All you all with puppies - how did you do it!?

[Mavis]

We have a ten-week old (today) puppy. He's been with us for three days. He was crated his whole life, with mama and after he was weaned. He was the only puppy and crated alone. The good thing is he sleeps through the night in his crate no problem whatsoever. My husband and I let him out four times (every three hours bet. 7:30 PM - 7:00 AM), and he goes right back to sleep immediately. It's been freezing here and it's hard to spend any more than 10-15 minutes outside, although he has a little jacket. Inside, I play with him for good stretches but I feel like I am constantly trying to divert his chewing on furniture, shoes, etc., and biting by substituting with a toy. I think I've taught him a firm "No bite," but he's pretty much a maniac. It feels like a case of two steps forward, three steps back. He is doing great on "come" outside and with his potty training. I don't know if he "gets it," but I feel like I have a good handle on his habits and know when to take him out. So far, all poops have been outside and all pees except three. Considering how often he goes out and pees, I think that's pretty good. No messes in his crate. I don't know if it's possible at his age and so soon after we've had him, but he seems to enjoy cuddling with me and being cooed at petted (all the time while chewing on something). He's on our bed a lot with our other dog because that's where I watch tv. I do play with him in the living room, but because of my back (I'm 63), I can't get down on the floor to play with him and have to sit in a chair. Last night, he actually passed out on our other dog's toy stash and blanket under the dining room table. I am so happy when he is sleeping!

Biggest issues now are going after our feet and shoes whenever we walk and crossing in front of us and in between our legs when walking. I've corrected the ankle biting (!) with a firm No, but I'm not sure how to get him to walk next to us. When should I introduce leash training? The other issue is his persistence in trying to get our Chi to play. He is really over the top and isn't much phased by Petey's correction.

I know he is new and learning, but how long before they become semi manageable? He's a maniac!

 

[Rusty’s Owner]

We have a ten-week old (today) puppy. He's been with us for three days. He was crated his whole life, with mama and after he was weaned. He was the only puppy and crated alone. The good thing is he sleeps through the night in his crate no problem whatsoever. My husband and I let him out four times (every three hours bet. 7:30 PM - 7:00 AM), and he goes right back to sleep immediately. It's been freezing here and it's hard to spend any more than 10-15 minutes outside, although he has a little jacket. Inside, I play with him for good stretches but I feel like I am constantly trying to divert his chewing on furniture, shoes, etc., and biting by substituting with a toy. I think I've taught him a firm "No bite," but he's pretty much a maniac. It feels like a case of two steps forward, three steps back. He is doing great on "come" outside and with his potty training. I don't know if he "gets it," but I feel like I have a good handle on his habits and know when to take him out. So far, all poops have been outside and all pees except three. Considering how often he goes out and pees, I think that's pretty good. No messes in his crate. I don't know if it's possible at his age and so soon after we've had him, but he seems to enjoy cuddling with me and being cooed at petted (all the time while chewing on something). He's on our bed a lot with our other dog because that's where I watch tv. I do play with him in the living room, but because of my back (I'm 63), I can't get down on the floor to play with him and have to sit in a chair. Last night, he actually passed out on our other dog's toy stash and blanket under the dining room table. I am so happy when he is sleeping!

Biggest issues now are going after our feet and shoes whenever we walk and crossing in front of us and in between our legs when walking. I've corrected the ankle biting (!) with a firm No, but I'm not sure how to get him to walk next to us. When should I introduce leash training? The other issue is his persistence in trying to get our Chi to play. He is really over the top and isn't much phased by Petey's correction.

I know he is new and learning, but how long before they become semi manageable? He's a maniac!

Since you have only had him 3 days it sounds like he is doing pretty good with potty training.

That’s awesome he likes his crate to sleep in, that comes in handy when you have to go out somewhere without him.

Do you have a kong??? If you have a kong(they have blue and pink for puppies, and they come in black and red), if you put some treats in it and cover the big hole at the top with peanut butter and freeze it overnight, the next day you give it to him to chew on and get the treats out. The cold also feels good on their gums and teething and keeps them busy.

When he starts biting your feet or chewing on furniture or shoes, say ‘NO’ or NO bite or gentle, and then give him a chew toy or something to play with(favourite toy or chew bone or kong) that way you are not just saying NO don’t bite me or the furniture, your also saying chew this or play with this instead.

I recommend getting him used to being on a leash with a harness while he is still very young and learning, some dogs will not like being on Leash unless they are used to it when their pups. Rusty never liked the harness at the beginning and didn’t like leash either but he got used to it and now he loves it.

For him not listening to Petey’s correction, when he gets too crazy with Petey, maybe put him on a leash and when petey snaps or corrects telling the pup to stop, bring the pup over with the leash(or without) and say NO or “gentle” and ask him to sit, then give him something to play with.

Let him race around the house and burn off his energy(as long as it doesn’t bother Petey), that way he learns to play by himself and he will tire himself out without making Petey correct him and it saves your furniture from being chewed. Hopefully he will sleep after racing around by himself.

Rusty came home at 11 weeks and I have 2 other dogs(not Frenchies), Rusty was a maniac too, but he never made the other dogs correct or snap at him. He would race around the house and tire himself out.

