[daehnolem]

Hi, my husband and I acquired a sweet little puppy from his sister's friend. The puppy was found with her litter mate running around on the side of a rural highway, so they were taken home to prevent them getting hit by a car. I can tell she's probably been taken away from her mother too soon because her front teeth are barely coming in. Tonight, shortly after we got her, she vomited and had some diarrhea. I don't know if it's because she was stuffed with food, which I know she was, and it was solid, dry food. So, I'm afraid she could have parvo. Although she slept a lot before we got home, she's been pretty alert ever since we got home. So, there's not a lot of lethargy. We're going to take her to a vet tomorrow. Another question is about her drooling. Is it normal for young puppies to drool like crazy? She looks like she might be an Australian Shepard/Lab mix and maybe some Border Collie, too. Annie might have drooled some when she was a little puppy, but not nearly as much as this little dog. Also, how can I make sure the two dogs get along? Annie is a big excited dog who is sure to scare the crap out a new little puppy. How can I keep her from mauling the little pup out of excitement? And what should I feed her? Her teeth are so little. Would it be okay to start her on solids if I softened them before hand? Any advice would be very helpful and welcomed! Thanks!

-B

[Fr_Chuck]

Any stray animal should be taken to the vet as soon as possible.

There are so many things it can be, even as minor as change of diet or not being used to solid foods. But more serious things could be possible, and that may be why they were where they were.

** actually all new pets should be to the vet for a health screen.

[labman]

They say parvo is a violent, foul diarrhea. Doesn't sound like the classic symptoms.

I would take some of Annie's kibble and add a little water to it to soften it. Maybe just give them a little at a time to prevent eating too fast and then throwing up. Too much of a strange food, too quickly could be enough upset the stomach. If you hang on to them very long, you could pick up some puppy chow. Most of it comes in smaller, easier to eat pieces than the adult.

The drooling sounds excessive. As you planned to see the vet, mention it.

Thank you for taking them in and caring for them. We sort of live at the edge of town, and in the past, many strange dogs have shown up here, likely dumped. Perhaps I get upset too easily, but I find myself hoping there is a special, extra warm place for people that abuse dogs.

[daehnolem]

Thank you both for your replies. We're taking the puppy to the vet as soon as we can get an appointment. I don't know if we'll be able to keep her forever, but I at least want to get her shots and keep her until she's a little older. Then if I have to, I'll make up flyers and try to find her a good home. But I hope we can keep her. Could I get some advice on another thing? The puppy is really scared of Annie because she's so big and excited about a new dog. How do I help her to not be so scared. And how do I help Annie to not jump all over her? Annie really just wants to be friends, but I guess she's (Annie) a little socially awkward. She hasn't figured out dog body language yet. Annie's almost gotten her nose bitten off a couple of times because she can't tell when dogs don't like her.

-B

[labman]

I guess that was in your original post and I forgot. I am amazed at how well larger dogs and babies get along. Perhaps leash Annie and let the little ones approach her. Larger dogs seldom hurt the little ones although it may take a few yelps to train the bigger ones not to go too far. For some reason, my puppies always hold their own with bigger puppies. At our Christmas party, I had to pull Nita off a 2 week younger puppy a couple of times. She did much better with a bigger one.

Some smaller puppies are a little frightened of bigger dogs. I remember my daughter's Lhasa mix not being happy when I visited them with a year old Shepherd when he was about 2 months old. Just give the little ones time to approach her.

[daehnolem]

I may have found a home for the puppy, already, but we'll see. She stopped drooling. I think she was probably car sick. She seems pretty healthy now. She has a good appetite and good water intake, and she's active. But I think she's one of those excited peeing dogs. She pees a little when I squat down and pet her. So, I guess I'll have to do some research into that and she if I can start training her not to do that, but also give advice to whoever ends up keeping her. She's such a sweetie, and I really like her, but it's turning out to be really unfair to Annie. Our attention is already stretched to give Annie everything she needs, and I don't think we should take that attention away from Annie to give it to the new puppy. Thanks for all your advice, Labman. I find it to be very valuable.

[labman]

The peeing is fairly common and often goes away when the dog is a little older. Try to get down to her level and avoid eye contact and other shows of dominance. Build her confidence. Play tug of war with her and lose. Start on obedience training. Keep the sessions very short at that age, only a few repetitions. They learn quickly, and the praise for success build the self esteem they need.

Great to hear all the good news.

[daehnolem]

Well, the puppy has gone to her new home now. I'm pretty glad because Annie was extremely jealous and was being really really hard to handle. I think we'll wait until Annie's a lot older before we try to add anymore furry family members to our household. I'm glad we found a nice home for the puppy where she'll be loved. And now Annie's a lot easier to deal with. It makes it easier to love her. :)