beenie

HI all, Willow is booked to be spayed next Wednesday, and I thought I'd come here to ask for your advice on how to manage the first few days and what to expect. My plan atm is as follows, with questions in bold Wed - in to Vet in the am - pick up late afternoon - keep quiet, in crate. Take to toilet late evening before bed. Do I need to carry her or can she walk? If carry, how long till she can walk? She usually sleeps in the laundry, prefers to sleep on her matt rather than the crate. The laundry is not huge, but she can walk around a few paces, but not fast iykwim Should I crate her for the night? Thurs - kids are at kinder and daycare all day, so I can be home with Willow. Plan to keep her crated and take her out for wees every 1.5-2 hours. Night, same as Wed. Fri - Have to take kids out to activities (which can not be missed) will be out from 10m to 12 noon then from about 1.45 to 4.15. Plan to crate her at these times, taking her to the loo before of course. Sat- home all day save for swimming lessons for about 1 hour in the morning. Sun - I am imagining that by today she'll be able to tolerate a bit of time out of the crate. Not running around, but maybe laying by me quietly inside. Obviously if she's trying to scamper with the kids I'll either put her in the laundry or crate her in the family room. Sound reasonable?? I imagine that she'll be pretty drowsy the first night and part of thurs. Should she be fed differently (has combo of raw meat and kibble)? Would it be better to keep her crated overnight or allow to 'roam' in small laundry? Any and all advice and tips much appreciated!! I'm no expert so if my expectations are way off please tell me so I can do what's best Beenie and Willow

I'm not an expert, but we have found that yelping loudly like a puppy would when our pup mouths us works well. I have a 2yo and obviously she can't 'yelp on cue' so I watch her and pup closely and when the play gets too rough I yelp for her. Puppies in litters play bite, but if one bites too hard, the other will yelp - biter learns that was too hard and moderates their play, or so the theory goes. Initially we had to be really focussed on it for about half a day with constant supervision (still do that btw) and it really helped get the message across that we didn't want pups teeth on our skin AT ALL. HTH!

Ok, I think we're onto something here! I served up the usual bowl of kibble this morning - it sat untouched. I left it there from 7am till midday. Not a morsel was eaten. I went and got a bag of VIP Chunkers (I know, probably not the best but I had 2 kids in tow and I have bronchitis so not really up to analysis packages and making comparisons right now) a bag of assorted bones at the butchers and some chicken frames. They were all out of dog loaf at the butchers, was lucky to get a bag of bones! Will have to go back. Gave her the Chunkers - about 150 - 200g... it disappeared in 2 minutes flat. :rolleyes: with much licking of chops and wagging tail! She;s now happily sleeping under the patio table after spending a good hour burying and digging up her bone I have frozen the rest of the 'balls' in 300g lots. Any guide on how much a 4-5month old puppy (medium breed) should have if I'm also giving a bit of dry food??

Thanks for that SecretKei, you're right of course... if she was really hungry she'd eat.... and she does on and off. Just a bit different to my memories of our Goldie when I was a kid who lived and breathed for dinner time and would scarf down her meal quick sticks and still be hungry for more :haha: I'll get some of the dog rolls from the butcher and supplement her meals with that and the kibble (gotta at least try to use some of it up!). Out of intrest, how many patties would an 8-9 kg puppy need a day (she's fed 2x a day atm)? Or, what weight of raw food should I be aiming for?

HI all, I've been reading this thread intently and I think I may have to give this raw food thing a go. Some background - we have had Willow (Soft Coated Wheaten Terrier) for a month. She's 4 and a bit months old. She had been fed Eukanuba Puppy since weaning, with some raw gravy beef or chicken necks alternate days. I have noticed that she's not really interested in her food. For example, if I get her breakfast first thing in the morning (7am) she'll often sniff it, and then just walk away. I have tried adding some sunflower oil or an egg which she seems to like, but still, she never really 'wolfs' her food down. Also, the bag says that for her age and weight (about 8kg) she should be eating about 2-3 cups a day. She'd be lucky to eat 2 cups, let alone 3. She's not unwell, has firm poo, is active and full of beans - she does like to eat anything and everything she can find in the garden (grass, plums, sticks, sand from the sandpit you name it she'll give it a chew!). At first I thought it was a 'transition' thing, but I think it's more than that now. I guess I am a bit cheesed off that I have spent $100 on dry food (yes, I got the huge bag).... only to find that she doesn't like it that much! ;) My butcher sells dog food rolls, which when I asked he said were all kinds of meat offcuts (lamb, chicken,beef) with chopped vegies and nothing else. No grains, no preservatives etc. Would that be ok to start with? TBH I can't see myself making up my own food for her. My human kids have food intolerance issues, so I spend quite enough time making 'special' food as it is without doing it for the dog too! Don't get me wrong, I want to do better for Willow, but I'm just being honest with myself (and you) about how much time I can realistically devote to this. Should add that I gave her a big marrow bone the first week she arrived and she has stripped it off, but still going on it - no where near done with that sucker yet! Any advice much appreicated! Beenie & Willow

Thanks!

