Showing posts with label Puppy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Puppy. Show all posts

Sunday, January 22, 2012

Not Comfortable Enough?

The chu-tora female Kai Ken I'm watching has this thing where she can't decide which spot is to her liking to sleep in. She gets up, walks to another spot and plops down. She does this repeatedly until she is satisfied. Earlier this evening when she was doing this I let out a laugh and immediately she jumped up from her sleeping position as to let me know she knew I was laughing at her lol. I was able to capture one of her plops on video.


Wednesday, August 17, 2011

The Importance of Research

My heart is aching for poor Wrinkles. Wrinkles is a 12 week old Chinese Shar-Pei that my BIL's brother(s) (he has too many brothers so this entry might get confusing) had bought. He is the cutest little thing with all his wrinkles (hence the name Wrinkles).

When I first saw him, I noticed that his left eye wasn't opened. He couldn't see out of his life eye very well and had felt very uncomfortable when he first was introduced to Mika and Kyuubi. I saw how run and hide so I put Mika and Kyuubi in my office and went out to give Wrinkles some treats. I heard that he wasn't eating much so I wanted to see if he would take some Stella & Chewy's freeze dried patties from me. At first he wouldn't take it from my hand so I put pieces on the ground, and slowly he started eating it. Slowly, but surely he started taking the treats from me. After an hour or so we reintroduced the dogs one at a time to Wrinkles. He and Kyuubi hit it off very well (there's a video of them playing together in my last post).

Amy, who is taking care of Wrinkles, is my BIL's younger brother's (not the brother who purchased Wrinkles) girlfriend, and they have taken on the responsibility of caring for him although they did not purchase him. They are both very new at raising a puppy and were pretty scared that his left eye was completely shut and having puss form around it. I scheduled a vet appointment for them yesterday afternoon to get him checked out since Wrinkles did not have his first vet appointment yet. I was intending on staying at work, but Amy was going to go alone to the vet and was a bit scared. She asked me to accompany her and so I went with her and Wrinkles to the vet.

12 weeks, weighing in at 20 lbs! He was such a good boy when being handled by the vet tech. Even got his nails trimmed without a struggle. Only problem was, they couldn't see his eye. They took him to the back and put some numbing medication on his eye to see if they could open it and take a look. Turns out his eyelid was curled all the way down. Poor guy has entropion! The vet told us that he has a very severe case of entropion and referred us to an ophthalmologist.

Amy wasn't expecting to care for a dog anytime soon, especially one she did not research and want herself. She is now caring for a dog that someone else purchased because they do not know how to care for him or take time off from their lives to feed him, play with him, put the drops needed in his eye. I am just upset at the irresponsibility that I witnessed these past few days with Wrinkles. I am glad that Amy has stepped up to help take care of him, but she shouldn't have to.

Before taking Wrinkles home, my BIL's brother had asked the breeder about his eye. The breeder shrugged it off and said it will go away. I told them they need to contact the breeder and let them know what is going on with Wrinkles. I read through the contract that was sent with Wrinkles. Funny thing is, there's a spot for the "seller" to sign, yet no signature. There isn't even a number to call and contact the breeder. Only way to contact is via e-mail. I hope they can get things settled with the breeder.

This morning Wrinkles was brought to the ophthalmologist. They didn't do the corrective surgery, given he is very young, they didn't feel like it was needed at such a young age. However, they did put him under and pulled his eyelids back out and stapled them. They are hoping that he will eventually grow into them and that having the staples out will get rid of his infection and he won't need the corrective surgery in the future. The staples will stay in for they are hoping 2 weeks, however the ophthalmologist said there's a chance he will need to have the staples in for a few months.



The poor guy is only 13 weeks old and is already in so much pain. He is going to lose out on the important socialization window. I wish there was more I could do to help, but I can only keep trying to spread the word about researching breeds that one may be interested in and then researching breeders. It is so important to find a breeder that will be there 24/7 for support.

Tuesday, August 16, 2011

Kai Ken meets Shar-Pei

Sister's brother in laws recently purchased a Shar-Pei puppy. He is the cutest little thing ever! He will be joining Mika and Kyuubi at work from now on too! They have a new playmate while at the office!

Here's a video of Kyuubi and Wrinkles, the Shar-Pei puppy!

Thursday, June 16, 2011

Puppy FAQs

I enjoy browsing the Shiba Inu forum and reading updates about the other shibas and how they are doing. I also enjoy having new people join and seeing their cute puppy fluffballs, cause well puppies are CUTE! Who doesn't love to see pictures of puppies?

One thing I do not enjoy are the redundant questions that are asked almost every other day. There is a search function on the forum, but apparently people do not like to use it very much. Myself and I'm sure other regular forum members do not mind answering questions, but when the same questions are asked so often it gets a bit tiring.

Here is a small list I put together the other night.

1. I just brought my new puppy home, why won't s/he eat very much?
A: Your puppy has just been taken out of his/her environment where they were with his/her littermates and mom. Your pup is still getting used to the new surroundings. Everything is a bit overwhelming for your pup right now, so give your pup some time to adjust to his/her new living arrangements.

2. Why won't my puppy walk on a leash?
A: Puppies do not automatically know that they are supposed to walk when you put a leash on them. It is something that has to be taught. First try letting your pup drag the leash around the house so they get used to walking around with the leash on them. Next time you take your puppy out have treats on hand and when your pup is by your side treat him/her for being next to you. This will also teach your pup to loose leash walk.

