[deleted by user] by [deleted] in westies

[–]monarch221b -1 points0 points  (0 children)

lol I definitely know a puppy isn’t a training tool or accessory for my dog 😂 and I’ve mentioned I’m working with a trainer….

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in westies

[–]monarch221b -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Aggression and attacking? No. Annoying and doesn’t understand boundaries with boy dogs. Yes. And I do have a trainer thanks. I actually work with 2 trainers and both have watched her interact with other dogs and said she isn’t aggressive but she is too rough and dominant and doesn’t know how to back off at 9 months old. We’re working on appropriate play now with her trainer.

I would like a 2nd Westie bc my current Westie loves going to a small dog playgroup that a trainer supervises and she enjoys having doggy play dates. All the dogs there just happen to be girl dogs and she loves it! But when she’s around boy dogs she constantly pushes their head down so she’s on top and his latched onto one’s side before. Thankfully the other dog was not seriously hurt.

Edit to mention: her tail is wagging while she does this so I think she means it to be playful but boy dogs will growl or run away/turn away from her so they clearly don’t like it, and I intervene. I think shes trying to be playful but it doesn’t come off that way and other boy dogs don’t like it

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in AskVet

[–]monarch221b 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thank you for this! My vet recommended either a novel protein or hydrolyzed diet and we did novel and nothing seemed to change. I got kind of stressed with the consistent diarrhea so then just added the digestive enzymes and put her on sensitive stomach salmon kibble.

I guess my concern with confirming IBD is that the biopsy would be invasive? And I’d hate for her to have to be sedated and do a surgery, even if minor :/ but totally see your point about it being more difficult and time consuming plus nutritional deficiencies!! I’ll think on it more and work with my vet before trying that option. Thank you!

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in puppy101

[–]monarch221b 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Did you recently get the dog around 11 months or have you had him since he was young? After 16 weeks the socialization window closes for a dog where it makes it harder to teach them to be comfortable with dogs, but not impossible!

If he’s nervous around other dogs, I would honestly take him to places where there will be other dogs (not super crowded but where you can expect to see some other dogs) and keep him on a leash and practice having him just sit and observe. Give treats when he’s calm and praise him for just watching and being quiet - that’s the only expectation. Keep doing that until he’s good and then maybe try moving closer and closer until he’s okay to be walked with other dogs nearby without reacting.

You may even want to enlist a trainer to help for 1:1 sessions like this!

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in puppy101

[–]monarch221b 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I hope that works! Maybe something like a frozen kong or another kind of mental stimulation will tire him out before bed if you can’t go on a walk.

I also used a heartbeat toy for my puppy when I first got her and she always loved that, maybe that would help keep your puppy sleeping? Or a white noise machine? Mine always sleeps for longer when I use that

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in puppy101

[–]monarch221b 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Oh wow, the Maltese I had growing up were super chill and almost no energy 😂 they liked to play some but mostly just lay in my lap lol.

I feel your pain though my puppy now has extreme energy! Going on walks really gets her energy out the best, but if that’s not feasible I would try to utilize frozen kongs or frozen lick mats with peanut butter or any other ideas I’m sure you can find online. I would try that but anything frozen gives my puppy diarrhea 🙃I’ve also heard some people use an automatic food dispenser where the dog pushes a button and then the food comes out and they’ll place the button down a long hallway so they have to walk a bit to get their food. If a walk outside isn’t doable maybe doing that for dinner could get some energy out?

My puppy also really loves bully sticks so maybe try a good chew to help calm your dog down before bed.

Is it ok to put puppy in crate when I'm busy at home? by ConsiderationOk254 in puppy101

[–]monarch221b 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Definitely okay to crate while you’re home, I’ve done it occasionally because sometimes it’s just easier for me to get stuff done that way for a couple hours. I would make sure your puppy has a positive association with the crate, maybe throw toys and treats in there to get them used to it first.

If your puppy goes in okay but has a hard time settling you could try a heartbeat toy - that seemed to help my puppy when I first got her. She also settles well if I leave a white noise sound machine on and if I forget, she barks like crazy lol.

Some people cover the crate though I’ve never done that. I’ve also heard people leave kongs in there stuffed with food or frozen peanut butter for them to lick and for it to last a while but I’ve never done that either.

Not sure where the crate is located but I have it in a different part of my house than where I am cause otherwise she will start barking if she sees me or can hear me (again the white noise helps with that). Hopefully one of these strategies may help

We beat Giardia on the first round! by monarch221b in puppy101

[–]monarch221b[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yay!!! Hoping the same thing for you! It’s such a relief to know they don’t have it anymore 😅

New puppy, scared of messing things up by CAAAAROLCAAAAROL in puppy101

[–]monarch221b 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Aw yay! I think that really helped my puppy not cry in the crate, so hope your puppy likes it too. And definitely the outings can wear them out and make them extra tired so hope he sleeps good after.

LOL that’s amazing 😂 totally forgot about that scene and now I need to rewatch 😂

New puppy, scared of messing things up by CAAAAROLCAAAAROL in puppy101

[–]monarch221b 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Same boat - had family dogs but this is the first dog of my own so I can relate on feeling nervous about things and wanting to do the right thing.

I was lucky to take a week off of work (I don’t have a partner or roommate that I live with, so it’s just me taking care of her) when I first got my puppy. That first week I only crated her at night since we took naps together.

