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MrFurious posted:You're fine. Just make sure he's getting enough sleep. Puppies should be sleeping something like 16 hours a day or something stupid like that. Just like babies, they're growing like crazy. It's all floor level "hopping" so far. I'll let him play chase down the hall, or do a quick zoom around the yard before he poops. This should be okay, yeah? It's the same level of play that he was having with his littermates before he came here. He developed a cough overnight.  Going to the vet today just in case. I hope it turns out to be no big deal.
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Jul 24, 2012 18:29
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nesbit37 posted:Our vet is urging us to spay before first heat because the risk of mammary cancer goes up a fair bit if you wait until after, apparently. I don't know if there are other risks involved with neutering/spaying by a certain date, but we were also concerned about growth problems if doing it too early. Yeah, if he were a bitch it wouldn't really be a question of waiting at all because the downsides are much more severe if you do. a life less posted:If I personally had a new pup I would likely wait until 1-2 years at least before neutering or spaying. However, for a family pet you'll not likely see any negative repercussions if you did it at 6 months. Will you see structural repercussions? Yes. Will they be negative? Not necessarily. See, I don't know if we want to pursue anything in particular with him. Maybe joring. Maybe higher levels of training. Probably not agility but I don't want to count it out just yet.
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Jul 24, 2012 18:35
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My opinion: I have a large breed mutt puppy, and I had him neutered shortly after adopting him (~6-7 months old). I like the idea of waiting until more like 18 months in a male puppy, but there are a lot more considerations than health/conformation. 1) A dog can get a bitch pregnant in the blink of an eye, so that's a year of never being off leash at dog parks, the lake, hiking, etc. I've known people whose dogs have knocked up a bitch while both animals were on leashes, just because the owners were distracted talking. 2) I live in a neighborhood of people who take lovely care of animals, and I find loose/lost/abandoned dogs all the time. I also have a 4 foot chain-link fence, and my dog could probably jump over it or dig under it if he was motivated enough... such as if a bitch in heat was on the other side. He's never unsupervised outside for more than a few minutes, but a few minutes is all it would take. So if I lived in a nice neighborhood with a 6 foot privacy fence and no loose dogs, and I had access to lots of fun ways to socialize and exercise my puppy without ever being off-leash or at a dog park, I probably would have waited until 18 months. That said, if he had started acting too testosterone-y at any point during the wait, I would have just neutered him then. ETA: Oh yeah, almost forgot I saw a 2 year old dog with testicular cancer the other day. 
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Jul 24, 2012 18:41
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What are the reasons to hold off on neutering? I see a lot of this where I live, but no one has given me a consistent answer. Is it better for their health, or is it important for something else?
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Jul 24, 2012 18:59
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TVs Ian posted:
It sounds like you'd be just fine neutering now (err, at 6 months, not now now). Neutering early tends to result in dogs who lack secondary sex characteristics (like larger heads in males) and taller, thinner animals in general because of neutering delaying the closing of growth plates. As far as structure goes, for casual sportiness I doubt you'll see any negative repercussions. A link between early neutering and osteosarcoma has been found (theorized?) in large breed dogs like Mastiffs and Danes, so it's recommended you hold off on desexing them for a few years. a life less fucked around with this message at 19:18 on Jul 24, 2012 |
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Jul 24, 2012 19:10
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Crooked Booty posted:My opinion: I have a large breed mutt puppy, and I had him neutered shortly after adopting him (~6-7 months old). I like the idea of waiting until more like 18 months in a male puppy, but there are a lot more considerations than health/conformation. He's a husky mix and we're not willing to risk him bolting so no off-leash time ever, neutered or not.  And dog parks are not our thing. Too many people bring inappropriate dogs and do nothing to control them.We hike, have a good fence on large property, a popular playground walking path and the local feed store for socializing within 2 minutes drive and five other dogs for him to play with. Not to mention Obedience class for him to meet and greet strangers/strange dogs. Frankly, a bitch in heat is ten times more nightmarish than an intact male, in my experience. I think we'll take it to six months, see how his adolescent jerk phase goes and take it from there.
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Jul 24, 2012 19:15
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guarded by bees posted:What are the reasons to hold off on neutering? I see a lot of this where I live, but no one has given me a consistent answer. Is it better for their health, or is it important for something else? Re: the jumping/hopping, you're fine, I wouldn't worry about it. As far as the neutering goes, as you can see, I'm not sure there's a consensus among the vet community about which way is preferred right now. If you see a lot of intact dogs in your neighborhood, though, I would be flat out astonished if that were because they were well informed owners. All of the vets I have talked to have recommended early spays at this point, for what it's worth. ALL: Do you have a link to the source for the osteosarcoma stuff? I'd like to read more.