But don’t let him over play himself. We were told this too and when Rusty either was becoming too much for the other 2 dogs it was not settling down and constant playing for too long, I put him in his crate for a afternoon nap as they still need lots of sleep and not overdo play. Even if he is not sleeping in the crate, if he is being too much, or not giving Petey the boundaries, put him in his crate for 30 minutes to settle even if he isn’t sleeping In there. Then when he is quiet and settled, let him back out if the crate. It’s not a punishment for the pup, but it is to help settle him down and take a break from playing or if he isn’t listening to Petey saying NO I don’t like that to him.

Try to get him used to the leash and harness too since it will help get him used to that, practice in the house on leash walking around and try not to let him go in between your legs to bite your shoes/feet. You can use treats too to get him used to walking beside you.

 

[Cbrugs]

@Rusty’s Owner has you covered! But at that age, the biting is what they do and it hurts! Just keep saying NO BITE and redirect him to a toy he can chew on. Thankfully, they do grow out of that stage.

 

[Mavis]

Since you have only had him 3 days it sounds like he is doing pretty good with potty training.

That’s awesome he likes his crate to sleep in, that comes in handy when you have to go out somewhere without him.

Do you have a kong??? If you have a kong(they have blue and pink for puppies, and they come in black and red), if you put some treats in it and cover the big hole at the top with peanut butter and freeze it overnight, the next day you give it to him to chew on and get the treats out. The cold also feels good on their gums and teething and keeps them busy.

When he starts biting your feet or chewing on furniture or shoes, say ‘NO’ or NO bite or gentle, and then give him a chew toy or something to play with(favourite toy or chew bone or kong) that way you are not just saying NO don’t bite me or the furniture, your also saying chew this or play with this instead.

I recommend getting him used to being on a leash with a harness while he is still very young and learning, some dogs will not like being on Leash unless they are used to it when their pups. Rusty never liked the harness at the beginning and didn’t like leash either but he got used to it and now he loves it.

For him not listening to Petey’s correction, when he gets too crazy with Petey, maybe put him on a leash and when petey snaps or corrects telling the pup to stop, bring the pup over with the leash(or without) and say NO or “gentle” and ask him to sit, then give him something to play with.

Let him race around the house and burn off his energy(as long as it doesn’t bother Petey), that way he learns to play by himself and he will tire himself out without making Petey correct him and it saves your furniture from being chewed. Hopefully he will sleep after racing around by himself.

Rusty came home at 11 weeks and I have 2 other dogs(not Frenchies), Rusty was a maniac too, but he never made the other dogs correct or snap at him. He would race around the house and tire himself out.

But don’t let him over play himself. We were told this too and when Rusty either was becoming too much for the other 2 dogs it was not settling down and constant playing for too long, I put him in his crate for a afternoon nap as they still need lots of sleep and not overdo play. Even if he is not sleeping in the crate, if he is being too much, or not giving Petey the boundaries, put him in his crate for 30 minutes to settle even if he isn’t sleeping In there. Then when he is quiet and settled, let him back out if the crate. It’s not a punishment for the pup, but it is to help settle him down and take a break from playing or if he isn’t listening to Petey saying NO I don’t like that to him.

Try to get him used to the leash and harness too since it will help get him used to that, practice in the house on leash walking around and try not to let him go in between your legs to bite your shoes/feet. You can use treats too to get him used to walking beside you.

Thank you for all the suggestions. I feel like all I say is No Bite, Leave It, No, and Good Boy. I do think he overplays and gets exhausted, but he fights sleep. I make a point to put him in his crate for a nap, which he'll usually take for an hour or so with little fuss. Every day, my husband and I make a point of going out to run errands or just get out of the house so he is used to us being gone for a couple of hours. He is fine in his crate and I want to reinforce away time from the beginning. Before Jelly when we had Petey and Bambi, there would be days where we didn't leave the house. Whenever we did, it was fine.

I started leash training today. He had several good moments when he would walk with the leash in his mouth, but then he resorted to stopping and pulling on it and refusing to walk. I praised him heartily when he did well and kept the session short. I want to keep a harness on him at all times, but my husband is fighting me on that. He does not agree and feels that Jelly doesn't like it because he scratches sometimes.

He is on Petey all of the time when they are outside. Petey is fast as lightening, but Jelly keeps up amazingly well for a nine-week old. I want him to be less relentless with Petey (he's ten). Sometimes Petey will correct him hard when really pushed, but Jelly seems to come right back.

I'm doing pretty well and trying to establish the same routine every day. As a general idea, when do they become more settled? I'd feel much better if I knew he'd be a lot better after 4 months or so. He's so tired today, he's been sleeping a lot. I think all this activity has caught up with him. We have gotten him to eat all of his food (half a cup, twice a day), at one time. That was a huge relief as the breeder said he was a "free feeder" (they kept his food in his 4' crate - no other puppies).

 

[Mavis]

@Rusty’s Owner has you covered! But at that age, the biting is what they do and it hurts! Just keep saying NO BITE and redirect him to a toy he can chew on. Thankfully, they do grow out of that stage.

Thank you! He really gets it and is doing very well, but every once in a while, he will really zing me. He gets overtired and fights sleep and then he's more aggressive. A couple times when we're cuddling, he's bitten me on the chin - ouchy!!! I given him a firm No Bite and I know he understands. Sometimes he has so much energy, it's like he's ready to explode.

 

[Rusty’s Owner]

Thank you for all the suggestions. I feel like all I say is No Bite, Leave It, No, and Good Boy. I do think he overplays and gets exhausted, but he fights sleep. I make a point to put him in his crate for a nap, which he'll usually take for an hour or so with little fuss. Every day, my husband and I make a point of going out to run errands or just get out of the house so he is used to us being gone for a couple of hours. He is fine in his crate and I want to reinforce away time from the beginning. Before Jelly when we had Petey and Bambi, there would be days where we didn't leave the house. Whenever we did, it was fine.

