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New Puppy - No Blues

4103 Views 76 Replies 7 Participants Last post by  storyist, 
S
In another thread (hope I did that link right), I explained my decision on breed of puppy, German Pinscher, and luck in having one offered to me now instead of in the late summer or fall as I expected.

Gibbs, registered name Oakwoods Semper Fidelis - can you tell I'm an NCIS fan? - arrived yesterday. His breeder flew him from Washington State to Colorado for me in an under-the-seat carrier, and there are no words to adequately say how grateful I am to her for that. He took the flight well "without a peep," she told me, and did well in the airport as we moved him from her carrier to mine. Not only that, but she gave me a lesson in posting his ears sitting right there in DIA.

He's been a good boy, fairly confident, but not swaggering like a Rottie pup, and very much noisier than any Rottie pup I can remember, but I expected breed differences. Other than that he's been a good boy. No accidents in the house, but I suspect he thinks I'm zooming him outside far more often than is called for. He's already loose in the house now and then with my younger Rottie,Teagan, and they're doing well together, although he's getting pushier with her, and little does he know, but that's going to stop. If she won't back him off, I will.

He's also getting bolder with me. He wasn't mouthy at all yesterday but is getting more like what I expected today. I still don't have bandaids all over my hands the way I did with Teagan. I'm not sure if she was the worst I ever had or if it's just old lady's skin bruises and tears easily.

In spite of his crying when he can't see or hear me, he slept through the night in his crate without a sound, and in fact I woke up a little after 7 and turned to see him just sitting looking back quietly. I indulged in one of those Snuggle Puppies, but he wasn't snuggled to it or even facing it, so I don't know how much difference that made. I also crated Teagan about 4 feet from him. His crate is by the head of the bed; hers by the foot.

He's doing pretty well in his ex-pen, although of course he'd rather be out of it and seeing what he can get into.

I see so many posts about puppy blues, but I love puppies. Sure they're a PITA, but they're so CUTE, so innocent and wide-eyed over so much of the world. I had to laugh at him when I walked him last night. All his daytime bravado disappeared. He acted worried that a coyote was behind every cactus just waiting to pounce. He got braver as we went, but never as brave as in sunlight. My guess is he'd never been outside in the dark before.

So we've had a good first day and a half.
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S
By yesterday evening I was ready to delete this whole thread. Posting Gibbs' ears myself for the first time was my idea of hell. He got hysterical; I got frustrated. So puppy and I were each cussing the other. I got it done, but not well. One post was out within a couple of hours, so I had to redo it and the bridge. That wasn't quite as bad. He's resigned to putting up with me.

By bedtime both posts were out, and I pretended not to see and left them. However, this morning - encouragement. His ears only looked this way for a short time, of course, but it is helpful to see it and know there's a purpose to this other than puppy torture.

Dog Dog breed Ear Carnivore Companion dog



Other than that he's a better-than-expected puppy. Once again he slept all night without a peep, and we got up when I woke up, not when he woke me up. The fact he's 11 weeks, not 8, helps with that, but even so I expected him to get me up in the night for at least a few days in the beginning.

Only one accident in house and so much my fault I could kick myself.

He's not as mouthy as I expected either, which doesn't mean he isn't mouthy, he is. His mouth is relatively soft, though. No bandages on my hands yet.

He's sleeping with his head on my foot as I type this, a good way to endear himself after discovering the bottom shelves of the bookcase and dragging things out for destruction. At least no-chew products seem to impress him, which they never did the Rotties. I swear Teagan was willing to lick the stuff up.
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LeoRose
One tip that they always give on DT is to wait until he's tired to do the posts, so that he's less likely to protest. And make sure you are really stretching his pinna up and gently "screwing" the posts into his ears, so that they aren't loose after they are taped. Not doing that is the main reason posts pop out at the bottom.
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S
I've watched bunches of videos and read a lot of the posts on Dobertalk (thanks for sending me there), but knowing what to do and how to do it is one thing, and actually trying to get it done on a puppy resisting with all his might was quite another. He wasn't just wiggling but rearing up and batting at me with his paws and trying to throw himself off the grooming table. I don't have bandages on my hands from puppy biting, but do have some scratches on my arms that bled a little. Anyway, after that war, he seems to have accepted he has to put up with it and was much better that evening and today, just normal wiggling now.

And it isn't just him. The tape gets bunched up and sticks to itself and is generally also a problem when trying to hold puppy and do the recommended. Today has definitely been better. It's been hours and both posts are still where they're supposed to be in spite of head shaking, scratching, and even trying to rub everything off on his ex-pen. I checked carefully and there's no sign of infection, and without the posts he doesn't mess with his ears at all, so it's definitely just the posts. Yesterday I figured to change to moleskin teepees if he kept it up, but I'm a little encouraged today.

