have a new puppy and need some advice

[kfxnando]

our Old Puppys (Boerboels) are almost 11 years old, the beech was bad a few weeks ago!!
we were up and down to the vet, and the last medicine that we got from the vet is working well, she dosent have the bouncy play back however she no longer crys when moving around

medicine was finished, so off to the vet we go to get a "repeat" and as we get there, someone walks out with boerboels a whole 5 puppys in his arms struggling to hold onto all 5, while his wife opens the car!!

yep, we are suckers
however sadly, dogs are a deterrent to criminals, and hopefully the puppy can learn some of the old puppys good manners!!
yep, we forgot how much work it is to take care of the little ones at the beginning!!

we got her on friday, they were 7 weeks old on friday
she eats well, asks to go out most times, we just slow at getting the security gate open (takes a while to get it open) and she does not yet know how to hold it, and pees there
she poos outside most times, and at night she does it on the newspapers that we lay on the lounge floor
due to it being cold, she sleeps in the lounge with hot water bottles, as she gets cold and when the wife holds she warms up and sleep further
yep, sure she misses the rest of the pack

however tomorrow, we all back to work, and wont be home to feed her in the middle of the day
and wont be able to keep an eye on her during most of the day
have closed up all holes with temp measures to hopefully make sure that she cant get out anywere

the old puppys have full bowels of food all day long, and eat when they need and feel like
nope they dont overeat

now the little one has found their food!!
she dosent always go their food, however a few hrs after she has eaten she does go to their bowels
yes its bigger pellets, and she chews them

the old puppys are on Complete
and have started changing the puppy from Montego puppy to Complete for puppys

so eventually the question
is it bad for the puppy to have some of the adult Complete during the day
and have her puppy food when we home and feed her
so far, she does not overeat, when she has had enough of her puppy food she walks away
yes we are there to take away her food when she walks away

Dilema
if I take the food bowels away, besides the big puppys not eating when they want, the puppy will be without food for long hours and she is still only 7 weeks old

me also concerned that the older ones could hurt the puppy if she goes there when they eating, as for now they walk away from her
I can take their food away, regardless of the food or situation, however sometimes they do growl at each other when eating

video of puppy playing

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long read
oops

[Black Sam]

I also bought a pup he is also 7 weeks old and also have a large boerboel, the vet says it won't hurt them eating adult food but they should mainly have pup food as it assists with their growth.
I took my boerboel's food away and she eats now when the pup eats and she adapted to the feeding time, now she eats all of her measured portion and nothing is left over for the pup, and the pup eat his food.

the pup chews any and everything so he gets enough of everything, even my 4x4 toy

He is a Siberian Husky...

[kfxnando]

That is prety puppy

[Mud Dog]

The pup looks good, healthy and playful as it should be. I'm not one for leaving food out all day, it can attract rats, the Hahdedahs find it and come eat every days and make a mess, and I prefer the dogs to have a routine.

The pup should still be eating 3 x a day, twice a day from 12 weeks up to 6 months old, after which you can start reducing the volume of one feed while increasing the other until you get down to one feed a day. (I prefer feeding in the mornings so that they are more awake in the evenings.)

The older dogs should not harm her at this stage if she eats their food because they are instinctively protective of young ones, but later it will become a problem. However, this practice should be avoided so that it doesn't become habitual and difficult to correct.

Follow the feed manufacturers advised volumes as a guideline, but give more if she can manage it.

"Potty training" is important and should be done right off the bat. It's difficult for the pup to control it fully at this early age, but if she's using the newspaper only, that's good. The newspaper can be moved outdoors later on. If she starts using any other place, reprimand her with a stern voice while holding her head to the mess. She may have forgotten doing it, but she can smell it's hers and will get the idea after a while. If she uses one place regularly, (other than the paper), put down some citronella oil in that spot as well as the suggested reprimand. The oil is pungent and while pleasant to us, is unpleasant to them.

Good luck!

[kfxnando]

Thanx very much for the tips on potty training

One of the reasons why old puppys always have food, was at 1st my working hrs those days
And then it became convinient for when we go away
Dish up enough food for the days we go away, they have a dripping tap for fresh water
And no one needs to come into my yard
When we get back, there ks always still food left over, we have been away for 12 days at a time

The food bowls is inside their old kenel, not many birds get in there


As for rats, from time to time we go through stages where the cats get rats, whole families of rats, then it goes quiet again
Last batch was about 2 months ago, and before that about 2years ago
However rats are a seriouse concern, as they bring diseases

Two boerboels, and two cats some might ask
Here is a video of the male and the o e cat

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[kfxnando]

Durring the day yesterday, she was out while I went to the doc, got heavy fluency/cold
When I let her back in the house, put the blanked down in the sun, and she sleapt for 3.5hrs

Maybe creating bad habits, however she looks cold, and when warm, she calms down and sleeps

Yesterday, no mess inside the house, not even on newspapers, great
Last night light up the fire place, and had to remove the news paper on the floor near the fire place
And that is exactly the spot she used
So Will use extra measures as Andy susgested tonight

Due to winter, and the problems the old beech has, and to keep her warm, as per vet advice, old dogs sleping inside
Making it difficult to leave puppy outside alone

[JEEPIE]

build feeding stands for the bigger dogs that are elevated off the floor
if you need a pic , mail me

[kfxnando]

build feeding stands for the bigger dogs that are elevated off the floor
if you need a pic , mail me

mail sent

while looking for your mail, saw you profile!!
very interesting!!

am visualizing, a stand with a Jeep grill on it!!

[Traveler]

It is also healthier for large dogs like Boerboels to eat on an elevated level.

