Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Charlie on February 1, 2008 at 2:32pm

Hi Heather,

Welcome! I'm going to start with #3 if you don't mind. A red, itchy spot which seems to be getting bigger does need a vets attention. I'd take her to a vet, even if it's not the vet you end up deciding to use in the longer term. At eight months she should be current on her shots, but it is a concern that your breeder isn't answering your questions. A vet should be able to figure out if she needs any other vaccines or treatment right now.

On #2: I don't like foods with corn, wheat or soy as they are not great nutrition-wise, and are the highest sources of food allergies. That's just my opinion, and everyone has to make their own dog food choice. There are a lot of good threads on this forum discussing the food topic. Most folks here are feeding the premium brands or raw diets.

On #1: Crate training is the fastest and most effective way to house train your dog. You can't show her where to go or take her outside when you're not home, and most dogs won't pee or poop in their crate. Until you can get a crate, you may want to baby-gate the kitchen or put her in a bathroom with some bedding and water while you're out of the house. At least a tile or vinyl floor is much easier to clean up than soft surfaces like carpet or a couch. : )

Welcome again! Looking forward to your tales and adventures with Carolina.

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Permalink Reply by Heather on February 1, 2008 at 2:55pm

Thanks for your reply. I just wish her breeder would contact me. I dont want to harm her with a double dose of a vaccine or anything!! I agree on the corn thing. I will check the threads out. Until we get a crate i think we are goginto try the bathroom thing. Our kitchen is one of the ones with the wide enterances so I think the bathroom will be easier.
Thanks again and I lok forward to talking with you soon.

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Permalink Reply by Corgi Mom on February 1, 2008 at 4:55pm

Please bring Carolina to the vet to have that red spot that keeps getting bigger checked. I don't mean to scare you but it could be Red Mange (not contagious but hereditary). It is passed down from the puppy's mother and if caught early won't take so long to treat. Your vet will need to do a skin scrape and will be able to check under the microscope what exactly is causing your baby to itch. They'll prescribe the right treatment for whatever it is. Where I work (I'm a vet assistant) my boss treats Red Mange with a special dip solution. There is also a pill form of the treatment but it takes longer and is much more costly. The dip gets to the "buggies" faster that are causing the red itchy spots.

Corn is used more as a filler than having any strong nutritional value. We feed our dogs BIL JAC dog food. When we first got Maddie we fed her their brand of puppy food. You can go to their website www.biljac.com and find out more about how they make their food. The process their kibble at a lower temperature to retain more nutrition and add any supplements (vitamins, etc) afterward. That you way you can feed your dog less and get the same amount of nutrition.

We feed our dogs, depending on size, about 1-cup of food a day. We adjust it, according to how their waistline looks, slightly up or down. Breeds with short legs tend to put on wait very easy so we are vigilant about watching their weight. Good luck and please let us know how things go at the vet.

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Permalink Reply by Heather on February 1, 2008 at 4:58pm

Thank you so much for your reply. She has an appointment tomorrow. We will see how that goes and I will let you know!! You have a great weekend. Our computer will not be hooked up at home unitl Wednesday night.

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Permalink Reply by Bryan on February 1, 2008 at 5:23pm

The overall nature of your note kind of concerns me Heather. Pardon me if I'm reading you the wrong way, but you do understand this creature that needs the same care and attention you would give yourself or your own kids, right? I'm just wondering why you didn't think about crates, vets, shots, etc before you decided to buy a dog...? Well, I guess that's water under the bridge. I'm glad you're asking for advice now. :-)

You need to feed her really good healthy food, just like you would feed yourself. Here's my recommendation:

Artemis Dog Food For Medium/Large Breed Puppies

You can buy it online (cheaper) if your local pet store doesn't have it. Please don't feed your Corgi name-brand food like Alpo, Purina, etc. It's not good.

A red spot that is itching her means she is in pain, just like you would be if you had a growing red spot that itched. Please take your puppy to a vet right away. Your vet will advise you regarding shots. Just tell the vet what you know. Don't wait and let that red spot progress into something worse. If a dog is scratching at a sore spot on their skin, they can quickly tear themselves to shreds trying to rub away an itch and turn what was a minor skin irritation into a painful and bloody and expensive disaster. I've seen it happen. Please deal with it immediately.

You don't own a crate? Please go buy yourself one. It will help you to house train her.

Crate training tips: Don't leave a puppy in a crate for more than 2 hours. Always give her water in the crate (preferably one of those dispenser bottles so she won't tip over a bowl and then have no water). Feed her and play with her in the crate to make her feel like its a happy safe place for her to be. Never use a crate for punishment.

Re potty training: Don't expect immediate results. It takes a long time to train a dog to conform to human rules. Take her outside. Say "Go potty" and point at the ground. Give her a few minutes. If she doesn't go, bring her in, put her in her crate for a 1/2 hour, then go outside and try again. If she succeeds, say "good girl" and play with her. Corgis need lots of exercise. :-)

Want a miracle training technique that will make life 1000x easier for you and your dog? Please go to the link below, and buy the clicker training book and an instructional DVD. You will get amazing results with clicker training, in a fraction of the time. It's one of the best investments you can make in how to train a dog successfully:

www.clickertraining.com

Let me know if this helps!

-Bryan-

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Permalink Reply by Heather on February 4, 2008 at 5:14pm

Hey Bryan.
Glad you responded. I do treat her like the kids :o) She is very spoiled. I bought her from a breeder and I was told that there were no problems. I trusted the breeder. she did go to the vet Saturday and she is in excellent condition. I have some pills to give her for her rash. The potty training went very well over the weeked and I hope to see it continue. You have a great night and I look forward to talking with you again
Heather

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Permalink Reply by Sam on February 5, 2008 at 7:14am

Looks like you got some very good advice. May I point out here I think you and many others have just learned the big difference between a breeder and a reputable breeder. It is certainly hard to learn the difference between the two unless you do a vast amount of research prior to making a purchase. Many others on this forum have learned the same way. A reputable breeder would have had a health certificate, a copy/invoice of all the vaccines given and would have had the "spot" checked and diagnosed prior to selling you the dog.
I always suggest premium dog foods and look that corn is not in the first five ingredients. Everyone has different choices and there is no "clearly" best food. Remember too the recommended amounts suggested on the bag are usually far more than most corgis need. If her weight is now good I would suggest starting with 3/4 cup twice daily. As she reaches maturity you would probably have to lessen it to 1/2. Corgis become obese quickly.
Confinement is most important to help housebreak a pup. Depending on her former environment this may make the process easier or more difficult. If she was a kennel pup or raised outside you will be starting from the beginning. They have to learn the appropriate place to go and how to alert you they need to go there. Frequency and consistency and patience will help.
It does sound likely that she has demodex mange. This is not contagious to others and will usually flair up due to stress, hormonal changes (get her spayed) and is passed to offspring. I suspect her mother had it. It is most curable but sometimes takes quite a long time to do so. Do know that it can reappear at any time. All dogs carry the mite but dogs with more sensitive immune systems are the ones that will react.
Good luck with your new pal.

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Permalink Reply by Heather on February 5, 2008 at 10:50am

Hey Sam. thanks for the advise. Carolina is weighing in at 18.7 pounds. the vet said that was average and she is in excellent condition. She is taking her meds for the rash and they also stated that it was probably passed on from her parents.... You know I picked a sorry breeder but I got a great family member, so I am not complaining. I am just taking the best care of her i can. My boyfriend says she is my Million Dollar Baby!!

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