A lady in California has his littermate sister and is going through the same thing. We're emailing back and forth and sharing experiences. She's evidently redoing posts several times a day with her husband's help and thinks of it as a learning experience. This is something I never wanted to learn, but Gibbs and I will undoubtedly get better at it since there's nothing for it but to do it.
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S
Well, I'm now wearing a bandage from a puppy shark tooth on one arm. Also, I'm nominating Teagan for canine sainthood.
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ScPuppy99
Aww! So cute!!
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S
One thing about puppies - they're entertaining, and each one comes up with something never seen by the owner before. Before bringing Gibbs home I made sure there was nothing dangerous he could get into from floor to considerably higher than a puppy could reach. There are still things available I don't want him messing with, but we're dealing with that on a case by case basis one way or another.

He is, however, undaunted, and eyeing things way above his height, standing on his hind legs if he thinks he can reach, and making plans for the future if he can't yet. He's a far "lighter" puppy than my Rotties are or than the Akitas were.
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ScPuppy99
Hm. Let’s see if he will reach anything!!
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S
This morning for the first time Gibbs woke me whining in his crate. Six hours sleep, and I gave real thought to telling him to be quiet and turning over and going back to sleep. He's been doing better than that, but in the end I dragged myself up and got him out. Good thing. He wasn't lying. He NEEDED to both pee and poop and did so promptly.

He's been doing well. Got him to the vet where he loved everyone he met. Getting a timely new puppy vet appointment was a project. My regular vet couldn't do it for weeks, so in the end I got an appointment within the time set by my breeder's contract at a hospital where I've taken Story for orthopedic consults. He won't have his second vaccination until next week.

This hospital, like my regular vet, is allowing one person inside with their dog. Have to wait in car and have an escort inside directly to an exam room, which is kind of funny because on the way out you get to be in reception until the bill is paid (and in this case until the girls at the desk cuddle your puppy).

I asked if I had to wear a mask and got, "We would appreciate it," so I wore one inside, but when in the exam room, the vet said, "I hope you don't mind if I take this off," and pulled her mask down, I said, "Hell, no," and yanked mine down and left it that way.

The vet has practiced something like 28 years and had never seen a German Pinscher until Gibbs.
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ScPuppy99
storyist said:
The vet has practiced something like 28 years and had never seen a German Pinscher until Gibbs.
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Hm. Go figure!
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ScPuppy99 said:
Hm. Go figure!
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Actually, it's pretty much to be expected. The breed was only given AKC recognition in (from memory) 2003, and there aren't a lot of them. Evidently so far there are clusters where there are several breeders and more of them, but those are in the PNW, the East, and one around I think Kansas City.
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ScPuppy99
Neat! :D
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LeoRose
There are a lot of breeds that are rarely seen. Glen of Imaal Terriers are a rare AKC breed, but thanks to the internet, I know someone with two of them, and they have friends who have Glens as well, so statistically speaking, I've "met" way more of them than the average person will probably see in their lifetime.
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ScPuppy99
Nice! :D
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S
Akitas were rare when I got my first one. They were still in the AKC miscellaneous class as I remember. I don't think anyone recognized her breed until I had her at a horse show and the photographer there also did dog shows and came to talk to me about her.
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S
Oh, for current relative rarities. I met a girl who had a Danish-Swedish Farmdog at an Obedience trial in late 2019. I really thought she was pulling my leg with that name until I got home and looked it up online. They're still in AKC's Foundation Stock Service program so far as I know.
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LeoRose
I saw a couple of Dandie Dinmont Terriers at a Scottish Games years ago. The owner was flabbergasted when I asked if they were DDs, and said I was the only person who recognized them. I wasn't even really sure, since I'd only seen them groomed for the show ring, and their coats were grown out and and in need of a good stripping.
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ScPuppy99
Oh, wow! Akita’s are kind of popular now... Go figure.
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S
LeoRose said:
I wasn't even really sure, since I'd only seen them groomed for the show ring, and their coats were grown out and and in need of a good stripping.
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It can be hard with breeds with long coats. I've often wondered how rescues identify some of those dogs as their own.
ScPuppy99 said:
Oh, wow! Akita’s are kind of popular now... Go figure.
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A lot of things change in 50 years.:)
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DaySleepers
I made a gentleman really happy a few years back when I asked if his dog was a Black Russian Terrier. Apparently there were only a handful (like, less than 10) in the country at the time (Norway, not talking US here) and he'd never had someone guess before.

My wife and I have a game where we try to ID dogs we see around. But even though we own one, we can't always tell Lagotto Romagnolo (rare but not as rare as some mentioned here) or doodle if the dog's not in a very clean traditional show cut. Spanish Water Dogs are also difficult unless it happens to be a bobtail - since docking is illegal here, if something looks like a Spanish Water Dog and also has no tail that pretty much confirms it. No other curly breed that I know of has natural bob tails.
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