Milah & Chance (1-29-11)

[Nileska]

Hi Y'all Beautyful pup there....The bit about the crate is a bit bizarre but you did good...I would not be about to surrender a crate or the door thereof at the demand of some uninformed dingleberry.

..The doofus puppy is common in some breeds like GSDs (not Siberians as you know).Some breeds develop their intellegence more slowly..I have never met a stupid GSD so no worries.

..Outsize paws often indicates a larger adult size..I cant tell by the photos but I dont see delicate little paws....Seems Miley has bonded with him and will be a good influence.

.Dont be suprised if she corrects him from time to time or trashes him for biteing,maternal instinct you know...

Enjoy your pup and keep us posted....Richard

[kriswak]

Congrats, Chance is a cutie.♥♥Love Him♥♥ I think he is going to be bigger then Milah by the looks of those paws

They love each other already!

This has to be the cutest picture I've seen in a while. Keep the pictures coming. So we can all get our puppy fix.

[Deerie me]

He is the cutest of puppies. Well done you for navigating that nonsense at the shelter. I absolutely love that last picture of the two of them together.

[Oliver & Henry's Mum]

Madi, congratulations on the arrival of Chance! I actually commented on that particular picture on your profile earlier this evening when I saw Chance on the Recently Added Pups.

I think he has some hound in him, or working breed of some sort, but it's so hard to tell at this point. I am thrilled to see how accepting Milah is of him already. That is amazing. Clearly she enjoys having a sibling and doesn't want to be an "only" dog.

As Richard pointed out, she will be very helpful raising Chance with her maternal instincts and being the "first" dog.

He's gorgeous and well done you!

[Madi P]

Well, I wonder if that little boy got bit like I did... see my lip? Ouch!
Of course it was an accident, he just wanted to say hey and my reaction time was a bit slow..


Anyway here are a few more facts about Chance. He loves to chew! We didnt have this problem with Milah, so its new territory. My furniture is going to take a hit from this little one. Chair legs, table legs, couches, cabinets...yeah.

And he grunts All the time! every time we pick him up and every little move he makes is accompanied by a small grunting noise. Its so funny and cute. And man he has some stinky farts!

I know his feet look big in those pictures, they were taken from a bad angle. His feet are actually proportional to his body. They are little right now, but I do think he will be bigger than Milah. His little legs are very muscular, he jumps with all four feet!

Milah is at times a bit of a push over. But she does put Chance in his place from time to time I am worried about her eye though. I would hate for it to get worse from the 2 of them being crazy! I want to teach them "Time Out" make them separate and chill for a few minuets then they can go back to playing, because sometimes it gets fierce!

Look at this! fearless I tell you & very curious


look at that tail!

[snifferspommom]

Ooh! How is your lip today? I'm sure it was him being over excited. Who among us hasn't been nipped by their pup? I love that pic with Chance in the dishwasher, too cute! Teach him "leave it" now so that your furniture will be safe!

[lucky&babesmom]

How's the lip?

He's adorable!

[RubyJeansMom]

Ouch Madi!

Chance is a cute little fellow, helping mom with the dishes.
Love the pic of him and Milah, very sweet.

[Oliver & Henry's Mum]

Madi, I hope some blood curdling type of yelp escaped your lips when he bit you, and I hope it startled him. It does look like it will be quite sore. (Avoid anything spicy until it heals ).

Henry was a face nipper when he came home. Those puppy teeth are as sharp as needles and they do hurt. We were extremely mindful to teach him to never, ever nip a face. He did it from excitement, not from aggression. Judging by the character of Chance, "helping" with the dishes (which I hope are dirty, not clean) he is just being a rambunctious pup.

He is a cutie and I know he is just full of P & V. I suspect he is quite smart as well. I would really look into toys that occupy his mind, for food and other things. All dogs chew and teeth differently, and you are going to have your hands full, but he is oh so worth it!

It's a good thing he's so darn cute! That is going to save his bacon every time.

[Margie-Rex's Mom]

Oh, Madi! Chance is just gorgeous!! I'm very happy that you found the puppy you knew was right for you!

Yes, the chewing thing. Just remember to have something else he is allowed to chew handy every time you see him trying to chew something he isn't. Redirect, redirect redirect...

And ouch! How is your lip today? Deb is right - did you let out your best yelp when he did that? Judging from the photo, I'm sure you did!

And your photo of Milah and Chance together is just priceless! He will be a lot of work...but they are ALWAYS worth it.

