First time Chow mum

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GusGus1/1/2011
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First time Chow mum

Post by GusGus1/1/2011 »

Hey everyone,
I just got my 8 week old chow puppy a few days ago, his name is Gus (named after one of the fat little animated mice off Walt Disney's 'Cinderlla'). I did plenty of general research on caring for a new chow puppy, but am very confused about what to feed him.
Like i said, ive only had him for a few days, but so far this is what his diet looks like:

Breakfast: Soaked puppy biscuits (the small round pellet type things-the brand is called 'Supercoat' that i had been given by the breeder) mixed with a raw egg. This morning i gave him cooked brown rice mixed with egg.
Lunch: dried puppy biscuits with some cottage cheese
Dinner: Cooked chicken mince with the soaked pellets

Does this sound right? Most of the things i have read in books/webpages have been kind of contradictory, so ive gone for a general mix of things. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Another issue i have is that i noticed he has fleas. I didnt notice until i got home, and he wasnt scratching at the breeders place where we picked him up from. But nevertheless, he was covered with live fleas and also what i think must have been their eggs (black flecky things). We went to the store and got him a puppy flea treatment (in liquid form that instructed application to the back of the neck) and i went over his whole body with a human lice comb. I think i got rid of most of them, but he is still itching. Should i get the flea tablets for puppies as well? Will the mixing of the external application with the internal tablets be harmful? I dont want to overdose him!

Any advice would be much appreciated! p.s i have uploaded a picture. I adore him :)
Adriana.
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Victory
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Re: First time Chow mum

Post by Victory »

First he is adorable. What a cutie.
Now, to answer your questions as much as possible. Is this the food you're feeding him: http://www.purina.com.au/supercoat/DogP ... Puppy.aspx
I just googled supercoat and this is what I found, I'm assuming from this product that you are in Australia? The food is, ok, but just ok, the problem is the wheat in it. You want to try and avoid any wheat and/or corn in his food. Both can and do cause skin problems in chows. The grains that you should look for are rice, (white or brown), barley and oats, these are good for them and don't cause the skin and coat issues. Also it has salt in it, not a neccessary thing for dogs, in fact it can be bad for them.
Also raw eggs should not be fed to dogs unless those eggs are certified organic from free range chickens. Commercially produced eggs often come from egg factor chickens crowded into tiny nests; I'm saying this because that is how so many of the eggs are contaminated with ecoli. If you do feed commecially produced eggs, throughly cook them before feeding to your chow.
Cottage cheese is good, yogurt is better, easier to digest and has more of the enzymes that are good for him. Also again yogurt has less salt than cottage cheese. Get the plain kind and again if you can find organic buy that. ( I get a brand called Greek Gods which is very good)
Chicken is good, again just make sure it is thoroughly cooked, no salt added.
And if you are feeding puppy sized dry food, then you don't need to soak it to soften it up, in two months he'll start to shed those puppy teeth and get his adult teeth, giving him hard food will help get his little jaws and gums ready for that by helping to keep his teeth clean and strengthen those muscles. (and make sure he has at least one hard thing to chew on)
Also I would add another meal or leave dry food alone down for him to nibble on through the day. Most chows can free feed without worrying about them over eating, they normally won't, they are cat like in that way.

Okay, about the fleas. I'd take him to the vet, to make sure he isn't haveing an allergy attack to the fleas. A topical, (external flea treatment) may work in the short term, but fleas weaken the immune system setting him up for another flea infestation which will further weaken him, leading to a nasty cycle. You'e made a good start at getting rid of the infestation now, but he may need the pill, but in a puppy that young, I'd seek medical advice first. Besides taking him to a vet at this age is good for him. Helps socialize him and get him used to the vet.