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Jul 24, 2012 20:11
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MrFurious posted:Re: the jumping/hopping, you're fine, I wouldn't worry about it. Here's a link: http://www.naiaonline.org/pdfs/LongTermHealthEffectsOfSpayNeuterInDogs.pdf Some googling around will provide you with a few more.
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Jul 24, 2012 20:52
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The dogs I've had neutered early ended up shaped weird as hell. The ones who were neutered post-18 months or so did not end up "weird" even if they were still structured poorly. There is a certain lanky, awkward, underdeveloped look I notice in male dogs who are neutered as puppies. Most pet owners will most likely not notice or give a crap, especially with a mutt puppy, so V0V And then there's all that bone stuff~
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Jul 25, 2012 02:18
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Superconsndar posted:Most pet owners will most likely not notice or give a crap, especially with a mutt puppy, so V0V Except I do give a crap. We had no control over his genetics, we have no idea what he will be susceptible to later in life- we don't even know what his parents look like. It wasn't like there was some pedigree we could pore over before keeping him. So it is really, really, REALLY important that we do the best we can with what we are able to control and if waiting to do a later neuter means he develops as best as possible then that would be the right option.
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Jul 25, 2012 02:38
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Superconsndar posted:The dogs I've had neutered early ended up shaped weird as hell. The ones who were neutered post-18 months or so did not end up "weird" even if they were still structured poorly. There is a certain lanky, awkward, underdeveloped look I notice in male dogs who are neutered as puppies. Most pet owners will most likely not notice or give a crap, especially with a mutt puppy, so V0V Do you have any phographiv examples?
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Jul 25, 2012 05:48
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nesbit37 posted:Our vet is urging us to spay before first heat because the risk of mammary cancer goes up a fair bit if you wait until after, apparently. I don't know if there are other risks involved with neutering/spaying by a certain date, but we were also concerned about growth problems if doing it too early. TVs Ian posted:Frankly, a bitch in heat is ten times more nightmarish than an intact male, in my experience. Crooked Booty posted:1) A dog can get a bitch pregnant in the blink of an eye, so that's a year of never being off leash at dog parks, the lake, hiking, etc. I've known people whose dogs have knocked up a bitch while both animals were on leashes, just because the owners were distracted talking. It happens. My first dog an intact male did develop a non-malignant testicular tumor after turning ten. He was neutered at the age of eleven with no complications and lived pn for two more years at which point he was put down due to arthritis in his once broken paw.
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Jul 25, 2012 11:38
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Malalol posted:Do you have any phographiv examples? Frankie is a p perfect example but I'll have to post pics later because work. It's not exactly scientific, just "you are lanky and ugly." It's like they get stuck in an awkward teenage dog shape and then proceed to never fill out.
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Jul 25, 2012 11:45
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TVs Ian posted:Except I do give a crap. We had no control over his genetics, we have no idea what he will be susceptible to later in life- we don't even know what his parents look like. It wasn't like there was some pedigree we could pore over before keeping him. Here is an article I read recently that goes through advantages and disadvantages of early neutering.