Hi all, I'm using Advocate 4-10kg for Willow (4 month old Soft Coated Wheaten Terrier) and I've just remembered that the vet mentioned that I would need a seperate tapeworm treatment? We covered a lot of stuff in the consult (post adoption so a few issues to cover) but obviously he and I forgot to do something about that particular item! Can anyone tell me if I DO need something more, and if so, can you recommend somehting?? THanks! Beenie & Willow

I'm really glad to read that ours isn't the only 4 month old pup still having trouble with going inside the house!! Our problem is slightly different in that we adopted Willow 3 weeks ago, up till then she'd been home alone outside for most of the day so hadn't really been intensively housetrained... so making the transition to being home with us home all day and allowed in the house more is her problem. She is getting better, but still does wees inside every few days.... just doesn't seem to know to tell us she needs to go outside.... We did start by crate training her, and she picked up that going outside in the 'spot' was good and will do that if we take her aat the right time, but also still does it inside rather than asking to go out. She also poos whereever she likes.... which is not where I'd like :D So, you're not alone, even if I have no advice for you lol!

Thanks Rysup, I'll head to bunnings and get some of those compost bin/puppy pens lol! :D

Do you think it's ok (read - wise!) to use a wooden playpen for a 15+ week old pup?? I have one here we borrowed from friends to use for our kids... wouldn't want it to get chewed! I intend using it as a 'buffer zone' around the crate so my 2 and 5yo kids (human ones!) can't get to the crate while the puppy is sleeping and for short term confinement only. Not going to be leaving her in there all day while we go out or anything. Good idea or bad idea?? :D

Thanks wire, she's a cutie alright! I hear you on the grooming....it's going to be big job! Shelby, the breeder is the one who contacted us re: rehoming her. We were on his puppy waiting list, and when she came up for adoption, he contacted us :D Only 12 more sleeps till she arrives!! Woohoo!

Ah ha! I remembered how to do it! Here's our girl at 10 weeks

Thanks again! I think the idea of a playpen is great, that extra buffer zone will be essential with my 2yo lol. I have a wooden childs playpen which we used for our kids...would this suffice for a puppy or will the bars be too far apart... would the pup chew it do you think?? I've seen threads here about Bunnings compost bin/pens, would that be better? HI Nehkbet, sorry, we're in Greensborough.... not quite local to Geelong but thanks for the offer anyway! I would love to post a pic....just gotta remember how! The only one I have is now a few weeks old... she's growing up fast! Beenie

Thanks for those replies. She has a crate, which will be coming with her, so I'll definately make sure that's her own quiet place - good suggestion, thanks! No kids allowed to bother her while she's there! My two kids are 2yo and 5.5yrs, so you're right, certainly no picking the puppy up. I've been subltly doing lots of 'gentle play' activities with my 2yo .... remains to be seen how well she understands the 'no hugging the puppy rule' but I'll certainly try! Would you recommmend that I limit visitors (with their own kids) in the first week, or have a few friends drop around each day or so? We usually have 1 or2 playdates with kids here each week, so it's something she'll have to get used to sometime??? All the kids have dogs of their own so 'should' be reasonably ok...not totally freaking out iykwim, but still excited by the new puppy.

Hi eveyone, I've been lurking for a while, and now it's time to introduce myself and get some advice! We're adopting/rehoming a gorgeous Soft Coated Wheaten Terrier girl, who'll be 15 weeks old when she arrives in 2 weeks time. We're really excited (well, the kids don't know yet, but you better believe they'll be beside themselves!) and can't wait for our little bundle of fluff to arrive. I'm looking for any advice or suggestions on how to make Willow's move easier for her, and to help her 'fall in love' with us so as to minimise any anxiety she may feel. Willow has been with her current family since 8 weeks, but they've quickly realised that their lifestyle/ home are not compatible with the needs of a puppy. They work a lot, only have small courtyard, and at the moment have left their little girl at home with a dogsitter for 2 weeks while they go skiing in NZ Sad, but at least they've realised it early and have made sure she's going to be looked after (by us!) From what I can tell she's a 'good' little girl with no big behaviour problems, the family love her to bits, but just don't have time. Given that she's had a bit of a disjointed start, and that she's now going to be leaving what she knows and starting over again here, I'm really keen to do this right and help her settle quickly. I've booked in for private training sessions wiht the Gentle Modern School of Dog Training and will go on with further training at Kintala, am reading David Westons books, and Ian Dunbar (who I discovered thanks to DOL) so I feel (hope!) that we'll be on track there. So, give me your tips for the first few days to help Willow feel at home. There'll be lots of love and hugs to be had, but I'm sure there are a few good ideas out there! Cheers, Beenie