I hope some of this helps, there are a couple of other Austrailian members and hopefully they can help you more.
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CoraP.
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Re: First time Chow mum

Post by CoraP. »

He's awfully cute! I haven't had a puppy in a long time. Both of mine we got when they were already grown. I don't think I'm qualified to give advice about feeding a puppy...I just wanted to say he is adorable!
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Re: First time Chow mum

Post by Judy Fox »

Your puppy looks adorable and I am sure you have got to love him already. :D

Regarding food, I think you cannot go wrong in feeding him a mixture of dry all in one puppy food and also tinned puppy food. As Victory said, raw egg should not be given - indeed not many eggs a week - my vet advised years ago only egg once a week.

I have two young chow chows now 17 months old and I fed them Baxters all in one dry puppy food together with Winalot tinned puppy food. I fed this until they were twelve months old then changed to the adult versions of the same food. I live in the Uk but I am sure that your local pet shop will be able to advise you on the products available where you are living.

You will no doubt be visiting your vet very soon to talk about his innoculations so I should carry on combing him as you are doing and mention the fleas to the vet. He will probably be able to give you a product that will deal with the problem. Don't forget to treat his bed and wherever else he lies. The little black dots in his coat will be flea dung.

Have fun with your little fella' and post some more pictures - chowlings are the most beautiful baby dogs in the world. :D [:D]
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Re: First time Chow mum

Post by BeckiHutton »

I feed my lily who is 4.5 months old on James wellbeloved ocean White fish and brown rice (puppy) and she absolutely loves it. I soak it in a little bit of water. It is really good with no wheat eggs red meat preservatives etc only natural ingredients. It is quite expensive (7.84 for a 2.5 kilo bag. Sorry I don't know how much this is in dollars). But it is worth every penny it is very good quality
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Blackbear
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Re: First time Chow mum

Post by Blackbear »

Hi. You have a nice boy there. Not a good start with the fleas. I would be having words with the breeder about this but first take to the vet and make sure you get the right treatment.
With regards to dry food most of the good brands here in Australia are imported from the US just be careful not to buy any with red meat products as these are irradiated. We have a 6 month old boy who got hot spots(rashes) at 4 months after using Advanced. We then changed to Nutience and then Science Diet with the problem persisting. We have been using EVO for last month and so far so good but we are transitioning to a home cooked diet of lightly cooked beef mince,rice and vegetables. Our 11 yr old has been fed this his whole life and we have had no problems. For puppies though I tend think a properly fomulated dry food is better during this important growth period. Here is our diet: up to 4 months 4 meals a day-natural porridge fro breakfast with lactose free milk, lunch, dinner and supper -puppy dry food. At 4 months drop the supper and at 5 months drop the lunch. Follow the feeding recommendations fron the manufacturer. At 5months we start transitioning to a cooked diet. I would keep the diet simple during the early stages(no raw eggs,table scraps etc) and keep an eye on your pup to see that he is not biting or licking himself as this may be a sign of hot spots.
We supplement the basic adult diet with raw chicken wings, fish(not tinned),lactose free milk, natural yogurt and a good quality dry food.
Not sure where you are but we are in Hobart. Can be tough to find a vet with chow experience as they are not a common breed here but it is important if your vet has some knowledge of this breed.
There is a lot of good info on this site and I strongly recommend you read what you can on training and socilisation of your pup.
GusGus1/1/2011
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Re: First time Chow mum

Post by GusGus1/1/2011 »

Hey everyone, thanks for all the replies.
Yes it is not a good start with the fleas i was so annoyed as we paid a lot of hard earned money for him. I did call the breeder and she tried to tell me that the pup must have caught it from my dog!! Which is ridiculous seeing as we noticed he has fleas on the drive home. Grrr!! Anyway he is doing much better now, i haven't seen any fleas on him for a while, but what i have noticed is that he has dry flakes of skin in his fur. When i pat him i can feel little bumps, so i divide the hair to have a better look.. and the best way to describe it is like human dandruff. I put it down to the flea situation? maybe they are old bites? He doesn't seem bothered by it though, which is good. But i do have another concern. Every morning when i wake up to feed him i notice he has what looks like really bad conjunctivitis. I wipe his eyes about twice a day but its really bad in the mornings. Real stringy stuff from the top eye lid to the bottom. He's going for his 2nd vaccination and full check up next week, so hopefully the vet can tell me if its serious or not. I hope i'm just over-reacting. Has any one ever had a similar experience?
Thanks,
Adriana.
p.s this forum is excellent, so supportive!
Chat soon.
BeckiHutton
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Re: First time Chow mum

