Smudge HATES the new puppy!
- Thread starter Smudge
- Start date
There was no need to be snarky AT ALL. My financial situation is not your concern. My dogs are VERY well taken of. My parents make a fair amount of money. If I need help they will loan me money. So please don't burder yourself with my income, because it has nothing to do with you.
I spend time on this forum because it used to be a fun place to visit. I get tired of being attacked for my views on irresponsible breeding. If the need be I could google the answers myself. If I have a pressing health question I had to have addressed I have an actual vet phone number. You don't know me, and you most certainly have no business making public comments on my income or "maturity".
Ann
Moderator
Jessica, do you know what breeder your pup came from? It would be worth a call to tell her about the worms once you know what they are, and find out if the litter was treated for them. Many puppies have or get worms, it really is not unusual. But the breeder should know so she can treat her other pups and you can get the information.
Next the mounting. Definitely a dominance thing, as others have said. Smudge is asserting his authority over the Newbie and telling her HE is alpha. We've had fixed males mount females, females mount females, females mount males, and we know it isn't because they're looking for action. What you do when you see Smudge making the move is firmly say "Smudge NO" and if needed take him off her if a verbal doesn't work. He will get over it, but you need to protect the little one, which I know you are.
I would also get Fluffy on a good puppy food. I suspect Smudge's food is way too rich for her little stomach. And yes, transitioning her from what the breeder was feeding her is definitely the way to go.
I am so glad you are seeing the vet. Always a good idea to have pups examined as soon as possible once they come home. Good luck tomorrow, and let us know what you find out.
Next the mounting. Definitely a dominance thing, as others have said. Smudge is asserting his authority over the Newbie and telling her HE is alpha. We've had fixed males mount females, females mount females, females mount males, and we know it isn't because they're looking for action. What you do when you see Smudge making the move is firmly say "Smudge NO" and if needed take him off her if a verbal doesn't work. He will get over it, but you need to protect the little one, which I know you are.
I would also get Fluffy on a good puppy food. I suspect Smudge's food is way too rich for her little stomach. And yes, transitioning her from what the breeder was feeding her is definitely the way to go.
I am so glad you are seeing the vet. Always a good idea to have pups examined as soon as possible once they come home. Good luck tomorrow, and let us know what you find out.
Caro
Moderator
Hey Jessica. We are here for you, whatever help you need. When I got Tully people kept telling me to take her back because she was such a problem child, but I am soo glad I didnt. It will be tough with Smudge's illness, but you will be rewarded with lots of laughs when they start playing.
Tully wouldnt drink much as a pup (in fact she would spend all day sulking in the back). The vet told me she will drink if she really needed it. It was just a matter of settling in. The idea of bottled water is good.
Deska used to try humping Tully (and still does), but generally its her head he humps (lol). I was told it was like a big brother getting his little sister into a headlock (yes my brothers used to do this all the time). So I wouldnt worry too much - except that Smudge is probably bigger and heavier than the pup. And I have always deterred Deska from humping anyway.
She looks a little older than 9 weeks. She will definately have a lovely coat. Is Fluffy going to be her long term name.
Tully wouldnt drink much as a pup (in fact she would spend all day sulking in the back). The vet told me she will drink if she really needed it. It was just a matter of settling in. The idea of bottled water is good.
Deska used to try humping Tully (and still does), but generally its her head he humps (lol). I was told it was like a big brother getting his little sister into a headlock (yes my brothers used to do this all the time). So I wouldnt worry too much - except that Smudge is probably bigger and heavier than the pup. And I have always deterred Deska from humping anyway.
She looks a little older than 9 weeks. She will definately have a lovely coat. Is Fluffy going to be her long term name.
danisgoat
Moderator
Jessica....
My motive was not to upset you, but rather try and get you to think about the whole picture. This forum is a fun place, and I hope that it remains a fun place for you. I am sorry if I took that away from you with this thread. The dog lover part of me takes over sometimes, and I really have a strong gut feeling about this situation and my gut is telling me that it is not good.
I mentioned your financial situation, simply because you brought it up on another thread. When you were concerned with Smudge's diarhea...you were given a recomendation to buy a can of pumpkin, which you said that you could not afford. This was not meant to be insulting, but rather just to make a point.