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Jul 25, 2012 12:38
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6-Ethyl Bearcat posted:Here is an article I read recently that goes through advantages and disadvantages of early neutering. Thank you, that was very interesting. I guess if Frankie is an example of what early neutering does, Lucy is the poster child for late-spaying. But you just can't fix something who came out of the womb so broken Riiseli- It is less the behavioral end of it (we can handle the 'love addled' brainlessness etc) but more the mess control. Tonka went in to heat about 2 weeks before her spay was scheduled and dog panties are a thing I would like to forget forever.... E:spel
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Jul 25, 2012 16:34
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TVs Ian posted:Thank you, that was very interesting. I guess if Frankie is an example of what early neutering does, Lucy is the poster child for late-spaying. But you just can't fix something who came out of the womb so broken This article about neutering is in the PI rules post and I found it very informative. Personally I think its something that is between you and your vet to decide and you shouldn't feel pressured either way by what internet dog ladies have to say about it. By all means be as informed as possible, but there are a lot of ~feelings~ about neutering right now so try not to get caught up in it all. Instant Jellyfish fucked around with this message at 18:22 on Jul 25, 2012 |
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Jul 25, 2012 16:50
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These articles & studies are really insightful, and are giving me a lot to think about. I never realized that there would be negatives to altering an dog, so it's a little mind blowing. I'm glad that I have a few months before I need to make the decision (at the earliest) for Reggie, hopefully I can get even more information from his vet. He's got "sit" nailed! It's pretty exciting to see things start to stick as I work on them with him. He tries so hard to figure out what I'm asking for, it's sweet. He's also figured out that if he tries to bounce after the cats he'll get picked up, so he's started to sit down or lay down as soon as he sees them. Hopefully this is a good direction. I'm a little reluctant to have him meet more people because of his cough, is this a stupid over-protective feeling? The vet suggested keeping up with his meeting people, but to go with people who don't have dogs for now due to the cough. Do you guys have any extra suggestions on how to go about protecting him, but keeping up his socialization with people? I don't want to inadvertently infect another animal, but I don't want him to miss out during this critical time either.
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Jul 25, 2012 18:12
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TVs Ian posted:Riiseli- It is less the behavioral end of it (we can handle the 'love addled' brainlessness etc) but more the mess control. Tonka went in to heat about 2 weeks before her spay was scheduled and dog panties are a thing I would like to forget forever....
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Jul 25, 2012 23:14
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Follow your vets advice. Socialization at this stage is utterly critical to the long term health of your dog, in my opinion. In regards to the neutering stuff, just to clarify, the argument is over when not if.
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Jul 27, 2012 01:33
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MrFurious posted:Follow your vets advice. Socialization at this stage is utterly critical to the long term health of your dog, in my opinion. He's definitely going to be neutered. No unaltered dogs for me. It's just interesting to hear about postponing as positive, I've always been told that the earlier the better for dogs -- as long as it's not unsafely early. I've got him signed up for Puppy Kindergarten for socialization. It starts in 2 weeks, so as long as his cough is gone by then he should be good to go. If not I'll pop him into the next class.
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Jul 27, 2012 01:50
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So after two lovely weeks of Shanti not noticing the litterbox... The day has come that he has discovered the wonders of cat poo. I looked away for two seconds today to find him IN THE LITTERBOX digging for gold. Needless to say, I don't want him eating cat poo or litter, especially since it's clumping litter! Any ideas on how to deter him from the box? Maybe a giant Rubbermaid with a hole cut in the lid?
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Jul 27, 2012 02:11
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uptown posted:So after two lovely weeks of Shanti not noticing the litterbox... The day has come that he has discovered the wonders of cat poo. I looked away for two seconds today to find him IN THE LITTERBOX digging for gold. Needless to say, I don't want him eating cat poo or litter, especially since it's clumping litter! Any ideas on how to deter him from the box? Maybe a giant Rubbermaid with a hole cut in the lid? Yeah, fashion some sort of doorway that the cat(s) can get through but the dog can't. Baby gates cats can jump over/crawl under or smaller holes for them to fit through should work. You'll probably not have much luck training the dog not to eat the poop since he'll be free to help himself when your back is turned.
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Jul 27, 2012 04:24
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guarded by bees posted:I've got him signed up for Puppy Kindergarten for socialization. It starts in 2 weeks, so as long as his cough is gone by then he should be good to go. If not I'll pop him into the next class.
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Jul 27, 2012 06:53
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uptown posted:So after two lovely weeks of Shanti not noticing the litterbox... The day has come that he has discovered the wonders of cat poo. I looked away for two seconds today to find him IN THE LITTERBOX digging for gold. Needless to say, I don't want him eating cat poo or litter, especially since it's clumping litter! Any ideas on how to deter him from the box? Maybe a giant Rubbermaid with a hole cut in the lid? I have one of these things. It's pretty bitchin' with the zig zag doors so dogs can't get in.