I started leash training today. He had several good moments when he would walk with the leash in his mouth, but then he resorted to stopping and pulling on it and refusing to walk. I praised him heartily when he did well and kept the session short. I want to keep a harness on him at all times, but my husband is fighting me on that. He does not agree and feels that Jelly doesn't like it because he scratches sometimes.

He is on Petey all of the time when they are outside. Petey is fast as lightening, but Jelly keeps up amazingly well for a nine-week old. I want him to be less relentless with Petey (he's ten). Sometimes Petey will correct him hard when really pushed, but Jelly seems to come right back.

I'm doing pretty well and trying to establish the same routine every day. As a general idea, when do they become more settled? I'd feel much better if I knew he'd be a lot better after 4 months or so. He's so tired today, he's been sleeping a lot. I think all this activity has caught up with him. We have gotten him to eat all of his food (half a cup, twice a day), at one time. That was a huge relief as the breeder said he was a "free feeder" (they kept his food in his 4' crate - no other puppies).

That’s really good getting him used to being home alone in his crate.
Make sure to not let him overplay himself, have him take a break and go lay down or let him sleep in the crate. They have to learn to settle and not overplay themselves. Rusty sometimes will over play and be out of breath and still wanting to play, I say settle down Rusty and take a break.

That’s really good you started leash training with him, keep his harness on him for like 1-2 hrs or more a day or only when he is outside, he needs to get used to being on leash and know the harness is not a bad thing.
Rusty too didn’t like it at first and would scratch it to get it off, that will stop once he is used to his harness being on.
Definitely keep the training sessions short, and positive!
Make the short walks exciting so he wants to walk with you and not stop and pull back to wait and go home, get him excited and keep it positive(I say let’s go for a walk and say it exciting way for example), give treats too if it’s needed. He will start to not stop, he will eventually learn he will walk with you and exciting to see the leash and harness because it’s walk time! Always end training on positive!


When Petey says NO for correction to Jelly, if Jelly goes back for more and ignores Petey saying no, you have to be the one that corrects him because that’s not fair to Petey. If he goes to Petey after he says no, he needs to learn boundaries still, you can make a loud clap noise(just clap your hands loud a couple times, it’s to get Jelly’s attention from going back and bugging Petey, he will hopefully know that the unexpected loud noise he doesn’t like happens when he doesn’t listen to Petey.
Once you get his attention, grab his favourite toy, say here play with this, or go get the toy.

When Rusty was still learning boundaries as a pup with my other dogs, he had a favourite toy, if he got to be too much with the other dogs, I would say go get your chicken toy, which was his favourite and then he would bring it to me to throw the toy for him, now he knows when he races around and the other dogs aren’t interested in playing, he comes to me with a toy for me to throw for him. He is 3 now, and it didn’t take him to know to give the other dogs boundaries. Even if he is being good with Petey but is still too crazy for Petey or not listening, take him and put him in his crate for 20 minutes(I did this with Rusty, it’s settle down time then once he is settled he can come out).

Great job with feeding schedule.

Rusty became more settled about 2-3 months after I got him, he knew boundaries too then. He was 100% house trained by then too. He liked his harness and leash as well.
4 months at most but hopefully sooner he will be settled and not as crazy and not as much work.
Maybe in the afternoon give him a kong with peanut butter in the kong and freeze it overnight, this will settle him down too and keep his mind off bugging Petey.
Give this when he is full of energy still but has played enough and it’s time to settle and take a break from playing.


Things will get better, and it will be so worth it in the long run. Patience and positive reinforcement is the best for now, he will learn boundaries but he is still very young and just wanting to play, hopefully he will settle down soon, less than 4 months definitely but some they settle sooner.

I know how difficult and frustrating and a lot of work they can be at times, but he will get better. He will learn and it will be worth it!

 

[Dino]

I crate trained my guy with (non-treat) positive reinforcement. Before 6 weeks a high powered squirt bottle with a well timed and big “NO!” worked wonders.

 

[Mavis]

That’s really good getting him used to being home alone in his crate.
Make sure to not let him overplay himself, have him take a break and go lay down or let him sleep in the crate. They have to learn to settle and not overplay themselves. Rusty sometimes will over play and be out of breath and still wanting to play, I say settle down Rusty and take a break.

That’s really good you started leash training with him, keep his harness on him for like 1-2 hrs or more a day or only when he is outside, he needs to get used to being on leash and know the harness is not a bad thing.
Rusty too didn’t like it at first and would scratch it to get it off, that will stop once he is used to his harness being on.
Definitely keep the training sessions short, and positive!
Make the short walks exciting so he wants to walk with you and not stop and pull back to wait and go home, get him excited and keep it positive(I say let’s go for a walk and say it exciting way for example), give treats too if it’s needed. He will start to not stop, he will eventually learn he will walk with you and exciting to see the leash and harness because it’s walk time! Always end training on positive!


When Petey says NO for correction to Jelly, if Jelly goes back for more and ignores Petey saying no, you have to be the one that corrects him because that’s not fair to Petey. If he goes to Petey after he says no, he needs to learn boundaries still, you can make a loud clap noise(just clap your hands loud a couple times, it’s to get Jelly’s attention from going back and bugging Petey, he will hopefully know that the unexpected loud noise he doesn’t like happens when he doesn’t listen to Petey.
Once you get his attention, grab his favourite toy, say here play with this, or go get the toy.

