Golden Retriver Puppy Q

sfwcork

Hi all

I have a near 6 mth old golden retriver puppy.Female. I have her around 2 half months and she has always been v playful. sometimes borderline destruction.

I sometimes leave her out around the garden but she diecovered the lining on a flowe bed loose and decided that was her new target to rip. Last monday week she won the war with the lining and ripped it. I spotted it after a 10 mins and brought her back inside. A few hrs later she got sick.Just the once.

This week since sat she hasnt really been herself. She isnt eating her nuts. When i give her bread and water she gallops it down but no interest in her nuts.

I know late last week she lost a few teeth,i guess from teething as I read online,

Would it be her teeth that is making her not want to eat solid food or is she just sick of the nuts.

Herself is kina worried .

Any thoughts

marley123

Firstly,

The behaviour the pup is exhibiting is TOTALLY normal - but there are ways to "cut down on the destruction - try hiding treats in the garden, get a kong etc...

Bread is to be honest not good for dogs at all - she is refusing the nuts because she is finding the bread tastier! What type of dog nuts are you feeding her?

andreac

Why are you feeding her bread? Stop feeding her that for start and stick to a good quality dry food.
Have a set routine for meals, leave the food down for 15 mins, if shes doesnt eat, take it away and offer nothing, no treats, until her next meal. She will soon realise if she doesnt eat up, she goes hungry until her next meal.

Puppies chew, tear, dig and so on, its normal. Has she lots of chew toys for her teeth at the mo? Nylabones, rope toys etc etc are great for the teeth and the more you have the better.

How much exercise is she getting? The rule is about 5 mins per month of age per day, so her walks should be about 30 mins.

I would try getting a Kong, fill it with stuff and freeze it, this will keep her occupied for a while. Failing that, then fence off an area in the garden for her so she cant destroy stuff.

Vince32

With the destructive part, I would say catch her in the act, and tell her clearly no, give her a squeaky toy to play with, or a raw bone instead, you need to make the underlining of your garden the least interesting she has to play with, with the vomiting I can't be sure, she may of eaten some snails, soil or the lining itself, once it's out she should recover, but if she seems worse a vet may be needed to source the problem.

If she lacks the teeth to chew up her nuts, you can add some hot water to soften them and it usually makes a sort of gravy she will like.

I would avoid giving bread, as its mainly wheat and flour, 2 very bad components for a dogs diet. You can try to give her some boiled rice and lightly cooked or raw chicken for a few days.

I had a similar experience with mine, she vomited (something up, from "exploring" the garden) and the general advice I found was to give her a plain (really plain) diet for 3-4 days and it will help.

Other advice will come I'm sure, but if she is off her food completely for more than 24 hrs, it's well advised to get to a vet and try sort it out.

EDIT:
Just because you mentioned the garden, it got me thinking, I don't know how big a gardener you are, and since it's winter, there is nothing in bloom, but there are some plants which while beautiful and fragrant and be a disaster to your dog.

http://www.dogster.com/dog-health-care/poisonous-plants-and-foods-for-dogs, take interest in the plants part especially, some people say that raw fish, if frozen first is completely fine, and eggs are actually beneficial, some even give the shells and all.

While the internets remains a good source of information, be sceptical and wary, if in doubt, contact a professional.

Taceom

She sounds so like my dog - also a Golden Retriever. He is 18months old and is slowly but surely growing out of his destructive stage. I would go along with the other posters about hiding treats in the garden, and the kong is great to keep him occupied.
From time to time my dog goes off his food too. But the 'fast' doesn't last long, occasionally I give in and pour the oil from tinned tuna over his food just to change the monotony of the taste for him. But mostly when he gets hungry enough he will come back and clean the bowl.
Enjoy your dog -they're adorable!

Delancey

Bread contains yeast which may cause tummy upsets - best to avoid it IMO.

tk123

You could try soaking the nuts in water until they swell up if you think the food is too hard for her - what are you feeding her? I find a bit of crust (like a TINY bit) from brown bread fine for a treat but white bread is a definite no no for my GR as he gets the runs from it. Drives me mad when people dump mouldy bread in the park - "for the ducks"! :rolleyes: Are they trying to kill them?!:rolleyes::P

As for destruction in the garden - we got slabs lol - we only had a small patch of grass left anyways with the rest of the garden already covered in concrete and wanted shot of the muddy pee pit it had turned into. :pac: You could start teaching the leave it command so she learns what she can and can't have. It'll come in handy for when she starts counter surfing if she's not doing it already lol:pac: