new owner of a shihpoo and new member

[new_shihpoo_owner]

Hi everybody I am new to this group and just wanted get some tip's on female shihpoo's .

[myshihpoo]

WELCOME.....what are your questions?

[new_shihpoo_owner]

how are the female with little kids ?

I was told that they are moody at times.

when is a good time to fix her?

what should I expect in the first little bit ?

[gypsy]

Welcome! and i hope i can help you with the following questions. Little dogs rule, in my book!


how are the female with little kids ?
How are your kids with little dogs? Little dogs get scared very easily, so kids need to know to be gentle, move slowly, and not scare her.. . They should also be aware that squirmy puppies can break if dropped.........How young are your kids?

I was told that they are moody at times.
No more so than any other breed. We have small dogs exclusively, and would have no more large dogs in our lives.

when is a good time to fix her?
When she weighs at least 2 pounds. Talk to your vet, and get s/he advice

what should I expect in the first little bit ?
Lets see, not much sleep until she is housetrained, lots of excercise while you take her for walks with the family........and learning not to step on her. Little dogs really get underfoot, and it takes some getting used to. We put bells on all of ours, so we know where they are. On candlelit evenings, theyget to wear flashing LEDs, so we don't step on them. And this is after 15 years of having poms! LOL!

[myshihpoo]

Shihpoo, generally, are very good with kids. You just have to make sure your children treat the puppy good... and like gypsy said, don't scare or pick up the puppy.

I've never had a moody moment with my dogs... nor have I heard about that with other shihpoo owners that I know.

Typically dogs are spayed/neutered around 6 months of age. I definitely agree you should talk with your vet. Most people i know don't do it any sooner than that, but again... talk w/vet.

[new_shihpoo_owner]

My daugther is 9 years old and the only child in the house Emma (puppy name) is her friend for life as my daughter said.

she is a gentle kid so know worries there.

I would love to post her pictuer but I can't seem to do it any tips.[/img]

[lkpd]

Hi,

We have recently adopted a Shih-Poo (Lulu), the cutest little thing ever. We have been feeding her Innova with some Wellness soft food, then we were told to eliminate the soft, which we did however she was not too pleased. We then added a little slivered boiled chicken with the Innova, she went nuts. My current concern is that she seems to have the hick-ups (I hope that's what they are) and this past weekend threw up twice...I pray it is not something I have given her.

She also seems to be teething and I have the marks to prove it, my fault though because I play with her...should we stop this? Any advice is very welcome, I would hate to do anything wrong

[gypsy]

Not to panic, it seems as though little dogs tend to get the hiccups. And unless they are showing distress, it is not a big deal. Heres a few questions regarding the vomiting: How long have you had the puppy? What is the vomit like, full of food/gunk, clear, or what? How does she look afterwards, just relieved, or like she still feels bad? Chicken is rich, how much are you giving her? Who advised you to cut out the diet you had her on originally, and why? Was it the vet, a breeder, or what? And why did they advise you of that?
After all that, here are my guesses,based on 16 years of pomeranians: If you have only had the pup for a short time, she is stressed, and that is what stressed babies do. Make certain she doesn't dehydrate, they can do that quickly at that age. If you have had her longer, but it was still only two isolated instances, watch, and see. Is her stool normal? Is she eating normally? Mucosa all the right color? Might just be an anomoly. But if there is ANY real concern, get thee to the vet. They are well accustomed to panicky puppy parents, and often times will consult over the phone, if you are treating there already.
hope this helps!

[lkpd]

Thanks Gypsy. Lulu is now 9 weeks old, born on September 1, 2006 we got her at 8 weeks old and were given Purina hard food. When we got her home and for the first day she would not eat so we gave her the Wellness and she ate it up..but everyone we spoke to, including people at the pet store said that the soft food will make her feel fuller than she is and it is not good for her teeth...so we should incorporate the Innova with the soft food...which we were until we gave her chicken with the Innova..however she is not eating the Innova by itself. Regarding the throwing up, it is all food and she seems to feel fine afterwards.

