New puppy

Sevi

I have a 10 week old labrador cross golden retriever, she is adorable and is behaving like a normal pup, including making a lot of noise at night!
We have had her for 4 nights only but she cries, howls and barks all through till the morning. Just wondering whether anyone has any info about how long this might last etc...

Wolfe Tone

Leave the radio on.

Elliejo

Wrap a ticking clock up in her basket to replicate her mother's heartbeat. And/or as a previous post, leave a radio on low to make her feel somebody's around.

dvet

Getting up once or twice during the night to let her out to wee might help. Also letting the radio on quietly/the ticking clock behind a pillow may help. The important thing at this stage is getting her into a routine regarding feeding times and bedtime, and trying not to give in to her crying (if you come every time they cry, they'll never stop). The joys of a new puppy! It should only last a few nights so she'll probably stop soon.

Sevi

Thanks everyone. Tried leaving the radio on but will try the clock idea- fingers crossed!

daenerysstormborn3

Are you getting up in the night to help her toilet training? If not, this has two benefits, obviously the main one being a toilet trained pup and the second one being that she will know you're still there and may settle more easily. Rule of thumb is that she should be able to hold it for one hour per month old she is, so she should be able to hold it for about 2.5-3 hours but each dog is different and she may be better or worse than this.

beanie.

Wear her out with a huge play session before bed.

bullylover

Try a hot water bottle and clock wrapped in a towel or blanket, heat of the mother and her heart beat, worked a treat with all of ours:)

tk123

bullylover wrote: »

Try a hot water bottle and clock wrapped in a towel or blanket, heat of the mother and her heart beat, worked a treat with all of ours:)

+1 a snugglesafe in the crate knocked out guy out a night but the first whine in the morning and it was out the back for poopoo patrol - he was trained by 3 months.

hanns.s

I got a pup a few weeks ago, he sleeps in his bed in the hall with my room door open, stopped crying and settles for the night - your dog just wants company so if possible do this - he/she will be happy and you will both get a good night sleep

Chris_Heilong

The pup is in a different room to yourself I take it, as other have said, its 2 things, one is that the pup wants to be around you and not left alone all night. Try moving the crate to your bedroom it it gets too much for you to bare.

Number two is about going to the toilet, A pup cant go trough the whole night without wanting to go to the toilet, the will not want to go where they sleep so they will cry to get outside.

I am going trough this myself at the moment on my 2nd dog (7weeks old) and I must get up 3 times during the night to take him out, one week on and no accidents in the house....yet.

Now that I remember I got my first guy when he was 12 weeks old and was luck that he could last until first thing in the morning, but he was an exception I guess.

dvet

The only thing to watch out for is, if you start bringing your pup into your room at night, he'll always want to sleep there. If you don't mind your dog always sleeping in your room that's fine, but if you want him to sleep in the kitchen/elsewhere when older, you'll have to put up with the howling all over again!

So if you don't intend on him sleeping in your room forever, best to tough it out where he is!

Springerman

Hi there, just recently went through a similar thing.

In the first instance you need to make sure you have somewhere the puppy sees as a refuge, its own home where it can go to retreat to etc.

The best option if the pup is to be kept inside is to get a crate, it is a good idea not to give them too much space or they will dirty the crate just give them enough room to lie down etc.

Couple of ways to get them attached to the crate are

1) Feed them in the crate they will associate it with a happy place
2) Train them to enter the crate them selves ( a clicker may be useful for this). Everytime they enter the crate lavishly praise them, and give treats.
3) when they start going into the crate leave the door open initially and allow them in and utt, make them realise they will get out freely that they are not locked in the create.
4)Then when they comfortably lie in the crate start closing the door and rewarding them staying within site initially, and gradually going out of site each and every time you reappear reward them.

Eventually (maybe after a week) they will be 100% happy with the crate and will love it.

If you can manage this it is the best option to get them to settle overnight.

However in saying that another hugely improtant aspect is to toilet them frequently, a puppy can hold bowel/bladder in hours as many months old they are +1 e.g.-> 12wk old puppy: =3mths= 3hrs+1hr= hold bowel/bladder x4hrs MAXIMUM, so although it is painfull for the first while try and toilet them in accordance with this and that will help things, (DO NOT PLAY WITH THEM WHEN YOU LET THEM OUT, make it a stringent routine, only praise them when they toilet!)

Lastly, have a major play sesh with them prior to letting go to bed, it will tire them out majorily!!

