A Few Concerns - What To Do??

Hi everyone, havn't been on for a while what with xmas etc!! Hope you all had a good one?

I have a few concerns/worries about my little Bailey!
Firstly he hates going out on his lead he just sits on his bum and I have to basically drag him which I hate having to do!! He's still only tiny he was 16 weeks yesterday and only weighs 3.2kg (is this weight ok or on the small side)?? Another thing is when we take him out he shivers and shakes like he's freezing cold, he has little jumpers to wear but I'd like to get him something warmer with the D-rings on the back to attach his lead to, having trouble finding them though! and to top it all off his cough has come back too, he hasn't been for a walk since last friday so I don't think it's because he got a cold, but he does go out on our balcony when Charlie goes into the garden (Baileys too scared to go down the steps yet). Should I keep him in untill this coughs gone? i'm just worried that he should be out exploring and meeting others.

I'm gonna make an apt with the vets on Monday to get it checked out again.

Also he's been pooing for England!! about every hour or so (is this normal)? they're semi firm ones!! He was on JWB but I switched them both back to RC Sensible thinking this may help his tummy, while they have firmed up he's still going lots! I do have the RC puppy but if I feed them different food they just steel each others so if it's ok to feed them the same I'd prefer this but I don't know which one would be most suitable, Charlie's 18 months now but does have a sensitive tummy which is why I have the RC Sensible - is this ok for Bailey??

I feel really lost as to what to do for the best here so any advice or suggestions would be really appreciated and sorry for such a long one!!

Thanks everyone

Forgot to mention Bailey has 25g of food 3 times a day

estelle said:

Forgot to mention Bailey has 25g of food 3 times a day

Click to expand...

Thats seems quite a lot to me - might be the reason he is pooing so much - but then again he is only 16 weeks old and they do poo and wee a lot when they are little

I've been following what it say's on the packet

On the RC Mini Junior pack it say's for 3kg at 4 months feed 75g per day but he's nearly 4kg which says to feed 95g per day???

On the Mini Sensible it says for a 4kg dog that gets no excercise is neutered or over 8 then feed 75g
for a dog that gets 1hr excercise feed 85g and for a dog that gets 2hrs excercise feed 100g

I'm confused!!!

They always recommend more (so that you spend more!)

I'm no expert.....could he be ready for just two meals a day (that way it looks a bit more in the bowl so you aren't inclined to overfeed ) - that way whats only going in twice is only going to come out twice

Sounds good!!

My vet said that he needs to be 6 months before I can reduce him to 2 meals??

Do you think the RC Sensible is ok for him?

In general a puppy should be eating about a cup of food every day, spread out over 3 meals at his age. He shouldn't be poohing constantly -- are you keeping food on the ground all day or limiting to specific meals? He should only be fed three times daily and only give him 10 minutes to eat. Don;t worry about the amounts on the back of food packages -- it should work out to about the size of a coffee mug divided into the right number of meals. If he doesn't eat all that, it's fine. Why are you feeding the RC sensible diet instead of the normal RC small breed diet? Is he having a lot of gastric issues? If he has regular stomach problems I'd maybe try him on James Wellbeloved which in my experience is better for gastric problem dogs than RC. Otherwise I would put him on the normal RC. Some puppies can go to two meals if they are not interested in a third but if he is eating them, keep him on three.

Are you beginning to work to housetrain so that he isn;t just allowed to go whenever he wants? You need to be structuring his visits outside and helping him learn to control the frequency with which he goes, and where he goes. I suggest buying Shirlee Kalstone's book on housetraining from Amazon.co.uk immediately.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0553382896/

If he is coughing, you need to get him to a vet right away. Puppies can go downhill very quickly with respiratory problems and the fact that this keeps recurring indicates something more serious may be going on -- a respiratory infection, kennel cough, etc. I'd at least call your vet for advice on if they think he shopuld be brought in right away. Given his poor health history I would not wait. Also your vet is the best person to ask about whether your dog is at a healthy weight. This varies completely from puppy to puppy and depends on the puppy's build.

He likely doesn't have enough coat at 16 weeks to stay warm outside, nor the fat nor the metabolism. Limit his time outside and keep him in a coat if he's shivering -- not least because he has generally had a poor start and had health issues from early on. He will not have the best immune system as is. You can buy a harness and just set it so that it will go over the coat rather than worrying about a coat with an opening for a harness. I always just put harnesses on over their coats.

I'd also suggest buying Dr Ian Dunbar's manual on 'before and after you get your puppy' also from Amazon. A basic manual like this will help answer questions on health, feeding and housetraining issues and generallygives people a lot more confidence and comfort in managing a new puppy because there's excellent advice in those pages.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Before-Afte...=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1198935743&sr=1-1

Never, ever drag a dog on a lead, especially not a puppy. This will only make him even MORE fearful and cause greater problems. He is very young still, remember, and you need to *train* him to do this. The Dunbar book will offer advice on how to train a young puppy to be comfortable with a lead but most are not to start with.

I fed my to on RC mini junior and they were fine. Is the sensible one just lower fat?

I reduced Merlin down earlier to 2 meals as he was such a finnicky eater. Oakley quite quickly went off his breakfast so he was on 2 meals at about 5 months - he stayed on two meals for months up until he was about 10 months and then he went on one a day.

There are people that feed twice a day because they find that their dogs are better on two meals. If he is eating what you put down for him then I wouldn't worry, he'll soon let you know when you need to drop a meal.

