The latest addition to my furry daughters

The is still mellow (a bit more excited now, probably because EVERYONE was super excited!), she really likes to crawl up on you to give you kisses and likes to roll over for belly rubs. She doesn't really walk on a leash yet because she is so young but she did pretty well considering all puppies at first don't want to "walk" on a leash... I even got her to walk with me for a few intervals of a couple of minutes. I'm not quite as much of a dog whisperer as I was planning BUT she is still a puppy and if I can handle my step-sister's dog with ease (who has been described as a dog from hell) then I'm sure I'll be okay I just gotta learn as I go a little bit Oh! and I JUST noticed she has a spot on her side that looks kinda like a heart! (not the side in the pictures)

[I_WMD]

Kaika ?? Does this mean Ya got your puppy ?

WMD.

[lynn P.]

She's soooo CUTE!!! What kind is she and how big will she grow up to b?. I guessing medium size - by the size of her paws. Are you crate training her? It's the best way to potty train them. Make sure she doesn't get near any other dogs pooh until she's had all her shots. Good luck with your new puppy.

Yep! She's my puppy!

They said she was a shih tzu mix (she looks more mix then shih tzu but that's okay because she doesn't bug my dad's allergies when he held her and stuff) she is so cute right now sleeping on my brother's lap while I clean up around the house. Dad joked that if he knew getting a dog would make me clean the house he would have gotten me one years ago

And Yep! We are crate training her, so far though she hasn't peed inside and actually peed outside when we were with her so I was proud of her. I need to work on my dog whispering abilities a little bit but I already am setting some boundaries with her (like...she can give me kisses but not try to climb my face in the process which scratches me ) but technically she shouldn't even have left her mother at this point so I'm still very gentle with her and if she develops issues when she's older because of that then well I'll just take care of those then because I'm pretty good at working with my step-sister's dog who is quite a bit older then she is.

I just wanted to note in case the pictures make her look big, right now she's not even 6 pounds

[Miracle1986]

She is absolutely adorable!!!

[I_WMD]

Yep! She's my puppy!

.......and now the fun and puppy breath and >> the calm way they rest >> when They know they are Loved .......

Lucky Puppy !
Ya done Good Kaika >>>>...

WMD.

[Zen888]

Your dog is so lovely and cute! Thank-you for sharing photos with us! Check out my profile if you would like to see my Yorkie.

[Elysium]

Oh Kaika....she's soooooo cute!!

I'm so glad you got her. I'm proud of you for working with your Dad and doing the research that you did. You put a lot of effort into finding the puppy that you wanted and that would work well for your family.

Good for you!!!

She looks like she has a sweet, yet quirky (in a good way) personality. I bet your family is going to get a lot of love and laughs from that one!!

Congratulations!!

everyone

So far so good, no accidents yet but even if she had one I wouldn't mind. The place we adopted her from also gave us a bag of food for both puppies and adults but she's not really eating it. The pieces are kinda big for her so she has to really work hard to chew up even one little piece

But oh speaking of funny, you should have seen her after I gave her food! She took a piece of it and put it on the floor and was running around it and pouncing on it she kept running around for awhile wanting to play after that but we don't really have any toys for her so that's why we are going shopping tonight.

For a puppy she really likes sleeping, she took naps with me and with my brother when she wasn't outside. The only time she was really "causing trouble" was when I gave her some food so she was snooping around and getting little pieces of paper... thankfully she doesn't fight me for it though

[Zen888]

If the dry dog food is too large or solid for your puppy to eat you may want to consider adding some water to the food to soften it up so your dog can eat it.

Yeah, we got her some other food that's smaller to try anyways. We got her a LOT of stuff today, she still can't walk on a leash but at least carrying her around doesn't seem to be spoiling her, she's cool with pretty much everyone and every dog she's met so far, I've never seen such a zen dog ever! She had to get handled and moved around a lot when we were getting her her harness but she didn't squirm at all. She also managed to make friends with a lab at the pet store that could have probably had her as a snack (PS we weighed her- she is 3 pounds, that's a little over one kilo for people using the metric system), but I'm glad she has good doggy manners so that will make her easier to handle.

