones

and going to try and find Barff mince meat tomorrow.

I bought people lean mince from Coles but she did not like

I then bought the regular mince, thinking as a baby she needs a bit of fat, but nah that is a no go also. I will go to the site re reviews you suggested.

I am not as worried now.

Edited May 6, 2017 by Phyl.
Missed the 'review' bit.

[Phyl.]

Persephone:- I know I would spoil her and am giving her treats, so will feed her twice a day and take the uneaten food away. (If I can).

I will check all those sites out - thank you. 

[Phyl.]

Thank you Dame Danny's Darling also:- very interested about your dogs.

Yes  Pebbles is a dog  albeit a teeny one right now, (hope she does get a bit more solid)

Will buy some raw meaty bones also tomorrow and beef jerky.

Pebbles carries her Pig's ear with her everywhere - half as big as she is.

Will also buy meat jerky tomorrow.

[persephone]

OK .. she needs BONE for her calcium . lean mince does not have a lot in it for pups  

Minced chicken (with minced bone in ) is good ... but the BARF  patties  have good nutritious things in there .. minerals/vitamins/ some veg matter etc ... a much more complete diet for a growing body

Pigs ear. 

Hmmm ...bit like giving a toddler a lollipop ;) lots of taste .. not much else ..except fat . 

try her with a frozen  RAW chicken wing (WHOLE) so she can't swallow it .
Lamb ribs ?
 

[Phyl.]

Actually our Vet. said raw chicken wings for the two cats and Pebbles, but Peter and I are so scared to do this, in case a piece of bone gets caught.

I was thinking a piece of steak maybe?

Lamb ribs sounds great. We realise we are not 'up on it' with a puppy, but quick learners I hope.

Thanks again.

[persephone]

She has teeth and jaws which work, No? WHOLE RAW chicken wings will be fine , honest . It will take her ages to get the meat off .. and that's the chewing/gnawing which does the good work ..NOT crunching bone .  Steak ? why, when then are a lot of lovely bones she can enjoy ? If she can carry /chew a pig ear she can eat bones !! if she can rip toys/clothes, she can chew on bones . 
by lamb rib I am talking a whole rib .. NOT a chop ..and longer than  4 inches ....longer the better really, and meaty

you can also use chicken carcasses/ cut in half for a baby  yes, it's big..that's the GOOD thing ..as there's lots of chewing/playing and very little risk of swallowing chunks

PS I wish my cat would eat raw anything!  

Edited May 6, 2017 by persephone

[Phyl.]

ummm er will try and get my mind 'round raw chicken bones. Thank you.

Sorry to keep asking, but  wondered how you all get puppys to urinate on wet grass and rain tumbling down please?

I have a packet of 30 big pads and a spray can of wee wee but Puppy thinks I am crazy and will NOT use the one out of the 30 I keep trying her on.

What a joy to have a little darling sleeping on her pillow next to mine from midnight to 8 am. I am in Heaven lol.

[RuralPug]

44 minutes ago, persephone said:

OK .. she needs BONE for her calcium . lean mince does not have a lot in it for pups  

Minced chicken (with minced bone in ) is good ... but the BARF  patties  have good nutritious things in there .. minerals/vitamins/ some veg matter etc ... a much more complete diet for a growing body

Pigs ear. 

Hmmm ...bit like giving a toddler a lollipop ;) lots of taste .. not much else ..except fat . 

try her with a frozen  RAW chicken wing (WHOLE) so she can't swallow it .
Lamb ribs ?
 

Agree, And a tiny dog can't choke on a chicken neck as some bigger dogs can, so whole chicken necks are also ideal for chewies. For your larger dogs, chicken frames are great or chop up the necks and wings before you serve them if they try to swallow them whole.
Be careful with the salt levels in the beef jerky - the type made for humans has far too much salt for dogs and is often spiced with non-dog friendly products and preservatives. Picking an Australian made jerky especially dried for pets is the very best way. And please avoid any pet treats manufactured in China - too many cases or dogs falling ill from China sourced products to ignore.

[persephone]

12 hours ago, Phyl. said:

will try and get my mind 'round raw chicken bones.

Think of it from a dog's point of view  ;) .. no, it's not aesthetically pleasing , or especially clean and ordered ..but it smells/tastes/feels GREAT to a dog ..and is almost 'real' food ;)