New OES puppy; many questions ...
1. When I bring him home, should I put him in a box, or on the passenger seat floor on a blanket, or ... ? 2. I plan to do crate training, but I am nervous about it. How big should the crate be? Is the 42-inch model too big? Should I let him have run of the whole crate from Day 1, or use the divider until he gets bigger? 3. In the crate - puppy pads? Newspaper? A blanket? I've said all sorts of answers, and no consensus. 4. I work during the day, but I will come home for lunch for at least a few weeks. If I leave a Kong with dog treats in his care, will he be okay for a few hours? I am also planning to take at least one day of vacation after I get home so he isn't immediately abandoned. 5. What kind of food do you recommend? My breeder feeds her dogs raw food, but she said she will wean Bob to kibble a few weeks before I pick him up. A vet friend I know said to feed him adult food from the beginning so his bones don't grow too fast - first time I ever heard that. Thanks for your help - and I look forward to sharing my adventures soon! - David |
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| 1. If you can't put a crate in the car (best way), have someone hold him. Loose puppies cause problems...and I assure you the box won't hold him. Person could have a towel or blanket for fear of liquid emissions. 2. A 42 inch crate is way too big initially. Portion it off . 3. Line with whatever you can wash or discard. I guarantee there will be messes in there for awhile since few puppies can wait 4 or so hours for you to come home for lunch. Clean as soon as possible. 4. There will be some crying/barking,hope you neighbors don't mind. Probably puppy will sleep a lot. Smaller Kong initially since the mouth isn't very big. PB may cause tummy problems, start with a small smear. 5. Sorry you can't stay with raw feed. But with kibble you start with large puppy type for the extra nutrients. The plain puppy food is designed for all puppies no matter the ultimate size. So a pug, which matures faster than a sheepdog eat the same.....no. The large breed puppy food isn't as intense as the generall puppy food. Stay with it for as long as possible.....some here say a year, others say start to wean after 6-8 months. I'm kinda in the latter side...often the dogs themselves weaned off as they didn't like the kibble size or whatever turned them off. (and there were some who wanted the cat food instead......duh, lots of protein) |
| I would recommend someone riding along to hold your new little puppy in their lap. Bring along paper towels in case he gets car sick. I think your puppy would feel more secure this way. Hopefully you won't have too long of a drive initially. We drove about 45 minutes with ours at 8 weeks old and she did well. Got a little squirmy towards the end of the trip. Also expect some accidents when you first go back to work. My puppy couldn't hold her bladder for very long at all the first few weeks we had her home. About 3 hours at the most during the day and even then we would sometimes come home to a wet mess in her crate. Just don't get discouraged. We started out with a 42 inch wire crate with a divider and by about 5-6 months she didn't need the divider anymore and loved stretching out. She is now 1 year old and fitting nicely in the same crate. Enjoy your puppy!!!! |
| Oh and we used large breed puppy Blue Buffalo for the first 10 months and then switched to the adult food. She loves it!!!! |
| Thanks for the suggestions - I already feel very welcomed here! I live about three hours from the breeder, so we will have a long ride home. I will plan on stopping every hour or so for a walk - I know the roads, and there will be places for that. I will also try to find someone to go with me. I would hate to welcome my puppy by putting him in a kennel for three hours! Regarding the crate (again), does anyone use training pads or newspaper? Do you put those in the crate, or just outside, or all over the house, or ... ? Two more questions, if you don't mind: 1. Collar and leash - A friend of mine uses collars that don't go around the neck, while other friends use the traditional collars. Is there a standard recommendation out there? 2. Feeding - I work with a veterinarian, and he said to elevate the food dish. Does anyone else do that? If so, how high off the floor? Again, many thanks! |
Collars - an adustable collar is good. And this is the time to get the cute or fun one, as pretty soon the hair will be too long for the collar to show...  . I often wonder why I bother getting fun ones; I guess it's mostly for me, as I'm the only one who sees what it looks like.As the hair grows, it will be easier to only have him wear a collar when you are going out or using it in the home, as dreadful tangles and mats will form as the hair gets longer. When it happens, you will know! If you plan on keeping the hair short - shaved or a puppy cut - this isn't an issue - unless it gets long between trims. Feeding - there is actually more documentation that raised bowls have a higher incidence of bloat. There is no correlation that the raised bowls cause bloat - just that more bloat cases are noted in raised bowl feeders than those on the floor. The vet who presented on bloat at the National specialty in NY this past fall gave that data. Good questions!  |