3. Help! My puppy is peeing everywhere inside the house!
A: Even if your breeder tells you that your puppy is housebroken, chances are your puppy is not. It's not because your breeder lied to you, but because most puppies and even dogs are only housebroken in their current house and not in new environments.  So with new puppies and if adults need to be housebroken, crate training is in order. Puppies and dogs in general do not want to soil in their area and will hold it. Each and everytime you take your puppy out of his/her crate, immediately take your puppy outside to eliminate. Praise, praise and treat when your puppy goes. If your puppy does not go, bring your puppy back inside and crate for 10 minutes and then take your puppy back outside. Keep doing this until your puppy finally goes. When your puppy is playing and not in his/her crate please be sure to keep a close watch on your puppy. If you do not have your 100% attention on your puppy then please put your puppy in his/her crate or in an ex-pen. This will make housebreaking a lot easier on the both of you.

4. My puppy's mouth is bleeding! What is going on?
A: Puppy just like babies lose their teeth. When their adult ones are ready to come they start to teeth and lose their puppy teeth. You will notice their breath will be a bit more stinky than usual. Once all their adult teeth are in the bleeding should stop and so should the bad puppy breath. If your puppy still has very bad breath and all his/her adult teeth are in please schedule a dental appointment with your vet as your pup may have a case of gingivitis.

5. Are rawhides okay to feed my puppy?
A: I personally do not feed rawhides as they do not digest properly and can cause a blockage. If you would like to give your puppy something to chew on besides your furniture and shoes, look into specific chew toys from nylabone. There are also alternative chews such as bullysticks and antlers. Chews are a great workout for your puppy and it helps keep them busy and learn to chew on their stuff and not yours.

6. Sudden fur loss, what's happening?
A: Puppies lose their soft puppy fuzz and shed most of it and their guard hair comes in. During the time when your puppy starts to lose his/her puppy fur your puppy will start to scratch a bit more than usual. If your puppy has a balding spot you may want to take your puppy to the vet to rule out mange. If it is not mange there is a chance your puppy may have allergies to certain ingredients in his/her food. Although puppies do not develop allergies at that young of an age it is possible for them to show it early on.

7. My puppy growls at me when I get near his/her food bowl.
A: Your puppy is resource guarding. When you see this you will want to get rid of this behavior immediately. You can start by hand feeding your puppy. This will let your puppy know that good things (such as food) comes from you. If you do not want to hand feed your puppy try having a high value treat and giving the treat to your puppy while s/he is growling when you approach. Do not take your puppy's food bowl away. Just give treats to your puppy and your puppy will build a positive association with you and his/her food.

8. All my puppy does his scream and cry in his/her crate.
A: A lot of puppies do not like to be confined. Making positive associations with his/her crate is very important. Try feeding your puppy in his/her crate. Crate time can be fun time and not just being locked up. Give your puppy something to do while crated. Frozen kongs are a favorite in this house. I usually will mix greek yogurt with blueberries and freeze it. If your puppy continues to cry and scream and you know that your puppy does not need to be fed or let out to eliminate then just ignore the cries. Your puppy will eventually calm down. If you keep letting your puppy out when s/he cries your puppy will take advantage of that and cry each time s/he does not want to be crated.

9. My puppy started running around like a maniac!!!
A: All puppies get the "zoomies". It's just a burst of energy and they start to run around and do not stop until they are out of breath! Most of the time it is due to lack of exercise or mental stimulation. Unless your puppy is like mine and likes to do her zoomies after a 45 minute walk. Having the zoomies is perfectly normal, especially in puppies.

10. Should I put my puppy in training/puppy kindergarten?
A: YES! YES!! YES!!! Puppy K classes are so important. Make sure to find a place that uses positive reinforcement. Puppy K classes will help your puppy build his/her confidence. It also enables your puppy to learn bite inhibition by playing with other puppies. The class helps you to curb unwanted behaviors early on where it is easiest to teach your puppy good behaviors. Socializing your puppy with other puppies, people, surfaces, textures, noises, will help you have a wonderful companion in the future, instead of having a fearful, reactive, hard-to-control dog.

I'm sure there are more questions that I am missing, but I felt 10 was a good number to start with. Hopefully this FAQ will help at least one person.

Here is a video of Kyuubi experiencing a brand new surface in his Puppy K class.

Thursday, March 24, 2011

Information For New Puppy Owners

I would have been lost raising Mika without the help of the Shiba Inu Forums & the Nihon Ken Forums. I learned so much about puppies and how to raise a healthy and happy pup. I never would have thought to pay for socialization classes for a puppy. I would have thought that visiting friends and their dogs would be enough socialization for any dog. Seeing as Mika is still a bit skittish of people, I'm afraid of what would have happened if I didn't put her through the socialization I did when I first got her.

The constant whines and nips of a puppy can make some people go crazy. A lot of people, not just myself turn to these support groups (forums) to find out if what they are doing with their puppy is correct. Even though it was less than a year ago that I started raising Mika as an 8 week old pup, I am still learning of new ways to approach different situations. Every dog is different, so things I did for Mika may not work for the new addition. So I spent the last few nights before bed watching playlists of helpful videos of Raising A Puppy and Playtime by Dr. Ian Dunbar.

I urge new puppy owners to visit Dog Star Daily and read the different texts that are available there. There is so much information to help owners who may want to give up and put their dog up for adoption. This is a way to help raise a puppy into a well behaved dog that can be your lifetime pal not just an out of control puppy waiting for a new owner to take on the challenge.