Please Help! Unusual BC Puppy Sleeping Habits Or Not??

[RuthBelle]

Update????

[MaryNH]

You've already gotten more good things to consider than I could have shared, but I just wanted to toss one more thing into your pile of stuff to think about. Is there a reason you cannot get her medical records and take her to your vet immediately? (As in "before even bringing her home"?) I can tell that you are, totally understandably, anxious about what that vet visit might reveal, so why not just schedule an appointment ASAP and stop at the vet clinic on your way from the foster mom's house to your house?

 

At least for me with my pets' health, not knowing is almost always worse than knowing, so I would think that the sooner you can get your questions answered, the better! Even waiting a few extra days could add stress that neither you nor the pup needs at this point.

 

Best of luck for you both.

 

 

I completely agree with Angie's post and encourage you to get on this right away. Sending prayers for you both that all will be resolved.

 

Mary and Travis the Trickless WonderDog

[MaryNH]

I apologize if I'm bothering you, but I just had another thought. Your vet would most likely have instant success in requesting the puppy's medical records. Medical professionals have more power in this area than we mere mortals.

 

I imagine that the pup's records could be faxed to your vet immediately upon request; then you would not have to wait and hope the records would be sent to you when some busy person finally gets around to doing it and then mails them to you via the postal service (which sometimes takes forever).

 

Mary

[aljones]

Great idea, Mary! I know I wrangled with Spirit's rescue vet forever and couldn't get all his records and x-rays out of that clinic, no matter how nicely I asked--but as soon as my vet's office called, everything was sent immediately.

[MaryNH]

Great idea, Mary! I know I wrangled with Spirit's rescue vet forever and couldn't get all his records and x-rays out of that clinic, no matter how nicely I asked--but as soon as my vet's office called, everything was sent immediately.

 

 

Thank you for your kind words, Angie. Every once in a while, I have a halfway decent idea -- I think it comes from the Border Collie Angel. She's on the job working overtime for our two sick puppies on this Board.

 

Mary

[aljones]

Every once in a while, I have a halfway decent idea -- I think it comes from the Border Collie Angel.

Now I know who to give credit to for my own rare halfway decent ideas!

 

Like you, I'm hoping for a good update soon from Lorelei's Mommy....

[MaryNH]

Now it's late and I'm getting goofy (thank you, Demerol!), so I thought I post this picture of an angel watching over a Border Collie (you can find anything on Google Images, ha, ha!

 

It should open if you click on the link. I promise it's virus free and all that good stuff.

 

Mary and Travis the Trickless WonderDog

Border_Collie_Angel.doc

[Lorelei's Mommy]

Thank you everyone for the posts! Sorry, I wasn't able to reply sooner. For some reason my internet at home doesn't like this site at all so it hasn't really been letting me on.

 

To answer the question of why we could take her in before we brought her home.....My bf was away at the police academy and his graduation was Friday morning. So, I was out of town with his family and some of our friends. That's the main reason why we have had to wait almost a month to bring her home. I wanted to wait until we were both going to be here so she wouldn't have to be alone near as much if it were just me here.

 

Here's an update:

 

I talked to her foster mom and the founder of the rescue group yesterday when we went to go pick her up. She gave me a copy of part of her medical records. (It had her prescriptions and a schedule for future things that need to be done like the last round of her puppy shot sand when I need to give her the next dose of worm preventative.) She is due for her last round of shots a week from today and they already have an appointment set up for her. They have planned to do a fecal exam to make sure the hookworms are gone, give her her rabies shot, and do an overall general check-up. If the doctor feels it would be in her advantage to do the blood tests we will have them done. The vet that she has been taking them too is actually the same vet I had planned on taking her to. And they will be paying for this last appointment. And in the contract it states that if there is something medically wrong with her that they didn't make us aware of we are allowed to return her within 30 days.

 

Here's a different update:

 

My bf picked out a small stuffed teddy bear for her at petsmart and she absolutely loves it. When I gave it to her yesterday it was the first time I had ever seen her actually play. They had toys at the foster home and we have had some for her during the visits but she just wasn't interested in any of them. She has gotten a little more curious about her new home but she's hasn't been curious enough to actually try getting into anything. And this morning I finally saw her actually eat more than just few pieces of food. She still has never defecated while we have had her. Hopefully that will change by the end of today. And last night I actually saw her run for the first time but it was because she was scared of another dog that was going to the bathroom down the street and she was trying to go back inside.

 

She has opened up a little and plays with her teddy every now and then but she is still sleeping about 85% (and maybe more) of the time.

[bc4ever]

Thank you everyone for the posts! Sorry, I wasn't able to reply sooner. For some reason my internet at home doesn't like this site at all so it hasn't really been letting me on.

 

And this morning I finally saw her actually eat more than just few pieces of food. She still has never defecated while we have had her. Hopefully that will change by the end of today. And last night I actually saw her run for the first time but it was because she was scared of another dog that was going to the bathroom down the street and she was trying to go back inside.

 

She has opened up a little and plays with her teddy every now and then but she is still sleeping about 85% (and maybe more) of the time.

 

Not your Internet--there were some problems with the Board--none of us could get on and we were having terrible withdrawal!

 

If she's not eating much, she's not going to need to poop much either.