[Madi P]

the lip is fine, my eyes watered it hurt so bad, and you better believe I yelped! screamed is more like it. There may be a scar and it bled like crazy! it was a bit scary...
So are they always teething? Or is it just around the 3-4 months when they actually lose their teeth? Would his gums be bothering him now?

There are toys Everywhere! Plenty for him to chew on, as long as he chooses a toy over a table leg
Im trying to talk Jason into a toy boy like the one Kristen has.

He is off and on with his rambunctious-ness. He sleeps a lot...but when hes on, he is so funny! I couldnt believe he jumped up on the dishwasher like that! And hes jumping on the couches already!

Edit: another question - the shelter has him set to be neutered sometime late Feb... thats really early isnt it? We dont know his exact birthday, their guess was 11-12 weeks when we got him. But I cant see getting him fixed at less than 3 months? We signed a contract basically saying if we dont bring him back in (on that date, I think?) that we pay $300.. they took our credit card info and all.. Im going to talk to them when we go in for his next shots (all this was included) I just wanted reassurance that he may be a bit too young for this surgery.. maybe?
(I really just answered my own question, reading other threads... )

Yep, he is so worth it!
The dogs have taken over our bean bags

[kriswak]

I would talk to them and see if they will amend the agreement. But they might not and you will pay a fine if you don't get him neutered when they want at 4 months.

They just want to make sure there are no unwanted litters, not what is best for the dog. It's sad but true. I would talk to them, but be prepared that they might not budge on this. Be prepared to either pay the fine or get Chance neutered.

I'm glad you lip is fine. Hopefully there won't be a scar.

[Oliver & Henry's Mum]

Madi, he is lovely, and I'm hopeful that you won't have a scar. I'm sure you won't. Vitamin E Gel is your friend, as well as some Polysporin or Neosporin...once the cut is no longer open.

Chance does look adorable in the bean bag chair. He is such a feisty one.

They do stop teething by about six months in total, I believe. However, with some dogs, the desire to chew or be otherwise occupied is very strong. Until the teething is over, it is hard to tell if your dog is a chewer or not. I think most dogs like to chew on things they shouldn't for at least the first year. Henry still tries to sneak a chew on the antique furniture, which thankfully already needed to be recovered!

One step at a time.

After a certain age, they will chew out of boredom and other reasons. However, until we are at that point, conjecture will simply muddy the waters.

You are right to ask that he be neutered between six months and nine months. The closer to a year of age is generally considered optimal. However, six months is acceptable, and 9 to 10 months often ends up being the norm.

[Kristen&Bailey]

There is always the option of a bitter apple spray which you can buy at most pet stores. You can spray it on whatever you don't want him chewing on. It works for some dogs and doesn't work for others. If you wanted to try it out, I would recommend bringing Chance to the pet store with you and spraying a little bit on your hand (assuming there is no seal on the bottle) and then getting Chance to lick your hand. See his reaction to it. There are 3 possible outcomes. He doesn't like the taste. He isn't bothered by it. He actually likes it. There is no point buying it if he doesn't have a bad reaction to it, as it obviously wouldn't be much of a deterrent .

Bailey was never a bad chewer. The most and only damage he did was a little bit of corner molding on the wall, and that was my fault for not crating him while I was in the shower. The bitter apple spray did work for Bailey on the random times that he did get interested in something he shouldn't, but he was usually good at knowing what was his and what wasn't. We still keep a bottle on hand in case we have any chewing fosters.

I hope your lip heals up well with no battle scar. It does look like that hurt!

[Sadie G]

Ouch on the lip! I remember the baby teeth and nails! I had more scratches and teeth marks than I could count.

What a great photo of the two of them together.

I got Sadie from a shelter too and I had to sign a paper (not sure it was and actual contract per se) stating I would have her spayed since I didn't want them to do it before I took her home. They wanted it done early, but I thought they were requesting it too early and my vet agreed. My vet sent them a fax stating it was to be done, but at a later date than what they wanted. They accepted that, and I sent them proof once she was spayed. You might see if they will accept something like this and not charge you the fine.
One question. Was it a free neutering (or reduced price) because it was going to be done through them? Sadie's was free, but I chose to pay my vet instead because she was just too young.

Oh and the paws . Sadie has the most petite delicate little paws, oh yes! But she is now a 49 lb girl

I can't wait to see more photos of the two of them together. They look like they took right to each other!