imported_Kat

A lethargic sick puppy is never ever a good thing and I could list so many things as the probable cause but I am not going to give a diagnosis..Advice: VET ASAP.

yes cetainly. If it helps educate people then go for it!

7 weeks is not too young to start making motions of brushing your puppies teeth. Puppies should be handled from an early age and between the ages of 7 and 12 weeks is when they learn most and this is therefore the best time to start interacting with your pup. Make a game out of it and be very gentle just using a very soft bristled brush, but at his age I am very sure it won't be his teeth. As I said previously make sure he is wormed every week or every 2nd week, as even though you can't see worms in his motions does not necessarily mean that worms are not present in his gut, and puppies that aren't wormed can deteriorate rapidly and result in fatality in a period of less than 24 hours. Thats why its so vital to make sue the pup is wormed by the breeder starting at 2 weeks of age then its equally important that you follow up on worming until he is about 14/16 weeks of age then 3 times per year when the dog is an adult.

In our practice we Spay bitches from 7 months on providing they haven't had a season or are approaching their first season. In this way the hormone levels are dampened down and there is no risk of a pseudopregnancy or associated complications when the bitch is spayed. For bitches in season we won't spay them until 13 weeks after their last season. This way the uterus is reduced in size and there is absolutely no risk of a concealed pyometra. The reason as to why spayed bitches have incontinence problems is down to the vet him/herself and how accurate they are with surgery. There is a very fine ligature linked over the uterus that stems from the bladder and if this is damaged during spaying then the bitch in later life, along with decreased exercise shows signs of bladder leakage. My boss is extremely careful when spaying and its a standing joke in our practice between the staff that he takes more loving care with the ligature than he does with his wife :P Spaying reduces ovarian cancer, and pyometra and is greatly encouraged when we are educating owners. As far as male dogs go, we neuter from 5 months onwards. The sooner that the neutering is done, the better. ie; if the animal doesn't discover his anatomy then behavioural problems resulting from elevated and incoherent hormonal levels is less likely to occur. With respect to the animals putting on weight and getting obese, this occurs due to owner ignorance. Hormonal effects don't decrease as soon as the animal is spayed/castrated but over the following weeks the hormonal levels reduce from 100% to 20%, and this causes a decrease in metabolic rate. Also hormonal levels decreasing instruct the animal that (females especially) she will never have to care for pups and she can start to lay down fat for herself and look after herself better , rather than having to keep burning fat to convert to carbohydates for energy in order to look after offspring. If an animals food is decreased by around a third of what it was originally getting and with sustained exercise then the animal will remain healthy and won't be prone to lay down fat. This is all advice that we give to owners when discussing aftercare prior to and following the operation.

[img]http://sander.servehttp.com/kat/Meggie%20cute%20headshot.JPG[/img] Only if ya get bored and sorry shes mostly black :lol:

One thing you should rule out is roundworms. Worms can give a sweet sickly smell to Puppys breaths, so make sure that your pup is wormed on a regular basis.

Meg the Border Collie is fed Pedigree Advance active dry food which is moistened a little. Its the only food I've found with a high protein and carbohydrate level, enough to sustain her metabolism as she is very active. Zoe my Golden Retriever gets Bakers complete dry with Pedigree senior mixed in.

Paws crossed for Charlie :wink:

What a fantastic idea! Great initiative and Good Luck :-D

Finnigan or Finlay is what my brain told me, but I'm in the middle of making dinner so I'll give it more thought. Congrats on your new babe. He looks like he has a moon and sun marking on his back, really extraordinary!

LOL well I'm a doggy addict anyway so just glad to be in the company of others :P

In general, I am opposed to docking unless the dog is a true working dog or the tail poses a hazard to the dogs health. One thing I hate is when an owner gets a dog at an older age like a Weim, Dobe, Rot etc and asks for the tail to be taken off as it looks wrong and ugly. A dogs tail is mostly how he communicates. A tail forms more than a third of the dogs linguistic communication. In your scenario if the tail is being slapped off walls and getting injured then yes it would be better to remove it. A great Dane called Leo that I petsit is a monster and when his tail is whacked off the wall the blood really flies! As far as puppy tail docking goes, we only accept pups in our practice that are between 24-48 hours of age. After that neurones extend and form more complex networks and pain reception increases. Also it can affect the dogs behaviour later on and tail touch sensitivity can stimulate a sensitivity provoked aggression response.

Cool I just noticed my first pawprint has been filled in! :D

Wonderful results. A little time makes it worthwhile, well done! :wink:

Indeed welcome to you and your furbabe. Hope the tablets sort out the problem. You can strengthen her bladder muscles that control urination by taking her swimming every so often .