When Rusty was still learning boundaries as a pup with my other dogs, he had a favourite toy, if he got to be too much with the other dogs, I would say go get your chicken toy, which was his favourite and then he would bring it to me to throw the toy for him, now he knows when he races around and the other dogs aren’t interested in playing, he comes to me with a toy for me to throw for him. He is 3 now, and it didn’t take him to know to give the other dogs boundaries. Even if he is being good with Petey but is still too crazy for Petey or not listening, take him and put him in his crate for 20 minutes(I did this with Rusty, it’s settle down time then once he is settled he can come out).

Great job with feeding schedule.

Rusty became more settled about 2-3 months after I got him, he knew boundaries too then. He was 100% house trained by then too. He liked his harness and leash as well.
4 months at most but hopefully sooner he will be settled and not as crazy and not as much work.
Maybe in the afternoon give him a kong with peanut butter in the kong and freeze it overnight, this will settle him down too and keep his mind off bugging Petey.
Give this when he is full of energy still but has played enough and it’s time to settle and take a break from playing.


Things will get better, and it will be so worth it in the long run. Patience and positive reinforcement is the best for now, he will learn boundaries but he is still very young and just wanting to play, hopefully he will settle down soon, less than 4 months definitely but some they settle sooner.

I know how difficult and frustrating and a lot of work they can be at times, but he will get better. He will learn and it will be worth it!

Thank you! I have a few challenges. When we got Jelly, I kept his harness on (very light) all of the time. He honestly didn't seem to mind it, although he would scratch once in a while and shake his head. I I recleaned his ears and they were bad, so I think it may have been that and not the harness. Anyway, since my husband saw him scratching, he doesn't want to keep the harness on him. The EAstern Canadian FB Rescue sent me a link to leash training and I read it. I gathered that I should try walking him on a quiet sidewalk or place other than the backyard. My husband has given an unequivical "NO" to that as he is afraid he will get stolen - so, I'm not sure how leash training is going to go. It's hard when I feel I know more than him and we're not on the same page.

Tried the frozen peanut butter kong with kibble but he wasn't interested. I always try to substitute with his favorite chewies when he is getting into something, however, sometimes he is not to be deterred. Potty training I thought was going great, although he still will have accidents. He is successful more outside than in and he hates the cold weather. I do think he's starting to connect "potty potty" with going outside. When he goes inside, we just clean it up and don't scold him or acknowledge it.

Your timeline for Rusty was encouraging. I can deal with four months for a relatively well behaved dog. Will have to try sit, down and stay more in earnest, but I think that will be a challenge. I tried sit, but it didn't go great. Most of the time he comes great outside and will run to me from a good distance. I praise him very well when he does that. So much to cover, it's overwhelming at times. Got to concentrate on the positive strides made.

 

[Mavis]

I crate trained my guy with (non-treat) positive reinforcement. Before 6 weeks a high powered squirt bottle with a well timed and big “NO!” worked wonders.

Thank you. Most of the time, I am doing only verbal reinforcement and he has responded well. Love the squirt bottle idea and imagine it would work wonders for really stubborn issues, but I think my husband would freak. He is much more permissive and inconsistent than I am and it is making me crazy. I think with leash training, sit, down and stay, I may incorporate little hot dog pieces as added incentive. How old is Dino? Love his coloration!

 

[Rusty’s Owner]

Thank you! I have a few challenges. When we got Jelly, I kept his harness on (very light) all of the time. He honestly didn't seem to mind it, although he would scratch once in a while and shake his head. I I recleaned his ears and they were bad, so I think it may have been that and not the harness. Anyway, since my husband saw him scratching, he doesn't want to keep the harness on him. The EAstern Canadian FB Rescue sent me a link to leash training and I read it. I gathered that I should try walking him on a quiet sidewalk or place other than the backyard. My husband has given an unequivical "NO" to that as he is afraid he will get stolen - so, I'm not sure how leash training is going to go. It's hard when I feel I know more than him and we're not on the same page.

Tried the frozen peanut butter kong with kibble but he wasn't interested. I always try to substitute with his favorite chewies when he is getting into something, however, sometimes he is not to be deterred. Potty training I thought was going great, although he still will have accidents. He is successful more outside than in and he hates the cold weather. I do think he's starting to connect "potty potty" with going outside. When he goes inside, we just clean it up and don't scold him or acknowledge it.

Your timeline for Rusty was encouraging. I can deal with four months for a relatively well behaved dog. Will have to try sit, down and stay more in earnest, but I think that will be a challenge. I tried sit, but it didn't go great. Most of the time he comes great outside and will run to me from a good distance. I praise him very well when he does that. So much to cover, it's overwhelming at times. Got to concentrate on the positive strides made.

Definitely keep having the harness on him on and off for him to get used to it.
Since his ears have been dirty, what are you feeding him???? Does he scratch his ears like they are bothering him???
He might be sensitive to the food if he has dirty ears.

