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My little grandpup that lost his leg due to cancer is doing amazingly well. He tore a ligament in his back leg several weeks ago so he was down to two good legs. He was able to figure things out and get around while it healed. He is a tough little guy.

He is done with his chemo and so far there is no sign of cancer. I'm not sure what that means since they don't do extensive testing on dogs. We are hoping for the best.

Thanks for asking WR. I too was wondering about everyone's pups.

Hopefully your dog is just dreaming. Some seizures are not harmful. My Boston terrier has occasional seizures but they don't harm him and he doesn't need medication or any treatment for them. The vet was able to diagnose him from a video I took while he was having one.

My pup is still at sleep away camp. We get him back next month and he will run his first hunt tests later in October. He should pass without a problem.

We did get to have him home a couple of weekends. He is growing like crazy. He is so much like his brother it is mind blowing. He is a much darker chocolate but otherwise a clone. He seems he may be a bit calmer in nature. The trainers love him.

My old girl who has outlasted her expiration date is still cruising along doing well.

Can't wait to hear about everyone else's babies.

WR glad you are still having fun with yours. Those little dogs are tough to potty train. I had a min schnauzer that was 2 before she could be trusted.

Poor pup…only 2 legs. What a trooper!

Thanks for the idea about video taping Maggie.. I’ll definitely try that!

Wow, Tush! That’s a long time away. Is he going to be a working dog, or a hunting for sport dog? Was he happy when he got to come home for the weekend?

Is his brother missing him?

I’m so happy your "old girl" is still hugging along.

Y’all chime in…we all love good puppy dog stories!,,

WR - yes he will be a working dog, used for waterfowl hunting. He will also complete all training and be a "champion hunt test" dog.
The genetic line both boys are from is impressive and sought after. We got the older one neutered in Feb. Just days before his brother was born. Unfortunately it was the last litter for mom due to complications during birthing. So our guys "seed" from the pup will be sought after once he completes his champion training. Which will be right around 2 yr. Which is how they have to be to complete all necessary testing that there are no genetic issues with hips, elbows, eyes etc.

Yes he was great when he was home. The boys played like crazy. I can't imagine what its going to beblike when both are 80 lbs and get the zoomies in the house.

Our 6 month old Mink now weighs over 60 pounds, even if he is in the "string bean stage" (as our trainer says.) Missy is likewise 60 pounds. A lot to deal with! Youthful exuberance and puppy lack of impulse control, is the stage we are travelling through, but the biting seems to have slacked off, at least! Only Missy has free movement inside the house, and she only was mature enough for that after she turned 5!

Mink has his crate in the area near my bed where hers is in view in the next room, an office near the kitchen door. We have another wire crate set up in the "living room" down the hall which is normally closed off by double doors, for using as "time out" when he jealous barks....it is worse at dinner time, as I rattle around in the kitchen. The trainer said just to remove him from the scene so he can't keep BARKING ..... like he is doing right NOW! Maybe he has to peeeeee again....this boy drinks buckets of water, and goodness, he has had accidents in his crate a couple times, so I'd better take him out.

They really don't stay babies long, though, sigh.....

Edited to add: he had no need to pee, he just wanted to play, but it is raining out. (We have had weeks of 90+ degree weather he hated and he'd quit playing after 5 minutes, and now finally it is wet which is great, but the poor boy can't exercise like he wants to.)

This type working German Shepherd is known to be a PITA to get past their juvenile years (was true for Missy, as well!). Breeders of our line will often advertise their dogs "have an off switch" and "will settle nicely in the house," which tells me that many don't.

I asked our trainer about this, as she has a 9 month old West German working line GSD whom Mink reminds her of, and she said "nobody tries to have these dogs loose in the house, unless they have a dedicated basement or recreation room they can gate off." I see a beautiful working line male GSD who lives with 2 other different breeds of dog in a 15' x 30' outdoor enclosure next to a busy road I drive every day. That German Shepherd runs back and forth almost all day long; is so ready to go do Something, Anything! I don't think the owners ever take him in the house, even. What a waste....

So we are teaching Mink to chill....

We love our boy, just the same....but he's a full time challenge just now...

