Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with puppies

Parvovirus: odds of a puppy getting it?

zippy — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 23:34:45 -0800

I understand the danger parvovirus poses to puppies, but what are the odds of a puppy contracting the disease in the US (specifically Alameda County, California)? I have been reading about parvovirus in dogs (including this discussion), and understand how serious the illness is.

What I can't seem to find is any indication of risk or prevalance. What are the odds a dog will get parvo, and how many cases of it are there a year in my area?

The more mathematical and bounded the answer, the better. I know I can't be assured to the fifth decimal place about anything, but I want to know: Parvo, this terrible disease, are the odds 1%, 10%, or 100%?

More details below, in the hope that they may allow more exact bounding of the answer.

My dog is five weeks old. He was one of the larger dogs in the litter (with two or three brothers and a sister), which I understand tends to confer longer maternal immunity. I intend to start him on a full vaccine series for parvo.

He's 3/4 Australian Cattle Dog, 1/4 Fox Terrier. He was born in a remote rural area of Humboldt County, California, and as of a few days ago now lives in a semi-urban area in Alameda County.

I keep him mostly indoors, with trips to the back and front yard for exercise. I understand that completely preventing exposure to parvo is impossible (as the virus hardy and survives for long periods in the soil), but also that minimizing exposure to parvo greatly reduces the chances for infection.

I would like to know:

How common is parvo in Humbolt County and in Alameda County? Or, if these specific numbers aren't available, then whatever numbers are available for California or the US. A link to numbers of cases per year would be ideal.

What are the odds of a puppy getting parvo between the ages of 5 and 16 weeks if he's allowed to socialize with a: known dogs (with shots), or b: occasionally visit parks and meet other non-wild dogs.

Links to scholarly papers are fine, and links to the dog equivalent to the CDC would also appreciated.

If this is too specific, or if there isn't enough information, please let me know. Also, I do know how bad the illness itself is.

Films about dogs for adults

K.P. — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 11:34:42 -0800

Can you help me find more films like Marley and Me--i.e. films about dogs, but made for adults. For the purpose of this search, Marley and Me is the ideal film as it contains

1. A dog (first seen as a puppy) no bigger than a lab, and does not exhibit human-levels of IQ--nor cause anything beyond normal, realistic dog-related mayhem and

2. A plot/script aimed at adults, with children either absent or almost inconsequential.

I'd like to find more films like this.

I would like to avoid what are most definitely children's films, the kind that parents simply endure while the kids laugh. The sort where the precocious child or children "save the day" and the adults are all incompetent imbeciles, only present to be on the receiving end of tedious slapstick. "Home Alone plus a dog" type films.

In between these 2 extremes are films with children and dogs, but without imbecilic adults, dogs that are extra-brainy and "save the day" (or go on "an incredible journey"), dogs that talk, and people resurrected as dogs. I'm not looking for films with a premise like these, unless you think they're especially good. Or films that seem to promise lots of onscreen dogs but don't deliver (does Must Love Dogs actually have lots of dogs onscreen?)

K9 is a borderline case, but Turner and Hooch is not (Hooch is too big and slobbery). The Truth About Cats and Dogs would be ok if it had two or three times as much screen-time for the dogs.

The Year of the Dog looks like it fits the bill, and so does My Dog Skip and Dog Park. The Shiloh trilogy looks like an acceptable borderline case. Old Yeller is, of course, already on the list.

So....what are some other good films about dogs that are made for adults instead of children?

Help us decide whether we'd make a good home for a li'l doggie

troywestfield — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 08:31:37 -0800

How long is too long to leave a puppy alone each weekday? We (man, wife, 5-year-old son) would like to get a Shih Tsu puppy. We declined about a year ago because the last one out of the house for work leaves at 8 a.m., and the first one back can be as late as 6 p.m. After e-mailing with the breeder, we feared that was too long to leave a puppy alone five days a week. But when the little guy starts school, the time alone for the puppy would be a little less than six hours. Do people feel that's reasonable, or unfair to the puppy?

Thanks for the input.

Need Puppy Training Videos

Gideon — Wed, 13 May 2009 03:01:42 -0800

We've got a new puppy and he's an adorable border-collie lab mix. He's about 8 weeks old. He's going to be an indoor dog and we're anxious to get him trained and trained well for all of our happiness. Still, we're like to keep it cheap. Can you recommend some good, free, video sites that teach puppy training in specific? Thanks!