[Sabrina]

SHe is very cute.

[KathyM]

((((Kaika))))

Pumpkin is sooooo cute, and your description of her sounds PERFECT! Congratulations.

[pegasus]

Originally Posted by Kaika

Awww... congrats on your new pup!

[lynn P.]

[quote=Kaika;1173665]Yeah, we got her some other food that's smaller to try anyways.

I just wanted to give you advice about changing your puppies food. It has to be done gradually(increasing over 10 days) or she might get diahrea.

*Also this is to all dog/cat owners. Be careful what brand you choose because there's some poor quality dog foods out there. Look at the ingredient list - whatever comes 1st is the highest amount- so if it says corn then the food has basically corn in it. Meat by products could mean bones, feathers, beaks, joints, hooves etc. -so stay away from anything that says 'by-products'. Look it up on your computers you'll be shocked at what some companies put in the dog/cat food - some even put road kill in their food.

I pick her up and she falls asleep in my arms like a baby
I'm sure with the right training she could be a therapy dog because she pretty much loves everybody, and doesn't have a mean bone in her body. Though, I'm not quite sure how quick of a learner she is... she is learning more slowly them my step-sister's dog but I just remind myself that her dog is part aussie which is a very intelligent breed so she's probably just normal. The only thing so far I have an issue with is that she doesn't know how to walk good on a leash and she pees outside all the time but still poops inside... but she's just a baby dog so there is plenty of time to learn... I'm just worried all the carrying her and letting her jump up on my lap will spoil her eventually

[lynn P.]

Before we got our dog, I bought a couple books. We also went for 4 months training classes at Pet Smart - that really helped. Good luck with your very cute puppy!!

Well, she is starting to get the hang of a leash and walking on it...a kind of slow work in progress, but she was WAY more rambunctious today then she has been the past couple of days... her next lesson will have to be "I am not a chew toy" but thankfully she isn't AS BAD as my step-sister's dog was when he entered his chewing phase when he actually broke my skin on a few occasions. I read up some things about puppy biting so I'm sure she'll stop being so wild with some training and once she can actually walk on a leash she can burn off a lot more energy then she is right now. My dad and mom says this is her real personality but really considering her age it's more like the puppy equivalent of the terrible two's

[eskielover]

Oh, Pumpkin is soooooooo adorable.....I just love puppies.....also love dogs.....but always loved that puppy stage.

When I was breeding my eskies, we always let them go to their homes at 8 weeks old......was hard parting with them....puppies are just so adorable.

Pumpkin looks like she is full of personality....don't think I would let her out of my hugs for long...lol. Sounds like you are being a good mommy....it's fun working on them with the leash to start with. You just sort of go with them wherever they want to start with & apply a little pressure to get them used to the leash stopping them.....then it gets easier & easier. puppy training classes are definitely worthwhile....so is dog training classes to teach obedience. I have to admit that I only really trained one of my eskies thoroughly for obdeience.....it took years for us to get his obedience title though....he always had a mind of his own & never wanted to follow commands.....most breeds aren't quite that stubborn....but that's what made him Excell.

Glad the potty training is working well....crate training is the best starting place for that as you are doing.....then letting them out every hour or so until they get to the point where they can indicate to you that they need to go out. It is definitely much easier with only 1 dog.

What Lynn said about changing food is important...without slowly changing food, the possibility for diarrhea is much greater. I have been lucky when I had to abruptly change foods. Quality of food is also important....many dogs have allergies & the corn in the food is one of the big problems. I have to admit....I found one brand that is very very good....but very expensive called Natural Balance....there are others that are natural also......but it's important like Lynn said not to get anything with meat By-products in it. Good foods during puppyhood is needed for good bone & teeth development.

But the most important ingrediant is the one that you are full of & that is LOVE......hugs & kisses....you can always train them not to jump up on you in the future, but the hugs & the pets & the kisses are all part of the bonding process.....puppies are full of nothing but unconditional love & our unconditional love in return even with our corrections to wrong behavior are ok when done with love.