[gompie]

We had to put our previous boelie out at about 18 months because of his back not growing properly, vet says that boerboele must at least eat puppy food until 1 year old. Eventually got a new one and so far its going good.

[Mud Dog]

Agree with that .... applies to all large breeds. Some manuals say up to 18 months, remember that during this time most of the growth takes place and a large animal needs a strong frame. Malnutrition in pups is probably the main cause of hip dysplasia after genetic considerations.

[kfxnando]

Update

Its been a full time job keeping the puppy away from the big dogs food
Big dogs were used to always having food, and now couz of the small one they Cant

Have even turned to putting doggy gravy on the puppy food to make sure puppy has enough, however the 1st thing baby when outside, is go for big dog food, so big dog food has to be tacken away
Reason why I havent built something to lift big dog food from puppy, is couz puppy is growing so quick that it wont be long before she can get there, or push it over

Been a lot of pulling on the memory for what i did 10 years ago with those puppys

A lot of fun and pleasure
Need to post some pics

[Baasvark]

Update

Its been a full time job keeping the puppy away from the big dogs food
Big dogs were used to always having food, and now couz of the small one they Cant

Have even turned to putting doggy gravy on the puppy food to make sure puppy has enough, however the 1st thing baby when outside, is go for big dog food, so big dog food has to be tacken away
Reason why I havent built something to lift big dog food from puppy, is couz puppy is growing so quick that it wont be long before she can get there, or push it over

Been a lot of pulling on the memory for what i did 10 years ago with those puppys

A lot of fun and pleasure
Need to post some pics

You could also consider feeding your second meal at say 5 pm (or when you get back from work) and the third meal 3 - 4 hrs later. We tend to feed our pups their 3rd meal way too early forgetting that it's 10 - 12 hrs to the next meal in the morning. The morning & 5pm meal could be a little larger with the final meal being a smaller "top up". It's what I did with my Great Danes and they seem fine!

[Traveler]

Our Boerboel is now one year and we have been feeding him "Optimizor" http://www.allandaletrading.co.za/index ... tAodOWEADw" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; as his only dog food. Particularly because they can grow so fast.

One added benefit of quality food is that less of it ends on the lawn to be picked up after the dog is finished with it; and with a quality food they also have to eat less of it. It is the only food used by the breeder that we got our dog, and he prepares his show dogs on it.

Remember it is important to feed your large dogs on an elevated level, the reason is that they can get bloat and die an extremely painful death if eating from a lower level. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gastric_di ... n_volvulus" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

It is a good idea to go away from Montego. It contains less protein and more plant material, and a dog like a Boerboel does require protein to grow the muscle and tendons to build a strong body.

[kfxnando]

Update

We have been through the adding dog gravy to the pellets to make sure her tummy is full so that she does not cry outside in the middle of the night, or the last hrs of deep sleep
To, now that the temp has been a little lower and they all sleep inside, no gravy and we give her a good gap to eat to her hearts content, and nope she does not overeat, as the food is out for a while, there is less vicious eating that most puppys have, and she had when she was smaller

Friday she was 14 weeks old, and has been sleeping through since Thursday night, with no mess and no asking to go out

We have a sample bag of hills puppy, and on more then one ocasion she brought up/cotch after a few of those pellets

Getting in and out the gate with the car was a little issues, however we now use food to keep her where we can see her at least while the gate is open

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoVNeWGBlrg" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Enjoy

[Mud Dog]

Cute!

Boerboels are arguably the most territorial domestic dogs. This is one reason as to why they are so viciously protective. Once they have identified their territory (the yard) they will not have a great urge to venture out into the street ... might do so more out of curiosity than anything else, or if there happens to be another dog out on the street at the same time the gate is open.

I am fortunate enough to have a large property (1853 sq.m) so they get plenty exercise with enough place to run about. This means that I don't have to take them out for walks and as a result they have not identified themselves with the territory beyond my wall and gate, so coming and going with a vehicle is not a problem. They mostly come up to the gate to greet, but follow the vehicle in ... they don't venture out while the gate is still open. Sometimes they wait at the bottom of the drive .... they know that is where we will get out and where they will be able to greet

Here's where I would make a suggestion to you. Have that gate motorised. Getting out of your vehicle to open the gate entices them to come out beyond the gate to greet you .... it will result in them being less inhibited to wander out should they ever find the gate open. With a motorised gate you only step out once you've parked inside and they will wait inside to greet you rather than go out.

[kfxnando]

The two old ones are prity mych like yours Andy

They not in the video couz they were inside for the video clip

Automated gate,uhm!!
It is on our to get list, however towards the bottom of it, as i see most people in our street with electric gates,at one stage or another lock their dogs outside
Not saying it will happen to me, as me very carefully, however

Hopefully with the treats and newspaper(for when she steps over the gate line) and with the older two to learn from, she will learn soon

Yep other dogs that get out and come past is a no no, specially for the male

Idiot up the road, his Boerboels get out almost every day
My ones got out once maybe twice, very long time ago

Like you say this is their terotry and no more
My stand is a bit smaller then your, however still plenty of space, 1000sq

[Mud Dog]

They not in the video couz they were inside for the video clip

No, they are in the clip, I saw them both .... must be another clip you're thinking of.

[kfxnando]

Too many videoclips since puppy Came home

[kfxnando]

Those early days

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2J9yChAGbBU" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

And a few days ago

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gLzWGEVazmk" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The old male looking after puppy, filmed from cctv screen

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PD6bdHlNsmU" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

There are more
And have more to upload as well

[kfxnando]

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