Post by BeckiHutton »

Sounds like he may have entropian which is where the eyelids go inwards and rub on the eye. Youneed to get this checked immediately because itcan lead to blindness very quickly. Poor little thing :(
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Re: First time Chow mum

Post by Victory »

Try brushing him thoroughly, this should losen up that dead flaky skin and remove it. Which will make his skin healthier. He could also have very oily skin, my girl had that when I first got her, (she was about a year old) she had a few baths with a special shampoo and lots of brushing with a good pin brush and it cleared up. She hasn't had it since.

And his eye issue sounds like entropian to me as well. The picture shows that his eyes are clean, (good job there) but they are a bit narrow looking to me. The vet will be able to tell better. If it's not too bad he may grow out of it, but he might not. There is a surgery to fix it, but make sure you find a vet that is experienced in doing it. Normally the surgery is done when they are older than he is, in the meantime there are eye medicines they can use to help guard against scaring of the eye.
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GusGus1/1/2011
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Re: First time Chow mum

Post by GusGus1/1/2011 »

oh no i really hope its not entropian. After reading your replys ive booked him in for the vets tomorrow morning. Does any know how bad this can get? i know it can caused blindness, but does it always cause blindness? i've noticed that his bottom eye lashes rotate in towards his eye when he sleeps :(. I'm really concerned now....
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Boogie and Linda
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Re: First time Chow mum

Post by Boogie and Linda »

Some puppies can outgrow entropian. The vet will have more info. If it is entropian, you will probably get some prescription ointment for the eyes until the next steps are decided. It is failry common in chows. Don't stress too much over it but do take him to the vet to get checked out.
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Re: First time Chow mum

Post by BeckiHutton »

Have youbeen to the vets yet? How did you get on if yes?
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Re: First time Chow mum

Post by Victory »

GusGus1/1/2011 wrote:oh no i really hope its not entropian. After reading your replys ive booked him in for the vets tomorrow morning. Does any know how bad this can get? i know it can caused blindness, but does it always cause blindness? i've noticed that his bottom eye lashes rotate in towards his eye when he sleeps :(. I'm really concerned now....
Blindness from entropian is caused by the hair rubbing against the surface of the eye when your chow blinks, this cause little tears and then scar tissue when the eye heals itself, thus causing blindness, it can also lead to infections because of the little tears and this also can lead to blindness. Even if entropian is not serious enough for this, it is uncomfortable. Think about yourself when you have an eyelash in your eye and how irratating that is, now imagine never being able to remove that eyelash, and it's more than one eyelash. That is what it feels like for a chow with the condition.

As someone else said there are prescription eye meds that Vets give to relieve the irratation and protect the eye until other corrections are decided upon. In a very young puppy if the entropian is serious they sometimes do what is called "tacking" where the eyelid(s) are held away from the eye with a series of non disolving stitches, it looks ugly but it helps a lot until the full entropian surgery can be done.
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GusGus1/1/2011
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Re: First time Chow mum

Post by GusGus1/1/2011 »

Hey everyone,
I took Gus to the vet today and unfortunately he does have entropian. The vet put die in both his eyes to check whether there was any abrasion and she said that it looks ok for now, very little irritation, and she suggested to leave it for now to see how it goes and that it might go away by itself. She also said that if it looks worse by the time he is 6 month she wants to go ahead with corrective surgery at the same time he gets desexed to avoiding putting him unnecessarily under anesthetic twice. The vet also suggested changing his kibble to a brand called science diet, which, from what I've been reading, is a good one. He gets his second vaccination next week. Other than that all is well! I'll post some more photos asap. I've got some really cute ones of him sleeping with our other family dog in his little bed :) Thanks for all the replies!
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Re: First time Chow mum