Help. First-time dogparent needs housebreaking advice

workerant — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 10:52:15 -0800

PeeingOnTheCarpetFilter: Our new puppy (shelter mutt, roughly 14 weeks old and of at least average intelligence) is thoroughly enjoying our spring weather. She often goes to the door and whines to go out just so she can roll around in the grass and chase bugs. When we give up on her bathrooming outside we'll bring her back inside, where she promptly pees or takes a dump. We're not talking about whirlwind visits to the great outdoors; we're talking a half-hour or so.

We try to be consistent about the location of the potty area, using verbal commands (I feel like a moron saying, "Go potty!" in public, but there you have it.) People always tell us that housebreaking is frustrating and requires patience, but how can we get the girl to potty first and play second?

And they call it...puppy love

littlerobothead — Sun, 09 Nov 2008 16:37:13 -0800

Barring her vet appointment next week, how do I know if my dog is pregnant outside of a hunch? And if she is, what do we do? Much more inside... We adopted a sweet and very friendly Beagle from the SPCA about three weeks ago. She and our somewhat younger Whippett/Terrier mix get along well, and we've liked having her despite the doubling of our pet responsibilities. We believed that she had been used to make litters of hunting dogs (we live in the pseudo-country), and she had pronounced baby feeding apparatus and a slightly poochy belly when she first came home. We were told she was "about two and a half."

Lately, she's been getting more and more food aggressive toward our other dog—who is a bit rambunctious and can be annoying to her, but never fights over food—and has even taken to polishing off her own dinner before getting into his. She spends a lot of time camped out by the doggy door in the kitchen, "just in case." The past two nights, she's lured our other dog outside before returning inside herself, where she guards the doggy door and growls at him when he tries to come back in—sort of like she wants to be alone, and not have him try to play with her. Her belly feels firm, and her teats are getting more pronounced. She isn't fixed yet, but doesn't ever roam free; our dog is neutered so this must have happened before we adopted her.

So, let's say she is pregnant: my wife and I aren't really interested in the mess and stress of delivering puppies and trying to find homes for all of them. We also don't want to give her up all over again to a shelter. We also feel a little imposed upon, since if she is pregnant the chances are pretty good that the shelter knew about it and let us adopt her anyway.

Anyone have experience with a similar situation? What are our options for letting someone else deal with the pregnancy, or is that not even reasonable?

Puppy Poison Control Hotline

mrkinla — Sat, 26 Jul 2008 09:27:26 -0800

How concerned do I need to be if there is a small chance my 3-month-old puppy may have licked up some Combat Ant Killing Gel? My 3-month-old puppy may have ingested a small amount of Combat Ant Killing Gel, which includes the poison Fipronil (0.001%). Fipronil is used in many pet products in higher concentration to kill fleas; obviously, not to be administered orally, but Wikipedia suggests what helps it to kill fleas and ants and such is that it affects glutamate receptors, which do not exist in mammals.

The topical solutions containing Fipronil are often absorbed through the skin, so I don't think this is a highly deadly poison to dogs, even puppies. The Combat website's pretty unhelpful when it comes to poison control. Puppy seems quite happy and puppyish now, but I'm wondering if, to be safe, I need to rush him to a vet - and I'm not even sure a vet would do anything but bill me for an emergency visit. What to do?

BTW, I had blocked off the area where the gel was applied, so he was not supposed to have access to the area. I told the SO why the area was blocked off, but somebody obviously wasn't listening and moved the block. *harumph*

Puppy fever - is there a cure?

TochterAusElysium — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 10:55:47 -0800

Hive mind, I have a dilemma. I love dogs and have since I was tiny. I long to own a dog the way some women long to have a baby (ick). I haven't had a dog companion since I was a kid, but I now have just about the best lifestyle I think I'm going to have: we own a home, will have a fenced-in yard (as soon as I can get the contractors to finish the fence; soon, I hope), and have plenty of love to lavish on a pup. But I want to provide the very best possible home, so I'm having some trouble with this decision. First, we have two cats that we love, and like most folks without kids, they are our fur babies. I very much don't want them to be too distressed about a new pet; I understand there will be adjustment, but both kitties are in their middle age, and I just want them to be happy for the rest of their lives. I really don't want to wait until they're gone to get a dog, though. Can dogs and cats live happily together? My reading says yes, usually. There have been some previous AskMes to this effect, so if anyone has gone through this already and can offer advice, I'd be grateful.