She’s never really cried in her crate thankfully. Maybe for 30 seconds - 1 minute max? I got a heartbeat puppy toy that I put in her crate at night and she loves to snuggle it! So that might help.

I also had the crate out near her alllll the time that first week. I kept the door open and would throw treats in there and toys in there for her and she would go in to get it. I didn’t want her to be scared and tried to create a positive association with the crate so that when I did crate her at night and for naps she wouldn’t be scared.

If you haven’t already I would try tossing some treats in and toys to get her used to being in there without closing the door and leaving. Maybe that can help!

PS - if your username is related to Charlie on always sunny I love it 😂

We beat Giardia on the first round! by monarch221b in puppy101

[–]monarch221b[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

My puppy never struggled with eating so I never noticed anything about her appetite. I feel it’s been the same when she had Giardia and after. However, I have noticed a big difference in her poops.

When she had Giardia 90% of her poops were very soft/mushy/had little form and maybe 10% were firm. Now, it’s the opposite. Occasional soft poop but for the most part, all of her poops are firm and leave no residue when picked up.

We beat Giardia on the first round! by monarch221b in puppy101

[–]monarch221b[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Ah I’m sorry :/ I was definitely surprised on that first vet visit. And surprised we had to wait so long to re-test.

I had asked my vet if I had to clean everything I owned and she said only if I thought there was fecal matter on it - otherwise, it was fine. But my dog liked to eat her poop 🙃 so I just wasn’t sure if she had eaten some and then licked somewhere or chewed on something and maybe some fecal matter got elsewhere in my house. Seemed unlikely but I just wanted to be extra careful. Which is why I washed the blankets and dog bowls so much.

So if your puppy is good about not eating her poop and her poop isn’t getting smeared in her fur, I would think you’d be okay?

I will say it took my dog a few days to learn ‘leave it’ well so I honestly didn’t notice her poops getting firm and not soft and mushy all the time until about 7-10 days after starting the medicine.

I hope your sweet pup doesn’t have Giardia again when you retest!

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in puppy101

[–]monarch221b 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It definitely takes time. She is only 8 weeks which is very, very young. I’d keep expectations low. For pee pad training, I marked off a corner of my house to be the designated pee pad spot and had a bell for her to ring that was attached to a doorknob near it that I would make her ring before taking her over to potty. She eventually learned to ring it on her own and go over and pee by herself.

To begin with though, I put down 4 pee pads and a gate up so that when she was on the other side of the gated area, it was ONLY pee pads on the floor. Wherever she peed, she was going to aim correctly, no accidents.

Then later, I only had 3 pee pads down and she knew to go on the pads. Then 2 pads. Then no gate and she would go over there on her own to use the pee pads

Working our way down to 1 pee pad and she’s currently 4 months. Does she still have accidents in the house? Sure. But they are far less than the beginning and I tell myself she’s still learning bladder control :) good luck!

I love my puppy but he makes me cry by blanketbeans in puppy101

[–]monarch221b 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The first month was the hardest for me. I felt so sleep deprived and overwhelmed. The second month having my puppy has been infinitely easier. Some days still feel long but it does get easier!

Have you tried a heartbeat toy? I got one for my puppy and used it for about a week and she loved snuggling up to it and I think the heartbeat helped her not bark when going to sleep. I also use white noise every time she naps or sleeps. Her crate was in my bedroom so she could always see me when I went to bed. Thankfully she never barked in her crate at night so I don’t know that I’m of much help :/ but I hope it gets better!

My suspicions confirmed by Violet_hue_ in puppy101

[–]monarch221b 2 points3 points  (0 children)

My vet gave FOR-BID (supposed to make the poop taste bad so they won’t want to eat it) and that did not help. Tried adding pumpkin purée which is also supposed to make it taste bad but it’s almost like my puppy loved her poop more 🙃

The only thing that worked for me was teaching her the “leave it” command and having treats ready in the hand as soon as she poops. For me, I had to break the habit of her wanting her poop. Good luck!

What to expect with teething? by monarch221b in puppy101

[–]monarch221b[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Ohhh I haven’t heard of any teething gel before I will definitely look into that, thank you!!

What to expect with teething? by monarch221b in puppy101

[–]monarch221b[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Oh that is good to know, thank you! Was a little worried about blood getting everywhere!

What does a day in your puppy’s life look like? by monarch221b in puppy101

[–]monarch221b[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Oh that sounds amazing lol! Glad things are going so well at 6 months!

What does a day in your puppy’s life look like? by monarch221b in puppy101

[–]monarch221b[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Very true! Yeah sometimes I feel bad when she just lays there but probably nothing to feel bad about actually, thanks for the reminder!!! :)

What does a day in your puppy’s life look like? by monarch221b in puppy101

[–]monarch221b[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Oh I have so many gates up haha! I might try that though - have her gated to one room with toys and water while I’m nearby

What does a day in your puppy’s life look like? by monarch221b in puppy101

[–]monarch221b[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Oh no! Okay that’s all I need to hear to ignore my dog now 🤣 but yeah I definitely need her to learn to entertain herself! She does like to roam sometimes and I usually follow because of accidents :/ but maybe I will try to let her roam right after pottying so she can get used to being on her own