I will try to answer you, but my English …. Sorry for that.

I know what I want say in German, I hope you understand, what I mean.

Firstly he hates going out on his lead he just sits on his bum and I have to basically drag him which I hate having to do!!

Click to expand...

Than show him, that his lead are very good! Give action to him on the lead. Applaud him, when he goes little steps with his lead!

Another thing is when we take him out he shivers and shakes like he's freezing cold, he has little jumpers to wear but I'd like to get him something warmer with the D-rings on the back to attach his lead to, having trouble finding them though!

Click to expand...

It is possible that he is afraid about the whole large world outside, and so he shivers and shakes. Show him the large world; show him that many thinks are harmless.
And also you must train, that he coming back, when you calling to him.

and to top it all off his cough has come back too, he hasn't been for a walk since last friday so I don't think it's because he got a cold, but he does go out on our balcony when Charlie goes into the garden (Baileys too scared to go down the steps yet). Should I keep him in untill this coughs gone? i'm just worried that he should be out exploring and meeting others.

Click to expand...

Oh, he is sick? Than use for a few days a coat for him! Made him a little scarf!

Thanks for all the replies,

Karlin, They were both on the JWB but they didn't seem to like it and when Bailey's poos became really soft and sometimes runny I thought it was maybe the food, and as Charlie has frequent tummy upsets i though the RC Sensible would be a good choice for both. Now they're both on that they eat it immediately! and try to hang around for more! I think they definately both prefer RC maybe because it's more moist??

He was doing really well with his housetraining but just lately it's all gone to pot!! maybe because he's needing to go more often and can't hold it?? I spend most of my time in the kitchen which is where the back door is and whenever he starts circling etc I put him out.

Although he's coughing he's still really spritley just like he's always been even at the start when he was really poorly, and he's still got a good appetite and drinks plenty, but I'm still going to see the vet hopefully Monday? if not then asap

I just don't know why he's pooing sooo much? the little buggers just done another while i've been typing!!!

Merlinsmum, The RC Sensible is for sensitive tummys

I agree with what everyone else says, especially the fact that puppies are a bottomless poo factory!

I want to emphasize putting a harness on him, whether it is over or under the coat, don't walk him on a collar, walk him on a harness. You might already by doing that, but I wasn't sure. Mine won't walk on collar and it's too tough on their necks.

You need to be taking him out and staying with him, ideally taking him on lead and harness, not putting him out, especially at this very young age. If you are letting him out whenever he feels like going he is never going to learn to hold himself, one of the goals of housetraining. I really, really recommend getting the Kalstone book as she makes all this very easy.

If the sensible (sensitive) diet works then feed that.

There are two other recent threads in this section on housetraining -- there's advice and links there that should also be helpful.

estelle said:

Firstly he hates going out on his lead he just sits on his bum and I have to basically drag him which I hate having to do!! He's still only tiny he was 16 weeks yesterday

Click to expand...

He could just be tired and doesn't want to walk--at 16 weeks he shouldn't be on lead walking for more than about 20 minutes a day.

Catalina said:

I will try to answer you, but my English …. Sorry for that.

I know what I want say in German, I hope you understand, what I mean.



Than show him, that his lead are very good! Give action to him on the lead. Applaud him, when he goes little steps with his lead!




It is possible that he is afraid about the whole large world outside, and so he shivers and shakes. Show him the large world; show him that many thinks are harmless.
And also you must train, that he coming back, when you calling to him.



Oh, he is sick? Than use for a few days a coat for him! Made him a little scarf!

Click to expand...

Catalina, your English is excellent and so is your advice!

Estelle, the way I've always taught my puppies to walk on lead is to make it LOTS of fun. I talk to them in a high sing-song voice (the way you'd talk to a baby person) and throw small treats on the ground in front of them and praise, praise, praise each little step.

You will likely feel like a fool at first, but that's okay! Once you get used to it it's kind of fun. To this day, when the dogs aren't necessarily paying attention as they should, I switch to that high sing-song voice. It gets their attention every time!

Thanks BarbMazz. In german i can explain it very good, but in english you are better

We mean the same thing!

In Germany we say about the sing-song voice: When the other people think you are very crazy, than you do it right.

Alfie had a very sensative tummy and in the end the vet gave him RC puppy sensative digest (I could only find this available at the vets or on petmed.co.uk). I feed my boys seperatley one in the kitchen the other in the dining room, Harvey is well trained and has been told to leave Alfies bowl but Alfie Asbo has had trouble learning anything so would just dive into Harveys bowl.

Catalina said:

Thanks BarbMazz. In german i can explain it very good, but in english you are better

We mean the same thing!

In Germany we say about the sing-song voice: When the other people think you are very crazy, than you do it right.

Click to expand...

Yes! The dogs just love that high, silly voice.

I am of German heritage; my grandfather came from a town named Itsaho (not sure if that is the correct spelling). I've not been to Germany yet, but I will someday.

oooh really??

The spelling of this city is: Itzehoe. It is in the near of Hamburg (North Sea).
I live in Gera, East of Germany.

Catalina said:

oooh really??

The spelling of this city is: Itzehoe. It is in the near of Hamburg (North Sea).
I live in Gera, East of Germany.

Click to expand...

Thank you, Cata... that's good to know.

When the other people think you are very crazy, than you do it right.

Click to expand...

:rotfl: So true!