Secondly, I worry that with our work schedules, we'd be leaving a dog alone for too long. We both work the usual 8-5, though we don't get home until 6:00 on average. However, I am committed to walking a dog every day, in any weather. Also, we have a dog door that lets out into the soon-to-be-fenced yard. We're pretty active in the warmer parts of the year; we live near a long bike trail, and walk and ride our bikes most sunny weekends. We're hoping that having a dog will encourage us to get even more exercise.

So, sorry for the length, but I guess this is a general advice question. What breeds should we consider? I'm expecting to find a young-ish rescue pup, from puppy age up to maybe 2 years old. I don't want a hyper dog like a Jack Russell, for our sanity and the cats'...a big couch potato that likes a daily romp would be better. Should we avoid very young puppies? Or would it be better to get a baby that will learn that the cats are to be respected? Or, would we be best with a somewhat older dog that's been cat-tested?

Looking for an explanation behind the steep "rehoming fee's" for adopting pets.

ShootTheMoon — Tue, 12 Feb 2008 14:37:38 -0800

Looking for an explanation behind the steep "rehoming fee's" for adopting pets. Can anyone explain the reasoning behind the "rehoming fee" when adopting animals. This seems to be extremely popular on craigslist. I understand covering the cost of younger animals, and would not mind paying $25-$50. But many of these people want 200-300+ for puppies that have not even been spayed/neutered or given all of their shots.

Additionaly, it appears that some of the people doing this may be doign this as a business. Adopting pets from the shelters, and turning around and selling them for a couple hundred in "rehoming fees".

Anytime anyone tries to ask this kind of question on craigslist, it is quickly flagged for removal, making me further believe something unethical is going on.

Housetraining a pup: Ready to just buy a couple of corks

stupidsexyFlanders — Wed, 28 Nov 2007 20:27:51 -0800

Another puppy housetraining question. She'll be 1yo in three weeks and she's still having accidents. help This is a labradoodle we got at about four months. The person who gave her to us told us she was housebroken. No. She peed and pooped everywhere. Including her bed (we don't crate her, her room is a small laundry room.) She has no problem peeing where she sleeps.

From the beginning we've given her regular, frequent walks, rewarded her for getting it done outside, kept her confined to small areas of the house, etc. Even with all this, she would do things like (after a long walk) pee right next to my wife in the kitchen, which is one of her confinement areas. If she escaped from the kitchen she'd run upstairs and pee there, often on someone's bed. Recently we thought we had her finally trained, as she hasn't had an accident in the house for a couple of months. Then 2 days ago she pooped on the first floor at 7 a.m. (after having been walked (and pooping) around midnight the night before). This morning (again, after a late night walk) she came upstairs and peed on my daughter's carpet. I feel like we're backsliding to some very bad old days and we're getting frustrated, although we love this dog.

She's been checked out by the vet and nothing physical is wrong. She was fixed about a month ago.

Any ideas? I'll try to answer questions to clarify things as necessary.

Mexican Hairless dog aggression problems?

flyingcowofdoom — Fri, 10 Aug 2007 08:01:29 -0800

Our 3.5 year old Mexican Hairless has started becoming aggressive and I need suggestions for dealing with it. We have a 3.5 year old Mexican Hairless (named Kelsi) that we rescued from an awful woman on June 1 of this year. After we had her for two weeks, we found out she was pregnant (she's had two litters before this one). She gave birth to four puppies 6 weeks ago. In the past two weeks, she has started having some aggression problems. When we first got her 2.5 months ago, she did not have any aggression problems. I could take treats from her mouth without any resistance. My wife and I live with her parents, and she seemed to be scared of my father-in-law, but didn't show any aggression toward him. As her pregnancy progressed, she started growling and barking at my father-in-law and any strangers that would come into our "family room", where she and my wife spend 95% of our time. My wife is sick and stays home all day every day with Kelsi. After having puppies (the puppies stay in our family room all the time in a wire enclosure), the growling and barking is getting steadily worse. She won't growl at anyone if she is downstairs, away from the room with the puppies. If a stranger comes in our room, she will growl and bark as they approach the room, and stop usually 30-90 seconds after they come in. Then, she'll generally start wagging her tail and seem normal (except with my father-in-law).

