New puppy Q's

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frankie7

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We are picking up our puppy in a few weeks and just had a few queries:

Jabs: I know they can't go out before they have their last jabs but can they play with other dogs that have had all their jabs?

Bloat: I have been warned about this and how bad it can be. Is it right that you have to wet their food to stop it swelling up (dry food that is) and i know you should not feed them after or before exercise, but what should we do when we come home from work at lunch? i was planning on playing with her in the garden and then feeding her when we leave, would this be ok?

Cats: what is the best way to introduce them? i was thinking of keeping the pup in her crate and letting the cats sniff her and then let her out, should i tell the cats off/remove then if they swipe at her or is that something that she will have to get used to?

Sorry for all the questions and the long post, just want to try an get things right!!
 
Its best to keep her away from other dogs as they can still carry viruses....much as u can on clothes/shoes e,t,c....keep her confined to your own back garden....u can still take her on car journeys to get her used to travel and have some mini adventures whilst u get her used to travelling in the car(handy when they are young) and if u need to take her anywhere u can always carry her.
Some people still take them for walks in areas not regurlarly used by dogs/people whilst not vaxed...I personally would not take the risk.

Re-bloat...is she suseptible to this...what breed is she?

Re-cats crate a good idea....she will get used to cats this way....never leave them unsuervised, and a great way to get her settled and have a bed and space of her own, and toilet train her....she needs to learn that the cats are the boss(which they will be) just becarefull they dont scratch her eyes at such a young age...a good swipe from a cat could do some damage....I would distract her from the cats rather than tell the cats off......they will become old news to the puppy after a while.....just be vigilant and always supervise...they will sharp get out of the way if they gat sick, always give the cats a quick exit rather than have them cornered....thay are more likely to take a swipe if they cannot get out of he way
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Piccies please...when she arrives
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cool, thanks for the quick reply! i was just wondering about the dog next door, they will be able to hear and smell each other and just wondered it they should be kept separate.

she is a british inuit, - i will try and attach a pic http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd240/frankiechili7/Kempstownsilve1907.jpg >

One of the cats hads already beaten up a fully grown Lab but the other one is a right wimp! I have no doubts that the cats will be in charge!

We have put a stairgate up in the hall so the cats can always get away from her upstairs
 
Andre is ordering me some food, so not sure what is is yet! yeah i know, can't wait!! this time in 2 weeks we should (boat permitting) be in the hotel and having to wait till morning to pick her up!!
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i do say its ok for people to mix puppies with friend's vaccinated dogs at their houses, but not out in public spaces. socialisation time is critical at that age. after all if i were to get a pup it would mix with my 2 vaccinated dogs and i wouldn't worry about that. definitely not out in the big wide world until a week after 2nd jab though.

re: bloat - read up on it - there are various thoughts about wet food, dry food, raised feeding bowls etc - i would say the most important thing is definitely not to exercise anytime around feeding. i spent all night on tue operating then monitoring a GDV in a Spinoli - unfortunately it died of post-op complications on wed evening - it was only 5. It's a horrid problem - dog fine one minute, dead the next - any signs of a distended stomach or unproductive vomiting and be straight on the phone to your vet - every minute delay reduces survival rates.
 
Try not to let her have direct contact with next doors dog through the fence...its probabley low risk...but not worth the risk....let her see it and be aware of its presence but try not to let her get to close....if the neighbours walk the dogs in a popular doggi spot there is always a risk....take me for instance...I work in the vets so Im a high risk if I come into contact with an un-vaxed puppie/dog after a shift...esp as my last 2 shifts included nursing 2 puppies with parvo...both died
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but just goes to show u never know where people or their dogs have been.

Re- bloat.....small spaced out meals are always better than large in frequent meals.....exerting exercise is obs a big no no before or after food....I always let my large breeds settle for atleast an hour after a run....not so long after a brisk walk.
Also a vast intake of water after food can be dangerous, or eating at hyper speed...lol
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A little play and fuss shouldnt hurt when u come home.....just make the meal small to be on the safe side....im sure she will be happy with a little time with u wether its play or not.
As SM suggests dry food is fine...its better for teeth aswell.

CUTE BABY
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Thanks for the link woolly, i had been told it was better to have a raised food bowl, but seems from the link it is not, is that right?
 
Well originally it was thought to be better and I originally fed raised but for the last 3 years of our dogs life ( don't fret he died of osteosarcoma ) we fed prone and he was fine with one small episode caused by a fermenting batch of food which turned out to be trapped wind!!!!!
We have friends who have had Irish Wolfhounds for over 12 years and all have fed dry food( not moistened) prone and have never had an episode of bloat. The main thing is exercise limitation before and after. Be so strict about this and also small meals little and often and same as a horse no full draughts of water after hard exercise.
Learn by heart the symptoms. The tympanic quality of your dogs tum. Dogs seem to display very similar colic symptoms to horses, licking, looking at the flanks pacing and alsways always err on the side of caution. Make sure your vets can have a 24 hour emergency surgery. Most bloat episodes seem to happen at night.
After all this fear mongering try not to worry!
 
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Most bloat episodes seem to happen at night.

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tell me about it - my worst nightmare is an owner on the phone with a dog with a distended belly - gets me on edge straight away and insisting i see them as some owners dont realise how serious it is. all of mine have been at night and cause me a severe lack of sleep - i really wish there was some way we could prevent them altogether.
 
Star you are my dream vet! Our little episode happened at night and we wasted no time! Our vets was 15 miles away and at the first sign of aerophagia(sp?) we did over 95mph all the way hoping a police man would stop us and get us through.
Vet was amazing a young girl and nurse was also fab. who x rayed, scanned absolutely everything and allowed us to be with him all the time except for x rays ( mainly because he weighed 13 stone and was 37 inches at the shoulder so a tike to move around)
Can't praise them enough. Trapped wind !!! He did several massive bottie burps under anaesthetic, a large poo as he came round and all was well. £1000 of trapped wind but worth every penny to hear him fart! Vet said she thought it would have resolved but you can NEVER EVER take the chance. It's a horrible thing. Just out of interest, how effective is an elective gastropexy?
 
i've never actually done an elective gastropexy, but i think would be happy to do so if an owner requested it. i dont believe it would stop bloat, but it would stop torsion as the stomach is literally adhesed to the body wall. in the case of simple bloat, normally all that's needed is a stomach tube passing and some gas absorbents rather than a very risky emergency surgery.

i had a case similar to yours recently in an irish wolfhound - all our lumping her around on the xray table and she farted several times and a lot of burping later and we were unbloated! night in for obs, but much better next day. unfortunately lost her to heart failure recently though
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We decided against a future Gastropexy as age was against him and in 5 years trapped wind on one episode was all he had. I had his food analysed and it turned out to be glucose fermentation but whether that was the cause we can only guess but we think so. We lost our boy 2 weeks ago to Osteosarcoma. If it's not one thing it's another! Thanks for the answer though as vets do tend to vary on their thoughts.
 
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