New here Found a cute pup in woods

[takemehome]

Hi. I enjoy this site and decided to join. A few days ago, a day after Christmas, I found a baby chocolate lab (vet says it's eight weeks old). He was with its two siblings and ran in front of my truck on a rural, sort of deserted, road. I live in the mountainous parts of Va. Anyway, I couldn't catch the other two, but this one started wagging its tail and let me pick him up, so I took him home. Went back to try to lure the others with food, but couldn't find them. He is really a dream dog. No problems. I expected him to whine at night and poop everywhere, but the first night he was quiet as a mouse and no pee or poop anywhere (we don't have a crate). He slept on a blanket on the floor in the living room. Not a peep all night. Second night, he cried at about four am so my husband took him out and he went poop. Isn't that amazing? He seems to already be potty trained! It must be because he lived outside and was only comfortable going outside.

So anyway, vet says he is healthy except for doggie lice and worms. He is being treated for both. He appears a little chubby, but the vet said it was because of the worms. It does something to the stomach to make it big, but he was actually underfed. We take him to work with us (we own a barber shop) and he loves people. I wish I knew more about his past, but there was no mother around where we found him and we travel this road every day and never saw them, so we believe they were recently dropped off.

We are having no problems so far, but I am sure we will have some when he gets bigger. I hear labs are big chewers!

[takemehome]

Whoops, I am wrong about the day we found him. We found him Tuesday, three days after Christmas. Christmas lasted all weekend for us, so I sort of lost track! He has only been with us two nights so far. We will see how he does tonight.

[Oliver & Henry's Mum]

I looked at your profile and noticed that you have named this little chappy "Chance". That's a great name. It sounds as if you are planning on keeping him, which is even better. Your user name suggests that you are seeking a home for him though.

Welcome to the Daily Puppy from Oliver & Henry, and their Mum, in London, Ontario

We'd love to see some pictures when you have a chance. pun intended

[takemehome]

Thank you, what a nice welcome. Your pups are adorable! Yes, we are keeping Chance. The user name was chosen because of the desperate look in his eyes when we found him seemed to be saying exactly that. Like "Look, I don't know what's going on, but something happened to my Mommy and we are just not making it out here, we are freezing and hungry, so take me home please!" I have a feeling that mommy may have died of worm infestation, if that's possible. Because Chance was full of them.

I worry about the other two, and I always am looking for them when I go out, but so far I haven't found them. One is solid black and the other is like Chance, brown with black speckles like an Australian Shepard has, with the inner corners of his eyes a light blue. Where the whites would be, the inner corners are blue and the outer whites are white. Isn't that strange? You may not be able to see the blue in a picture, it's not that noticeable unless you are looking closely, because it is a light sky blue.

Anyway, we love this pooch and he is part of our family now!

[Oliver & Henry's Mum]

Is this your first dog?

I hope the other pups are found. It sounds like someone dumped them, and it's quite common for pups to have worms. I hate to think how their Mother is faring since these people didn't have the common sense to find homes for the pups.

I was also pleased that you took the puppy to the vet immediately. Chance will need all sorts of vaccinations and worming, as you have discovered.

I'm sure as you peruse the forums, you'll start to learn who's who. If you have questions, ask away in the appropriate section of the Forum. We are a supportive community of dog lovers.

[princelover]

I am so happy to hear that you found the pup and have given it a good home. I hope you will be able to locate the others and at least get them to a shelter. I don't understand what motivates people to dump sick unwanted puppies out in the woods to try to fare for themselves but they do and will continue to do so. I, too, am concerned for the mother,
Bless you for taking in this little one.

[takemehome]

I have had one other dog. I am ashamed to say that she died at about a year old because we failed to take her to get her shots and she got parvo. That's why I took Chance so quickly to the vet. I learned my lesson and this dog is going to get the best care. Our other pooch, Molly, was a pomeranian/chihuahua mix and we miss her terribly. I hope you all don't blast me for being irresponsible, because I have suffered alot from losing her and as I said, this pup will get the best care.

We have looked and looked, but can't find the others. I hope someone else picked them up, or maybe the SPCA. Last night he whined outside our bedroom door so we brought him to bed with us. He slept sound with us all night, but we know we can't do that forever. He will be quite big one day, so we will have to figure something else out.

I will post pictures soon.

[kian]

Glad you introduced yourself and Chance, I'm excited for pictures as I have Australian Shepherds and would love to see Chance to see if there is some in him. Welcome to DP!

No one should blast you for not getting vacs on your first dog, what I have found his many owners just don't know the seriousness of these viruses. You learned from it and that will save another dog like you already did with Chance.

I am shocked the first night he didn't potty in the house, but I would advise you get use to being crated as when he hits the terrible chewing phase, you may return home to find your couch de-stuffed! Best of luck, there are many other experience dog owners here and we try to help as much as we can for a successful outcome. It's great you picked up this pup, hopefully the others found someone as nice as you.

[Oliver & Henry's Mum]

No one should blast you for not getting vacs on your first dog, what I have found his many owners just don't know the seriousness of these viruses. You learned from it and that will save another dog like you already did with Chance.

Perfectly stated Kian.

[Deerie me]

Congratulations on your new family member. I love the name and he sounds very cute.

It sounds like you are doing a great job so far but I do agree with Kian that crate training is a good idea. It will probably speed up the housetraining, definitely save your precious belongings from destruction and keep your pup safe.

[Deez]

Hello, welcome to the Daily Puppy! Enjoy your new dog.

[takemehome]

Hello, thanks for all the responses. Chance is doing great. He is very energetic, much more so than when we got him. He was a bit anemic then, and slept alot. But he is all over the place now!

Well, someone around here told me that there are some dog breeders, especially in rural areas who will drop off puppies of no "value". Like, if their full breed accidentally mates with a mixed breed, then they will take the puppies and drop them off somewhere, and it's pretty common in the mountains. I didn't know this went on. It makes me want to try even harder to find the others, but I don't think that will happen. As was mentioned, they may have been picked up by someone. Let's hope.

I'll get around to those pics soon!