Know that you are just full of love for Pumpkin.....I am so excited for you. It is so wonderful to see you get your puppy that you have work so long & hard to find......know she will be (or more like IS) the love of your life.

happy puppy love,
Debbie

[lynn P.]

Originally Posted by eskielover

What Lynn said about changing food is important...without slowly changing food, the possibility for diarrhea is much greater. I have been lucky when I had to abruptly change foods. Quality of food is also important....many dogs have allergies & the corn in the food is one of the big problems. I have to admit....I found one brand that is very very good....but very expensive called Natural Balance....there are others that are natural also......but it's important like Lynn said not to get anything with meat By-products in it. Good foods during puppyhood is needed for good bone & teeth development.

Debbie

Hi Debbie,
I give my Bella Natural Balance too. I researched dog food on the internet and found that to be the better choice for quality and price. There were better brands like organic but they were more expensive - plus I can't even afford to buy organic for myself LOL. As a treat I also buy the moist lamb roles(Natural Balance) and give her some of that. I was surprised to know that advertised brands like Pedigree aren't very good. Most of the common grocery stores dog foods are the poorer quality foods.

[eskielover]

Lynn,

I ended up having to change over to the IAMs Lamb & Rice....feeding 6 dogs Natural Balance ended up being more than my current budget could afford.....but when I ever get things turned around I am definitely going back to the Natural Balance...I can see a difference in their coats all around......It was costing me about $120+/month on the natural Balance for the 6 dogs......the IAMS isn't the greatest, but it's about the best of the cheap food....get it for $37 for 40 lbs & it takes about 70 pounds /month for the 6 dogs. Sad as they were doing so well on the Natural Balance too....good weight....now I am having to adjust to find the right amount that keeps the weight on & healthy. My dogs get food before I do....who knows....if all else, I can just eat their dog food too....lol.

Most of my eskies are older also & have lost mos o their teeth even though we were giving them good quality dry food all their lives.....at that is a good point for a new puppy.....dental brushing to keep the teeth clean.....even though puppies do loos their first set of teeth, the pernanent ones do need to be cared for more than just chew bones & dry food cleaning them.....they really do need to be brushed, or you end up with dogs that have hardly any teeth....I have to wet the dry dog food....it's stil more healthy than giving them the canned food.

All these things we learn after having pups for years....my oldest is 12...my youngest is 3 they range all the way between there.

Debbie

Originally Posted by lynn P.

Hi Debbie,
I give my Bella Natural Balance too. I researched dog food on the internet and found that to be the better choice for quality and price. There were better brands like organic but they were more expensive - plus I can't even afford to buy organic for myself LOL. As a treat I also buy the moist lamb roles(Natural Balance) and give her some of that. I was surprised to know that advertised brands like Pedigree aren't very good. Most of the common grocery stores dog foods are the poorer quality foods.

[turquoisesea]

EEEEEEEEEEEE just wanted to say gratz!!!! I just saw this and am SO glad you got her =D

SO CUTE!!!!

[Amanda_1981]

awwwwwwwwwww Pumpkin is SO cute!!!!!! I just wanna pick her up and hug her!! Congrats!!

she has been quite the troublemaker lately (typical puppy stuff: biting you while playful, chewing on everything, and eating well... everything... including dust bunnies... she seems to REALLY like paper and leaves though) but the past few days havn't been too stressful so that must mean either she's getting a little bit better or I'm coping with the stress better I know she'll be a good dog when she's all grown up so I just got to make it through this stage (I wish we had a little army guy smiley right now LOL) on the plus side while she has already been really good at house breaking she is getting even better and she can actually walk on a leash now, I've been working on "sit" with her but she still wont do it unless she see's me holding her treat (well actually in order to get a lot of training done without feeding her too many treats I just break the treats into little pieces so really we can do "sit" together like...10 times and she only ate 2 treats) the funny thing is she already knows she has to sit in order to get the treat so I have to get her but off the ground so I can tell her to sit. If she sits in place long enough then I'll give her the treat part for staying. I get the feeling while she may be a smart dog that it might take her awhile to learn the voice comands. No new pictures right now but I'll take some over the weekend