LilyW

I think when my dog is bigger i will be running extremely fast. My girl has only done it once, but never to us. My sisters girl dog humps the boy dogs tale... quite funny...

My girl humps her toy duck she has...

Hi Sheree-lee, we got our pup about 6 weeks ago. She cried for nearly 2 weeks. We were told it would stop within 2 to 6 days but hey, every pup is different in the end. I ended up going and getting her a crate, i didn't use it for training but i put it in the laundry, put her bed inside it and then covered it with a blanket and it worked a treat. Not sure if you have done anything like this, but i think it just made her feel more secure. She is now outside with a brand new kennel and she loves it, i think doing that with the crate got her ready for a kennel aswell. Good luck with it all, i hope it improves, it is very heartbreaking...

Don't you think a baby animal is different to an adult animal? Don't you think a baby animal has needs that differ from the needs of an adult animal? So, if we follow your logic, then a baby human animal is also no different to an adult human animal? That's frightening to me, to be honest here. When i went to buy my lovely puppy, i brought a dog - not a cat, bird, fish etc.. a dog. I rang my mum, sister, friends and said, i got a dog. That is what i was trying to get across, so in one of my posts i referred to her as a dog, cause she is a 14 week old dog. Yet once again i got criticised for it... Puppies definitley have more needs, i am not stupid - but the way your writing to me implies i have no idea and am obviously a horrible owner, so i will just have to live with that. But if you look in my other posts i did go and refer to her as a pup as i didn't want to cause any more confusion...

I understand thats your opinion lillysmum and of course it would be better for a dog or pup to have their owner home most of the time. But before i purchased my pup i asked many different people about a puppy being left alone and they all advised me that it is fine and they will adapt - if they said, no it can't and shouldn't happen then i wouldn't have gotten my puppy. And if that was a case there would be a large amount of pups and dogs that would never get homes. We were planning on getting my pup over xmas cause i have time off but after speaking with breeders they said although it can be a help it can also be bad, cause i do work and will go back and if they get used to me being home for a few weeks and then all of sudden their alone it can be worse off. I know everyone has their own opinions about everything to do with raising animals but i was just trying to put across that i have been advised by vets and breeders that it is fine and hopefully trying to make others feel better that they are not the only ones. I read posts of people justifying how much love they give their dogs when they are home cause they work and they shouldn't have too, doesn't mean we love any less. I would never want to miss out on the pup i have at home, i adore her and have no regrets about getting her... But in the end lillysmum if you don't agree with it, you don't - for some reason us humans love to constantly defend though

They advise that puppy school is the best start for socialisation. Your puppy will be around dogs of the same age in a sterile environment. My pup just finished and it was fantastic and very beneficial. My vet and puppy teacher also advised that the rules with vaccinations are not as strict as they used to be and before your puppies final injection they are ok to be taken for little walks, as long as it is not in reserves or parks etc. But on the footpath is ok for a short amount of time. It is important to not only get them to socialise with pups but to also get them used to cars, trains, shopping trolleys, kids, bikes, older people, shorter people, taller people, cats, white dogs, brown dogs, black dogs - in other words everything. But give your local vet a call and organise the puppy school and ask them questions about what they suggest is appropriate for your dog at this age. I am no expert i am only giving information that i was provided. They did give us a list of all the things you should expose your pup too before 12 weeks of age - so it was very useful.

I know with my girl when she had the runs we rang the vet everyday, saying she still has it and its not getting better but she was still drinking, eating and was very lively to which they said to just keep up the rice and chicken as you can tell when something is really bothering them. We took her to the vet anyway and she was given tablets to help clear up any irritation. It has only recently improved itself and did take time. Your situation is a little harder but considering your pup is recovering and has been unwell previously you might find that has a bit to do with the not drinking as much water. In all honesty your vet has obviously been doing a great job thus far cause your pup is improving - so i would just trust them and continue to obtain their advice and check ups. Hope he is a little better today.

Meetu, your puppy is absolutely gorgeous and looks very much loved... Bommy, i don't want to be driven away from here cause there are some fantastic members who offer great advice and do it in an appropriate manner and also just have a good time in the process. But most of the time when i post i get criticised for bringing up my dog or puppy (didn't realise they were different animals) in a way i have been advised from outside influences is ok.. i will just have to focus on the ones that are helpful and as you said ignore the others. FYI - my lovely girl had her final puppy school last night and won a round of applause for her current ability to sit, drop, roll over and her fantastic dinner manners. So even though my pup is at home alone during the day she is very well brought up and looked after the hours we are home... there were people in my class that are home all day that hadn't taught their dogs much at all, so i don't think it is about the time you spend with you pup but the effort, time and love you put in when your home. Also spoke in length to my vet last night about the time alone and she advised that they are ok, they do need to get used to it, the longer you put something off the harder it is in the long run. I am not sure if their are any vets on this forum but considering she studied for many years to be at her position, i value her advice and was just trying to pass this onto those who are in the same position. Thanks.

