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Looking for advice re: our new puppy

Adaph

Active member
Well, I've lasted three days, but I now have questions!
We collected Darcy on Saturday, he is 19 weeks old.
He has settled in very well, he is great at night, he is sleeping in the kitchen and we don't hear a peep from him. He hasn't had any accidents on the floor either, I'm amazed!

I took him to the vet yesterday for a checkup. The vet couldn't work out exactly what injections he has already had, so felt it was best to start out as though he hasn't had any, although we were told he'd had virtually all of them, I felt I should trust the vets judgement though.
He also gave me worm tablets for him as I don't know when he was last wormed.

Literally up until the time he went to the vets he has eaten his meals with gusto, but since yesterday lunchtime he hasn't been interested in food. I managed to coax him with his lunch yesterday, his last meal yesterday he wasn't interested in, this morning I got a bit of food down him including his worm tablets, but just given him his lunch again and he hasn' touched it.
I am using the food the breeder gave us so it is what he is used to.

The other thing, I don't have anything to compare him to, but he seems such a placid, quiet dog. I expected a puppy to be scampering around all over the place, but he is quite subdued, that hasn't changed since we got home, he was like that from the beginning.

Is it just an adjustment period do you think? I get down on the floor and play with him, but if I sit on the floor, all he wants to do is sit on my lap rather than bound about. Perhaps this is normal, its just this is my first cavalier, I grew up with Golden retrievers, quite a different type of dog!!
Then if I am not paying him attention whilst I am doing something in the house, he just goes and lays on his bed. Now, I am not complaining, I don't want a wild little thing, but just wanted to check if this is normal or not.

OK, sorry for the long post, I just want to be the best possible mummy I can for him so I guess I am probably over worrying about everything.

Thanks for reading
 
I would say Darcy is probably still getting used to his new home and the new environment. Now he has left his mother and litter mates he is probably feeling a bit vulnerable. Sally did exactly the same thing and would not eat and enjoyed sitting in her bed. I kept saying this to the vet over a few weeks and he kept telling me she would come round eventually. Sure enough she did. We gave her lots of toys and kept her busy with the toilet training and provided lots of praise for doing things right and gave a few light treats. Darcy will soon understand he has a new home and will settle in and then I'm sure there will be no stopping him!! The vet told us even something as small as a change in bowl can stop a puppy from feeding. We changed the food eventually from Eukanuba to James Wellbeloved mixed with Naturediet and now she loves her dinner. I'm sure you'll both get used to each other soon and things will fall into place. Others on here will have some good advice for you. Let us know how you get on
 
When I brought my Maverick home at 6 months old he was very quiet just like your puppy. He slept a lot too. Now he's 8 months and bouncing off the wall and runs like a mad man. I think getting adopted is very stressful on them.
 
The first few days Barkley was home at age 13 weeks, he was an ANGEL puppy and did nothing wrong, he didn't even "go" in the house. Now that he feels right at home, he is sometimes a little devil and we are having housetraining "issues" LOL!

If the pup is still really laid back after a few more days, I'd take it to the vet.
 
Is it possible to ask the breeder what vaccines he has had? I wouldn't be happy to double up on vaccines unless there was no way I could find out what had been given before.

3 days is early days, he may be very placid or need time to come out of his shell. What was he like at the breeders?
 
I agree with Pauline. Doubling up on vaccines can be very toxic and can even cause seizures in dogs. You need to find out from the breeder what shots have been administered and then proceed cautiously.
 
Yes, I would most definetely try to get in writing what vaccines your pup has had. I wouldn't want to do them over.

My vet told me give a new addition at least two weeks to settle in and feel at home to show themselves.
 
I'm actually surprised the breeder didn't give you all the immunization and worming records. Barkley's breeder gave me a nice folder already filled in that I can record his medical records on for the rest of his life. I simply took that to the vet. He also came with a state health certificate, but maybe that is only Florida law??
 
I was gonna say the same too -- They should have given you a folder with all the immunization records. Will it be possible to contact your breeder and ask?
 
my puppy was very sleepy for the rest of the day after he had his injections (unusual as he was a nutter as a puppy)
 
If you aren't sure what vaccines he was given, you might be able to have him titered for certain things (parvo, distemper) to see if he's already had the vaccinations.

I don't know a lot about titering, and if you can even titer a puppy at that age, but I'm sure some more experienced board members would know. If his behavior changed immediately after the vaccines, I would think that that might be the cause. I would especially be concerned about giving the rabies vaccine twice in such a short period of time - it seems dangerous...

I would certainly talk to your vet about other options besides possibly "doubling up" on vaccines if you're unsure about his past. As other people have said, the vaccines are so strong as it is, it would probably be a shock to their system to have them done twice...

I know vaccines are a controversial issue, but Miles only had a single parvo and a single distemper vaccine (separately) when he was little, plus the rabies vaccine at 6 months after I got him - before that he was on homeopathic nosodes. Now he's done for a while, since he will be titered yearly and only receive the vaccines if and when he really needs them (hopefully never again! - except for rabies). Good luck, let us know how he's doing! :flwr:
 
We don't give rabies shots in Ireland.