Last weekend, my sister-in-law and her husband were visiting, and while she usually would be fine with them, she did not seem to want the husband in our room. She kept growling at him, and when he went to hug my wife, Kelsi "bit" him. It didn't hurt or break the skin or leave any mark. He said it didn't seem like she was trying to injure him, just let him know that she meant business.

Yesterday, she started growling at my mother-in-law (whom Kelsi normally adores). She has also started growling at me if I put my hand near her when she has a rawhide bone. This morning, my mother-in-law went in to feed the puppies and noticed that Kelsi was only half under her blanket, so she went to cover her up and Kelsi snapped at her. Again, it didn't seem to have the intent to harm.

I should mention that we do not tolerate any of this behavior and we tell her NO sternly and loudly. We have also tried "nipping" at her neck with our fingers at the same time. I'm very upset about this decline in her behavior. At first, I thought it was normal for her to act a little weird about strangers in the room because of the puppies, but this recent aggression toward my mother-in-law and towards me when she has a treat is very unacceptable.

Does anyone have any recommendations, or should I really be consulting a professional at this point? I'd rather not have to spend hundreds on a dog behavior specialist, but it's not acceptable to me to have a dog with aggression issues.

TIA!

--FCOD

What to do with my outdoor loving dog.

saffry — Tue, 12 Jun 2007 13:47:28 -0800

How much time should my new puppy spend outside by himself? He seems to want to be out every minute of the day so far, but I'm worried that it will be too isolating. My thoughts of how this puppy would behave have flown out the window in the first day. He's a nine-week old lab/rottweiler mix. We have a crate that we're going to train him to stay in, and we also have the kitchen set-up as a safe room with a baby gate. But he just wants to be outside all the time. I got him a stake-out for the front yard until we could get the trolley line set-up in back, and he's just chilling on the porch. Is this okay? Will we have problems later if he's not inside with the family more? Or should we accept that he wants to be out and get him a doghouse?

Help name our new puppies!

MadamM — Sat, 05 Aug 2006 16:51:23 -0800

Dog names: My family just got two new puppies. They're both female and five months old, and both are rat terrier/ Jack Russell mixes. Anyone have some good names for little girl dogs? One is smaller but more lively; she looks a bit more like a Jack Russell. The other is larger and quieter and looks more like a rat terrier. Both have white bodies and black/brown markings on their heads. We aren't adverse to names that go together, but it would be better if they didn't sound the same. My father and brothers don't like names that are overly frou- frou, but we want them to have girl names. I'm not necessarily going to take any names from this thread, but we really need some inspiration so general categories of names are fine too.

Dogs for a cat person?

jedicus — Thu, 06 Jul 2006 11:52:24 -0800

What dog breeds are most suitable for a "cat person"? In particular, the attributes of cats that appeal to me are their small size, lack of strong smells, quietness, tendency to shed less, small appetite, cleanliness, and calm temperament.

By contrast, dogs strike me as large, smelly, loud, hairy, hungry, dirty, and jumpy.

So, what dog breeds are the most 'cat-like'?

A few additional details: we won't be getting dogs for a long while yet; we'll probably get two dogs but only one ('mine') has to be cat-like; we'll only get dogs if we're living somewhere with ample space for running around (>1 acre of open space).

Are we crazy to adopt this rescue puppy?

freebird — Tue, 06 Jun 2006 11:01:09 -0800

Are we crazy to adopt a puppy? She seems quite sweet, but her mom was put down when she was but 5-6 weeks old, and was some sort of Wirehair Terrier. We're largely homebodies these days, and ready for the commitment involved in a puppy. But we really want to do a good job, and not bite off more than we can chew. We're worried that some of the Terrier breeds tend to be high maintenance, barky, and aggressive, and that we don't have the dedication or knowledge to do right by her.

So I guess my concern is bipartite:

1) For any breed, are we going to be bad parents if we leave her in a secure space for 4 hour stretches several times a week while at work (we'll be doing some doggie daycare and lunchtime visits)? We've both had family dogs, but it's been years. We've been sitting other dogs as a test, and think we're pretty decent at it, but haave no pretensions of being Dog Whisperers.

2) How can we get a better guess as to the eventual demeanor of the puppy? She was rescued at 6weeks, and while she seems quite nice and well adjusted, can we really tell at that age? Noone know who her daddy was, though we've guessed labrador. All we know about her mom is that she was some sort of wire hair terrier looking dog, possibly a Black Russian. If the dog isn't barky now, how likely is that to change? I guess I'm really asking about Nature vs. Nurture here aren't I...

