New Arrival! Couple Of Questions....

[WhipItDevo]

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Hello,

I'm new here and we just brought home our new friend Silas today. Very exciting! He was great for the 2.5 hour car ride home too - quiet and relaxed, I was really surprised.

I went to the vet for 1st injections and they said he was small but healthy - he's 8 weeks but only 2kgs! He is very petite but in proportion - both parents are little too. Does this mean he'll be a small adult too or do growth spurts happen in whippets? His eyes are blue grey too - beautiful, but at this age do you think they'll still change? My only worry is that he's very sleepy and doesn't want to play. My guess is it's the stress of the day and the sudden removal from a litter who were probably much more fun! He wolfs food down so I find that reassuring but is it quite normal for him to seem almost a bit depressed and going to sleep all the time? As I say, it's his first day and maybe he'll stay up all night screaming for his family! Anyway, I'm over the moon to have him with us.

 

[Whippets Rule]

it could be a combination of his hectic day and the vaccination making him a bit subdued.

 

[Suerose]

He's probably shattered, bless him. I wouldn't worry unless he is still quiet tomorrow. Eating well is a good sign. He is bound to miss his family a bit. The eye colour will change as he grows up. Welcome to K9, and we'd love to see pictures of your new baby. :wub:

 

[WhipItDevo]

Thanks for your reassurance. I'll keep an eye on him.

He seems to have taken my attempt at paper training the wrong way round! He got it right earlier to ecstatic praise. Since then though, every time I take him to the paper he lies down on it, then as soon as I take him back to the living room he pees on the floor straight away!! So I whisk him back to the paper without reprimand and he lies down on it... Aaaargh!!!

Not his fault, I just can't work out the trick to reverse it - there's a bit of pee on the paper for scent but now there's obviously pee on the living room floor too, tried to deodourise but he seems to be triggered all the same.

Here's a pic:

 

[peppermint lady]

welcome to K9, your pup looks lovely.

I have never done the paper training bit, seems a bit pointless to me as in time he will have to learn to go outside... i have always just started taking them out in the garden for the toilet from day one.

then as they go i say "do a wee" and if i say it everytime they go out they soon cotton on :thumbsup:

 

[hawky]

looks like he gonna be a likkle cutey you say he is 2kgs now at 8 weeks so id say hes not gonna be abig boy our pups are just gone 6 weeks and the biggest is 3kg now right fattys id say lol good luck with him and i hope you have lots of fun

 

[WhipItDevo]

That's quite a weight difference! Hopefully he's compact but healthy. We don't have a garden but live right by big parks in East London so annoyingly paper toilet is the only option until these jabs kick in. Is it stupid to go out for a walk before the 3 week mark the vets advise?

 

[cairo]

That's quite a weight difference! Hopefully he's compact but healthy. We don't have a garden but live right by big parks in East London so annoyingly paper toilet is the only option until these jabs kick in. Is it stupid to go out for a walk before the 3 week mark the vets advise?

Gorgeous puppy!!.....we are also from London

 

[WhipItDevo]

I've seen a few in Lee Valley off Lea bridge rd by canal - could that have been you Cairo?! Thats where I plan to walk/run him, less Hard Man dogs with "bull" in the breed name...

 

[cairo]

I've seen a few in Lee Valley off Lea bridge rd by canal - could that have been you Cairo?! Thats where I plan to walk/run him, less Hard Man dogs with "bull" in the breed name...

No not us...we are from south of the water......know what you mean about the "bulls"......My whippy was attacked by one of the little darlings back in june.

In all fairness I must add its usually the owners not the dogs that have the problem.

 

[meddling]

Silas is a gorgeous little person! I'm sure he won't be big if his parents weren't but you never know!

Hope you have a good night with him tonight

 

[TillynPip]

That's quite a weight difference! Hopefully he's compact but healthy. We don't have a garden but live right by big parks in East London so annoyingly paper toilet is the only option until these jabs kick in. Is it stupid to go out for a walk before the 3 week mark the vets advise?