We had a bit of a heat wave in Melbourne and my pup got the runs. Had it for days. We took her to the vet and she had a bug with her large intestine. Puppies are very prone to picking up alot of things, but with something like the runs it can just take a long time to clear up, sometimes bugs can just linger and you have to wait for their system to clear it out - or so we were told. I guess your little one is very run down, so of course picking things up or being extra stressed would be very understandable... We were just told to feed rice and chicken and slowly get her back on her normal food, i guess considering what your one has been through, best place for advice and a once over would be the vet - but fingers crossed it all improves!!

As i was told by my breeder, a dog is a dog, it is not a baby and should not be treated like a baby cause that is when it can be hard. I have also been told that my dog being out for 20 mins, 30 mins, 45 mins is fine as long as she is happy and she is. She is stuck in the backyard all day cause we are working and i strongly believe it is better for her to have some time out in the open to enjoy herself and she loves it. I think i will stop using this forum for advice and to continue to use the behavioral vet at my clinic. Some people on here do know what they are talking about and are very helpful with advice so i thank those members but it seems some people are more judgmental. If i have been told that something is ok by a breeder or a vet then i am happy with that, so if i want to come on here and let someone else know who is in the same situation as me that they are not alone, then i will. But for some reason people start replying saying, oh that is not right and that is not right... well for me it is, it has to be... and my dog is loved, adored - well looked after. Log onto RSPCA, your local council, lort smith etc any sites and look at the poor animals that have been dumped or hurt etc - tell their owners off - not the ones on here who are trying to do the right thing and get some advice to help their loved animals but instead get made feel bad for having a dog cause they work! My mums dog is at home while she works, 2 of my friends dogs are at home while they work, my sisters dogs are at home while she works. I would say a large amount of the populations dogs are at home alone while their owners work - it is not unusual. If i didn't work the nine hours i work a day then i would not be able to feed my dog, pay for her vet bills, pay for her training and therefore she would be worse off. If you can be home all day or can get home a couple of times a day, then your lucky, congratulations. I can not do that, but that doesn't mean i love my puppy any less or for that matter should miss out on her. If i wanna take her out for 45 mins and my vet says it isn't a problem, then i will. Thanks to those of you out there who also work and understand what that is like - i am sure your puppy will live a very loved and happy life and i wish you all the best! And thanks to those dog owners who care and listen and offer suggestions on how you can help a situation, not make a owner feel bad for it...

I explained in the post above what we do and she is fully vaccinated, i wouldn't risk taking her out if she wasn't. I am the biggest worry wort on the face of the earth and i have spent the last 4 weeks ringing the vet and at puppy school asking question after question after question... It is very hard to raise a puppy when one person says one thing and another person says another thing.. but i have been following vets advice and they have said that puppies can adapt to being alone, i don't have a choice. The times i am home i spend every minute with her and she is very well looked after. I wouldn't have gotten a dog if it was going to be an issue and i was advised when buying it is not. I don't feel good that she is at home all day but she is spoiled and adored by me and my boyfriend and i would rather her be with us then someone who just completely ignores there dog and i know many people that do that..... I have 2 weeks off over xmas and will be spending that time with my pup.. I don't plan to be working forever but for now i don't have a choice but have no regrets for the great little companion and friend i have at home.

Sorry, i didn't mean we take her and make her run for 45 minutes, i meant for 45 minutes she is out of the house and in that time we run around the oval, do some training and just muck around with her. I know that it is not good to over exercise a puppy, but she does need to get out, besides, she tells us when she has had enough but just sitting and not wanting to move, so we take her home.

My puppy is 13 weeks old and she spends 5 days a week home alone while my partner and I are at work. Some days can be up to 12 hours. When we get home, we get changed and take her for a 45 minute run around at the oval next door. Do some training and just muck around with her, we then feed her and she then spends some time with us inside before going out for bed. On the weekends we do the same and are home for most of the time. I asked many questions before getting a puppy in terms to being alone etc - some breeds are better then others for it or so i hear, but obviously a dog would rather be with you then not. But in the end as i was told the dog will get used to your schedule and as long as you don't buy a dog just to shove them in the backyard and never speak to them, as many of my friends have done - it can work. I just read some of you saying, why did you get a dog if you work all day. I don't want to have to miss out on the fantastic dog i have at home just cause i work... I love her to death and will do anything for her, but i need to work as does my partner and we have done everything at home to keep her entertained during the day - so far we have had no problems. Her final puppy class is this week and we are currently in the process of enrolling her in further training, hoping to keep her mind busy and her as happy as we can.