Puppy smell! What the heck is it?

LeeJay — Sat, 03 Jun 2006 01:29:39 -0800

Puppy smell. What is it? Where does it come from? Why can I not get enough of it? Mmmmm, new puppy smell. It seems to me that in another context this particular odor would not be pleasant, but combine it with a wriggling little puppy and it's as good as cinnamon buns in the morning. I've met very few people who can resist the lure of puppy smell. But what is it? Is it some sort of oil on the puppy's skin? Some leftover traces of mother's milk? Why does puppy smell smell so good?

I really thought I could Google this one but there are a lot of hits talking about loving puppy smell but not so many discussing what it actually is or where it comes from.

Homeward Bound III: The Incredible Journey (Of Cheapskates)

schroedinger — Thu, 08 Dec 2005 11:33:49 -0800

I saved a puppy from certain death. Now I need help getting home for the holidays. Is it possible and cost-effective to travel from Baltimore, MD to Kalamazoo, MI using only public transportation? Quick summary: I found a puppy, couldn't keep her, she ended up in Animal Control, I found someone to adopt her, but it took $310 to save the puppy from being put down so she could go her new home. This leaves me with approximately $200 to work with to get myself from Baltimore to Kalamazoo, leaving around the 23rd (minus a few days is OK) and coming back around January 6th (again, plus or minus a few days). Airplane tickets are prohibitively expensive, as are Greyhound and Amtrak.

A friend's success at traveling from Baltimore to New York City using Maryland, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey public transportation has inspired me. Perhaps I could create some kind of crazy multi-state bus, subway, and light rail itinerary that would get me where I need to go, or at least to Ann Arbor where I could catch a ride. But how? Where do I begin? Has anyone had experience doing this?

Pet Sitters and Boarders

roundrock — Mon, 18 Jul 2005 10:47:10 -0800

Has anyone ever used the Petsmart PetsHotel? Alternatively, are there any Austinites out there who can personally recommend an Austin/Round Rock area petsitter or boarder for small dogs? We unexpectedly have to board our very pampered shih tzu and chihuahua for about a week. Ideally, we'd like to leave the dogs with someone who cares for dogs in the home (theirs, not ours, as we only have an apartment, so housesitting is not an option). If we have to go with an actual boarding facility, it would have to be a more "indoor-oriented environment" (we'd like the dogs to be in a little "room" -- rather than in pens or cages). It's also important that the two dogs be kept together (they like to snuggle). There are plenty of people out there who view their dogs more as family members than as pets, so there must be facilities like this available. We'd especially love to find a place that caters to small dogs.

Do you have experience using a crate for a puppy? What did you feel the pros/cons were?

widdershins — Fri, 10 Dec 2004 10:09:08 -0800

Do you have experience using a crate for a puppy? What did you feel the pros/cons were? Anything in particular we should know if we get one?

Possibly pertinent details: We are hoping to get a puppy next week. We're getting it from a pound/adoption agency (Humane Society or similar), and it will probably be a male, medium-sized mutt of some sort. This will be the only dog in the household (at least for a while). We both work away from the house, but one of us generally spends a few hours at home in the middle of the day. We've had dogs before but have never used a crate.

I would like to learn more about how to read my raw referrer logs...

anastasiav — Sun, 16 May 2004 18:49:05 -0800

I would like to learn more about how to read my raw referrer logs... I am currently running a MT blog on my 'free' 1and1 account (thanks to filmgoerjuan). 1and1 provides me with some data analysis of my traffic, but its not very useful (x visits from Source A, Y visits from Source B, zzz visits we couldn't find a source for). They do allow me to download the raw original log files, but I don't have the first clue what to do with them once I have them. Help? Advice?

How should I introduce my puppy to my three terriers?

Harvey Birdman — Sun, 25 Apr 2004 06:52:23 -0800

Any tips on introducing a puppy to his three (!!) new brothers and sisters? They are all small dogs, but they are wily...[more inside] The new puppy is a westie (west highland terrier), and two of the other dogs are adult terriers, one is a small adult mutt. In the past this introduction proces has been rough going, especially with terriers, who are notoriously territorial. The other three dogs get along ok now, but they can be pretty rough with each other, which is my main concern. We have a big yard and a house with a dog-friendly basement and first floor at our disposal. Should I segregate the puppy when noone is home? Should I introduce him to them one at a time? Any experience appreciated.