Another issue, in the past few days she is very "VOCAL" and "FEARLESS". We let her sleep with us and when we are getting ready in the morning she wants to be in the shower, on the counter with the sink while my husband is shaving, in the tub. If we dont let her she starts whining and whining and wont stop...HELP, as well we are now trying to get her to stop teething on our skin, she wants to eat and bite everything in site, if we dont let her she pees on the floor, only the size of a dime. I get up at 4:30am and take her out, my husband then takes her out around 5:45am and then again at 7am. We put her in her crate and around 12:30pm I go home on my lunch and take her out again and am home by 4:15pm and take her out once again. My husband gets home at 5:30pm and again she goes out...she cant need to pee in the house?

Thanks for all your kind advice
Lisa

[gypsy]

Welcome to my world! Okay, so you have a super small baby. Lets start with the first: I feed Innova to all of our poms, and they thrive on it. Soft dog food is not bad in and of itself, it just tends to be junk food. If she likes it, a spoonful or two daily will be a treat, and a good way to start training. I trained all of our dogs to 'beg' by sitting. If they are REALLY begging, they lay down. Looks great, dogs get their rewards, and outsiders are none the wiser......they think we have well trained dogs LOL. At 9 weeks old, she will manage to get plenty excercise for her teeth, which brings up............teething. You have already figured out that you don't want to be a chew toy, so here are a few ideas: Bitter apple on your hands, and LET her mouth you. Might take a couple of tries. Find out WHAT she likes to chew on, our dogs vary pretty widely in the chew of choice. They do all like sheep hooves........they stink, but last forever with little dogs. Stay away from much ground up rawhide, they eat it, and in a baby, can make them very sick. Pigs ears are another favoured toy. Make a big deal of it, a ceremony if you will (oh man, look at this cool thing i hunted JUST FOR YOU!) and i bet she will take it.
Over bonding with you and hubby. That is not an issue at our home, cuz we prefer it that way. All dogs sleep with us(BIG BED!), but if it is an issue for you, use the crate training. Plenty toys, and do not make a big deal out of it.........she will respond to that, too. Just a calm tone of voice, "time out" or whatever, and then do it. Just remember, she is a baby, with little memory, and a short attention span. So keep the periods short.
Housetraining. You are on the right track.......there are one or two 4 hour spans which to my mind and experience, are rather long for a baby. For your sanity: If she is sleeping on the bed with you, the way we do it is: plastic tablecloth on top of the bed. Towel for pup to snuggle in. When they wake up in the wee sma' hours, you will hear the crinkle of puppy feet, alerting you to take them out. And for a baby, it will be about 2 hour spans. I KNOW that there are those who crate train in seconds, and have dogs housebroken by 6 weeks, i just have never personally seen it. Or experienced it. For sanitys sake, keep papertowels in the bedroom, if you have carpet, keep the pup OFF of it, and enjoy her puppyhood! It is very short, and seems shorter to me all the time. I promise you, regardless of what you do, she will be housetrained by 6 months.
Hope this helps, keep in touch, and post some pictures!

[lkpd]

Thanks again Gypsy, you have been a great help. Actually, Lulu has not, and hopefully will not do any business in our bed or her crate. What she usually does it climb up on me and lick my face then she walks to the bottom of the bed and looks over, this means she wants to go out. I guess so far we are pretty lucky. However we do have carpet in our bedroom but she will only piddle and I have this spray and clean it right away. What I have been doing when she wants to nip me is blow in her face, can't tell if she thinks its fun or it irrates her but she seems to stop..at least for awhile. Regarding the food, she seems to be eating the innova by itself lately (I guess because I am not giving her anything else)..after her 4:30am walk, Lulu and I go in the kitchen and I take the bag out, grab a handful and spread it on the floor, I am trying to make a game out of it, and she eats all of it.. She is indeed a joy and has definitely enriched our family...feels like we've always had her.

Thanks again
Lisa

[gypsy]

Fabulous! Blowing on the face is a good ploy............i think cuz dogs can't do it, it really surprises them.. or at least, that is the look i get when i do it. Enjoy your new baby.