Rusty wasn’t ‘fully’ house trained until 1 month after I brought him home. He had the odd accident of pee in the house but some of that was him being stubborn because it was raining which he hates water. The only thing that worked was a spray bottle which was only needed 1 or 2 times, so he knew if he peed in the house because he doesn’t want to go outside in the rain, he would get a tiny bit of water from the spray bottle, that was the only way to get it thru to him, my vet actually told me to do that as Frenchies can be very stubborn sometimes. No more pee in the house, only took 2 times until he figured that out. It was only 2 drops of just water that got on him from he spray bottle and other than doing that 2 times he was FULLY potty trained in 1 month which was pretty good considering how some frenchies are very stubborn.
Sometimes you just have to get it thru to them where it doesn’t matter how cold or how rainy it is outside you have to go outside and NOT pee inside. No issues since the couple drops of water from the spray bottle, he runs under cover and will be like 30 seconds outside if it’s cold or rainy!

That’s crazy, most dogs go crazy for peanut butter kong.

Maybe ask him to sit for his food with Petey and you might have to help him sit and when he does say ‘yay good sit’ or good boy great sit! And give him his food.
Maybe that will work?

Didnt take long for sit for Rusty but the down command took longer. He is still doing great for only 8 days of being with you!!

 

[Mavis]

Definitely keep having the harness on him on and off for him to get used to it.
Since his ears have been dirty, what are you feeding him???? Does he scratch his ears like they are bothering him???
He might be sensitive to the food if he has dirty ears.

Rusty wasn’t ‘fully’ house trained until 1 month after I brought him home. He had the odd accident of pee in the house but some of that was him being stubborn because it was raining which he hates water. The only thing that worked was a spray bottle which was only needed 1 or 2 times, so he knew if he peed in the house because he doesn’t want to go outside in the rain, he would get a tiny bit of water from the spray bottle, that was the only way to get it thru to him, my vet actually told me to do that as Frenchies can be very stubborn sometimes. No more pee in the house, only took 2 times until he figured that out. It was only 2 drops of just water that got on him from he spray bottle and other than doing that 2 times he was FULLY potty trained in 1 month which was pretty good considering how some frenchies are very stubborn.
Sometimes you just have to get it thru to them where it doesn’t matter how cold or how rainy it is outside you have to go outside and NOT pee inside. No issues since the couple drops of water from the spray bottle, he runs under cover and will be like 30 seconds outside if it’s cold or rainy!

That’s crazy, most dogs go crazy for peanut butter kong.

Maybe ask him to sit for his food with Petey and you might have to help him sit and when he does say ‘yay good sit’ or good boy great sit! And give him his food.
Maybe that will work?

Didnt take long for sit for Rusty but the down command took longer. He is still doing great for only 8 days of beinW

 

[Mavis]

Definitely have to get a spray bottle. He is good with pee for the most part, as I have a better handle on when to time it and how often he needs to go. I'd say he can go about every 30-45 minutes as he is playing most of the time. If he's sleeping outside of his crate (which has has been doing under the dining room table - his favorite spot because it is Petey's toy lair) - I'll take him out when he wakes up. Poop has been an issue for the last couple of days because it's freezing and snowy here. He def. does not poop half an hour after he eats (and he gets half a cup at a time - a lot for a little tummy), so that makes it more challenging. For example, we played his morning and then he settled pretty well on the couch, chewing on his favorite rubber bone. He had gas, so I felt it was time to go out, but nothing. Since then, we've been out three more times, each about 30-45 min. apart, and nothing. I even took him to his favorite poop spots, but he is too cold (shivers even with his jacket on) and the grass is too wet for him to want to stay out. He's sleeping now, but I am keeping a close eye on him when he's awake and will pounce if I see him circling. I can't imagine potty training in the dead of winter. Wow, Rusty sounds so good! Jelly really has made great strides in self play, play with Petey (only rare biting), and they can play for 15 minutes at a time - silently (which is awesome!), hip checking, wrassling, and mouthing but they love it, and other things. I am encouraged as it has only been a short while and I can tell he is really settling into a comfortable routine.

We are feeding Purina Pro Plan 30/20 for dogs 1 and under (chicken!), which is what the breeder was feeding. I know that is crap food - and that chicken is a hot protein - but we didn't want to switch him so young. I do his ears every couple of days and they seem good. They were just bad when he came to us. I could actually see the dark wax, or whatever it is, all over the inside of his ears.

 

[Mavis]

Definitely have to get a spray bottle. He is good with pee for the most part, as I have a better handle on when to time it and how often he needs to go. I'd say he can go about every 30-45 minutes as he is playing most of the time. If he's sleeping outside of his crate (which has has been doing under the dining room table - his favorite spot because it is Petey's toy lair) - I'll take him out when he wakes up. Poop has been an issue for the last couple of days because it's freezing and snowy here. He def. does not poop half an hour after he eats (and he gets half a cup at a time - a lot for a little tummy), so that makes it more challenging. For example, we played his morning and then he settled pretty well on the couch, chewing on his favorite rubber bone. He had gas, so I felt it was time to go out, but nothing. Since then, we've been out three more times, each about 30-45 min. apart, and nothing. I even took him to his favorite poop spots, but he is too cold (shivers even with his jacket on) and the grass is too wet for him to want to stay out. He's sleeping now, but I am keeping a close eye on him when he's awake and will pounce if I see him circling. I can't imagine potty training in the dead of winter. Wow, Rusty sounds so good! Jelly really has made great strides in self play, play with Petey (only rare biting), and they can play for 15 minutes at a time - silently (which is awesome!), hip checking, wrassling, and mouthing but they love it, and other things. I am encouraged as it has only been a short while and I can tell he is really settling into a comfortable routine.