I am very sorry to have upset you. I just needed to bring up some very valid (in my opinion) points.
My motive was not to upset you, but rather try and get you to think about the whole picture. This forum is a fun place, and I hope that it remains a fun place for you. I am sorry if I took that away from you with this thread. The dog lover part of me takes over sometimes, and I really have a strong gut feeling about this situation and my gut is telling me that it is not good.
I mentioned your financial situation, simply because you brought it up on another thread. When you were concerned with Smudge's diarhea...you were given a recomendation to buy a can of pumpkin, which you said that you could not afford. This was not meant to be insulting, but rather just to make a point.
I am very sorry to have upset you. I just needed to bring up some very valid (in my opinion) points.
take4roll10
Moderator
Jessica this forum is still fun. No one is attacking you. Everyone is just giving you advice.
Even though we all share the same interest and love for shelties, everyone isn't going to have the same opinion. Please don't consider any of this an attack, but rather a concern for you, Smudge and Fluffy.
I personally share the same concern as Danielle. I also remember this thread where you mentioned you couldn't afford rice and pumpkin for Smudge's diarrhea. This worried me as well. I thought: how could you afford vet care for the new puppy and smudge? If you say your parents will help you out with the new puppy, then that is great. I'm happy to hear that.
I hope you have the time for smudge, raising a new puppy, school and work. I work full time and have a 7 month old puppy. I honestly would never be able to give another puppy adequate training and attention.
Good luck. I hope it all works out for you.
Even though we all share the same interest and love for shelties, everyone isn't going to have the same opinion. Please don't consider any of this an attack, but rather a concern for you, Smudge and Fluffy.
I personally share the same concern as Danielle. I also remember this thread where you mentioned you couldn't afford rice and pumpkin for Smudge's diarrhea. This worried me as well. I thought: how could you afford vet care for the new puppy and smudge? If you say your parents will help you out with the new puppy, then that is great. I'm happy to hear that.
I hope you have the time for smudge, raising a new puppy, school and work. I work full time and have a 7 month old puppy. I honestly would never be able to give another puppy adequate training and attention.
Good luck. I hope it all works out for you.
Chris
Premium Member
One of the good things about this forum is that we can make mistakes, get called on them, apologize, and continue to be friends. Jessica, I sure understand that the comments about your maturity upset you. You've shown exceptional judgment in deciding not to relinquish Fluffy, but to shoulder both the problems and the joy of this puppy -- despite the fact that this little bundle of happiness was visited upon you unrequested, but not unloved. Sometimes we don't get to choose what life doles out, but when we let the problem part take over, we miss the fun. You're focusing on the joy Fluffy brings, and my hat's off to you for that. Worms? Worms we can fix!!
Danisgoat, I admire your swift apology. Communicating via post, without facial expression or touch to supplement words, is so challenging, especially with difficult issues. I am constantly amazed at how much compassion and depth of feeling we share, and how seldom we "oops" in our communication. I feel sure you meant only the most kind concern for Jessica, as we all do for each other. Now that Jessica has made her decision, I figure my job is to respect that decision and offer all the support I can.
This forum is a refuge for many of us, a place where we can bring our concerns and joys -- Sheltie mostly, but sometimes other things -- a be certain of honesty and supportive kindness. My rule of thumb is, assume the best of intentions in each other -- you'll be right 99% of the time in Sheltie Nation.
Danisgoat, I admire your swift apology. Communicating via post, without facial expression or touch to supplement words, is so challenging, especially with difficult issues. I am constantly amazed at how much compassion and depth of feeling we share, and how seldom we "oops" in our communication. I feel sure you meant only the most kind concern for Jessica, as we all do for each other. Now that Jessica has made her decision, I figure my job is to respect that decision and offer all the support I can.
This forum is a refuge for many of us, a place where we can bring our concerns and joys -- Sheltie mostly, but sometimes other things -- a be certain of honesty and supportive kindness. My rule of thumb is, assume the best of intentions in each other -- you'll be right 99% of the time in Sheltie Nation.
