NEW OES PUPPY...NEED ADVISE...
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| Hi there!
Congrats on your new pup! Vets may or may not be up to date on nutrition. Some of them also "sell out" to brands. So, they may or may not be the best to ask regarding what's best to feed your pup. Here's a couple good sites to check out on food: http://www.ourpetfood.com/comparison.html (this one tends to be a bit biased, but gives good info on what to look for) http://dogaware.com/ Basically, read the ingredients, see which brand fits in best with your budget, and you'll be fine as far as food goes. Good luck!! |
| Welcome to the forum!
I've never had a puppy, so I don't know what to tell you! But I wanted to jump in and say "congrats" and welcome. We are feeding Wellness at the moment. |
| Welcome and congrats on your new puppy! Spend some time searching around the forum and I'll bet that you''ll find tons of answers to most of your questions-- and probably a bunch that you didn't even think to ask!
As far as if it's a bad idea to let your pup sleep with you, here's something to think about: it's pretty cute to have your little 25 pound puppy curled up next to you in bed but it becomes much different when that little guy grows into a potentially 70-100 pound beast that doesn't want to move. If you're not going to be willing to share in the future, give him the boot early! I've had both my dogs on ProPlan. They do well on it but it seemed to make them a little gassy. I also wanted to switch to a more natural food with human grade ingredients so I'm in the process of transistioning them both to Merrick, which they seem to really like and the gas is already clearing! |
G'day welcome to the forum 
What type of food is your puppy on already? If you are thinking of changing to another brand do it slowly as OES can have upset tummys changing over too fast. 
There is a wealth of information on this forum to help you with your new addition and always lots of wonderful people to answer any queries. Best wishes with Cash
ps I have two rather large hairy bed hogs that sleep in our room, does not leave much room on the bed so we have to kick them off onto there own mats so we can have the bed  |
Welcome to the forum! 
As one said, the vet is usually not the best to ask, they will recommend whatever they sell in their office. I would ask the breeder what the pup has been fed. If your pup is healthy and happy I see no need to change it unless it is not readily available in your area. If you do switch foods, it is really important to do it slowly. Start out only using a little of the new food for a few days and gradually increase the ratio of new food to old food. Good luck! |
| Welcome to the forum and congrats on your new puppy. You are going to have so much fun with him.
Like the others said you will find all kinds of great info by just reading through the post. Here are a few tips to get you started. Buy the best food you can afford. It pay for it's self in the long run by having a healthier dog. There are several "people grade" foods out there. We use Natural Balance. Bad habits are easier to break if you never start them. I know it is hard to resist that cute little puppy face when they want a little scrap of you food but, they can become beggers very quickly. Sign up for a manners class with a trainer the uses only positive training methods. Getting it right from the begining really helps. Sheepies do not respond well to negative or aggesive methods. I don't know how old your guy is but, housebreaking takes time. They are usually about 15 -16 weeks before they have good control. Be ready for accidents (use an enzyme cleaner, available at pet stores) and remember that unless you catch them in the act, they have no idea where that puddle in the middle of the floor came from. Start grooming right away. Pick a quiet time and make it relaxing for him. Puppy massage is a good way to get him used to you touching him all over and being calm. Good luck, have fun and can't wait to see pictures and hear more about him. |
| Welcome!
You're getting lots of good advice here, so I'll just add my "ditto" to what you've read above and recommend you spend lots of time here reading through the forum. So much info here!!
I see you're from Paragould, AR! I have family in that area - mostly around Kennett, MO. So....welcome, neighbor!! P.S. We would LOVE to see pictures of your baby!! |
| I agree with A Yager, start GROOMING RIGHT AWAY. Both of my sheepies hate to be groomed because one was a resuce and the other I didn't push it....it the long run it will make life much easier |
| Food: Go with Premium, it has better ingredients, avoid anything that says by broducts (could be anything, even sawdust)...and get Large Breed Puppy. We have fed Nutro, and currently PetsMart Authority.