Hope this helps;-)

Springerman

nicky chick

I have a german shepherd puppy 4 months old. When we brought her home we put a ticking clock under a pillow for her, there wasnt a sound out of her, shes a honey.:D Just a quick question to anyone who might know. She wasnt registered but we seen her mother. She is as I said now 4 months old . How big should she be, She looks like and behaves like a german shepherd but I think she is too small she only weighs 19lbs

andreac

nicky chick wrote: »

I have a german shepherd puppy 4 months old. When we brought her home we put a ticking clock under a pillow for her, there wasnt a sound out of her, shes a honey.:D Just a quick question to anyone who might know. She wasnt registered but we seen her mother. She is as I said now 4 months old . How big should she be, She looks like and behaves like a german shepherd but I think she is too small she only weighs 19lbs

Can you post a pic? Its hard to tell what size they should be as all dogs grow at different rates.

daenerysstormborn3

nicky chick wrote: »

I have a german shepherd puppy 4 months old. When we brought her home we put a ticking clock under a pillow for her, there wasnt a sound out of her, shes a honey.:D Just a quick question to anyone who might know. She wasnt registered but we seen her mother. She is as I said now 4 months old . How big should she be, She looks like and behaves like a german shepherd but I think she is too small she only weighs 19lbs

19lbs sounds small but do post up a pic as it will be a lot easier to tell. The main thing is that she is healthy and happy which I'm sure she is.

It is my understanding that generally bitches are smaller than dogs in most breeds.

Also, my great dane is just gone 1 year and I think he is small in comparison to other danes that age but he is healthy and comes from a healthy litter. There isn't always a bad reason for a smaller dog.

andreac

Are you sure you dont mean 19kg? Was she weighed at the vets, if so it will be in kg's so maybe you mean hg which would be about right.

dvet

nicky chick wrote: »

I have a german shepherd puppy 4 months old. When we brought her home we put a ticking clock under a pillow for her, there wasnt a sound out of her, shes a honey.:D Just a quick question to anyone who might know. She wasnt registered but we seen her mother. She is as I said now 4 months old . How big should she be, She looks like and behaves like a german shepherd but I think she is too small she only weighs 19lbs

That does seem pretty small for 4 months old. Did the breeder claim she was purebred? Did they charge you full price?

If they never offered you registration papers, it's fairly unlikely that she's a purebred. Any reputable breeder would normally be proud to show you their certs. With GSD's in particular it's important to buy from a reputable breeder as this breed are prone to a lot of health problems. All things to consider if you're ever getting a GSD puppy again (or a puppy of any breed) - there's so many scams out there with puppy breeding, you wouldn't believe!

Another possibility is that her diet isn't providing enough nutrients for her right now. When you look at her, can you see her ribs? Can you feel them? Can you see or feel her spine? In a dog who's a healthy weight, you should be able to (just) feel the ribs, and be able to feel that they are covered with fat, but you should not see them. And you shouldn't be able to see or feel the spine.

You can get special large breed puppy foods which would provide all the energy she needs, as long as you're careful to follow the feeding instructions carefully then you'll know for sure that she's getting what she needs.

There are some other possiblities too; liver shunts can cause puppies not to grow properly. These are pretty serious. Do you ever notice odd behaviour such as aimless wandering, standing in corners, loss of balance, or anything like that? If so, you would really want to get her checked out. Some puppies also have pituitary problems which cause stunted growth and dwarfism.

All in all, there's a few possibilities why she could be smaller than you're expecting, some of them have health consequences so if you're worried about this at all it's worth a trip to the vet to check it out.

nicky chick

Thanks for all your advise. Yes I mean 19lbs, seems very small doesnt it ?Im not going to go back to where I brought her and demand my money back, shes adorable Im just worried about what cross she is. She is really fluffy with massive paws and is full of life. Ill take photo in the morning and post it.
The guy we brought her off was really nice and we collected her from his house we seen the mother and all the other puppies who looked the same as the one we picked, I might just take a trip to the vet with her though she might be able to shed some light on it.:):)

daenerysstormborn3

Do take a trip to the vet and aside from trying to find out what cross she is you'll at least be able to determine if there is something wrong or if she is just a small pup.

My dog eats all around him but is slim for what he eats so it may just be that she is small, best bet would be to go to the vet and get her checked out, as long as your vet is happy and she is healthy and happy your mind will be at ease.

andreac

nicky chick wrote: »

Thanks for all your advise. Yes I mean 19lbs, seems very small doesnt it ?Im not going to go back to where I brought her and demand my money back, shes adorable Im just worried about what cross she is. She is really fluffy with massive paws and is full of life. Ill take photo in the morning and post it.
The guy we brought her off was really nice and we collected her from his house we seen the mother and all the other puppies who looked the same as the one we picked, I might just take a trip to the vet with her though she might be able to shed some light on it.:):)

19lbs is only around 8 kg, thats far too small for a german shepherd of 4 months. I would take her to the vets and get her weighed and ask them is she too thin.
My female rottie whos 6 months is well over 20 kg, i last weighed her when she was about 4 months and she was 18kg, so 19lbs would be far too small, thats why i asked are you sure its LBs and not kg's.

nicky chick

Thanks again ill post photo

KylieWyley

Just for reference, here is photo of my German Shepherd at 3 months old. Like yourself, I never got her with papers and I only ever saw the mother and not the father. Naturally, you're always keen to see that the dog is going to be big and healthy and then doubts might linger into your mind.

