Big Baby Banzai

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Banzai
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Big Baby Banzai

Post by Banzai »

Hi, everyone. We're new to the forum and we just got our new baby boy chow. He's HUGE at 8 weeks, at least 15-20 lbs. Maybe this is normal for chows, I'm not sure. I've only had poodles before him.

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I have a few questions, too, just being the concerned mama. We only brought him home yesterday, and after a long flight from the breeder and leaving his parents, I'm sure it was hard on him. It took some coaxing to have him come out of his crate, and he's been very lethargic. He's only looked around his new home a little bit, mostly wandering a few steps before he lays down again to sleep. I expected him to be shaken up, but he has absolutely no interest in going potty. He's still eating and drinking water like a champ, though. We've found no accidents inside, either. We're still taking him outside every hour or so when he wakes up to move, of course, but he just won't go. Think it's just stress? He's been playing a little bit, just not too much. Mostly chewing on some soft toys.

Any advice you can offer is appreciated! We love our little Banzai already.
Rory's Dad
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Re: Big Baby Banzai

Post by Rory's Dad »

All pretty normal for a pup who has had a long trip. Our male, Rory, only had to go in the car for about 40 minutes, and he spent about 3 hours in the same spot when we got him home. Temperment can be a factor though, our female Amber had the same experience and was terrorizing the place within 5 minutes.

For size reference, sounds abit on the large side, but remember Chows can vary quite a bit in size, anywhere from 45-85 lbs for males and 35-70 for females are in the range. Rory is 50 lbs at 18 months, so he is about full size and was 9 lbs at 8 weeks. Amber was a bit bigger, 11 lbs.

Even as a puppy, you want to check by build. Feel the ribs. You should not be seeing ribs (too thin), not should you have to dig to find them (too heavy). You should feel the ribs easily under the fur, without any obvious bulging or width apparent between the shoulders and hips. Chows vary quite a bit in build. Heavier boned vs. athletic etc.
Banzai
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Re: Big Baby Banzai

Post by Banzai »

Thanks for the advice! He has calmed down a bit and has started pottying better, too. Still not much for right now, but as long as he's eating and drinking and something is coming out the other end, I'm not as worried as I was.

Unfortunately, I found something new to be worried about. The poor baby brought some ticks home with him. I'm fairly sure they were on him for his flight, as I've never seen any kind of ticks like these in Jersey (Not that I go looking for them!). He's already got Frontline on him. Unfortunately, our vet is closed, probably for the Holiday. We're going to go see if there's a safe anti-biotic for him when we can get there. I don't know how long those ticks were on him. I think the bulk of them have been removed (Carefully!) or have popped off on their own. Yeah, they were that big. Banzai being my first chow, I'm having a hard time navigating all of the fur to make sure.
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