Grooming as mentioned extremely important to start, keep it short and happy. Do lots of puppy massage, feel all over the body, hold the paws, hold the muzzle...this also conditons them for vets, and groomers. Keep the nails short. Training class: Crucial, for many reasons...a great time to bond as well. Socialization: Crucial as well, go to parks, have lots of friends over, visits to the pet store just for fun. Doggy daycare for the first while, and hopefully longer...to make them enjoy the company of other dogs, and not be dog agressive. Introduce them to people of all ages, wheel chairs, different races, hats, glasses etc...so all people are not scary, but nice. Conditioning them at home: Makes different noises, drop a utensil, start the vaccumm, etc...so these foreign objects are not scary...soem go nuts for no reason over the sound of a vacumm....so condition them early to different noises. Kennel them beside the bed instead of letting them sleep with you. Don't expect them to be house broken for a year, then anything under that will be a ncie suprise. Consistency will get you there faster, every time they wake, play, eat, drink, they will need to go. For a pup that could be every 30 min-2 hours...and remember it is not their fault if they pee...It is YOURS for not watching close enough. Good luck, enjoy him, and post a picture. |
| Thanks to everyone for being so nice & helpful.
I picked my boy up today and WOW... is he ever beautiful!!!! I seen about 5 photos of him prior to today but looking into his beautiful eyes.... I just feel even more in love! I feel like a new mom all over again (I have 3 boys.. 15, 14 & 5). I worry every time he cries, which he has done... I don't know why. He also breaths very fast. Is that normal? And my goodness, he can clean his water bowl dry in just minutes. As for food, the breeder had him on something that started with an E.. Eu..something. I checked it out at Pet Co and they have it... very expensive (for us). I will more than likely try blending a new feed (something certianly healthy & just as good.. but cheaper) little by little into the bag I bought. He does seem scared.. a little. I've been holding him, sweet talking him, contanstanly touching him, brushing him and having the boys be quite and not so roudy, as not to scare him anymore. My husband had the same advise as you guys.. he'll have to get use to it sooner or later but he seems so sensitive right now, even though he is already a monster in size. Anyway, thanks for all the help and if you have any additional advise or responses, please keep them coming. Oh yea, as soon as I figure out how to add pictures, I will!!! I'm so proud of him! |
| If your pup was fed Eukanuba, your best bet is to go with Iams. It is almost identical and is made by the same company. It is a lot cheaper though.
Congrats! They really do melt your heart
Just make sure to transition foods slooowly! Buy at least one small bag of Eukanuba and mix it over the course of a week to ten days or even two weeks before totally switching over |
| Your right... that is what he is on. Thanks for the advise. Any advise about his heavy breathing, being scared or crying? |
| As for the being scared thing, don't reassure him and hold him while he's scared. He will take that as a sign that it is good to be scared and will do it more and more and more. A 100 pound frightened dog running for your lap is not a good thing. When he acts scared, introduce him to whatever frightened him and praise him for checking out the situation. Say the baby gate falls over, if you pick him up and hold him you are telling him that that "thing" is scary and bad and he should be frightened and run for his life. You should walk him over towards the gate in a very reassured manner and using a calm yet confident voice talk to him. Let him sniff it and touch it. While he's still little you can place him on it and praise him for being 'brave'.
Scared dogs rely on their fight or flight instinct so say you have him on a leash and something scares him. If he can't get away he may end up biting you. |
| I didn't look at it that way but it makes so much sense. I just want him to like his new home and be happy, so my motherly instinct is to baby him. I'm so thankful I found this site!
I plan on enrolling him in an obiedence class to get him on the right track but when is a good time. I mean, should I wait at least a week or two or say, is tomorrow a good day to start? |
| Hi and Welcome to the forum!
Like most of the others advised, I wouldn't allow the little guy to sleep with you. In doggie life the Alpha ( boss dog) gets the best choice of spots, fed first ect...you need to respect your Lab. He was the pre-existing dog in your household and if he feels his status is already being shoved aside he may become resentful of new puppy. I know it's really hard with a cute new little one..but make sure the Older fellow gets the first pats. You've got some great advice here so just feel free to join in the conversations and can't wait to see photos of Cash. Marianne and the boys |
theatrefox555 wrote: Here's a couple good sites to check out on food:
http://www.ourpetfood.com/comparison.html (this one tends to be a bit biased, but gives good info on what to look for) http://dogaware.com/ Wow, that's some good information. I'm going to look into trying some of that stuff. Welcome to the forum My Boy Cash and theatrefox555!!! Hannah was extremely thirsty when she was a puppy. I don't remember specifically the reason, but tell your vet. I think I remember the vet told us to feed her food with more moisture like raw turkey or hamburger. Sorry, Wasn't signed in. Las Vegas Sheepie Lover aka Hannah and Copper's Mom  |
| WELCOME!!!!!!!! How lucky you are to have a new puppy. Treasure these days because just like babies they grow up before you know it!!
