Eating/Pooping

[Luvin Labs]

Hi! I'm a new owner of a 6 month old Lab mix named Smokey! We just got him yesterday and are a little worried about his eatin/poopin habits... Basically he hasn't eaten his dog food (except the time a little spilled yesterday), only munchin on his bone, and has only #1'd once yesterday, NO #2 (we've had him since 1pm Sunday)...

We plan on taking him to the vet Wednesday, just wondering what we could do until then, or should we take him sooner than Wednesday?

THANKS!!

[Karen]

If you just got him yesterday, it's probably just him adjusting to the big change. It often take a day or so for tummies to settle down. Is he normal as far as drinking and energy-wise? Gums nice and pink?

[Luvin Labs]

OK we were hoping that is what it was... He does drink some water (IMO not as much as I think he should), gums are nice and pink...

and LOL he barks at every squirrel and other dog that he sees...

Edit: more info. about doggy

Was with Lost Dog and Cat Rescue, WAS adopted out but returned (because someone tried to crate train him, apparently he hates crates, we have him out in the open apt now though), he doesn't like other dogs... he's soo sweet and playful and sleeps in the 'bed' I made him... sigh

[Pit Chick]

I agree with Karen, he just needs time to get comfortable in his new home. Some or most dogs in this kind of situation usually don't have much of an apetite at first. Don't change his food if he's still eating the same kind he's been used to cause that will give him an upset stomach. Congratulations on your new pup and welcome to Pet Talk.

[Luvin Labs]

Thanks

They didn't say what he was eating before we adopted him :/ but we had him taste the doggy food we had while in the store (Heh, I flopped the bag into the cart, which popped a little end open, and he was eating the ones that fell on the floor)... and he was nibbling today (but not the stuff in his dish, just the stuff in his Kong with Peanut Butter)...

[Luvin Labs]

HAHAHAHAHA

my b/f IM'd me

he JUST pooped on the floor! (Smokey that is)

Good thing: He pooped
Bad thing: INSIDE

HAH

p.s. he does have some food aggression problems (growled when my b/f was patting his head while he was chewing on a meat bone we got from Petco)...

[bckrazy]

what kind of dog food are you feeding him? how is his weight? you should have him on a large breed puppy formula, Nutro Natural is good.

For housetraining, make sure you take him out every hour to go potty, and after he eats or drinks take him out. You should also leave a few potty pads out in case he has to go when you're not home.

For the food agression, you should immediately begin to treat that, as it will only get worse when he gets older. Feed him his food and treats by hand, teach him "soft mouth" by holding treats in your fingertips and just letting him gently take the treats. If he growls when you pet him and he's eating a bone, take the bone away, give him a treat, have him "sit", then give the bone back. He needs to know that you give him the bone, and you can take it away. Start NILIF training, make him sit before you put his leash on, make him sit and wait when you go through and door, make him sit before he gets his dinner, make him work for everything. You should also begin obedience classes as soon as possible, it'll solve a lot of these problems and help you and your pup bond a lot! good luck!

[Luvin Labs]

Right now we have a bag of Pedigree Healthy Start for Puppies.

He looks good for weight.

we are treating the aggression

[IRescue452]

Bring him out and socialize him lots. If he continues to be a picky eater don't baby him or buy new food, he'll come around. Most people don't like the process of waiting for adjustment but its usually only a few days of the pup seeing how much he gets away with at this new place.

[Luvin Labs]

today Josh and I are quite perturbed. Its been one week (we got Smokey Feb 27th) and he WAS eating just fine and dandy. Today he just ate a little bit, but that isn't TOO worrisome...

What we ARE worried about is...

Today (March 6) while Josh was petting him, Smokey barked and growled and snapped at Josh (and it was NOT a playful bark/growl). Josh and I scolded him and we thought that was the end of it... when he wasn't eating and sounded like he wanted to hurl we figured its cuz he's not feeling good.

THEN, Josh was HANDING Smokey a chew toy. Smokey growled at him then too. Which was totally weird. He got scolded again.

THEN, for NO reason, Smokey started growling and barking at NOTHING (he was looking at a wall with nothin on it)... Of course he got scolded again. We bopped him on the nose, but since we don't want Smokey to be scared when we go to pet him, there needs to be another way to scold him.

SO, needless to say we are a bit worried. If he was growling because of us trying to take his food away we'd understand and KNOW what to do. But he's growling cuz he got petted, he got HANDED his chew toy, and for no reason!

He's an awesome pet, its just this is really disconcerting to us (especially me).

[Luvin Labs]

another update

he's been eating grass so we think its an upset tummy, any cures?

