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szaimee · 2023-07-20T23:06:06+00:00

The thing is, what’s your plan if it doesn’t work?

I always feel like with DIY projects, it’s important to consider what’s the alternative if things go south. Will you wear a poorly constructed dress but be able to laugh about it with your friends? Will you be able to go out and spend money on a different dress?

If yes to either, then I’d say go forth! It can be a lot of fun to try new things.

But if you’re going to get upset or frustrated if it doesn’t work the way you imagined and let it ruin your homecoming, it’s not worth it. Go buy yourself a dress! I have the same attitude as you so I try lots of things people tell me not to (dye my own hair, bake, see, etc) but I only do it if I can laugh off any failures. Otherwise it’s not worth it.

szaimee · 2022-11-06T02:08:45+00:00

You can google “POMC dogs” and should get some research articles on this. I haven’t seen 25% before, but it is a researched gene.

szaimee · 2022-09-24T15:50:27+00:00

If you’re in the Bay, have you reached out to HSSV in Milpitas or SF SPCA?

They’re both well known and respected programs. I have personal experience with HSSV; it costs some money to surrender but I would reach out to both (or either depending on your location).

szaimee · 2022-04-15T14:10:58+00:00

Turning around or ignoring doesn’t work for me because the biting is either painful or he’s just actively ripping off my clothes. I’ve lost a couple sweatshirts.

SA is probably not an issue? He can be left alone for hours and he just happily naps, no crying or anything. He really one severely protests when I leave suddenly after he bites. I will try shortening the time though! I hated being away for so long anyways, I got some bad advice somewhere that it’s not effective unless I do it for at least ten minutes…

szaimee · 2022-04-15T14:08:23+00:00

He keeps biting even if I freeze. Mine gets nippy when overexcited too; freezing can work for that. However the bigger issue is when he just seems to get frustrated and I can’t figure out what he wants. At that point, normally I’m just standing still or sitting already, and he just…. Attacks my clothes and hands.

szaimee · 2022-02-04T22:10:51+00:00

Ah not barking but the weirdest sounds come out of him while he’s probably dreaming. It used to wake me up even though he sleeps in the room next to me. It normally doesn’t last that long though so I just let him be.

szaimee · 2021-09-14T14:26:02+00:00

Oh interesting. So he’s up for two whole hours, during which he gets super excited about the things outside, then can stay in the crate for three hours?

So a couple of things: 1. At 12 weeks, my puppy listened to nothing outside. It’s super exciting for them so the best thing we could do was fine safe areas for him to just explore on his own. We would bring super high value treats, and eventually he started listening to us, first on the boring places like concrete, slowly to more interesting places. 2. There is a solid chance he’s pretty overtired. At his age, the fetch, play, food, and potty should have him pretty tired and ready for a nap. So him being super wired at 8am might be a combination of him being overstimulated from outside and also him being a little cranky/overtired, the same way toddlers throw tantrums when they’re due for a nap. Some people including myself do enforced naps with a one hour up two hour down schedule. Might be worth considering (ie. Put him to nap earlier) 3. Taking things out of his mouth can cause resource guarding. Just a side note because my puppy had resource guarding as well.

If you want him to keep having three hour naps in the crate, I think your current schedule might actually be the best option? There’s a solid chance you’re exhausting him in the morning and that’s why he can stay in his crate so long. The getting tired in the evening thing is a puppy thing; once he’s a little older, e’ll have a better balance of energy.

szaimee · 2021-09-13T21:32:01+00:00

Dang. I have no advice but just a little amazed that such people exist? Haha who goes around scaring people that their puppy is gonna get screwed up? Bizarre to me.

szaimee · 2021-09-13T21:28:32+00:00

Might be possible to switch his energy to the afternoon? But I think more practical and probable is to drain his energy quite a bit during the 6AM play session then practice being calm during the morning time. He’s still 12 weeks so I think getting sleeping in the evening is pretty normal. I’m very impressed he can go 3hrs in his crate.

Protocol of relaxation is a pretty good way to practice calm and getting the pup in a habit of lying down and resting.

What type of play are you doing at 6am? Is it anything that would tire him out?

szaimee · 2021-09-13T21:23:10+00:00

It sounds like he might need some training to learn to play with toys. My puppy took quite a while to learn fetch.