| Welcome. Great name...Bob! I have an 11 month old pup. We brought him home at 8 weeks old. We used a crate and it worked well. It was our first time using a crate with a dog. We will always use one from now on, it just gave us the peace of mind that the pup was not getting into trouble while we slept or was out of the house. And the pup seemed to like it. I also set up a small room 9 x 9 for him with a babygate in the doorway. There was nothing in the room he could distroy. The first time he was in the room I was in the house. I put down a pee pad, but quickly discovered it became chew toy. In the end, that room was a safe play room where he slept sometimes and only used when we were in the house and could not give him 100% of our attention. He had a few accidents in the house, but really they were my fault because I left him too long before taking him outside! I remember using a timer to remind me of potty breaks. You know when you get busy doing things and the time flies by. So to help us with housebreaking we would set the timer for every half hour, then increase the time when he got as older. Housetraining with our pup was quite easy. Nipping was another story! So I guess to answer your question, I would not use pee pads, in the crate I used a large towel. And when you are home just keep taking the little one outside often. Cheer and dance when Bob 'goes' outside. Looking forward to seeing lots of pictures of pup Bob! peg & howie |
| Once again, thank you all for your advice. I am truly overwhelmed by the friendliness and spirit of the folks here, and as I said yesterday, I already feel very welcomed. I just uploaded my first picture of Bob - four days old and undocked. My breeder told me he has been docked, and on Friday he will be two weeks old, so I am eagerly awaiting more pictures - and I hope to meet him a month from today! Meanwhile, the reading, research, shopping, etc. continues ....  |
| Welcome!!! Lol love that pic! |
| re the pic, your pup looks like a born blue puppy! |
| Correct - he is born blue. Other than being grey instead of black, is there anything I should be aware of? |
| What does that mean, born blue? Gray vs black colouring? peg |
| Yes, means born the blue grey color instead of black. It will probably have blue nose and paw pads as well as grey or green eyes. |
| Thanks, I never knew that could happen. Wow. It will be fun to see photos of Bob as he grows up. peg |
| I found some info on "born blue" oes puppies. I had never heard of this before either. Very interesting and apparently not too common. This page talks about them about halfway down and shows pics. http://tolkienoes.com/Seminar_Coat_color.htm |
| Born blue is uncommon because breeders usually select against it as the coloring is not acceptable per the standard (we're quite emphatic about expecting the breed to have a black nose, right? And certain colored eyes and so on). But otherwise there is no significant difference, though I'm told they often grow up to have exceptionally lovely coats. There are some born blue champions out there, so it isn't apparently always easily recognizable in an adult Kristine |
Mad Dog wrote: Born blue is uncommon because breeders usually select against it as the coloring is not acceptable per the standard (we're quite emphatic about expecting the breed to have a black nose, right? And certain colored eyes and so on). But otherwise there is no significant difference, though I'm told they often grow up to have exceptionally lovely coats. There are some born blue champions out there, so it isn't apparently always easily recognizable in an adult Kristine I've always wondered how a born blue got a title.... no where in the standard does it make an exception for their steel blue nose and either grey or green eyes.... plus, oes carry irish white spotting gene and also a greying gene which accounts for their markings and the fact that they are born black and turn grey. Grey is a dilute of black so are born blues just genetically dilute blacks? And do they carry the greying gene? If not and if they are bred it would stand to reason they would produce some born blues and some blacks and if they do not have the greying gene but must carry it then some of those black pups would never turn grey.... just thinking out loud.... |
| Not an expert on the genetics of coat color, but as I recall you can have black or blue-dilute, but the graying gene is separate. The only "blue" puppy I every saw as a puppy wasn't terribly obviously gray at birth (I was playing puppy catcher at a c-section). Long time breeders saw it immediately and once they said something I could see it too. I think she remained grayer-looking than her siblings as a youngster, but it's not like they're born truly gray, or at least she wasn't, so maybe there are "degrees" or shades if you will, because she grew up and then genuinely grayed out. What I think you have is the color gene for black OR blue dilution (which looks more like gray than black) but either type will also carry the graying gene, independant of which of the the two former, because I can't think that I've ever seen a (genuinely) black adult OES (though some grizzles have come close) so my guess is that the graying is homozygous (fixed) in our breed, meaning all (purebred) OES carry two copies of the gene and that is all they have to pass on to their get, so all (purebred) OES puppies will have the graying gene. That would make sense at any rate. I expect it may be one of the (many) things breed DNA tests look for when they're profiling dogs, but, again, that's just a guess. Interesting topic.  Kristine |
| Kristine I think Lisa mentioned a dog here that stayed black his whole life. I think Lisa referred to it as a "plum" coat??? But I might be making that up. Maybe a mutation of the greying gene? |
| I'm new here, and our puppy comes home in just a few weeks. This thread was super helpful - someone's already asked all the same questions I have! Though I bet I end up coming up with some more! -Sam |
| Cute puppy, keep pictures coming. |
welcome to both of you. Ive been here over a year and still ask questions. Only way to learn.  I use Buffalo Blue Large Breed adult food for all 3 of my dogs. 1 sheepie and 2 labs. I also use raised bowls for all 3 and have never had a issue. I didnt use one for my Great Dane and had issues. I THINK it all depends on the dog and how fast they eat. Just my thought anyway..... Please post pictures and updates on your babies.  |
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