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Jul 27, 2012 08:05
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That's a really attractive future option, however I just can't afford it right now - Shipping, etc. to Canada jacks the price up to $221.20. --- This isn't even much of a question, I'm just typing it to complain... So last night and this morning, he has decided that he HATES the crate. He was waking me up every hour whining and barking, and I'm not sure why... He hasn't had any accidents in there, he gets lots of yummy treats in there, and usually he just sleeps pretty well through the night with barely any whining. So wtf happened? Gah. uptown fucked around with this message at 16:48 on Jul 27, 2012 |
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Jul 27, 2012 16:40
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Riiseli posted:For kennel cough you'll want to stay away from any classes for two weeks after the symptoms are gone. It's annoying, but you don't want to possibly ruin other participants' socialization. TyTy flew to Finland, got a cough (I'm glad my two other dogs didn't show any symptoms) in January and after that we had to lay low for a couple more weeks as Healy was pregnant. After the precautionary period was over we did resume our occasional walks with our trusted friends. Ahhh, ok. This makes so much sense and I'm embarrassed that it didn't even cross my mind. I am starting to feel like his cough is never going to go away. He's been on antibiotics since Tuesday, but there's been no real change in the coughing.He had an accident in his crate because I made him wait a moment while I went to the bathroom, I feel so bad. He's also started to really whine while in his crate, and it doesn't matter how positive I make it for him. Give him super high value treats, a kong with peanut butter in it, his favorite toy, sit and whisper to him before naptime -- none of it matters if he notices that I walk away. He whines and sounds like I'm killing him. I feel hopeless and horrible at this today. Maybe this is a normal first-week hump. On the positive side, we're practicing with his harness. He ignores it once it's on, so we need to work on ignoring it while I'm putting it on. He also ignores the leash while it's dragging around behind him, but if I touch it he plays with it for a while. It has been really great to loop it around my ankle while he plays and I work, but I really need to get him comfortable with self-entertainment in the x-pen soon.
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Jul 27, 2012 18:27
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Just chiming into say thank you for the crate game recommendation. It's done quite a bit to make her more accustomed to the crate. I've also forced her to relax before I let her out. She's getting more comfortable with it, but we're still not quite there yet. Last night I only had to hear whining for one minute before she passed out. Crate games rule, Ceasar Milan was kind of useless.
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Jul 27, 2012 18:35
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Veskit posted:Just chiming into say thank you for the crate game recommendation. It's done quite a bit to make her more accustomed to the crate. I've also forced her to relax before I let her out. She's getting more comfortable with it, but we're still not quite there yet. Last night I only had to hear whining for one minute before she passed out. You'll find that that's the general consensus around here. I suggest, if you want to get a little bit of a better insight as to why that's the case, that you read "The Culture Clash" (http://www.amazon.com/The-Culture-Clash-Revolutionary-Understanding/dp/1888047054). It explains a lot of why dogs operate the way they do, how we can get the best out of them, and how to understand your dog. I was already pretty far past the point of disliking Ceasar Milan when I read the book, but I still really got a lot out of reading it.
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Jul 27, 2012 18:39
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nevermind.
A Magical Unicorn fucked around with this message at 11:31 on Jul 29, 2012 |
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Jul 28, 2012 12:59
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A Magical Unicorn posted:A few pages back I asked about buying a pair of Huskies without papers, and was advised it was a really dumb idea, so I dropped it. Stop. Post breeder website.
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Jul 28, 2012 13:03
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nevermind.
A Magical Unicorn fucked around with this message at 11:32 on Jul 29, 2012 |
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Jul 28, 2012 13:10
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A Magical Unicorn posted:Um, why? Because you probably found another byb or a lovely breeder who sounds decent but upon further inspection just throws together two dogs and has multiple litters a year. There are plenty of huskies and husky mixes in shelters (and while I'm not a DON'T BREED OR BUY WHILE SHELTER PETS DIE type)I don't understand why you want a dog with "papers" only.
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Jul 28, 2012 13:20
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nevermind.
A Magical Unicorn fucked around with this message at 11:32 on Jul 29, 2012 |
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Jul 28, 2012 13:33
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A Magical Unicorn posted:I did a lot of reading after my first post - fool me once etc. This is the first litter the breeder in question has had in 2 years (she's been breeding them for 20), and without being asked she happily spoke about the bloodlines of the parents back several generations and why she bred them together. What does she do with her dogs (work, conformation showing, etc) and what genetic health testing does she do?
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Jul 28, 2012 13:36
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A Magical Unicorn posted:I just like seeing the parents and having a good idea what the pup's history is (and if there have been medical problems in the line). Going by the Rescue associations, rescue huskies don't seem terribly common in my part of Australia. You should get this husky x shar pei.   Look at those wittle ears! I assume you've found Winterpaws Rescue, there's also a couple husky mixes on Petrescue. People transport dogs from NSW to QLD pretty commonly so I wouldn't be discouraged if there are few in your state. Although if you wanted a Dane you'd be set. 