[lv4dogs]

Eating of grass could be the cause of many things, which are not even proven facts. It may or may not be a myth that they eat grass when their tummies are upset. It may be just because he likes the taste of it. No one really knows for sure.

Your best bet would be to get him to the vet for an exam.

Is he still having an upset tummy? Maybe switch him to a bland diet or a special diet?
At 6 months of age you can probably change him from puppy food to adult food. Nutro Natural is a great food, so is Canidea.

I would also enroll him into a reputable obedience classes ASAP. And also speak with a behavorist about his aggressive behavior.

Good luck with the cutie, don't give up just yet. Be patient, learn & teach, it'll all work out in the end.

[wolfsoul]

Sounds like he doesn't understand who the alpha is. By challenging your bf like that, he is really saying that he thinks she is boss. You should really try the training method "NILIF" (nothing in life is free). Before you give him food, make sure he does a trick for it. Same goes for treats, toys, anything. He has to understand that these things are not his rights, but his priveledges. He should ALWAYS eat after you. Never let him eat dinner before you eat your's. In a wolf pack, the two alpha wolves always eat before the rest of the pack. I would also not let him on furniture, especially your bed. He sees these as places that make him higher up on the hierarchy. Have you taken him to obedience classes? Is he crate trained? You should get him a crate so that he has a den of his own.

Instead of bopping him on the nose (you're right, it might make him sensitive to hands), if he growls when you give him something, take it away and put it away. Then give him no attention for the next ten minutes. The fact that he also growls when he is pet sometimes is odd -- maybe he has a physical problem, or he is sensitive on a certain area of his body? I know some dogs that dislike their backs, tails, or paws being touched. But when he growls, scold him by saying "No!" and leave the room and don't pay any attention to him for the next while.

As for the food -- might want to get him on something better than Pedigree. Pedigree is one of the lowest quality feed grade foods out there. Sometimes low quality kibbles will only promote aggressive behaviour. Think about how you would act if you ate Mcdonald's everyday. Try finding a better brand such as Canidae, Innova (Innova Evo is AWESOME), Wellness, Chicken Soup for the Dog Lover's Soul, Pro Pac Holistic, Eagle Pack Holistic, Go! Natural, Foundations, Healthwise, Summit, California Natural, Solid Gold...etc. Try going to a pet supply store or small pet shop as opposed to something larger.

[Luvin Labs]

Thanks bunches!

we don't intend on giving up on him just yet, as I've said there only a few quirks with him that we need to work on. he's a great kid!

It was strongly suggested that we NOT crate train him (he was apparently returned because someone tried to put him in a crate... dunno WHAT he did, but he got returned)...

he's very good with staying off the furniture, and we keep him off the bed too, so that's not a problem... he hasn't had an accident in the apt yet and we make sure he has plenty to occupy his time while we aren't there (he's alone for MAX 3 1/2 hours at a time... )

[Luvin Labs]

WELP

just to update

We changed from Pedigree to

Nutro

and

WHAT A CHANGE

with Pedigree we gave him one cup in am one cup in pm, he would barely eat it (even with some mighty dog canned food)

BUT

with Nutro, we gave him 1 1/2 cup Nutro and one can of mighty dog........................ HE ATE IT ALL!!!... So my b/f gave him a wee more (total of 2 1/2 cups) he finished it off!

AWESOME

only kicker is

did that in the morning, he ate it all, then in the evening he did the same thing (ate it all 2 cups worth!)...

we also gave him some treats with some training (sit, lay, goodboy)

that night before bed (10pm, he ate at 8pm), he did #1/2

woke us up around midnight, whining, we let him out, he did #1, then sat around for 20 seconds, then did #2.

woke us up AGAIN around 1am, let him out, he did #1 but not #2 (b/f brought him back in cuz he just sat out there)

whined the WHOLE night... finally opened out bedroom door and he went out to the living room... no whining!

so we fall back to sleep

wake up to b/f's alarm at 7:30am.

he goes to let smokey out (who was sleepin in his bed)...

"OH NO" he says

"uh oh" I go

i feel like such a bad mommy for not suggesting leaving him outside for longer that last time, since I came out to the living room to see a few messes...

one was some puke (perhaps ate too much?)

the other was some #2... :gag to both:

I feel horrible , but now my b/f and I know if he keeps whining like that to LET HIM OUT (which I'll do if its that late again, since I work 4pm-midnight and he works morning work) and NOT ignore him (like some books/people say), and leave him out there for about 30 minutes...

he did SO GOOD with trying to let us know and we just ignored him and told him to go to sleep AND he must have really held it in waiting for us because I would have heard him ready to hurl (that 'knocking' sound is telling)...