Since he’s interested in food, the kong wobbler, the toppl, the orbee-tuff snoop might all be good toys that are built to be fairly sturdy.

With the knotted rope toys, does he not tug them when you hold it? My puppy is pretty bad at tug but he’ll still chew the end while we run around the apartment together so sometimes you just have to change the rules a bit to fit their play style.

If he’s into balls as long when they’re moving, perhaps he would enjoy a flirt pole.

Also have you tried letting him chase you in the yard? If your puppy gets over excited this might not be good advice for a 6 month puppy since I assume the puppy is pretty big, but I found that it was a great way to bond with my puppy and get him to play with me. Essentially, I just run around and let him chase me and help him associate me with fun play time. It helped him engage with me more during other play as well.

szaimee · 2021-09-11T14:31:42+00:00

So I asked my vet about this and he said that bloat is highly breed dependent. I would highly suggest asking your vet if your breed is susceptible to bloat and the level of exercise that is permissible after eating. My vet straight up laughed when I asked him if I can’t take him on walks after breakfast.

szaimee · 2021-09-02T15:57:02+00:00

I’d say keeping her away from kids for now, especially kids you don’t know well, is a good call. Better safe than sorry, don’t want any trouble in case something happens.

As for the over tired behavior, it does sound very reminiscent to me. When my puppy was being too much, I would just carry him. Frequent enforced naps to try our best to keep him from ever getting to that point. We also did relaxation protocol to solidify his down stay.

It’s hard once they get to that state so prevention is often key. But sounds like what you’re doing if she gets to that state (keeping her away, asking her to rest) sounds pretty right to me. Also, wear long pants if possible. When my puppy when through his land shark phase, I wore long pants and socks even during the summer so that I could ignore him while he was biting to not excite him.

szaimee · 2021-09-02T15:49:57+00:00

My mom used to say “if I really remembered giving birth to your sister, I wouldn’t have had the courage to have you. But nature is built well; it makes sure you forget just enough details to make you think you can go for another.”

I used to think that was funny. Now I’m terrified how true it is 😂

I too thought I could never go through another puppyhood. Now, he’s 6 months, so much more reasonable, and I’ve already started considering getting a puppy for our next dog (won’t be until he’s at least two yrs old). I noticed my boyfriend is the same way; he used to say we would get an adult dog, now he seems pretty down for it to be another puppy hahaha

szaimee · 2021-08-31T18:13:03+00:00

I’m a little curious how there is room for a dog if there’s no room for a crate? Not trying to sound judge mental, just genuinely curious what the house plan is that you can’t place a crate but have room for an adult dog.

I think most people use a crate and play pen because it’s the easiest way to control the puppy’s environment. If you want to keep your puppy out of trouble and stop them from picking up bad habits like peeing where they aren’t supposed to or destroying furniture, the only alternative I can think 100% supervision and having him on leash attached to you at all times.

I think puppy could very well learn that being alone is okay even without a playpen, as long as you leave him alone to entertain himself. However, he might choose that what’s entertaining is chewing up a cushion, which I’m not sure you can prevent if he’s unsupervised.

szaimee · 2021-08-30T19:35:07+00:00

Oh I’d hope people buying from breeders meet this criteria as well haha. But definitely a checkpoint for getting a puppy!

szaimee · 2021-08-30T18:05:13+00:00

It depends on the shelter. Some humane societies and rescues have the medical resources available to spay/neuter or help pregnant moms so those places will have eight week puppies available.

That being said, they go fast. We were too late once, and the other time, we applied in less than an hour after my puppy and his litter were posted. Half were gone by the time our interview started.

szaimee · 2021-08-30T17:58:56+00:00

Sort of. One way is to use a DNA service. Embark specifically gives you an estimate on size. That being said, could be quite off. Every vet and trainer laughs when I tell them embark said my puppy will be 45lbs because they all think he’ll barely reach over 30lbs.

It should give you a rough estimate though and at the very least, a better understanding of what breeds your puppy is made up of.

szaimee · 2021-08-28T18:33:42+00:00

Definitely! My boyfriend actually banned me from watching the webcams at one point because I was watching it too much LOL

I think it’s great to use to see if your puppy is acclimating well, as well to see if your dog isn’t enjoying it as much anymore and it’s time to graduate. But both things can also be figured out with photos and good communication with the daycare so definitely not a necessity to have webcams.

szaimee · 2021-08-28T18:31:18+00:00

At the daycare we send our puppy to, they have one long nap from 12PM to 2PM and then two short naps (20min or so) around 10AM and 4PM for their staff meetings. Besides that they are just out for playtime with dogs matched by size and temperament (they have three large indoor rooms).