We are feeding Purina Pro Plan 30/20 for dogs 1 and under (chicken!), which is what the breeder was feeding. I know that is crap food - and that chicken is a hot protein - but we didn't want to switch him so young. I do his ears every couple of days and they seem good. They were just bad when he came to us. I could actually see the dark wax, or whatever it is, all over the inside of his ears.

You mentioned Raised Right food in another thread. Can you tell me more about that, specifically, how much does Rusty eat of it a day (do you feed twice a day), and approximate cost per week. Do you feed beef, chicken or turkey? I am reading up on their website, but this is my immediate question. Do you supplement with anything else?

 

[Rusty’s Owner]

You mentioned Raised Right food in another thread. Can you tell me more about that, specifically, how much does Rusty eat of it a day (do you feed twice a day), and approximate cost per week. Do you feed beef, chicken or turkey? I am reading up on their website, but this is my immediate question. Do you supplement with anything else?

Rusty is fed Breakfast, Dinner and a snack before bed(just a small portion of his daily amount) as ever since he was on a low quality food from breeder that’s when he started vomiting in the morning because some dogs(very common in Frenchies) that they need a small snack before bed because he vomits foam as it’s too long for him to go without eating. I give the snack @10:30 before bed.
So he gets 1/8 of his daily amount for snack and then I split the remaining daily amount in 1/2 and that is for breakfast and dinner. I add water to his food as he was getting urine crystals(this was a year ago) so I just add 1/2 cup water to his food to prevent them from coming back.
Yes I do supplement with a couple things but it’s not required cause this food is completely balanced. I give him a berry blend and a greens blend and immunity mushrooms to prevent a eyelid tumour from returning. The greens and berry blend also keep the irons crystals away!
Berry blend helps with allergies too.
I give bovine Colostrum for environmental allergies too and I give probiotics.
I have been giving him these supplements for over a year for the allergies and urine crystals and the eyelid tumour so they don’t come back and it’s working!
the yeast that are an issue with allergies, and same with tumours- they eat carbs. So the low carb in the food(less than 9% for some recipes, the recipes I give are 4% carbs) this starves tumours, yeast and inflammatory conditions.
I rotate between beef, and Turkey and sometimes pork in the adult recipes.
The only protein I don’t feed is chicken.
Every batch is lab tested too.


Raised Right I actually just switched Rusty to 2 weeks ago as I was home cooking for him and it got too expensive(over $300 a month) and with Covid I can’t get the butternut squash or anything.
Feeding Rusty raised Right food will only cost $175/month which is really good considering I don’t have to cook and go to every store searching for ingredients and its so much better for him! Much lower carb, no added synthetic vitamins is required(I had to also add vitamins to his homemade food-which actually caused Rusty to be picky and not eat cause he didn’t like the vitamins required).

Rusty eats 1/2 a 16oz pack per day. If your in US they ship if you order off the website, I think the first order is like 20% off when I was looking in their website.

What I really like about Raised Right is you can get a puppy formula and adult formulas and they are completely balanced using whole foods and no synthetics, and limited ingredients, no preservatives, gently cooked at minimum temperatures(not high temperatures), this helps prevent nutrients being lost thru cooking. Raised Right actually makes it using human grade meat and they make human food.
This dog food is high in moisture which is SO good, low carb cause dogs have no requirements for carbs as it causes inflammation and other health issues.
The dog eating it is literally getting anti inflammatory diet
When I cooked for him it was 20% carbs which I think was making his allergies worse because carbs cause inflammation, he already has inflammation due to allergies. I have only fed this for 2 weeks now and his coat is so improved, this is the very first time during allergy immunotherapy injections he didn’t have a reaction(basically everything he is allergic to in environmental gets injected into him), and I don’t have to bath him every other day, only 2 days a week. When I cooked for him he was going thru many reactions for environmental allergies, I had to add herring oil for him to eat. That’s not needed anymore!

I now work at a Holistic pet store(I knew a lot about this food and did alot of research about it and gave it a try before I worked there), now I see it’s very popular and people are very happy with it.

If you have a pet store near you that sells it, they have a buy 12 get 1 free program. I see alot of people buy it for their adult dogs and puppies(since puppy formula only comes in beef, they rotate thru every formula even if they rotate thru adult formula, there is no big deal whether it’s puppy food or not). Rusty and my 2 other dogs never came home on puppy food, just adult and feed double the recommended amount. I definitely recommend rotating proteins because this helps prevent food allergies(I didn’t know that before and now I have 2 dogs with food allergies-Rusty is one of them!).

The omega 6:3 ratio is balanced so you don’t need to add any omega 3 oils as they are balanced that way too which is awesome.
There is no need at all for supplements, some dogs need supplements for the health issues, but with the food being balanced it’s not required
If you go on their website it should tell you how much to feed(just put in the weight of jelly and click the ‘puppy’.)

I notice Rusty’s teeth are better and better breath, this is cause of the low carb(carbs also cause dental issues).

But I am really happy I found this food, I was paying much more and very time consuming cooking for him was. I think with this food I will see the vet less. It’s already almost May and he has been to vet 1 time in January for a concern, and last year I had 30 vet bills for Rusty, so since it’s almost May with only 1 I’m very happy(I don’t want to speak too soon) but I’m just saying with good food you will save In vet bills. Rusty had head tremors, went away when I cooked for him until he went thru a allergy flare, I haven’t seen 1 yet in 2 weeks of being on this food.