 

When you take her out to do her business, do you have a word or phrase that you use to let her know that that's what she's out there for? We us "Hurry up," and "Find a spot" with Scooter. A few times he would indicate he wanted to go out (usually on a cold, clear night), then just wander around and look up at the stars! Do you put her on a leash to take her out? That gives you a little more control over what she's doing and how long it's taking. Scooter knows when it's time to go out and we put his leash on that it isn't play time. You might also try taking her out, waiting for a few minutes, then taking her back in if she doesn't go. Wait ten to twenty minutes then take her out again.

 

As for the sleeping, it does seem like an awful lot, but maybe she just hasn't felt well with the worms and the treatment. The second night we had Scooter, we put him in his crate and he slept for twelve hours--never a peep out of him. I was sure he would be dead when I went in to check on him. He was active during the day, but boy, could he sleep at night! 10-12 hours a night wasn't unusual.

 

Not sure if this helps or not. Scooter's our first dog too and we've been learning as we go!

 

Hope things start looking up soon!

Pam

[Lorelei's Mommy]

She hasn't gone to the bathroom at all since about 3am this morning. That was a little over twelve hours ago. We take her out about every 3 hours. And that was working before. Now we wait a little longer and she still isn't going. She hasn't really drank all that much today because she has spent most of the time sleeping so I guess I should expect that.

 

We do use the phrase "go potty" but she hasn't really learned that yet. We do use a leash when we take her to the bathroom. We live in an apartment complex so they require us to have her on a leash anytime she is outside. And we haven't really given her (and she doesn't really care to have) much time outside to "play" because she still has to get her last set of shots so I am trying to keep her away from the other dogs as much as possible until she gets that next weekend. But, if she ever does get in the mood to play we have decided that we will differentiate playing from pottying by using the phrase "Wanna go play?" to indicate it's a play trip and "Wanna go outside" to indicate it's a potty trip. We have been saying "go potty" as soon as she starts to go and then giving her a treat and praise right after she finishes. Then we come immediately back inside. However, since now she is getting to the point where she doesn't immediately go to her spot and do her business I think i am going to start doing the shorter trips instead of just going out there and waiting for her to go. Thanks for the advice!

[MaryNH]

How is your pup doing? I've been thinking about her and sending best wishes to you all.

 

Mary and Travis the Trickless WonderDog

[Lorelei's Mommy]

How is your pup doing? I've been thinking about her and sending best wishes to you all.

 

Mary and Travis the Trickless WonderDog

 

 

She's actually doing very well! She has started to come out of her shell. She has started to play when she is home with us. She plays when she first wakes up in the morning for about 5-10 minutes. And then again later in the evening for about 10-15 minutes. Pretty much all the time in between she is sleeping though and she sleeps all through the night. I get the feeling that it's still too much sleep and not enough play. But there has definitely been some improvement so I'm hopeful.

 

Anytime she gets around another dog/person (including her littermates and foster mom) she completely shuts down. She won't play with them or even go up to them just to sniff them. She just tries to find a spot to lay down and sleep. So, I am hoping that it was all just because she is VERY shy and that is how she chooses to handle it.

 

We leave for her vet appointment in about an hour and a half. I will talk to him about everything and will make another post afterward to let everyone know what the vet did and said. Thanks for everything!!

[Kerales Farm]

She's actually doing very well! She has started to come out of her shell. She has started to play when she is home with us. She plays when she first wakes up in the morning for about 5-10 minutes. And then again later in the evening for about 10-15 minutes. Pretty much all the time in between she is sleeping though and she sleeps all through the night. I get the feeling that it's still too much sleep and not enough play. But there has definitely been some improvement so I'm hopeful.

 

Anytime she gets around another dog/person (including her littermates and foster mom) she completely shuts down. She won't play with them or even go up to them just to sniff them. She just tries to find a spot to lay down and sleep. So, I am hoping that it was all just because she is VERY shy and that is how she chooses to handle it.

 

We leave for her vet appointment in about an hour and a half. I will talk to him about everything and will make another post afterward to let everyone know what the vet did and said. Thanks for everything!!

 

Have they checked her heart? Heart abnormalities can cause lack of stamina.....

[Sue R]

A heavy worm burden could also leave a dog anemic for some time after the worms are gone and until the red blood cells are built back up.

 

Best wishes!

[Lorelei's Mommy]

Vet Appointment Update:

 

So, we just got back from the vet not too long ago. Her fecal test came back negative and she got her last round of shots (which she handled better than I do when I have to get them lol). I talked to him about her sleeping so much and he said that since she had gotten a little better about it this week he didn't really think we needed to do any blood work or anything just yet. He said that we should give her a little more time after coming off her medicine for the worms and to get better adjusted to everything. He said that if she hasn't changed any more within the next few weeks then he might consider running some tests. So, I guess I just have to keep watching and working with her. We took her to her first puppy training class and she just laid there for most of it. (But it was in Petsmart so I think she was probably just a little overwhelmed by everything.) She did participate when we asked her to though. We are going to keep taking her to the classes and to local parks to see if maybe she can get more comfortable with other people and animals. I will post some updates in the coming weeks to let everyone know about her progress. I can't thank everyone on here enough for caring about her so much! You are all wonderful people and I wish you and your loved ones all the best!!

[Sue R]

I'm glad the vet was pleased and that you are seeing some improvement. I'm no vet and I'm no expert, but I would have liked to have seen at least some basic bloodwork done to rule out anemia or thyroid issues.

 

Best wishes!