Post by mebo »

In my opinion, I would use a higher grade food than Science Diet. It is an expensive food, and if I remember correctly, it has "corn gluten meal" as one of its primary ingredients. CGM is used as an herbicide, as well as a cheap protein source in animal foods. A lot of chows have sensitivities to corn, so I personally make sure that my chows get a grain free food, like Taste of the Wild. Science Diet spends lots of money convincing vets to recommend it. My vet actually recommends against most of the food available in a Wal-Mart or Petsmart....

BTW, your Gus is adorable.
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Re: First time Chow mum

Post by Victory »

What Mebo said. Science Diet has WAY too much corn for chows. It causes skin problems, (hot spots, increased allergies etc) it can also contribute to diabetes in pets. Vets promote because like it has been said, Science Diet pushes for them, [vets] to carry it. A good food, with natural meat ingredients, rice/barley or oats, and vegies is best for them.
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GusGus1/1/2011
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Re: First time Chow mum

Post by GusGus1/1/2011 »

Thanks for the puppy food advice, I've just looked up Taste of the Wild on the Internet, not sure if I can get it in my area, I'm in Canberra Australia. That's an interesting assertion that diet science is promoted by vets because they are paid to do so, my vet swears by it. It's so hard to find something good to feed your little guy when even your vet has some kind of an agenda and everyone has contradictory opinions! Maybe I can get taste of the wild delivered? Although that seems like alot of effort just for some kibble. So many decisions! P.s, Gus bit me the other day over a few pieces of rice on the floor! I was so upset, way to bite the hand that feeds you. I told him no! In a firm voice and put him in my bathroom for about a minute as a consequence. Even punishment for naughty behavior is so debated! What to do...
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Re: First time Chow mum

Post by Blackbear »

We have fed our boy Science Diet when he was 4 months and he got hot spots. Have changed to EVO and no problems. EVO is ranked one the top dog foods in Australia but it is expensive. We also used Advanced puppy growth and that triggered the first hot spots. California Natural was also recommended but have not looked into this one.
No problems getting EVO in Hobart so should be available in Canberra.
BTW our vet recommended SD also but have several vets clear their shelves of other brands and only sell SD which makes me think they sponsered by SD.
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Re: First time Chow mum

Post by GusGus1/1/2011 »

I have another quick question it's about sleeping arrangements. Gus and I live in a granny flat detached from my family home. He has a nice big bed that he sleeps in every night at the floor of my bed. I haven't been sleeping at home for the last few nights, and hardly ever did before I got Gus (usually at my boyfriends house). My mum has been sleeping in the granny flat for the past few nights I've been away, and she seems to think that he would be fine sleeping in his own without anyone else there (he sleeps the whole night). Just wondering what your opinions are on leaving him alone at night at such a young age (9 weeks). I feel guilty and feel like he might not bond with me as well as if I were sleeping right there with him. He stays at home for a few hours on his own during the day while I'm at uni, and Im the one who feeds/plays/takes him to the toilet/small walks ect. Am I over reacting? I feel like I do everything else with him, and I hope that's sufficient for bonding. What do you guys think? Should I be staying at home with him at nights? Obviously every dog is different, but some advice will ease my mind.
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Re: First time Chow mum

Post by BeckiHutton »

Oh dear poor gus :( sounds like you have had nothing but problems since you got him. It's such a shame that he bit you over the rice. With lily I can do absolutely anything when she is eating- stroke her, groom her, even take the food off of her. She was like this when I got her. Just stick at it. You clearly love the little man despite everything, dont give up on him yet.

As for the sleeping arrangements, it really is down to personal preference. He's not too young to be sleeping on his own but if you want him to sleep with you then go ahead. It won't affect bonding.
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