What a cute little lad he is. :wub: Regarding the walk before his vaccs kick in, personally I wouldn't ever take a chance and even more so if you're in a built up area with a high dog population. However, do you have a friend without dogs but with a garden or a dog owner whose animals you know are up to date with their vaccs? Perhaps they would let you give Silas a short play in their garden. Incidentally, our boy at nearly 10 weeks weighed a little over 5 kg and now, at nearly 8 months, he's a big, strapping fella, but they are all different. Good luck and enjoy him. )

 

[j.appleseed]

Welcome to the forum Silas is a very handsome little chap.

 

[Seraphina]

Are you sure he is 8 weeks? My pups are usually from close to 3 kg up to over 4 at this age. My current litter will be 3 weeks tomorrow and my guess is the big boys will be close to 1.5 kg.

But your puppy looks fine; were his brothers and sisters as little as he is?

 

[whippetsrus]

welcome to K9, your pup looks lovely.I have never done the paper training bit, seems a bit pointless to me as in time he will have to learn to go outside... i have always just started taking them out in the garden for the toilet from day one.

then as they go i say "do a wee" and if i say it everytime they go out they soon cotton on :thumbsup:

Same here too. The only dog that I had that was paper trained was our cocker spaniel, years ago but he came to us paper trained.

 

[whippetsrus]

That's quite a weight difference! Hopefully he's compact but healthy. We don't have a garden but live right by big parks in East London so annoyingly paper toilet is the only option until these jabs kick in. Is it stupid to go out for a walk before the 3 week mark the vets advise?

Yes. Until then your dog will not be fully protected against any of the nasties around. He will be fine to socialise with any vaccinated dog. What the vets do not always tell you is that at the 3 week mark they are not still fully protected. We have loads of ponds near us and because of the risk of rats I have to keep mine in for that extra week.

 

[eve]

Hi and Welcome.

He looks like a really cutie, very like my Daisy both in colour and build. She is a petite lightly built whippet.

She has been ill and is putting on weight gradually but will never be over 10kg.

Do not worry about Silas's weight. If the vet was happy enough with his weight and condition to inocculate him then he is fine.

The suggestion that you take him to play in a friend or family members garden is a good one as long as there is no chance of him accessing areas where dogs that have not been inocculated or more importiantly Foxes have been.

Puppy training pads work for a lot of folk. B&M sell them cheaply. Can you make the toileting area enclosed so that he can be put there when you think he needs to go? Make sure you take him to the toileting area as soon as he has been fed.It may take a week or two for him to get the hang of housetraining. Praise him when he does it right. He is only a baby and has only been with you a few hours. Hope that your 1st night went OK.

Good luck with him. You will find the forum really helpful if or when you need assistance.

 

[Suerose]

Totally adorable :wub: :wub: :wub: Did you know that you can get an enzyme solution to neutralise the smell (and stain) of pee? Very handy when they are doing it in the wrong place. You could get more info here cleaning dog pee. I think you are right to keep him away from public spaces before he is vaccinated, it would be so heartbreaking if he got ill.

 

[cairo]

How did your 1st night go?

 

[WhipItDevo]

Ah - Thanks so much for all your friendly advice! Last night was ok. He cried even right next to bed initially but this was partly because he had a surge of energy at midnight having slept all afternoon and evening. I was a weakling in the face of the crying but actually had some success in getting 2 hour blocks of sleep by waking to his whines, going through and silently taking him to paper then sitting for 5/10 mins stroking him really slowly in the dark on my lap so he fell asleep then putting him back in the crate with talk radio beside him. He wasn't so bad and also was silent in the morning even though he was awake and zipped in.

He's still confused about paper - even peed on it lying down while holding my gaze!! Shampoo was required - he seemed to like the shower but then shivered so hard he looked like he was going to explode when we were drying him. Still smells of wee too...

More importantly, he's been nice and playful this morning and enjoying toys he ignored yesterday.