[This message edited by Superesse at 3:37 AM, Monday, September 18th]

The thing with these working breeds are that they are bred to work. Without that work they have no way to burn off energy or quiet their busy brains. They need to be constantly challenged and stimulated they get into trouble.

My 14.5 yo lab thats been about to die for over a year still cannot be trusted to be home alone out of her crate. She will get into trouble.

My boys however love to run drills and play fetch which burns off the physical energy. Then we have puzzle toys and hide stuff around the house to exercise their brains. They are great as long as they use their brains and bodies. But a few days without the appropriate exercise and stimulation they are a handful. GSDs are the same. They have to be worked. I feel bad for any of these dogs that have owners with no clue. And then the owners say their dogs are crazy or bad. When really all they need is exercise and challenges .

Thank you Tushnurse, for specifying how little time it takes for these working dogs to end up as a management problem! You confirm exactly what I have been unsuccessfully trying to say to my H for 9 months now! He never seems to recall what I tell him, even after 10 years of hard time experiences with the older GSD. It's like he forgets to factor in our dogs' daily needs for both of our interaction with them, along with exercise time, if he ever receives a phone call from some buddy to come over and service their fifth wheel axles and brakes - which he has never done before in his life, but he cannot turn down a friend's request for help - and that job wasn't even on his full-time schedule board, but never mind - I tried to tell him last week, such "add on" jobs that will take him off premises (he generally works here at the home shop) seem to start out with "I'm just going to look at what the buddy needs done." I say "Okay," not thinking it will mess with the dogs' lives too much. But inevitably this "site visit" progresses to him being gone 4-5 hours that day and the next day, AND the day after, etc.

This time, I'd told him I was going along for the ride (for reasons we don't discuss on this forum), and we couldn't take the dogs due to the heat in a sitting truck this time of year. Then - as I knew it would - the small job becomes a 3 day marathon, but he has no problem leaving our pups yet another day in their outdoor 5' by 10' side-by-side kennels. He truly thinks they are okay with it, not realizing this competition-bred dog is (a) several notches higher drive than any old farm dog he grew up with and (b) they miss him, when it is only me! Part of their pack is away....and they look up the driveway no matter what I try to do to keep them contented. We have 2 of these dogs, now.

So of course this kind of week doesn't make the puppy feel good and even Missy isn't thrilled, but tonight, he still has to leave for a men's church group meeting, not 30 minutes after we get home from this unplanned offsite job, so this evening I'm out in the puppy paddock at sundown, running little Mink until he is panting and tired....yet it is NOT ENOUGH for the dog. (And I explained all this back in the Spring when we were deciding to get such a dog.) Sigh.....

I am also not sure if Puberty isn't hitting Mink too, making it even more challenging just now. But no doubt he is going to be a mouthy boy.

[This message edited by Superesse at 2:45 AM, Wednesday, September 20th]

Well hopefully he will calm in a month or 2. My boy is so very good but man the energy he has is wild. We get him back from sleep away camp in a month and I will be forced to take my breaks so he can get exercised throughout the day.

So you will be needing a bell chime on your computer to remind you it's "Puppy Time?" Or will they just bump into you with their muzzles?

Just now, Missy is leading the chorus from the kennel as I was trying to get some plants planted and she could see me. Mommy!!! Mommy!!! That girl never grew up....and what a bad example she sets for the young boy pup. I came in the house for a minute hoping she will hush up. She was upset that my H didn't take her along for a TRUCK RIDE as she is used to!! (Spoiled, much?)

Mink is going through a LOT of water, which I hope is normal (I mean he guzzles it for the enjoyment it must give him and he's just been teething, and isn't done yet.) Then of course he has to go Peee because these GSDs are OCD about not messing in their runs, even a 5 foot by 10 foot run, so he hates to and complains. I drove my riding mower into the barn shop to tell his Dad the poor boy seems to need to go out again, not 1 hour after we walked both dogs and Mink had peed and pooped. I even made the gesture that guys do, when they have to go, as I pointed to the kennels, so H could hear me over my mower engine. I just got a funny look from the man, who was packing another wheel bearing for his buddy's RV, and then I thought he'd gotten the messages, so I could resume my planting activity. A half hour later, his truck drove up from the barn and he stopped to see how my planting is going (slowly!) I asked if he'd taken Mink out again and H just looked at me. "Uh, I had grease on my hands at that moment and...(pause)...I forgot." Seriously the man cannot adapt to his puppy's biological reality. It really makes me wonder, TBH.

