STYLETHREAD -- LET'S TALK SHOP!

Tati · Chanel

sorry, another puppy question, a Gross one....

Elle · Hermes

I would go outside with her, if you are able and pick up after her immediately after the fact. As for taking her out and about don't wait! You want them to encounter as much as possible as early as possible. I would start working with her walking on a leash in your yard a little first though

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Tati · Chanel

LMonet wrote:

As for taking her out and about don't wait! You want them to encounter as much as possible as early as possible. I would start working with her walking on a leash in your yard a little first though .

its just that i read not to take her out till she had all her shots cause she can get something and around my neighborhood there are a lot of dogs.

Elle · Hermes

Most things that dogs can 'catch' are easily curable. There are only a couple that aren't (the exact ones escape me right now) so I would ask your vet about which vaccines are for devastating, life threatening things and make sure she has those before you take her to a dog park or anything like that. Since she's still small enough, I would just scoop her up if a dog gets too close or aggressive around her.

ETA: I realize that sounds a little blase in regards to vaccination, but many of the breeders we met with don't fully vaccinate thier dogs or they vaccinate them on an extended schedule. Both for cost reasons and for the dogs' health, sometimes it's just better to treat the minor things if they do happen to catch them. Kind of a 'why put uneccessary things in their bodies' sentiment.

-- Edited by LMonet at 18:15, 2005-11-03

luckylily · Gucci

I'm just going to second what LMonet said...Getting your puppy out and socializing her is more important than waiting to get vaccinations. The likelyhood that your puppy will "catch" something is very small. How about checking in to puppy classes? They aren't really obedience training, just a chance to socialize in a safe and controlled environment.

Mia · Kate Spade

If I was you (and I am an admitted super paranoid neurotic freak dog-mother) I wouldn't have her exposed to any dogs I wasn't 100% sure had all their shots before *she* has all her shots.

As for the poop-eating, yeah, soemtimes puppies do that. The only thing you can do is stay close enough to her to remove her from the 'situation' as soon as she's finished her business.

halleybird · Hermes

Mia wrote:

If I was you (and I am an admitted super paranoid neurotic freak dog-mother) I wouldn't have her exposed to any dogs I wasn't 100% sure had all their shots before *she* has all her shots. As for the poop-eating, yeah, soemtimes puppies do that. The only thing you can do is stay close enough to her to remove her from the 'situation' as soon as she's finished her business.

I am going to second this. I am a paranoid dog-mom too. LMonet is right -- many diseases dogs catch are curable, but not always in a very young dog. Kennel cough, for instance (a common disease you can get from a dog park, etc) is no big deal for an adult, but it can be very dangerous for a young dog. Wait till she's vaccinated, and if you are going to take her to a lot of public places, make sure you get a kennel cough vacc. too.

As for eating her own poo, if you catch her doing it, use your "off-no!" command or something similar in a stern voice. My dog book says it's very common, and not to be worried unless a) she's eating cat litter (which can be harmful), b) she's losing weight/appetite. Here are their other suggestions:

1. Make sure your food is vet-approved, and ask your vet if you should add a multivitamin (some vets think dung eating is a result of a mineral deficiency, though others disagree)

2. You can get a product called ForBid, which you can sprinkle on the dog waste. Supposedly it has a taste dogs hate.

3. Pick up after her, as LMonet said.

4. Keep her on a leash when she goes out to potty. Allow her to graze, but if she tries to go to her old "piles", pull sharply on the leash and say "No!"

5. Leave some toys in the yard for her.

6. If she is doing this while in her crate, she may be in there too often.

(FYI, the book is The Doctor's Book of Home Remedies for Dogs & Cats)

HTH!

laken1 · Hermes

txgal · BCBG

I just got a newsletter from sitstay.com that had a product mentioned for this. It is called For-Bid. You put it in their food and it makes their poo taste really bad. (Or at least worse than it already does.) It might be worth a try. Here is a link.

http://www.sitstay.com/store/health/health02.shtml#HBFR

tara t · Marc Jacobs

my 6 year old dogs eats poop every once in awhile too. ew. maybe i'll try the yucky poop stuff posted above.

tri_sarah_tops · Marc Jacobs

Mia wrote:

If I was you (and I am an admitted super paranoid neurotic freak dog-mother) I wouldn't have her exposed to any dogs I wasn't 100% sure had all their shots before *she* has all her shots. As for the poop-eating, yeah, soemtimes puppies do that. The only thing you can do is stay close enough to her to remove her from the 'situation' as soon as she's finished her business.

I agree. I tried to keep my puppy away from other animals as much as possible until she was fully vaccinated. I think that some puppies just want to eat everything, so just watch her and try to move her if you see her going for it.

gruiz · Kenneth Cole

I agree that you should take her outside, but not around other dogs just yet. If you have a yard, I would just walk her around the yard and after she's done her business, you can just take her back inside. That way there's no temptation on her part.

I'm not even comfortable with the idea of "poo" and "temptation" in the same sentence. Yick.