My pup is really good with her toilet training, she will go straight away when outside, but there are times when she has accidents inside - but in the end i believe it is my fault not hers - sometimes i turn my back for 2 seconds and she has done it and i cannot work out for the life of me how i missed it. If she does go inside i just place her outside without saying anything and when she does go outside i praise her. I assume eventually she will realise whats happening. But i have heard some dogs just take a little longer. We have her inside during the day as we work and at night so she has paper to go on. As of the weekend we are slowly going to move her to the backyard, i assume this should help as she will not be doing any business inside after that point.

Hey Erny We took her to the vet last night before puppy school - he said by the sounds of it she has a bug of the large intestine, which usually causes the runs but no other symptoms like being sick or not eating as it does not effect the stomach. He said it can linger and be quite frustrating but it is just one of those things that needs to pass. So she has tablets for the next 10 days and we are feeding her rice and chicken and will slowly introduce her dry and wet food again - things already seem to be improving - so i am happy.. We decided not to take her to puppy school, the vet said it would be fairly hard for another dog to get it but if they did get it they could get sick in the stomach which i would hate another puppy and owner to go through that. So she had a week off... I am very happy my little girl is ok.... thanks for checking in Erny...

That looks great, and i guess all those things you can get quite cheaply - your puppies are very lucky... Will have to look into that, especially for summer as there isn't too much shade in our yard, so that an alternative..

We brought this house and the owners are meant to get rid of everything, but obviously they didn't - we are just going to have to get under the deck and house and rake as much up as possible. That is what i am stressed about, we live next door to a reserve so i would hate someone to see her - but our fences are fairly high - we have blocked the gap that was under the fence gate - but besides that the house is secure, so fingers crossed all is fine. There is a dog behind us though that is fairly neglected and barks all the time - it is really frustrating cause when i take her out for the toilet it seems to upset her but hopefully she will just get used too it and ignore....

Ok .... sorry - I misread your earlier posts. I might be being a worry wort but if it were me I would not attend puppy school with a pup that wasn't quite right health wise. If these 'runs' are the result of diet, there'd be no problem. But I'm erring on the side of caution and would hate to think that on the off chance it is something else, that it could be passed to the other pups within the group. Very good point, might give them a call and check what they think.... my boyfriend is the one who can easily get time off work to take her to the vet if need be, but he thinks she is right for the moment - if it was my way and i could get out of here i would have taken her yesterday as i am also a worry wort - If the situation is still bad when i get home i think i am going to take her to get checked.... she is just lovely and i adore her so i would hate anything to be wrong!

Thanks - might go and have a look at my lunch break, see what i can find.. We moved into our house a couple of months ago and the last owners had a dog and left so much crap under the house, so she constantly comes out of there with spider webs on her face and chewing something she found - so it is our biggest concern. We have a spot in our yard that the last owners had a cubbyhouse in, which they took with them - so i would like to get a shade tent thing and the sandpit etc and set her up an area for her..

Hi erny - sorry she has not had the runs since Friday, we had changed the food on the friday and the runs started more Sunday evening, Monday morning. My boyfriend contacted our vet yesterday and they advised not to worry too much and to try the rice and chicken also. They said due to the fact that she is still lively and eating well, just keep an eye on it. We have puppy school at the vet tomorrow so we have said that if it is still bad tomorrow we will arrange an appointment in conjunction with that. If she seems upset tonight, we will see if we can get her in tonight...

Thanks Sas, great advice. We are leaving it till the weekend to put her outside and are going to do what you said, leaving her for different periods of time. She spends some time outsdie when we are home already, but there are some areas we still need to block off before we put her out for the day (like under the house, which she seems to love). I assume places like Bunnings have the sandpit shells??

Will try that out, thanks. Yes worming is up to date.

I am so sorry to hear your little pup is unwell and i have my fingers crossed that it all improves for you.. he is absolutely gorgeous. My boyfriends Jack Russell had a throwing up issue when he was a pup. He was constantly throwing up and kept trying to eat what he had thrown up but they wouldn't let him which was just making him sicker. Had to go to the vet each day for a month and be fed slowly as his little body couldn't handle food anymore and over time he eventully got back onto solids. He is now 12 years old and has led a very happy and healthy life....

I really appriciate any advice, so thankyou. Yeah she is drinking water no problems. Was going to take her tomorrow if things haven't improved today, they are a worry but i guess its better to be safe than sorry. Thanks again Erny...

Sorry Erny... Started her on the new food on Friday evening.. Has had the runs for a couple of days now We have cut back on the wet food and have been giving a little more dried, still waiting on improvement All seems well in appearance and demeanor....