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Jul 28, 2012 15:39
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A Magical Unicorn posted:Um, why? Why would you not post the website? Just here to brag you personally did so well that you don't value opinions anymore? Post the site to quell the suspisions.
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Jul 28, 2012 17:17
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uptown posted:So last night and this morning, he has decided that he HATES the crate. He was waking me up every hour whining and barking, and I'm not sure why... He hasn't had any accidents in there, he gets lots of yummy treats in there, and usually he just sleeps pretty well through the night with barely any whining. So wtf happened? Gah. Are you responding when he whines/barks in the crate? Any response is an encouragement to continue, so no scolding or going to see what he needs or giving treats in response to whines. If it's not take-out time, ignoring the noise helped with my puppy.
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Jul 28, 2012 20:18
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dreamcatcherkwe posted:Are you responding when he whines/barks in the crate? Any response is an encouragement to continue, so no scolding or going to see what he needs or giving treats in response to whines. If it's not take-out time, ignoring the noise helped with my puppy. Nope, I'm surprisingly good with crating even though his whines are heartbreaking... I think he was just being a brat that night because he had a fun-filled day and then napped too long, so he was just awakey all night. Last night he barked a bit, but quieted down mighty quick. Hurray! Today's mission: Buy a large Rubbermaid to make into a litterbox.
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Jul 28, 2012 20:31
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Apologies if this has been posted elsewhere- I have searched and read through what is already here, but all the info seems to apply to puppies. I have a Brittney that I recently got from the Humane Society. He is about 2 years old. He is generally a good dog but we have recently had a few issues with his housetraining. At this point I should add that his previous owner had dementia, lived in an apartment and pretty much never took him out. I have no idea what she encouraged or at least did not discourage. When we first got him, he pooped on the floor in our spare bedroom. We thought this could be because the house was new and he did indeed stop doing it. On Tuesday just gone, we took him to the vet and got him neutered. Since then, he has been peeing and pooping on the floor in the spare room again almost every day. I have done some reading and we will get some enzyme remover but otherwise I am not sure what else to do. Take today for example: He went for a walk first thing this morning. He "marked his territory" as he went but nothing more. He spent most of the day tied on his chain in the yard (we have a chain attached to the washing line so he can run around outside in nice weather). He then went for another walk in the early afternoon. Between about 8am and 2pm he spent most of the day outside. On both his walks, we took him to grassy areas and stayed there for a while hoping he would poop. We took him to quiet areas so there would be no stimuli to distract him. Nothing. Eventually we came back and he came inside because it was hot out. Within about 45 minutes he had both peed and pooped on the floor. Like he was holding it. Most information seems to be about how to housetrain a puppy. He doesn't need to go every 3 hours and holy poo poo can he hold it if he wants to. We carry treats to reward him pooping outside, but he holds it in. Not that he likes food that much- he eats treats but doesn't care enough to work for them. We also try praise and whatever else we can think of. How do we go about : A) Getting him to go outside? B) Getting him not to go inside? Once we have this down, we will train him to ring a bell or something but until then, we need to teach him what he would be ringing the bell for. Any suggestions? Oh and here is the dog in question, though he has been groomed a fair bit since this picture! 
Yuncemil fucked around with this message at 04:41 on Jul 29, 2012 |
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Jul 29, 2012 04:27
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I'd recommend tethering him to you, if it's been awhile since he has eliminated and he has maybe even already refused to go outdoors. It's quite possible he'd rather do his business alone and without a leash and the only time he gets a chance to do so is when you come indoors. Removing this change via tethering can make a big difference. I once had a 9 month old farm puppy hold it for 15hrs, because she refused to go on a leash, when she finally did there was no issues after that as she was already housebroken. You also want to remember he's recovering from a surgery, sure it's a minor surgery, but it can affect his behavior as can an e collar, if he's wearing one. I got a 7 month old (so her behavior wasn't based on years of repetition) house trained in a week and a half in December. I have a small apartment, which helps as there's nowhere to hide, and I did actually scold her for peeing indoors, which did help. She's a BC and wants to please me, so she'd rather do something that makes me happy instead of something that makes me unhappy with her. It was definitely the fastest way to her what I wanted and didn't want. I won't recommend this method to just about anyone as it requires a young and impressionable mind and relatively small living quarters.
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Jul 29, 2012 06:45
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