all that glitters

Have you tried giving the pup a raw chicken neck???

They are good to use to train them to chew.

I brought a lamb neck today. Haven't given it to the pup yet. Is it okay to give him bones to chew at 10 weeks?

Yep!!

Just make sure the bones are raw, and I only give Shyla bones that are bigger than chicken necks etc, so that she can't bite big bits off and swallow them, the bigger bones let her grind away more. Chicken necks I avoid because they can be swallowed and lodge in the throat.. (not sure how common it is, but I saw it on Bondi Vet and heard it happen to someone else)

Shyla gets a bone twice a week and when shes had enough she spends a while outside 'hiding' it somewhere. It's currently buried under leaves and dirt, this morning she jumped on an old recliner chair outside and dug at it for a while, then 'hid' it beneath the arm and pillow part

How interesting!! Little buggers

At what age would it be safe to do with my GSD pup? She will be safe to go out in a few days (had her vaccination last week) and I was wondering when you know your overdoing their pup exercise?

Haven't looked properly at her gums! Will do

Shyla is SUPER SUPER chewy the last few weeks, and her ears have been going up and down, one flops and then both are up etc.. which is apparently a sign of teething? And she gets extra chewy at night and needs to gnaw on something hard, especially on her back molars. I haven't seen any teeth loss yet, but was wondering if its highly likely she is starting to teethe at 3 months old? She chews on everything lol, and after a chew session on her nylabone or rope toy she seems satisfied and had has a good sleep.

Tilba had had 2 vaccinations when she went to puppy preschool & I carried her to & from the car to the vet clinic where it was held. We took her for trips in the car & only let her on the ground to toilet. I also took her to Erskine Park a couple of time to dog shows . Her breeder said she would have been fine but I didn't walk her around the neighbourhood until she'd had her 3rd.

giraffez, I would hold her whenever I took her out until he's had all his shots. If you have friends with vaccinated, friendly dogs you can also let him play with them.

Another point, don't let any dog drink from a communal water bowl at dog parks. You don't know which dogs are vaccinated or not.

Too true!! I took my girl to a few german shepherd dog group puppy classes, and was talking to a few people and turned around to find Shyla drinking out of the communal waterbowl. I was like NOOO!! All the shepherds are vaccinated there, BUT, 4 days later my little missy got kennel cough, and its the only public place with dogs she had been to. I prefer to take my own water in a bottle to outings and fill her bowl for her with my own water, just to be safe. And its little effort on my part

I have heard the pigs ears are not good for dogs as they can contain preservatives etc, and who knows whats in them! One every so often might not be bad, but at the rate your beagle was going through them, I would definately find another alternative! Also raw hide chews are bad.. so don't bother with those!

Have u tried filling your kong with tasty things to promote chewing on the kong? I put peanut butter and treats inside my kongs. You can also freeze goodies inside the kong and put the whole kong in the freezer, so that its nice and cold the next day, the cold rubbery kong will ease pups sore gums, especially if its teething. My girl finds the kong boring unless it has food in it, but since making it a 'food toy' she has a go at it if I roll it near her, 'incase' theres bits inside she has missed

I just gave my girl a nylabone tonight to try, and she spent half an hour chewing it! It says 'chicken flavour' which is weird as its plastic lol, but she definately loved it and gnawed and gnawed. I think I'll chuck that in the freezer too and give it to her tomorrow before work so its nice and soothing on her gums and keeps her entertained for a bit.

I know what u mean about the chewing stage though, whew!! She seems especially chewy at night, which is good because I can help her find 'ok' things to chew on, whereas if she had a chew attack during the day when home alone, she could chew on not so ok things.. haha.

I had heard GSDs were vocal, and my girl sure was when I first got her 4 weeks ago! She whined randomly, cried and shrieked like she was being skinned if I went out of her sight etc. This has DEFINATELY eased up over the 4 short weeks I have had her, shes much more independent now (probably has to do with the fact she is home alone for 9hrs 5 days a week and is used to the routine already) and she will hang outside by herself for a bit now too.. which I thought would never happen!

I think when they settle into their home environment they become less vocal too because they lose a lot of their initial anxiety. She knows the ins and outs of our home now, and even for example we have a barrier up so she cant get into the bedroom, and when I initially started going in there and she would be left behind in the lounge, she would do her screaming/crying thing... now that she knows I go in that room, and do return, she will sit/lie patiently at the barrier or go off and chew a toy same applies to when we leave and come from work.. initially she would scream and scream and scream, it was bloody awful. Now, she knows when we are departing she gets a tasty kong, and thats all she wants, lol, she doesn't care we are leaving!! And when we return she used to be crying already, but now she stays silent and will jump on the door as we try to open it (yay no more shrieking like a banshee!)

Hopefully your guys vocality eases up He is very very pretty!

Aww poor boy, if only dogs could watch and be entertained by daytime TV... he'd be quite happy then!