They seem to take forever to grow up. She's 7months now and absolutely huge- must be over 30kg, though haven't weighed her recently. I did doubt at first but, seeing her grow up a little more, she's 100% definitely pure bred.

19lbs seems light though... 19kg would be more on the money. Have her checked by the vet when you're getting vaccinations/neutering.

daenerysstormborn3

KylieWyley wrote: »

Just for reference, here is photo of my German Shepherd at 3 months old. Like yourself, I never got her with papers and I only ever saw the mother and not the father. Naturally, you're always keen to see that the dog is going to be big and healthy and then doubts might linger into your mind.

They seem to take forever to grow up. She's 7months now and absolutely huge- must be over 30kg, though haven't weighed her recently. I did doubt at first but, seeing her grow up a little more, she's 100% definitely pure bred.

19lbs seems light though... 19kg would be more on the money. Have her checked by the vet when you're getting vaccinations/neutering.

she is beautiful

KylieWyley

Ta! And she's an absolute softy too. Love her to pieces.

nicky chick

Oh God ....Have a look at these I really dont think shes a german shepherd now:(
The one in the snow was taken at Christmas the other one tonight

Think now she might be a cross between german shepherd and a bloody yorkshire terrier - no offence to yorkshire terrier owners!!!!:rolleyes:

daenerysstormborn3

Don't have much experience with gsds but I'm sure someone on here will have good advice, aside from that definitely get to your vet and make sure there are no serious health problems.

She does look quite small in the photos though.

andreac

Are you sure its 19lbs and not kgs? She looks a lot more than that. She does look like a shepherd in the 2nd pic and has the bone for sure but does look a little small for 4 months but some grow at diff rates so dont panic yet.

KylieWyley

She looks pure breed. The paws look quite large, if that is any indication. She'll have a lot of growing yet to fit into those.

She does look a little small for 4 months but, as noted, pups tend to grow at different rates - I find that they usually grow in spurts. If she isn't refusing food and is eating something along the lines of the recommended allowance for a pup of that age then I'd say you're fine.

sionnaic

KylieWyley wrote: »

Just for reference, here is photo of my German Shepherd at 3 months old. Like yourself, I never got her with papers and I only ever saw the mother and not the father. Naturally, you're always keen to see that the dog is going to be big and healthy and then doubts might linger into your mind.

They seem to take forever to grow up. She's 7months now and absolutely huge- must be over 30kg, though haven't weighed her recently. I did doubt at first but, seeing her grow up a little more, she's 100% definitely pure bred.

19lbs seems light though... 19kg would be more on the money. Have her checked by the vet when you're getting vaccinations/neutering.

Wow she is a looker! just gorgeous!

nicky chick

dvet wrote: »

That does seem pretty small for 4 months old. Did the breeder claim she was purebred? Did they charge you full price?

If they never offered you registration papers, it's fairly unlikely that she's a purebred. Any reputable breeder would normally be proud to show you their certs. With GSD's in particular it's important to buy from a reputable breeder as this breed are prone to a lot of health problems. All things to consider if you're ever getting a GSD puppy again (or a puppy of any breed) - there's so many scams out there with puppy breeding, you wouldn't believe!

Another possibility is that her diet isn't providing enough nutrients for her right now. When you look at her, can you see her ribs? Can you feel them? Can you see or feel her spine? In a dog who's a healthy weight, you should be able to (just) feel the ribs, and be able to feel that they are covered with fat, but you should not see them. And you shouldn't be able to see or feel the spine.

You can get special large breed puppy foods which would provide all the energy she needs, as long as you're careful to follow the feeding instructions carefully then you'll know for sure that she's getting what she needs.

There are some other possiblities too; liver shunts can cause puppies not to grow properly. These are pretty serious. Do you ever notice odd behaviour such as aimless wandering, standing in corners, loss of balance, or anything like that? If so, you would really want to get her checked out. Some puppies also have pituitary problems which cause stunted growth and dwarfism.

All in all, there's a few possibilities why she could be smaller than you're expecting, some of them have health consequences so if you're worried about this at all it's worth a trip to the vet to check it out.

Hi all, I posted here a few months back about my GS puppy and have just found out she has pituitary dwarfism my OH went back to where we got her yesterday and seen her brother who is about 3 times bigger than her. She has also started to lose her hair which is about right for a dog her age with the condition ( 6 months) I was just wondering has anyone else out there got a dog with this condition. We got her after we had to get our spaniel put down after many months of health problems and dont think I could put my kids through the heart ache of another sick dog