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First of all, congrats on the new puppy!! It should be exciting and hopefully
she bypasses the fleet of health problems Smudge had... It happens though !
Secondly, I feel tension rising and just to keep in mind to everyone, anything you
freely release as personal information pertaining to yourself(i.e. outside life)
makes it free game to be brough up in analysis of a situtation. No offence was seemingly
intended during the previous incident, but clearly Jessica was offended.
Not saying anyone is in the wrong but just remember, if you will (and I'm just
using this as an example) divulge certain information, I.e that of your finances, then
be readily prepared and not taken aback if someone mentions it to you.
Sometimes puppy fever gets the best of you and Im sure Danisgoat was just trying to clear any fog or help
remind you what is truly important and in store in the land of multiple shelties.
A perfect example of this was when I got offered to train horses with Pat Carson in
Calgary. Well, althoguh I was giddy and extatic with excitement, I very much appreciated
being brought back down to earth which I greatly needed at the time, so as though
I didnt make any poor decisions that could lead to Iris's downfall.
That being said, I wish you all the best with Fluffy ! hahah ... She is beautiful, soon
Smudge will be at her beck and call in no time I'm sure of it.
she bypasses the fleet of health problems Smudge had... It happens though !
Secondly, I feel tension rising and just to keep in mind to everyone, anything you
freely release as personal information pertaining to yourself(i.e. outside life)
makes it free game to be brough up in analysis of a situtation. No offence was seemingly
intended during the previous incident, but clearly Jessica was offended.
Not saying anyone is in the wrong but just remember, if you will (and I'm just
using this as an example) divulge certain information, I.e that of your finances, then
be readily prepared and not taken aback if someone mentions it to you.
Sometimes puppy fever gets the best of you and Im sure Danisgoat was just trying to clear any fog or help
remind you what is truly important and in store in the land of multiple shelties.
A perfect example of this was when I got offered to train horses with Pat Carson in
Calgary. Well, althoguh I was giddy and extatic with excitement, I very much appreciated
being brought back down to earth which I greatly needed at the time, so as though
I didnt make any poor decisions that could lead to Iris's downfall.
That being said, I wish you all the best with Fluffy ! hahah ... She is beautiful, soon
Smudge will be at her beck and call in no time I'm sure of it.
Brighid's Mom
Forums Regular
Congratulations......but be prepared
Our overall experience with introducing our new Puppy, Faegan, has been very positive. Brighid continues to distinguish herself as a "perfect little girl" and she loved her new little brother right from the start. She drove the 4 1/2hours to go and get him and was the one to finally confirm the deal. He is a joy and we believe that we made the right decision to bring a second dog into our family.
Having said that, it is hard. Having two dogs at different stages of development and with very different personalities is challenging. It's a completely different dynamic than existed when bonding and training only one. It takes a lot of energy and initially, a lot of time.
Here are some things that we did:
For the first several months, Brighid went to day care 2 days a week so that she had some "me" time away from the puppy. On those days, Faegan came to the office with me. When she cried on the way home and tore into the house to see Faegan, we knew that the need for this was less important.
Once a week, they each go to separate classes so they had individual focus. Brighid went to agility and Faegen went to Puppy socialization classes. I can't stress enough how important I think that these puppy classes are since very young puppies can't go to dog parks and such.
For the first little while, Brighid got separate walks.
Tiny little Faegan humped Brighid and most of her toys as well as some other puppys at class after only a couple of weeks! It was a little shocking to look at but it only lasted a few weeks and with some gentle admonishments and Brighid tossing him off a few times, that has mostly stopped. I think that it was a dominance thing.
It took so long and so much effort to find a food that Brighid was happy with that I transitioned the pup (whose breeder gave us a 10 day supply of what she was feeding him) to the puppy version of Brighid's food (Now!). This will allow us to hopefully feed him the same food as her when the time comes.
I could go on an on about how many challenges there are in having two. Even small things like the multiple 5 minute training exercises are harder than when there was just one. Sit, stay, down... It's challenging to do that with Faegan because Brighid comes right over and does all the behaviors and when that doesn't work (because you are focused on the pup), she just moves onto any and all of the other moves in the hopes that one will yield a treat. We're through all the basic stuff now, but it was definately harder.