Nothing works better than ripping old tissue boxes to bits (especially when there is a treat inside a box).

But then my girl eats the bits of cardboard She's silly!

6 weeks confined?! Oh wow these leg injuries scare me. How does one keep a large dog like this, do they get used to it because they are sore, do they go stir crazy? *goes to google*

Oh thats a stress for you I bet... poodlefans advice sounds good, but of course its easier to say 'don't stress' than actually doing it!

My shepherd pup sleeps GREAT in her crate.. as long as I am in my bed next to her haha! If I get up to go pee or get a drink she whinges, but I just ignore it, and get back into bed and turn the light out, and she immediately settles. Having the crate next to the bed is a bonus because they are MUCH calmer and quieter having you right next to them, they can smell you and hear you and feel at ease. But seeing as this isnt possible with your big crate (my big crate JUST jams against the side of my bed, lol!!) you will have to keep doing what you're doing, they will settle in time

Have u tried putting in a worn piece of something that smells like you? A tshirt or something? This definately comforted my girl in her first few sleeps @ her new home

Kennel cough must be going around!!! My girl is recovering from it, and so are Bindii's 2 doggies who Shyla spread it to (without us knowing she had it at the time, before the congestion and hacking set in). Also when I took her to the vets, they had seen 3 other KC cases that same morning!

My shepherd puppy used her dog door within the first 10 minutes! I just stood outside and called her from outside on the other side of the flap with treats.. and well she cant resist treats, so came thundering through LOL.

Practice coaxing them through the same way maybe? So they realize the flap isn't a bad thing, and "OH I can DO this, yay!"

Beautiful pup!!

stainless steal bowls rather than plastic.

The Warehouse (also called Sams Warehouse in some places) have fabulous stainless steel dog bowls for around $5 each....the smaller ones are even cheaper. I have about 8 of them in the kitchen, 2 permanantly in the car and one on the balcony for when the dogs are vegging out with me. I've had plastic ones in the past, but they split and go powdery, the stainless steel ones just last and last. I wash them every day in the dishwasher, so the dogs always have clean bowls and they are a very good investment.

I agree, Sam's Warehouse has really good priced bowls and other doggy things!

Also, buy your worming and flea products etc from here...http://www.pricelesspets.com.au heaps heaps cheaper than anywhere else I've looked!

(i say, while i look at my snotty nosed boys recovering from kennel cough right now.. ugh)

Shyla says sowwy boys for spreading my cough!

I would recommend getting pet insurance if you have a limited income. About $35 a month for peace of mind.

When I got Angs I never dreamt that in less than 2 years I would have had around $6,500 in vet bills.

Yes, I am getting Pet Insurance for my new puppy, it's just not worth the worry of something suddenly happening and having to decide whether to fork out THOUSANDS of dollars or not on your beloved pet. Dogs vet bills can easily work their way into the thousands of dollars, very quickly. Be it sudden accident, illness, or disease.

We were just finalizing which insurance company we wanted to go with tonight actually

Had a go at this one, but she gets it confused with "Wave" and doesn't stay lying down long enough. I guess she knows plenty tricks @ 10 weeks old, but I'll keep trying! The peg looks hilarious hanging from her forehead fur

Maybe ear mites?

Puppies at that age have very short attention spans, so you can't expect too much!

In regards to feeling like you cant leave her indoors without her going to the loo when you're not watching, I've found with my shepherd that if I have taken her out for wees/poos, she's 'safe' for at least 15/20minutes at a time. It may be different with other dogs though. And if she has to poo, she whines and runs to the door. But for wees/#1's... she doesn't tell us yet. I go by how long her last wee was, whether she has just woken up (TOTALLY has to pee then) and exercise/excitement.. the more they are running around and hyper, the more sooner they will do a wee. You will pick up on her signs and signals in no time!

I crate my shepherd next to my bed at night, it is a BREEZE. She walks herself into there and snuggles up in her blanket and sleeps. I wake up halfway through the night (just a habit) and take her out if I hear her stirring, just so she empties and I don't run the risk of her busting to go later. She CAN hold on 7hrs straight at night, but if I wake up partway through anyway, I just take her, seeing as she's still 10 weeks old.

The trick to the crate is that you make it a 'nice' place for them. That way it's not a crate to them, it's their 'den'. Feed them treats in there, praise them for going in there, and give them fun toys in there. I don't crate during the day, only at night... theres different degrees of how one chooses to crate. And no dog should be crated for extended periods of time if it's not night time/bed time

I would be quick about taking my dog to the vet if it was passing blood!!

The last photo I got of her. Just found it on my phone and simultaneously burst into tears. One week and three hours before I lost her.

God I miss her. I wish I'd gotten her little face in it.

Thanks everyone for your kind words.

Oh my Im sorry :cool: I didn't know your precious girl but I am crying

Nawww what cute pics!!! Bronte just wants to play!