But then I think: is it Mink? When he realized he'd forgotten the pup, my H went back down and got him out, but Mink didn't pee a drop! So he'd just lept around frantically telling me how bad it was, and I thought of what our trainer had told us, that they do need to communicate their needs, and I realize I'd read the pup's body language wrong. Oh well. (Is this what parents go through?)

How much water is normal for a 60 pound 6 month old to guzzle, and what do you think about feeding 4 lbs. a day of puppy ration? We are giving him a high protein feed (36%!) so I suspect that is why he's so THIRSTY. But he loves it and it agrees with his tummy. His coat is glossy, he doesn't appear a bit fat, just a nice little cushion over the ribs which are visible and a definite waist tuck.
Edited! 4 CUPS of feed, not 4 POUNDS!!! :)

[This message edited by Superesse at 10:53 PM, Wednesday, September 20th]

My guy gets 4 cups q day 2 am and 2 pm and some kibble as treats/training snacks.

Both boys drink a ton of water. Lots and lots of water. I fill their gallon water bowl at least 2 times a day if not 3.

Thanks, tush, that is reassuring! So your boy is 80 lbs. and getting the same quantity of kibble as Mink. I've been giving him 1.25 or 1.3 cups 3 times a day still, since he is always HONGRY and kicks his breakfast bowl around for 10 minutes after he empties it, probably savoring the Fortaflora powder. I am now glad to know we should not feed more. And to learn the big pups really ARE water hogs. I guess it is needed while they grow so fast.

When he was younger I fed him just 1 cup 3x a day, but following the feeding formula it was time to bump him up, plus he was getting ribby. The trainer says they change so fast you have to keep an eye on the ribs; one week, they look fine and then suddenly they have another growth spurt and we think oh my gosh, pup's starving!

Today, I decided to take both doggos with us back to the buddy's RV camp site (will this job never end?) as it is mid-70's and if we are going camping next week with the pups, I thought this could be a good test for Mink as he hasn't been to an RV park. But Missy barked loud and long when we arrived and Mink also did his frantic puppy yipes and squeals within his crate, "don't leave MEEE!" soon as H got out. I took him out of the truck just to orient him and let him tinkle, and then he was fine. Meanwhile, H was dealing with Missy as his buddy came running over all worried about the dog barking, in case he gets a complaint from a neighboring camper. Well, that's valid, and exactly why Missy needs to learn to stop the defensive barking. She never learned, because H has never made it clear to her that it isn't okay - another little thing that has always driven me nuts. He grew up with barking sheep dogs and doesn't think it's a nuisance, like everybody else does! Missy has gotten worse since we started kennelling them side by side for some hours each day. and seems to think she should be spokeswoman for the pup, or something.

I was proud to see Mink settle right down in his crate and eat his lunch. Missy got quiet after I felt I had to give her a little pop on the nose through the open window, and a sharp "NO!" And then a biscuit. But I'm sitting here in the truck babysitting, so nobody starts up again! (Any trick to get a confirmed barker to knock it off will be appreciated!)

Mink and Missy took a nice, dignified walk down the dogwalk area, and back to the truck, past a line of fancy coaches. Nobody was around outside of their coaches and we saw no people or other dog. Easy! Mink was paying attention to my H, did a couple of Heels and Sits, while Missy just plowed ahead as usual, pulling me with her nose down and me trying to keep her even with the rest of us. But no barks!! Yeah!

We continue to be impressed by this boy pup's intelligence and willingness to do his learned commands, even with the roar of an interstate right next to him, another dog, and a totally new environment. 👏🏻

Well, I certainly don’t have as exciting stories as you all do about your big old thirsty, excitable, rambunctious furbabies!

The most recent thing I could share is that the home health nurse was at the house to change my husband’s Foley catheter. I got an important phone call, so I stepped inside the bathroom to be able to hear. All of a sudden my husband starts hollering for me and when I got out the door, I noticed that four of our five dogs were in the room, three of them were on the bed. The poor Home Health nurse was FREAKING OUT! I took about three seconds, and sent them out the door, all except Bella, and the nurse just kept saying, "thank goodness I hadn’t opened this yet!"…Referring to her sterile field. And she said, "how many of them are there?" I was just laughing and laughing. Of course, when I got the others out of the room, Bella stayed. She doesn’t let anybody do anything to her daddy without being right there watching over him.

WR That is funny, I laughed, even if the home health care nurse didn't. (And I note how your H hollered for YOU!)

Bella is protective!

Mink did something today that my H reported as more-or-less bad behavior, but I saw it as the puppy trying to get to his Daddy he thought was in trouble! (His first hero dog instinct? Who knows. He is a GSD, after all.)

For Missy's 10th birthday next Tuesday, my H made a 2 day reservation to the RV campground we stayed at last year at this same time, by the Chesapeake Bay. We know Missy will remember this place, and I'd wager she'll look for our beloved old Mr. K, but we know dogs love familiar destinations. We can also introduce Mink to salt water. Before predicted rain arrives tomorrow making the ground soggy, H hooked up our fifth wheel and pulled it around to firm ground by the dog kennels. Then he climbed up on a LADDER to change bulbs on marker lights near the roof.

I heard Mink barking from his kennel while I was planting the last half of a batch of perennial flowers for late summer color. I looked up and thought "Well of course he's freaking out: Mink has never seen anybody climb up on a ladder, and there's his Daddy up there doing what must look very Dangerous to him!"

Later on, I was told Mink had pushed out a concrete floor brick at the corner of his steel kennel closest to where my H was working, and had continued to claw up gravel and dirt below it, throwing gravel all over his kennel floor. (We'd laid wire mesh down under the pavers 10 years ago, to keep Missy from excavating her floor, but she never tried that.)

It seemed Mink was determined to get OUT of his confines some way, somehow, so he could go and SAVE his Daddy! (At least I would like to think so....he has never done this before.) But he seems to have turned a little corner in the last day or so, as he didn't even bark at my H when he talked to Missy. Also a first, he didn't whine to wake me up yesterday! ❤️😀

Any 10th birthday ideas, y'all? 🙂

I don’t really have any ideas at all for you, but I LOVE the idea of celebrating! I guess I would just suggested anything that the pup loves would be appropriate.

I have some news about Bella. She is now seven months old, and has been acting a little different lately. A little bit moody, and a little less responsive to instruction. So, you guessed it… I noticed yesterday that she is in heat. I’m pretty upset about this for several reasons.

First of all, I don’t want her to grow up. Poor thing, I think I have relied on her to give me the promise of youth, as my boys have all become young men. But more than that, I had every intention of getting her spay taken care of before her first season. Everything I have read in the past few years has said that puppies spayed before their first season have a 98% less risk for mammory cancer. And so it has horrified me that I would have been so careless to let this happen.

So yesterday I started reading again, and it seemed that there are as many people saying that the spay should occur between the first season and the second, also for medical reasons.

I guess it is a moot point anyway, because I can’t change the situation. I will be on the phone today with the vet to schedule her spay in the next couple of months.

I feel so bad for her, she stares at her self, wondering what is happening down there. And she looks at me with tender eyes. And just curls up with her daddy. I know she’s wondering what is happening.

Of course, when I came on the site this morning and read about Tush‘s precious puppy, I realize that we’re just so fortunate to have Bella, and I shouldn’t be so sad that she is feeling poopy right now.

Otherwise I am still trying to manage the fact that Bella‘s lack of being housebroken seems to have spread like wildfire through the rest of the dogs. I’m having to be much more strict about how often they go outside and much more stern with my corrections. All that, and I wouldn’t give up their presence for anything.

[This message edited by WhatsRight at 4:16 AM, Tuesday, October 3rd]

Oh, the Cramps! Poor Bella! Remember our first?? 😟

Sad they grow up so fast, I agree! Mink is "getting a set" along with a skin rash on each flank next to where they are growing, probably due to heat and friction. I don't think he wants that either, but nature seems determined they can breed before they mature. It is to ensure survival, but it's not what they even want, really! Mink likes to stretch out on his back and flop his hind legs far apart, may be showing off his teenage body? Or just cooling things off a bit? He is such a funny brat.

Missy reached her first heat at 7 months, but in her case, she never stopped being in an incomplete heat for over 100 days, so she moped and lost weight, because she had no appetite. As my first female puppy, I had no idea what to think or do to help her. After 100 days, we drove her 2 hours to a reproductive specialist vet. He gave her hormone therapy but that didn't end her miseries, so the next week, he did laparoscopic surgery and found a malformed ovary, which explained why she wasn't cycling normally, and he removed it. Later on, I wished I'd asked the vet to do a full spay, but at that stage of her young life I was still hoping to show her AKC. Her heats never were easy on her and she always had abnormal cycles, until at 4 she needed an emergency spay! Not the way to go!

I seem to recall they prefer not to spay during a heat cycle due to bleeding risk. And Germans don't like to see their Shepherds spayed before the long bones in the legs have firmed, age 2, whew! So there is a lot of debate.

But it sounds like you have to get control of the potty training, which also deteriorates at this time, poor WR!

We did have a fun little birthday vacay with the 2 dogs, as I posted on Tushnurse's thread. (Tush if you are reading this, how are you doing?)

Yup concensus is to wait until full maturity for spay or neuter in large dogs. For ours that means at least 2. Many studies show there are health benefits to allowing those adult hormones do their work.

The pup comes home from camp this weekend. I am so anxious to have him back. He will be with us all winter and then go back in early spring and stay for the summer and run his challenges at the hunt tests all summer.

When I spoke to the vet’s office today, they told me that they would not spay her while she was still bleeding. And that I could decide whether or not to spay her directly after her heat, or I could wait two more months till she would be fully finished. When I asked what that meant, she said that for up to two months after the bleeding stops, Bella will be in "internal heat" which means that her internal organs will still be swollen. They would have to take more special care about bleeding concerns, and send her home with antibiotics.

So I’m trying to decide if I want to go ahead and get it done directly after the bleeding for fear that she might go into heat again quickly, or if I should just wait. (I am reading that after the second heat, the risk goes up dramatically for cancer.) But it frightens me so to think of her getting an infection. The whole idea of getting her spayed is scaring me, because she is so small. The vet will have to do the procedure with a microscope!

Any words of wisdom?

Tush, I can’t believe you will have to do without your puppy all next summer again. 😞

And regarding the male dogs, I have never had one… well permanently. I did keep a male dog for a year for his people parents when they lost a baby. But I wasn’t happy about it. I have a special love of rubbing my babies’ bellies, and I would prefer not to carelessly start to love on there bellies and come up with something in my hand.

Too vivid??? Sorry.

Mink had to go see the vet this morning for an ear issue and head shaking, and a spot of red blood I saw the other day as I was cleaning his huge ears. The baby boy tipped the vet's scale at 70.7 lbs. Then he tinkled on it....😮

He got his ears swabbed, looked into, and $319. later, we were told Mink has a yeast infection, worse in his left ear which is the side I see him laying on in his crate at night. He also has a bit of skin infection on his groin; little red dots. Too much fun in the baby pool, I guess. Hot summer weather, who knows. The vet said both could be allergy based. We've not noticed him scratching, though.

Hope the allergy is not to his puppy feed, which is chicken based. Vet said lots of dogs get allergies, especially this time of year, and not to worry about the food as a cause, unless it continues. A friend had told us he had to stop giving his dog chicken-based food. He said it's the stuff they feed the chickens that is the problem.

But I was so proud of our wild boy, he let the vet scope each of his ears while he quietly clung to his Daddy's shoulders, and I was touching his nose with a treat.

Many dogs develop allergy to corn and chicken.
I feed my boys off of chicken based foods. We are using a Hills science diet large breed active dog blend.
My girl that just passed was allergic to corn first. Allergies manifested in ear infections and skin issues then chicken really bad ear infection and skin issues. I started making her food from scratch at that point.