The BEST advice anyone ever gave me was to crate train Tasker. I started the day he came home and he really got to love his crate, it was his "apartment". It gave him a place to escape to when things around the house got hectic and it gave me a place to put him when I needed to keep him out of the way (when workmen came to the house or company that wasn't fond of dogs. It also made housebreaking a BREEZE, I can honestly say that Tasker came at six weeks and was completely housebroken by 8 weeks because of the crate. I ditto the advice about grooming, start NOW. Play with his feet alot so when he is older he'll let you cut his nails and brush brush brush. Make it enjoyable for him. Unless you plan to keep your puppy trimmed short you will be forever glad that he is a good groomer. As tempting as it is to take this little fur ball to bed with you, DON'T DO IT!!!! He'll soon be MUCH BIGGER and you won't have ROOM, meanwhile he'll be accustomed to sleeping in your bed and you will have a problem on your hands. Welcome and don't forget to post photos, WE LOVE PICTURES!!! |
I tried giving Cash his first bath today (he accidently stepped in his "buisness"  ... anyway, he didn't like it one bit. I was soaked by the time I finished and I only washed his whites (mostly feet). How do I get him to be still and blow drying... well, lets just say that was fun 
I'm going to go back through and see what I can find that has already been discussed. Wish me luck! |
| How big is Cash?
I have a large bowl kitchen sink that I have washed the small pups in. The nozzle sprayer on the faucet is capable of a soft spray too. It usually took two fo us - one to clean and one to help keep in the sink. When we moved to the tub, the pups were young enough to be unable to escape the taller sides of our tub. As they grew bigger, we moved into bathing them in my daughter's bathroom - the lower sides on the tub meant they could walk into it without help. The water temperature and keeping the water away from the face until the end are the two most impoertant factors in making bathtime pleasnat for my 4-foots. I make sure the water is warm enough to keep them from getting cold while I complete the bath. And my kids hated getting their face washed as pups. Now it is their signal that the bath is almost over. And I talk to the 4-foots the entire time. Can you tell I like to talk? I make this really stupid sounding (at least to my family) sort of cooing sound to my 4-foots when I pet them or play with them. Then I use the same sound during grooming or bathing when the 4-foots seem to be stressing or getting bored. It seems to soothe them - or maybe it's me that it works on. |
| LOL !!
That sounds so like the first few times we gave Mojo a bath!! He has even escaped from the tub a few times. Nothing like chasing wet dog through the house. You might try just short little washes the first few times to get him used to it. Maybe just rinse of his feet and then let him out. That way he can see it's not so bad. I have learned not to even attempt to blow dry for at least an hour or so afterwards because Mojo is a total wild man after a bath. |
| Cash is only 7 weeks (tomorrow) and weighs exactly 13.6 lbs. He is about 23" long and 16" tall. I CAN'T put him in my sink, so I used the bath tub. I did talk softly to him & it was a VERY short bath (especialy since I only did his whites).
Is there an OES book out there anywhere that can tell me EVERYTHING I need to know about this breed. You know, grooming, behavior, training. I'm so clueless. I read these forums but honestly, I don't even know what an undercoat is . I mean, I'm sure it is what it sounds like but ...
HELP, hELP, heLP, helP, help!! |
| Joan and I get right into the shower stall with the dog to give him a bath, so getting wet isn't a problem, it's expected.
As far as drying goes, be SURE you aren't burning your dog! Most people don't realize just how HOT a home hair dryer can be and forget to KEEP IT MOVING. If I was getting burned I would be a bit on the fidgety side too! Of course I'm not saying you're burning your dog, but just a thought. |
Ron wrote: Joan and I get right into the shower stall with the dog to give him a bath, so getting wet isn't a problem, it's expected.
As far as drying goes, be SURE you aren't burning your dog! Most people don't realize just how HOT a home hair dryer can be and forget to KEEP IT MOVING. If I was getting burned I would be a bit on the fidgety side too! Of course I'm not saying you're burning your dog, but just a thought. HAHAHAHAHAHA RON, I thought I was the ONLY one who GOT IN THE SHOWER w/ the dog!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! |
| WELCOME! I can't wait to see pictures of your new puppy! This is certainly a very nerve racking time; I'll be joining you in a few weeks with a new pup of our own. Ron has posted whole list of books and products on the forum with links to the distributor; the forum gets a small percentage of the profits. |
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