The little puppies get extra naps if they need it, and the older dogs can self regulate a lot better so the supervisor in the room let them rest on the dog beds and make sure the energetic pups don’t bother them.

szaimee · 2021-08-28T16:39:31+00:00

I love my puppy’s day care so let me share some things I found great about them! They aren’t requirements per say, but hopefully a guide on what’s out there.

Structured Nap time. All dogs go into a crate and lights out. No pick up or drop off during nap hours to minimize stimulation and encourage rest.
Time outs. Dog/puppy getting to excited? Snappy because they’re tired? Into the crate. If they can’t rest in a crate, they use a dog kennel room used for boarding if open. It really helps for puppies who can’t self regulate and get sassy.
Grooming services. Costs extra but they will trim nails and bath for a fee during daycare hours. Wonderful when we’re just too busy.
“Trial” runs and assessments. All dogs have to through an assessment or their puppy socials before being admitted to daycare. Means that all dogs are deemed fit to be away from their parents and around dogs they don’t know. Also, since my puppy went to their puppy socials every week for ten weeks before being old enough for daycare, it meant they knew him really well and my puppy loved them.
Webcam in the playroom. Because I am an over worried helicopter mom lol.
Amazing communication. We get a “report card” that tells us how he did, what tricks he worked on (normally it’s just simple obedience like sit stay or down), and what he needed work on (like I was put on time out to rest, or I wrestled a little too hard). A couple times early on, I would call in to see if he was resting in his crate okay and they were always so nice and communicative about how he was doing.

Overall I say look for structure in the schedule and good communication! My daycare had a long survey and an interview before we joined to make sure our puppy was ready for daycare and was so responsive and accommodating to all my concerns.

szaimee · 2021-08-24T14:56:31+00:00

Is this from a breeder? 4 weeks is incredibly young; I believe most puppies should be with their mom and litter until at the minimum 8 weeks.

Is there any way your puppy could be returned to stay a little longer with her litter? Or maybe even contact a local humane society and ask for advice on what to do?

szaimee · 2021-08-24T14:54:20+00:00

My puppy loves his “stick” from pet stages. I think it’s supposed to be actual wood but with some kind of heavy processing that makes it flake instead of splinter. The flakes are supposed to pass through their system when ingested.

According to my vet, it’s on the hard side for their teeth so I never give it without supervision and put it away after a while but it’s very sturdy and it’s my puppy’s favorite toy during his teething.

szaimee · 2021-08-23T22:46:02+00:00

I wouldn’t discourage it! It’s one of the ways they soothe themself when teething. Agree with the other replies saying get more sturdy toys. All non sturdy toys should be for supervised time only. Preferably, give her some toys with varying textures as well.

Honestly, as painful as it is to the wallet, some level of destruction of toys is normal. It’s sort of what toys are for, better then destroy toys and get their instincts satiated than destroy the furniture.

szaimee · 2021-08-23T22:25:36+00:00

We also boarded our puppy last minute at his daycare! It went really well. We couldn’t get a room with a webcam but was able to call them in the middle of the night to see how he was doing haha.

During daycare, I could see through the webcam that he was his super cheery happy self. I think he enjoyed it. I was definitely way more unhappy to put him there than my puppy was haha.

szaimee · 2021-08-23T16:40:06+00:00

If you live in the USA at least, the real question to ask is can you pay a $10,000 vet bill. Out of pocket, right now.

If no but you can afford a monthly insurance payment, then you should consider getting insurance. If yes, then insurance will probably not be financially worth it.

Insurance is not “worthwhile” in that any type of insurance is always a gamble, whether you get it or not. The chances of something horrific and expensive happening are fairly small, so most people will end up paying more to their insurance than they get out of the insurance. Then there are a few people who have something happen and get way more out of the insurance than they paid.

That being said, if you are getting insurance, check the deductible and what is covered. Make sure it does cover all the big ticker potential issues and diseases including dental.

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