Hi there, Well done for not treating your dog with kid gloves. Flyball will be easier to teach than agility, as with agility a good dog is taught to work ahead of the handler but just keep hand signals and body language simple and run beside him. There is no reason why it can't be achieved. Plenty of deaf dogs on the agility circuit I know especially nearly white Border Collies have achieved good success. There is also a rather mad Dalmatian that is deaf but loves his agility. It can be done, just remember you have to be precise with your body language. This is true with any dog as my own dog when doing agility is very sensitive to body language, but you wil have to be just that little bit more accurate, so as not to confuse your Aussie. Deaf dogs can adapt amazingly well, and in England there is a BC that worked championship obedience at Crufts. Anything is possible! Good luck and enjoy. Agility is great, but very addictive!! :D

Hey there are you having any other dogs and owners at the party? We always have doggy games at our Christmas party at dog club so I can give you some suggestions. As far as food goes...nothing beats a liver cake birthday cake, guaranteed to make your puppy have a nice birthday :D . Just no chocolate remember!

Hi there, If he starts to growl or bark the important thing to do is not to have a shouting match with him as this actually reinforces the bad behaviour and rewards him for the bad behaviour. Clip his lead on and flick the lead slightly, and twist him around but don't say anything. When he is quiet then reward him and take him back to the puppy. Easiest rule when understanding dog behaviour: Reward the god behaviour and ignore the bad. Voice/tidbt does the good wok and lead serves to correct or avert the bad behaviour like barking. If he incessantly growls or barks then go right back to the start with introductions. Dogs love familiarity and routine and when a new baby enters his world, it can greatly upset him, so he needs to be reassured and reminded where his place is in the household but also he must know that this new pup is here to stay and that he will only get rewards if he is pleasant to the puppy.

Hi there, The puppy is new to your household and therefore you must make sure that Ben knows his place and knows that the puppy doesn't pose a threat to the social hierarchy that he is confident and familiar with. Put the puppy into a puppy pen or a cage that is open at all sides( fold down cages are super). Place the puppy in the room and then let Ben come in. Don't say anything at all, just watch the responses. If Ben is sniffing the puppy happily and not growling but is alert then reward him with a tidbit, then take him outside to another room or your garden. Wait a few minutes then let him back in again. He will probably be quite eager to get back into the house again and curious as to what this strange little puppy is all about. This time encourage Ben and talk to him positively if he is being calm and alert with the pup, but refrain from using words like good boy just yet. Again take him out of the room and wait a few minutes then bring him back in and start stroking Ben (kneel down to the dogs level). Stroke him big long strokes along his body starting at his head and ending at his tail. Do this a few times then while you do this start talking to the new pup. Start alternating stroking Ben and talking to the pup so you aren't doing both actions at once and only 1 dog wil be receiving attention at one time. If you are confident that Ben is happy, then remove the puppy from his cage and hold him facing Ben in between your knees still kneeling on the floor. Talk to both dogs and stroke them alternatively. Let Ben sniff the puppy and eventually release the pup watching both dogs but only intervening if it gets rough. This is the best way I find to keep the peace, instead of just throwing them all in together and leaving it to pack order. Best of luck with the new fur pup :wink:

ok cool my msn name is

Hey gang, Do you folks have a specific day and time when you chat? I know you said msn but I looked on msn before and couldn't find the room. Is there a specific link or url? Cheers, Kat P.s I love reading all these posts on this doggy manic board. It is so busy and I'm reading posts continually about everyone and their furbabes. Its great!

Just making a mark for my own records to keep track. Responses are excellent, thank you ;-)

Ok I know that I haven't been here even a day yet and most newbies keep their heads down, but one of my characteristics is that I'm very forward, which I consider good but not everyone would be in agreement there! I admit I found your group this morning while looking on the internet for research material but found an excellent group instead. I am currently in my final year of a BSc. Zoology honours degree at Queens University Belfast, and my main interest is Canine and Lupine behaviour. For my final year project, I am conducting research into different personality traits in a variety of KC registered dog breeds. I just ask a few moments of your time. Below there are personality traits that are possible to test in dogs and certainly if anyone can think of any others then don't be afraid to speak up. What I ask of you as dog owners is: [b]What do you consider are the most important personality traits when selecting a dog? Only list 3 traits please from the list below and remember this is not for a specific breed but for any breed in general. [/b] for example: the aggressiveness trait does NOT mean you would choose an aggressive dog. It means [i]should [/i]you consider aggressiveness when selecting a dog. Answer honestly and please don't copy what other people have said. I want individual opinions. Here are the choices (not in any particular testing order), and thank you kindly for your time [u][b]The choices:[/u] 1. Sociability with other dogs/humans (in a general interaction) 2. Acceptance to disruption of dogs own social status either by human or other canine (dominance/submissiveness) 3. Willingness to please/work for human 4. Aggressiveness with food/human 5. Playfulness 6. Stamina when faced with a problem solving task 7. Hunting/prey drive 8. Reaction to startling stimuli (e.g gunshot or other very loud noise that dog is not accustomed with)[/b]