When Rusty had his soft palate surgery, he had to be eating soft food for recovery, I was still cooking for him then but that’s another benefit is that if he ever needed it done, no need to switch his food.
The high moisture food will prevent dehydration, for dogs eating dry food they are in constant dehydration no matter if they drink 3 cups of water after they eat kibble, then the moisture gets pulled from the kidneys causing kidney problems(I didn’t know that until my 2 other dogs that I have they BOTH have kidney disease as a result of the not good kibble from the breeder, now I’m dealing with their kidney disease and other health issues as well as Rusty, but the 2 other dogs are on high moisture diet now and no kibble, the kidney numbers are in normal range in bloodwork).

If you are still wanting to keep him on kibble, there are better kibbles than his current food.

Keep us updated!
I’m happy to help!

 

[Rusty’s Owner]

You mentioned Raised Right food in another thread. Can you tell me more about that, specifically, how much does Rusty eat of it a day (do you feed twice a day), and approximate cost per week. Do you feed beef, chicken or turkey? I am reading up on their website, but this is my immediate question. Do you supplement with anything else?

Costs $175/ month I didn’t realize you asked per week. Details are below

Let me know if you have any questions/concerns.

I’m happy to help

 

[Mavis]

Rusty is fed Breakfast, Dinner and a snack before bed(just a small portion of his daily amount) as ever since he was on a low quality food from breeder that’s when he started vomiting in the morning because some dogs(very common in Frenchies) that they need a small snack before bed because he vomits foam as it’s too long for him to go without eating. I give the snack @10:30 before bed.
So he gets 1/8 of his daily amount for snack and then I split the remaining daily amount in 1/2 and that is for breakfast and dinner. I add water to his food as he was getting urine crystals(this was a year ago) so I just add 1/2 cup water to his food to prevent them from coming back.
Yes I do supplement with a couple things but it’s not required cause this food is completely balanced. I give him a berry blend and a greens blend and immunity mushrooms to prevent a eyelid tumour from returning. The greens and berry blend also keep the irons crystals away!
Berry blend helps with allergies too.
I give bovine Colostrum for environmental allergies too and I give probiotics.
I have been giving him these supplements for over a year for the allergies and urine crystals and the eyelid tumour so they don’t come back and it’s working!
the yeast that are an issue with allergies, and same with tumours- they eat carbs. So the low carb in the food(less than 9% for some recipes, the recipes I give are 4% carbs) this starves tumours, yeast and inflammatory conditions.
I rotate between beef, and Turkey and sometimes pork in the adult recipes.
The only protein I don’t feed is chicken.
Every batch is lab tested too.


Raised Right I actually just switched Rusty to 2 weeks ago as I was home cooking for him and it got too expensive(over $300 a month) and with Covid I can’t get the butternut squash or anything.
Feeding Rusty raised Right food will only cost $175/month which is really good considering I don’t have to cook and go to every store searching for ingredients and its so much better for him! Much lower carb, no added synthetic vitamins is required(I had to also add vitamins to his homemade food-which actually caused Rusty to be picky and not eat cause he didn’t like the vitamins required).

Rusty eats 1/2 a 16oz pack per day. If your in US they ship if you order off the website, I think the first order is like 20% off when I was looking in their website.

What I really like about Raised Right is you can get a puppy formula and adult formulas and they are completely balanced using whole foods and no synthetics, and limited ingredients, no preservatives, gently cooked at minimum temperatures(not high temperatures), this helps prevent nutrients being lost thru cooking. Raised Right actually makes it using human grade meat and they make human food.
This dog food is high in moisture which is SO good, low carb cause dogs have no requirements for carbs as it causes inflammation and other health issues.
The dog eating it is literally getting anti inflammatory diet
When I cooked for him it was 20% carbs which I think was making his allergies worse because carbs cause inflammation, he already has inflammation due to allergies. I have only fed this for 2 weeks now and his coat is so improved, this is the very first time during allergy immunotherapy injections he didn’t have a reaction(basically everything he is allergic to in environmental gets injected into him), and I don’t have to bath him every other day, only 2 days a week. When I cooked for him he was going thru many reactions for environmental allergies, I had to add herring oil for him to eat. That’s not needed anymore!

I now work at a Holistic pet store(I knew a lot about this food and did alot of research about it and gave it a try before I worked there), now I see it’s very popular and people are very happy with it.

If you have a pet store near you that sells it, they have a buy 12 get 1 free program. I see alot of people buy it for their adult dogs and puppies(since puppy formula only comes in beef, they rotate thru every formula even if they rotate thru adult formula, there is no big deal whether it’s puppy food or not). Rusty and my 2 other dogs never came home on puppy food, just adult and feed double the recommended amount. I definitely recommend rotating proteins because this helps prevent food allergies(I didn’t know that before and now I have 2 dogs with food allergies-Rusty is one of them!).

The omega 6:3 ratio is balanced so you don’t need to add any omega 3 oils as they are balanced that way too which is awesome.
There is no need at all for supplements, some dogs need supplements for the health issues, but with the food being balanced it’s not required
If you go on their website it should tell you how much to feed(just put in the weight of jelly and click the ‘puppy’.)

I notice Rusty’s teeth are better and better breath, this is cause of the low carb(carbs also cause dental issues).