I could go on an on, but I won't. I just want to make the point that even though I agree that having 2 dogs is wonderful - for both the owners and the dogs - it's more challenging that you might guess. I think that this is a bigger reality check for those of us going from 1 dog to 2. Those who have added a second Sheltie more than once or have added a 3rd have a better perspective on the kind of challenges there are. Jessica, I can tell from having read your posts and following your trials and adventures with Smudge that you really want to be a good "mom". I think that your experiences with Smudge have been less than what you might have idealized them to be with all the hardships and medical issues. You've come through those with a great dog and a great relationship with your dog. This will likely be the case with the new pup but I thought that I would be the one to say that that experience may also not rise to your expectations. Don't shoot me, Sheltie Nation for saying so! It is, however, well worth the effort and a day's travails are soon forgotten when there is a happy and exhausted puppy asleep on your lap. All is forgotten until tomorrow's mis-adventures!
Our overall experience with introducing our new Puppy, Faegan, has been very positive. Brighid continues to distinguish herself as a "perfect little girl" and she loved her new little brother right from the start. She drove the 4 1/2hours to go and get him and was the one to finally confirm the deal. He is a joy and we believe that we made the right decision to bring a second dog into our family.
Having said that, it is hard. Having two dogs at different stages of development and with very different personalities is challenging. It's a completely different dynamic than existed when bonding and training only one. It takes a lot of energy and initially, a lot of time.
Here are some things that we did:
For the first several months, Brighid went to day care 2 days a week so that she had some "me" time away from the puppy. On those days, Faegan came to the office with me. When she cried on the way home and tore into the house to see Faegan, we knew that the need for this was less important.
Once a week, they each go to separate classes so they had individual focus. Brighid went to agility and Faegen went to Puppy socialization classes. I can't stress enough how important I think that these puppy classes are since very young puppies can't go to dog parks and such.
For the first little while, Brighid got separate walks.
Tiny little Faegan humped Brighid and most of her toys as well as some other puppys at class after only a couple of weeks! It was a little shocking to look at but it only lasted a few weeks and with some gentle admonishments and Brighid tossing him off a few times, that has mostly stopped. I think that it was a dominance thing.
It took so long and so much effort to find a food that Brighid was happy with that I transitioned the pup (whose breeder gave us a 10 day supply of what she was feeding him) to the puppy version of Brighid's food (Now!). This will allow us to hopefully feed him the same food as her when the time comes.
I could go on an on about how many challenges there are in having two. Even small things like the multiple 5 minute training exercises are harder than when there was just one. Sit, stay, down... It's challenging to do that with Faegan because Brighid comes right over and does all the behaviors and when that doesn't work (because you are focused on the pup), she just moves onto any and all of the other moves in the hopes that one will yield a treat. We're through all the basic stuff now, but it was definately harder.
I could go on an on, but I won't. I just want to make the point that even though I agree that having 2 dogs is wonderful - for both the owners and the dogs - it's more challenging that you might guess. I think that this is a bigger reality check for those of us going from 1 dog to 2. Those who have added a second Sheltie more than once or have added a 3rd have a better perspective on the kind of challenges there are. Jessica, I can tell from having read your posts and following your trials and adventures with Smudge that you really want to be a good "mom". I think that your experiences with Smudge have been less than what you might have idealized them to be with all the hardships and medical issues. You've come through those with a great dog and a great relationship with your dog. This will likely be the case with the new pup but I thought that I would be the one to say that that experience may also not rise to your expectations. Don't shoot me, Sheltie Nation for saying so! It is, however, well worth the effort and a day's travails are soon forgotten when there is a happy and exhausted puppy asleep on your lap. All is forgotten until tomorrow's mis-adventures!
SheltieLuver
Forums Enthusiast
Yes, Jessica let us know what the vet says. I hope he can fix your worm problems all up fast. And, yes it would be a good idea to contacts Fluffy's breeder and talk to her about her worming schedule... on that and other things that may be on your mind.
I find your views on irresponsible breeding very interesting.
I find your views on irresponsible breeding very interesting.
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