Usually breeders give a 7 in 1 shot OR a parvo shot themselves. The vets usually start again as a 7 in 1 won't take in a puppy so young and they generally can't be sure of the parvo shot.

Breeder should have given you a vaccination card.

I would go back to the vet tomorrow and have your puppy checked out to be on the safe side.
 
The breeder should definitely have given you a vax card, with full information on his vaccines, and gone over this with you. It is a lot of pressure on a puppy's immune system to put him thru vaccines all over again if he's just had them -- I'd call the breeder immediately and check this information. Most breeders should have homed a puppy wih a vax card that clearly indicates what has been given so get this from the breeder as it looks like they forgot to hand it to you. I am sure they will fill you in on details. (y) I am also sure a uppy from a reputable breeder will have had his whole series already.

On his being subdued -- that may well be because he's a bit overwhelmed but even so, yes, it would be kind of unusual in a puppy this young, they are normally very outgoing and lively, but all individual dogs of any breed vary, though all puppies of all breeds are pretty much the same in behaviour. If the vet has confirmed there are no health issues causing this, than you may just have a very quiet dog. Or he may come out of his shell after a few days of settling in -- changing houses is very stressful for most animals initially. What was he like at the breeders? Also be aware all IKC breeders are required to microchip their puppies and you will need to arrange with the breeder to change that info to your own or else only the breeder will be listed as an owner if the dog ever is found and scanned. An awful lot of dogs coming in to the pound now are chipped to the breeder (and sadly from breeders who don't have a policy of always taking back their own dogs -- they are quite happy often to leave them to their fate in the pound! :mad:) -- so it is really important to get the data changed. (y)
 
On parvo, distemper and vaccinations: there were recently a whole spate of deaths of dogs in Arizona from parvo, including dogs given the weaker form of parvo vax and young dogs exposed to this who hadn't had their one year booster also died. Several breeders on the main CKCS breeder list posted about their own parvo experiences and some reiterated that puppies with only the initial puppy series can die if exposed to a particularly bad version of parvo -- they will not have adequate immunity. They may have no immunity at all to parvo or distemper if never given the booster at age one.

Usually a single puppy shot won't have given immunity for a puppy, either; they need at least two, two weeks apart (with some types it is three). This is because if they are still protected by mom's antibodies when vaccinated that one time, the vax will have no effect and soon mom's antibodies will wear off and you have a totally exposed puppy. A single puppy shot also in all lkelihood will not protect them for life, just as a single measles vax will not protect a child -- the booster is essential at one year for a dog or the immunity is lost. Nosodes are clinically unproven. Parvo remains one of the top killers of puppies (and it is a painful, horrible drawn out death) and virulent strains of parvo are not stopped by some low dose vaccine formulations at least not before the first annual booster.

That is a choice many do make, but just be aware that there is risk. (y)

Titering is a rough approximation -- not clinically accurate for measuring immunity -- it sometimes shows immunity when there is none, and vice versa. I looked into it at one point but was not satisfied with its ability to indicate safe levels of antibodies.

On the general rabies point -- US states actually require rabies vaccines as a public, human health issue. It is the law in every state that dogs must be vaccinated against this. Unfortunately most require it more often then it actually seems to be needed but more are accepting a three year shot and not an annual one. We don't have rabies in Ireland or the UK so we don't need rabies shots here. :)
 
Morning all, well I am a lot more relieved this morning.
We have had skirting board chewing, laundry stealing and toe chewing all this morning, so I think the puppy behaviour I had expected is starting to show itself! He seems a lot more lively in his demeanour so that is great.
He still isn't fussed over food, he gets all excited as I bring the bowl over, sniffs it then walks away! I guess one step at a time, if I hand him a bit he eats it so it isn't that he doesn't like it, and it is what he is used to anyway.

As for the vaccinations, I am still worried about this one, but will go back to the vets today. I was in contact with the breeder and the breeders vets yesterday, and it turns out he has had his injections, like I thought.
I am really worried now that the extra injections the vet gave him on Monday will have had an adverse effect on him. I am cross in a way with myself and with my vet. With myself because I didn't have the confidence to say no I do believe he has had them, let me check it out and get back to you, he just sewed seeds of doubt in my head and kind of bomarded me into him having more injections. I will go back and talk to them today, at least now I can make sure he has no more.
In fairness, the card we got from the breeders vet did not have the info about injections on it, all it talked about was the microchip, and a date when one of his boosters was required. When i spoke to that vets yesterday I asked them to send me a completed vaccinations card.
The fact he is back to his lively self that we saw at the breeders is reassuring me that he seems to be ok following the injections, but will go and speak to the vet today anyway.

Thank you so much for your help. I am always worried that I am going to sound so totally clueless when I post on here because you are all so knowledgeable. I guess knowledge takes time and experience! Something so many of you seem to have in abundance!!
 
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