But I am really happy I found this food, I was paying much more and very time consuming cooking for him was. I think with this food I will see the vet less. It’s already almost May and he has been to vet 1 time in January for a concern, and last year I had 30 vet bills for Rusty, so since it’s almost May with only 1 I’m very happy(I don’t want to speak too soon) but I’m just saying with good food you will save In vet bills. Rusty had head tremors, went away when I cooked for him until he went thru a allergy flare, I haven’t seen 1 yet in 2 weeks of being on this food.

When Rusty had his soft palate surgery, he had to be eating soft food for recovery, I was still cooking for him then but that’s another benefit is that if he ever needed it done, no need to switch his food.
The high moisture food will prevent dehydration, for dogs eating dry food they are in constant dehydration no matter if they drink 3 cups of water after they eat kibble, then the moisture gets pulled from the kidneys causing kidney problems(I didn’t know that until my 2 other dogs that I have they BOTH have kidney disease as a result of the not good kibble from the breeder, now I’m dealing with their kidney disease and other health issues as well as Rusty, but the 2 other dogs are on high moisture diet now and no kibble, the kidney numbers are in normal range in bloodwork).

If you are still wanting to keep him on kibble, there are better kibbles than his current food.

Keep us updated!
I’m happy to help!

Wow, I can see you know a lot about food! When Bambi was with us, we were feeding Brothers Low Allergen (ugh; I can't remember the exact name), but we always fed a five star food, based on Pet Food Advisor. Petey, Bambi and now Jelly get a snack before bed. I just think it helps them sleep better with something in their stomach, but am glad to know that it can prevent some stomach issues and upset. If Jelly eats a cup of food a day total (ugh, snacks additional because of my husband), do you just measure that much out of the Raised Right pouch? I don't want to try it and then switch shortly after starting. Do you add water to that?

 

[Rusty’s Owner]

Wow, I can see you know a lot about food! When Bambi was with us, we were feeding Brothers Low Allergen (ugh; I can't remember the exact name), but we always fed a five star food, based on Pet Food Advisor. Petey, Bambi and now Jelly get a snack before bed. I just think it helps them sleep better with something in their stomach, but am glad to know that it can prevent some stomach issues and upset. If Jelly eats a cup of food a day total (ugh, snacks additional because of my husband), do you just measure that much out of the Raised Right pouch? I don't want to try it and then switch shortly after starting. Do you add water to that?

Yes Rusty gets 1 cup a day which is 1/2 of the 16oz pack. I just cut 1/2 the pack in 1/2 and then that’s the daily amount. The snacks won’t be an issue, Rusty too gets snacks/treats.

If he eats the 1 cup of the food with no other commercial food(no purina kibble, just this food), he will get 1/2 cup of water they food alone which is great just like Rusty is getting. I add 1/2 cup water to his meals. You can add 1/4-1/3 cup water to start to see if he likes that. But if he doesn’t like the added water that’s ok as he gets 1/2 cup of water thru the food alone as it’s over 60% moisture.

I highly recommend giving that a try. No need to switch Jelly to something else once you put him on that good food.
Give that a try and you will be preventing chronic inflammation and other health issues, and he will not be dehydrated by kibble anymore as the food is keeping him hydrated and of course any additional water he drinks during the day.

No need to switch him to something else when he is given the raised right food as it’s good food and will boost his immune system too and prevent other health issues. Treats are extra to the 1 cup of raised right food. Definitely try it and if he likes it, that would be the ideal diet for him.

The snack before bed does help them sleep better, great job!

 

[2bullymama]

Great advice and insight has been given.. jelly is going to keep you on your toes,

 

[Mavis]

Yes Rusty gets 1 cup a day which is 1/2 of the 16oz pack. I just cut 1/2 the pack in 1/2 and then that’s the daily amount. The snacks won’t be an issue, Rusty too gets snacks/treats.

If he eats the 1 cup of the food with no other commercial food(no purina kibble, just this food), he will get 1/2 cup of water they food alone which is great just like Rusty is getting. I add 1/2 cup water to his meals. You can add 1/4-1/3 cup water to start to see if he likes that. But if he doesn’t like the added water that’s ok as he gets 1/2 cup of water thru the food alone as it’s over 60% moisture.

I highly recommend giving that a try. No need to switch Jelly to something else once you put him on that good food.
Give that a try and you will be preventing chronic inflammation and other health issues, and he will not be dehydrated by kibble anymore as the food is keeping him hydrated and of course any additional water he drinks during the day.

No need to switch him to something else when he is given the raised right food as it’s good food and will boost his immune system too and prevent other health issues. Treats are extra to the 1 cup of raised right food. Definitely try it and if he likes it, that would be the ideal diet for him.

The snack before bed does help them sleep better, great job!

I think I will try this for one month. Seems like the cost is approx. $159/mo. Based on Bambi's severe allergies, which they were never able to do much for in spite of vet visits, medication, and premium food - I would like to avoid all of those issues if possible. Seems like already Jelly may develop a problem with his ears and occasionally he will chew at his legs/paws (have only had him a little over a week).

He's eleven weeks old today. Making good strides. He falls asleep on my lap now in the morning after he gets up and plays for a bit and while I have my coffee. He can go long periods of self entertaining or playing strenuously (but nicely) with Petey, instead of requiring my undivided attention. Eating like a champ. Doing pretty well on potty training. If he doesn't dally when he goes out and pees right away, I let him in immediately so he knows he can get back inside where it's warm as soon as he pees.

 

[Mavis]

Great advice and insight has been given.. jelly is going to keep you on your toes,

Thank you! I've learned a lot already and things are coming along. He is much more manageable now than the days after we had just gotten him.