Well, Apollo now has a baby sister... Artemis.

ApolloShadow

ApolloShadow

Senior Member
Owned by
2 cockers
Artemis, also known as Missy was rescued earlier this week from someone who had no idea how to care for a cocker spaniel and wanted to get rid of it. So now I have an 8mos old puppy who has NEVER seen a vet outside of before she went home with this girl. From what I gather her friend's parents who were cocker spaniel breeders had a runt puppy and gave it to their daughter's best friend, this girl.

The girl openly admitted that she had never taken her to vet since she had finished with her puppy shots and deworming. Her ears had never been cleaned, and she had never been brushed. The last 48hrs have been hell with her ears. She had scratched them so much she has sores on the inside of her ears and I was pulling black and brown and green gunk out of her ears. Luckily she isn't too matted and she is super silky.

She's beautiful though. She's almost entirely black, with a smattering of white on her nose, and a white belly. Her parents were a Parti-color and a pure black. She's smart, she's learned sit and lie down in the past two days. She's also an absolute cuddle bug.

I need advice on puppy-rearing though. She's 8mos [her birthday was Valentine's Day!] and the lady I got her from said she had been feeding her Beneful puppy chow, though that's not what her breeder recommended. The lady was really nice, but she had no clue what goes in to owning a cocker [heck, I'm still learning] but she said she relieved Missy, then Roxxy, was going to another home.

So, question:

Is she old enough for young dog food, or should I stick with puppy chow? The first night I had her, she devoured some of Apollo's Blue Buffalo, and has been sneaking it. She hasn't had any loose stools since eating it, so I've been letting her.

Any other 8mos old puppy advice? I've never had a puppy, and the last time my family had a legitimate puppy was eons ago, when my parents first got engaged they had a puppy. Ever since then we've gotten rescue that were usually over two years old.

I'm going to try to get her to sit still long enough for a picture, but considering right now she's carrying around one of my tennis shoes and smacking herself in the head with it.... You get the picture.
 
If it were me, the first thing I would do is get her to the vet to be looked at. Those ears don't sound good and it might be nice to make sure you get the right thing to clean them up and help heal the sores. You don't want that kind of infection to linger and cause hearing damage.

I know many people do not feed puppy food but a good quality adult food. I used puppy food for the first year. I don't think you can go wrong either way.

Edited to add: I completely forgot to congratulate you on the new addition. The main thing with puppies is to watch them like a hawk. You never know what kind of trouble they can find.
 
Yep, we have an appointment made because her nails are horrible too... never been trimmed, she's positively lethal. I used the same solution that the vet has me use on Apollo to treat/prevent ear infections. I called my vet and check to make sure that it was okay to use it, and she said as long as I avoid the open sores it'll be okay. So her sores are wrapped up right now to prevent dirt from getting in them, and I have cotton balls under her ear so that way there isn't any friction.

Thank you for the advice!
 
Adult food is fine. If she's been eating the Blue Buffalo and not been getting an upset tummy, I'd feed her that. It's far better than Beneful anyhow.

As for puppy rearing, it's important to work on household manners, which you're doing, and getting her into a routine. Once her shots are updated, getting her out and about is important too, so she can learn that the world isn't a scary place. Be patient, as she's been pretty sheltered up until now.

Oh, and photos are a must!!!!!
 
We actually were able to do a double walk this morning, and she is amazing on a leash. Apollo has also been dealing with this very well. The only jealousy issue that's arisen is that he had to give up his kennel so she has somewhere to sleep at night, while he's in bed with me. If she jumps on the bed he gives her a warning growl and she hops off. I'm working on getting a picture but she won't sit still!
 
Congratulations on your new addition to the family, I am with Karen that until she has had her shots I would avoid taking her for off your own property for walks. Especially if she is already battling ear infections, her immune system could be weakened.

As for training just follow your own steps with Apollo for house training. Use his crate as you have been doing and maybe look for another on craigs list as it is a good idea for each of them to have their own in case of emergency.

Good Luck
 
Congratulations o Artemis! I'm glad that you are getting her to the vets. So sorry about her ears. Sounds like you are doing everything right. I bet you will see an improvement once you get her on a different food. Beneful is junk and may have contributed to her bad ears. Poor baby.
 
Unfortunately I live in an apartment complex with LOTS of dogs. I've been keeping her off to a side yard that no one uses and carrying her on the stairs. We also have potty pads I've been putting on the balcony for her to use. I'm sure my neighbors think I'm crazy, but that's the only thing I could think of because I don't want to encourage "going" in the house.

As for the crates, I do have an extra crate at my parent's house that was Apollo first crate, it's one of those expandable ones for cars. Next time I go home I'm going to bring it back. Apollo misses having his den in the living room to lie in. Aaaaaand right now Missy is chewing on my toes. She's the goofiest thing.

photo-2.JPG

This is the picture of the day I went and got her. The only good picture I've managed of her today she looks crosseyed and has her tongue hanging out the one side.

Her ears are looking loads better today, and the vet called and told me not to clean them 24hrs before her appt because they want to clean them and possibly test the gunk. Other than that, considering the first two nights versus today. Apollo no longer gives me "looks" like "why is that thing here" and Missy is actually happy and playful.
 
Well tonight was amazing! Both slept in bed with me and the only issue was when Apollo had one of his dreams where he yips. But that was quickly stopped once Missy realized it wasn't at her.

The only bad part of last night was this morning waking up to find a Kleenex box destroyed and someone had chewed holes in a sock I had left out.

I know it was probably Missy who did the number on the sock. She's very mouthy right now. However the Kleenex box is a toss up because Apollo loves paper...

The joys of owning partners in crime!
 
Sounds like Artemis is settling in just fine! They will be double teaming you soon just like Karen says!
 
I once woke up to a bed covered in what looked like snow. It was the shredded remnants of a full box of tissues. Jack Jack spent the night shredding them. I couldn't be mad - it was so funny!!!
 
I had my house decorated in streamers of TP when Bella was a puppy.
It was so funny and she was so proud of herself I couldn't get mad either.
 
So... Potty training advice. Missy is awful. She peed on my bed twice last night (luckily I have a mattress protector on it) and all three of us ended up sleeping in the living room on the couch.

She only pees a little bit but pees all the time. Is this normal?
 
Any blood? If so it could be a UTI. However it also could be that everything is so new and she is so excited, that she's not fully emptying her bladder whenever she goes. Maybe for a bit you should take her out by herself, walk her around some, and take your time. You might even have to set your alarm and take her out at night for a little while until she totally learns your routine, settles down, and feels totally like she's at home.
 
Yeah no blood. I'm going to keep walking her in her routine and go back to crating at night because she never had a mess in the kennel.
 
Well congratulations, sounds like she is settling in. It may help if you make a list of things to ask the vet and have checked, sometimes it is easy to forget stuff.
A crate is a good idea until she is settled and can be trusted.
 
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