Shi Poo Laci Girl

HI, I AM NEW TO THE BOARD, AND I HAVE A FEW QUESTIONS. FROM WHAT I READ MY LACI, IS UP TO PAR WITH EVERYONE ELSES. SHE WAS BORN ON 9/11, I'LL NEVER FORGET HER BIRTHDAY...ANYWAY SHE WEIGHED 2.6 LBS THREE WEEKS AGO. SHE IS APRICOT COLOR AND WHITE. THE KENNEL LADY SAID SHE SHOULDN'T GET OVER 5 TO 6 LBS. HER PARENTS ARE VERY SMALL, SO I HOPE SO. FROM WHAT I HAVE READ SHE DOES SEEM TO BE UP WITH THE OTHER PUPPIES HER AGE, BUT WHAT I HAVE NOT SEEN , THAT SHE IS DOING IS THIS...SHE BITES EVERYTHING AND EVERYBODY. THE VET SAID SHE'S JUST A PUPPY, SHE WILL QUIT. THE KENNEL LADY SAID SHE IS TEETHING, IT'S NOT MEANT TO BE MEAN, WELL SHE IS STILL DOING IT. SHE HAS BEEN A VERY PICKY EATER FROM THE BEGINNING, SHE STARTED OUT EATING IT SOAKED IN WATER TO MAKE IT SOFT, THEN SHE GOT TO WHERE SHE WOULDN'T EAT IT, SO NOW SHE EATS IT HARD, SOMETIMES I PUT THE IAMS GRAVY IN A BOTTLE ON IT BECAUSE SHE HAS WENT FOR TWO DAYS WITHOUT EATING BEFORE, BUT SHE DRINKS A LOT OF WATER. SHE EATS THE EUKANUBA, LAMB AND RICE FOR PUPPIES. DO ANY OF YA'LL USE THAT? WHAT ABOUT HUMAN FOOD, DO YOU SNEAK SOME THINGS IN EVERY NOW AND THEN? MY LACI LIKES ICE CREAM AND HONEYCOMB CEREAL. WELL I HOPE SOMEONE CAN ANSWER MY QUESTION ABOUT THE BITING PART. SHE IS VERY ACTIVE, LOVES TO RUN AND PLAY, AND THEN SHE LOVES TO HAVE HER BELLY RUBBED. I KNOW IT'S LONG...SORRY!!!

 

Can you describe her biting in more detail? Does she appear to be playing or do you feel she is being nasty? At less than 4 months of age you have a while yet before she is over her biting/chewing stage. Make sure you have several strong chew toys available for her and don't give them all to her at once, rotate them so that she remains interested in them.

In the meantime, here is an article on teaching bite inhibition that you might find helpful:
http://www.jersey.net/~mountaindog/berner1/bitestop.htm

I occasionally sneak my dogs a healthy tid bit or two such as a baby carrot or a small peice of cooked meat. Ice cream and honey combs cereal are not very good for her though and with her being such a picky eater I'd probably avoid giving her anything extra for now. If you start giving her people food she may hold out eating her own food even more knowing that you will eventually offer her something better.

 

HI, VANESSA

IN ALL HONESTY I THINK SHE IS JUST TEETHING BUT SHE DREW BLOOD LAST NIGHT. SHE HAS A FEW TOYS THAT SHE DOES CHEW ON. WE JUST CAME BACK FROM THE VET THIS MORNING AND HE SAID SHE IS GONNA BE LATE LOSING HER TEETH, SO I HOPE THE BITING DOESN'T LAST AS LONG. SHE HAS MADE IT UP TO 3.2 POUNDS. HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE BEFORE THEY ARE USUALLY OVER THE BITING PERIOD?

I KNOW I SHOULDN'T GIVE HER THE HONEY COMB OR ICE CREAM, I KNOW IT'S BAD BUT, SHE JUST SITS THERE AND LOOKS AT ME AND WHINES. SHE DOES EAT HER MILK BONES, AND FOR THE LAST TWO DAYS SHE HAS STARTED EATING BETTER.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR HELPFUL INFO.
SUSAN

 

hello susan... and welcome! I'd love to see pics of your laci! I have two shihpoos... Bailey, a 2.5 year old... and Baxter (almost 4 months). Bax was born on Sept 17, so he and Laci are VERY close in age!! Bax weighed 2.12 at 13 weeks, so sounds like they are similar in weight. Bailey was bigger, I think he was 3.4 at 9 weeks (now he's a tank at 15 lbs). Most shihpoos are around 10-12 lbs.... some a little bigger, and some a little smaller. We assume Bax will be smaller too (like your Laci).

Bax eats the Eukanuba for puppies - small breed formula. This was highly recommended by the breeder and the vet, so he'll stay on that for quite awhile... then I'm going to move him over to the Natural Balance that Bailey eats.

We never had serious 'biting' problems with either one... altho Bax is still a puppy, I hope i didn't just jinx ourselves!

 

HOW DO I POST A PIC ON HERE IN MY MESSAGE?

 

You do it under your "profile" options... it's called an avatar. What you will need to do first is upload the picture to a picture hosting site, such as photobucket.com, and then you link the picture in your profile. It's easier than it sounds... I swear!