Kirislin

Excellent idea Perse!!

wonderful to see the photos, thanks for posting them. I wonder why Reba is so stressed with these pups. I agree with talking to the vet to see if there's anything to calm her.

I'm wondering if you need a hand feeding them. Depending on where you live there might be some here who can help.

I'm really hoping things are going well.

this shot reminds me I must renew my FOTZ membership!

Henrietta your experience sounds similar to mine. I never expected my dogs to be so good with them either, it's worked out better than I'd anticipated. I suppose if anyone's thinking of getting chooks with an existing dog/s they need to first have a dog proof chook enclosure big enough for the chooks to live their lives in there if necessary. Then if they find their dog is more tolerant than they expected, great, the chooks can be free range.

I dont know if you can train them out of it. I can tell you what I did but I dont know if it will work for you. I have 5 whippets with a very strong urge to chase anything that moves. When I first got the chooks I kept them locked up and whenever the whippets would look at them I'd just say in a flat disinterested voice. No, we dont chase the chickens. Puck was the keenest and I also think he was jealous because he'd see me feeding them, and he wanted their food. Sometimes he'd rush at the wire and again I'd just tell him no, we dont chase the chickens. I'd also use the command Leave, which they understand. I kept the chooks locked up for about 6 months then put them in an enclosure in the yard where they could scratch around and stand on grass for the first time in their lives. I sat out there with them watching the dogs and if they looked keen I'd remind them that we dont chase the chickens. I then let the chooks out and I cant remember but I might have had the 2 boys, my keenest ones on leash at first but fairly quickly they got used to the chooks scratching around. I wouldn't leave them unsupervised though, I'd just let the chooks out for a couple of hours and then lock them up and never left them out if I had to go out and leave the dogs at home. As time went on though the whippets started to completely ignore them and now if I go out I do leave the whippets and chook (I only have one now, not because of the dogs though) out together. and now they sunbake together! :laugh: Now the Italian greyhound puppy is another matter entirely! I'm still working with her and although she doesn't actually hurt the chicken when she jumps on her I wouldn't trust her unsupervised because she might get too rough and eventually hurt Blondie or even get the whippets interested and undo all my good work. So her training is ongoing.

that's great news.

maybe a good idea to purchase a food-grade bowl from a kitchen shop or K-mart, the plant pots may have glazes made from lead and cadmium so using them as water bowls may not be the best of ideas. You are probably best with stainless steel (or just let the dog paw the water...he will get sick of doing it one day) :) Crap!!! thanks for bringing this up. I'm guilty of doing exactly this, I bought a low heavy bowl from a garden shop thinking it can serve as a water source outside for dogs and lizards etc. Now I might turn it unto a bog garden instead.

I'm very happy to say she's fine now. I haven't taken her back to the vet because there's hasn't been any need. I've kept her quiet but she's eating well and is moving around as she needs and even initiated a few play times with the puppy. :D

You must be so worried. It's bad enough what you and he are going through but when you also have to factor in cost it makes it even harder. I'm really hoping he can recover without any more complications.

when mine became weak I took them to the vet and they injected fluids under their skin. Wasn't nice for the pups but it saved their lives.

Oh, I misunderstood, phew! I wonder if you could foster some pups onto another bitch. Perhaps some one here has a bitch with plenty of milk. 5-10 mls isn't much of a top up if they're not getting much from her. I think my tiny whippet pups drank more than that. This has been such a worrying time for you all, I hope she settles soon and starts producing enough milk.

I wouldn't have thought cows milk would be any good for puppies. When I raised mine I used Biolac on vets advice. Please check with your vet urgently if you are feeding the right stuff. When my 2nd litter of puppies became sick at 7 days old their mother was frantic too when she heard them crying.

thanks so much again all. Feather is doing fine now, eating normally and this evening initiated play with Neko. We haven't been back to the park as yet but we might go tomorrow.

You need to keep their fluids up because when puppies become dehydrated they loose the sucking reflex. Be really oganised when you bottle feed them. Make a list with each pup, how much they drink at each feed so you can catch it quick if one starts to fade. Good luck with it all. I was a first time breeder and had to hand raise 3 pups, that was hard enough. I also had to burp them after each bottle feed or they'd get a belly ache.

That's what my whippet started with, then he'd dunk his head under the water in the large container my friend had at her place and that's when I thought he'd like more water to play in. My new puppy puts her paws in the water bowl too sometimes and I've shown her the clam shell and she's plays mostly with her front paws in it. Rarely gets right in of her own choice. Your puppy might grow out of it, perhaps he's just learning and exploring his world.

I was thinking about how long she just lay there after it happened and it would have been for close to 3/4 of an hour, so I think I had good cause to worry at the time. It must have been a serious whack she gave herself to just lay there for that long. I am amazed and relieved she's bounced back so well today. She's had a little play with Neko today but I think she is still sore, enough to make her take it easy. I kept everyone at home today, no walkies at the park.

that was lucky you thought to try burping her

I bought it for Tag but then I got tadpoles in there, so I got water plants to make a froggy habitat, but Tag still uses it. Now I call him a Whippapotamus. When he climbs out he's got all green plants across his nose from where he sticks his head under the water. and the cutest one where he's trying to see the taddies :laugh:

love the roos!

Kibah the whippet is my best mouser. On 2 occasions now when she's killed one she's separated the head from the body when she gives her violent death shake. I get a bloody head or body come flying through the air towards me and I run screaming. She was a dismal failure with the only rat she found though. Didn't know what to do with such a big animal, even though she's killed bunnies.

My naughty whippets will eat the chook food every chance they get. Fortunately because I only have one chook I dont have alot of food out and now I try to place it up high, out of reach of the whippets, when I let the chook out to forage in the garden.

when my whippet started doing this as a puppy I bought him a clam shell wading pool because I could see he loved paddling in water.

non toxic marker on their naked tummies? Just call them 123456 :laugh: