Got a new foster puppy ! Help !

Hi there,

I usually foster cats/kittesn for the Montreal SPCA but had a momma in recently with distemper so I had to stop fostering cats for a while (unless they are vaccinated against panleukopenia - which most SPCA cats aren't :mad: ).

I took the "not fostering" part pretty hard. I've had up to 12 cats and kittens in my house since last summer and now I'm down to just my 2 until the virus can be controlled - a few months at least (unless they are vaccinated !)

So anyways, I was talking to the SPCA staff about this and they said they had a puppy that needed a home for 2 weeks. She's a 20lb, 3 month old mix. Maybe some boxer, maybe some sheppard or rottweiler. She was born with her eyelids turned inward and has kept her eyes closed most of her life because the constant eyelashes in her eyes hurt her. Not sure how she ended up at the SPCA but the staff pooled the money to have her operated on !!! :thumbs up (they had it done at a private clinic) and now she is recouperating at my house until her stitches come out in 2 weeks.

I don't know much about dogs - although I had one for most of my young life (from age 5 to 19) I didn't train her so I'm scouring the net to find out about crate training and house breaking. Obviously, I won't get too far in my short 2 weeks but I'm trying to start her off right.

The first problem I have is that she was a rescue puppy and isn't overly keen on her crate to say the least. She has probably spent a fair amount of time in a cage at the SPCA and does not like going back in. I have to keep her in at night as she is not housetrained yet and we have to gently shove her in backwards (due to her e-collar getting in the way). We tried bribbing her in with treats and toys but she's smarter than that - she just looked at me like "I'm not falling for that trick Lady!". Any suggestions on getting her to at least not hate being crated ?

The other thing is she does not like to go outside. I put her leash on, open the door and she puts the brakes on and backs up. I have to carry her out (and at 20 lbs, she's no yorkshire terrier!), carry her down the stairs, carry her back up the stairs afterwards (she has trouble with going up stairs with her e-collar) and shove her back into the house. Maybe she's afraid of the door ? or the leash ? or the cold ? I'll take the suggestion I saw elsewhere on this site to let her walk around the house with her leash on. we'll try taking her out for a walk this weekend - we haven't done it yet since she's recouping from her operation.

Next thing is her peeing. She has many house accidents - my fault I know ! I'm trying to figure out her pattern but there doesn't seem to be one. Last night 7pm, she peed on the floor inside so I took her out immediately and of course she did nothing (I already peed inside, I don't gotta go anymore!). No treats or praise. I figure I'll take her back out in an hour but at 7:30 pm, she peed on the floor again... Repeat outside/no peeing again. At 8:15 I catch her squatting so I wisk her outside (which is hard to do in the dead of winter what with having to haul on winter boots and coat and put her leash on) and out we go, she poops, I praise the heck out of her and give her a treat. we go back inside and - you guessed it - she pees on the floor 5 mnutes later !:rolleyes: Any suggestions ?

Since we were all home yesterday, she didn't spend much time in her crate. She was out from 5pm til bed time which is when all her accidents were - more crate time ? Take away her constant access to water ? Take her out more often ? paper the entire house and buy stock on Nature's Miracle ?

Any suggestions or links are most welcome ! I'll try to post a picture later but she's not the prettiest thing with her stitches and e-collar and eye ointment !

Thanks !
Julie

She's no doubt reluctant to walk down stairs when the e-collar is blocking her view. Additionally, at 12 weeks old, it's possible she's never seen stairs before. You'll just have to carry her for now.

Make sure you give her regularly scheduled meals, and not let her free feed. That way you'll learn how long after eating she needs to go and can take her out.

Here's a page of information about puppies:
http://www.wonderpuppy.net/canwehelp/puppy.htm

Where are all the kittens and cats??

The first problem I have is that she was a rescue puppy and isn't overly keen on her crate to say the least. She has probably spent a fair amount of time in a cage at the SPCA and does not like going back in. I have to keep her in at night as she is not housetrained yet and we have to gently shove her in backwards (due to her e-collar getting in the way). We tried bribbing her in with treats and toys but she's smarter than that - she just looked at me like "I'm not falling for that trick Lady!". Any suggestions on getting her to at least not hate being crated ?


Do you only crate her at night? If so I would try getting her used to it throughout the day for short time periods. You could put her in for just a few seconds at first then praise like crazy and have some play time. This way she will start having better associations with the crate. Have you tried using a really yummy treat like tuna or something really stinky and irresistable? You could also try putting some in the back of her crate and let her go get it but don't even close the doors on her. Just little steps to show her that the crate isn't all that bad. Good luck and good on ya for helping out these little critters! :thumbs up

Where are all the kittens and cats??

Last Sunday, Mrs Norris started getting sick. I posted about it here and was told the damage was done and there was no point separating the momma and her 3 kitties. On monday, one of the little ones started throwing up. I called the vet and they confirmed the worst - at only 3-4 weeks old there is virtually no way they would make it through. By the end of the day, a second kitten had started throwing up. They looked so pitifull... I made the only decision I could and brought them back to the SPCA where they were euthanised.

RIP Mrs Norris:angel: , Cloudy:angel: , Pumkpin:angel: and Sprinkles:angel: .

I was worried about my 2 older kittens and I was talking to the SPCA staff about it and Julie, the girl in charge of fosters said she'd make a few calls. She called me back and said they had a volunteer to take both remaining kittens together and wait out the 10 day incubation at her house. This lady does not foster too much and wasn't worried about infecting her house with the virus should Grishka and Nini-Poo already be incubating it. If they are well at the end of the 10-14 days, they will be put up for adoption back at the shelter. :fingerscr

So that's the sad, sad story of my beloved foster kitties. :sad: I feel very bad about Mrs Norris. Because of me, she and her kittens are gone. I knew there might be distemper in the house after the death of Souza (vet had said "maybe this, maybe that, maybe anything even distemper") but I accepted to foster her anyways. I was always very carefull about washing my hands but obvioulsy the virus will hang onto anything, clothes or socks included... It was my first experience with distemper and from now on, I will treat it with the fear and respect it is due. It's a very mean, nasty virus...

Hence my new "no vaccination ? No foster cats" policy until the virus has died a horrible death of starvation and bleach in my house...

I miss my housefull of kitties...:sad:

So in the meantime, the SPCA suggested dogs.

Wish me luck with the puppy !

And thanks for the links Lucky... Definately great reading material for tonight on night shift !

Thought you might like to see our temporary puppy. Warning - her eyelids were operated on so they are pretty red (especially on bottom) and goopy due to the ointment.

http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/jkh29/detail?.dir=c2a0&.dnm=a6fere2.jpg&.src=ph

http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/jkh29/detail?.dir=c2a0&.dnm=54d1re2.jpg&.src=ph

Assuming the picture didn't work (cause it never does for me) you can see her here: http://photos.yahoo.com/jkh29

Click the album called Lashka

She is so sweet. I just want to cuddle up next to her.

I have found the actual term of what was wrong with her eyes:

"a condition called Entropion which is a "rolling in" of the eyelids so that the eyelashes contact and irritate the cornea"

Poor little girl ! All is well now though and she did much better today on her house training. No accidents while I was there (only when my husband was in charge - he's not a dog person...). She is figuring our how to manage the stairs going up but still doesn't like going down so I carry her. I think the part about the door is just to many distractions and maybe the cold. She's Ok once she's out.

You should see her in the snow. She puts her face down to sniff then whips it back up sending a volley of snow up in the air with her collar - she looks like a snow shovel ! She loves to eat the ice on our deck too... Silly girl...:p Maybe I'll switch her pee-pee treats to a chunk of ice !

Going to go read Lucky's links now ...

Julie,so sorry about the kitties,it must have been heartbreaking:sad:
I am happy,although you do not have much experience with dogs(like me)you're fostering a little needy puppy.
She was luckys someone cared enough to scrape up the money to fix her eyes:thumbs up
Not to change the topic,but I really enjoyed the kitty-slides,beautiful pics:love: I assume they too were fosters:confused:

Not to change the topic,but I really enjoyed the kitty-slides,beautiful pics I assume they too were fosters

Yes, those are all fosters ! I've had... ummmm... 22 cats/kittens so far since last summer ! I usually have a few at a time with a bit of overlap from when the first family goes back to the SPCA and when the next family comes in. A practice I will definately stop in the future cause this is how everyone got sick this time ... :(

I miss my kittens... 'specially Beara...:angel:

I'll have to upload the rest of the pictures and make like a hall of fame for my fosters !