It sounds like your dog needs training. As does your husband . Training, and proper exercise, will solve the chasing.

The upset tummy could be from his diet. First of all, I'd let the dog fast for a day. (giving him water still of course) Then I'd feed him cooked sweet potato (plain) or canned pumpkin (not pie filling). If you want to feed him the TOTW you could mix it into the sweet potato. I'd do a full day of the sweet potato though, speaking from experience. If the fasting and sweet potato don't help take the dog to a Vet. Also, if the dog is showing any other issues or signs of distress, take it to the Vet.

Good luck!

 

It sounds like your dog needs training. As does your husband . Training, and proper exercise, will solve the chasing.

Agree here too. Leashing the dog will help.

One other question how long has the dog been running 2 miles a day?

 

He does get plenty of exercise, my husband both run him about 2 miles per session. He gets out there for that about 3-4 times per week. Walks and backyard play in between. If you have any advice on training him out of the light chasing, I'm all ears. I have to pull the drapes if he's at it because he'll go after any sunbeam or shadow. We upped his exercise for that issue in particular. And we did fast him today--hope that helps.

 

Just be careful not to give him ANY sweet potato SKIN. There is something on it which can cause "sweet potato poisoning" which could magnify your problem or kill the dog. Just the flesh or the canned pumpkin.

 

Food - just by what your provided it sounds like he is not getting enough food at times this may be why he has small pukes with some bone fragments. Olie will do this, I increased his portions and it stopped, it only happens once in a while.

Its rare to have a dog not do well on Raw, but it happens. Kibble can really throw things off if the change was too quick for the system not to mention mixing it can cause bad stomach issues.

How many times a day are you feeding RAW?
What are you feeding?

I found with my spoos they need fed twice a day. I do one RAW meal with bone and one without.

Also - I must be honest, you really should shut off most rooms and only allow the dog in certain confined areas to reduce the messes. Your dog has not adjusted yet and won't until there is a bit more structure in his surroundings

Also when in the crate, pull it away from the wall, get some newspapers and place 12 inches around the crate on all sides, again minimize the clean up.

This can be fixed, I know it can be very aggravating and push your limits but to be fair, try things a little at a time - making too many changes in a short period will likely not work.

 

I wouldn't run him quite yet. It's usually recommend with larger dogs not to run with them until over a year.

Is he jumping at the window? Or chasing the shadows on the floor?

 

He doesn't run two miles every day, a few times per week and for about three months now. I've read that too about running, but believe me, at the pace we're going he's only going at a slow trot. We're not nearly fast enough for him and I can't imagine this pace could harm his growing bones/joints. He runs MUCH faster on his own in the yard. We jog because walking doesn't cut it for him.

When we feed him raw we feed him twice per day. He get's mostly chicken with bone (drums or quarters) in the morning and something more exotic like beef neck bones or organ meat or turkey tails in the evening. He's been getting about or just under 2 pounds per day. He does throw up less when he's eating more like 2 lbs., but that doesn't explain the diarrhea does it?

This is our second standard, and our first was kibble fed. She would occassionally vomit but didn't get this episodic watery stool problem. Our guy has had it one other time beside the two I mentioned,maybe a couple of months ago.

 

When we feed him raw we feed him twice per day. He get's mostly chicken with bone (drums or quarters) in the morning and something more exotic like beef neck bones or organ meat or turkey tails in the evening. He's been getting about or just under 2 pounds per day. He does throw up less when he's eating more like 2 lbs., but that doesn't explain the diarrhea does it?

It wouldn't make him get the runs like that unless he cannot tolerate the chicken. Suri and Olie get about a pound a day total, they are around 50lbs but not near the energy you seem to have with your little guy.

Hmm - I am stumped. I too would go with fasting and progress with a bland diet of cooked chicken, maybe a little rice and yogurt or sweet potato - no skins. Pumpkin is hard to get in some areas but works wonders short term for the digestive track. If going to kibble work it in slow especially with him coming off Raw.

Keep us posted. Hopefully you can get the help your family needs so you can keep your boy

 

Oh, and for the shadow chasing, he will occasionally chase or jump at a reflection on the wall, but he's mostly chasing shadows on the floor, sometimes his own which of course moves when he runs, so he ends up doing laps in the house and not paying much attention to babies and toddlers. He does pay some attention to not stepping on them but he's not 100% and they do get bumped now and then.

 

Have you had his stool checked? That would be my first step to rule out any medical reasons, and then work on the diet.

I really dont mean to sound rude, but your husband is threatening to get rid of your dog because he gets sick? What does he do when one of your kids get sick and doesnt make it to the bathroom? Its not the dogs fault!

 

Believe me, sometimes I think he'd like to re-home a kid or two! It's hard to describe. He's a playful affectionate dad and dog owner, loves the kids (and the number of them) and the dog. It's just at these rubber-meets-the-road moments when a normal person would say, "well, I knew this was a part of parenthood/dog ownership" and move on, instead he gets very agitated and stressed. It's something he's working on, and I'm doing my best to help.

 

Poor little guy. No fun to have a tummy ache. My routine when one of my fluffs gets sick is to fast for a day, as the others have said, then a little white chicken meat with rice baby cereal for a few days, along with some canned pumpkin, as the others have said. The rice baby cereal is really easy to digest, and usually does the trick, and if you've got babies in the house you might have some around. If that doesn't solve it, or if they stop showing interest in eating, then it's a trip to the vet.

I also would tether him to you. . . just attach his leash to your belt. Wherever you go, he goes, whatever you're doing, he waits beside you. If he isn't tethered he's crated or outside with the older kids (husband included in that group).

Puppies are a lot of work for anyone, but even more so with lots of little kids around!

 

Wowbaby:
Did you speak to your breeder about your concerns? She knows her line best and may give you some sound advice based on what her line produces. I never heard of a dog chasing their shadow, so I really have no idea what is going on here.
As for the Raw diet, my dogs are (violently) allergic to chicken/turkey necks etc.. and will do very poorly on a raw diet so they are fed kibble. When I was on raw and did it the right way, my dogs were always skinny and had runny stools at times with diarreha and at times very hard stools depending on the amout of RMB (raw meaty bones) they were gettig. I found that the main cause for diarrhea in my dogs was the turkey , chicken and maybe too much offal (organ meat, which is very rich and very high in cholesterol).
As a result of my dogs doing poorly on the raw diet, I put them on a high quality kibble and they are doing wonderfully, and yes, I still cook for my dogs and ad to their kibble on a daily basis. I suggest you might speak to your breeder in the hope you get some answers.
If you give up and do not want to take it with baby steps as Olie suggested then I think that in all fairness you should contact the breeder and have them take the dog back rather than find him a rescue home.. Most reputable breeders will take their breeding back no questions asked and since you say you purchased your pup at a reputable breeder, I have no doubt that in case you give up and dont want the dog that she will take him back and re-home him after fixing the problem.

 

I am going to try not to say anything about your husband or knocking toddlers down. You acquired a high energy very intelligent dog. He is 9 months old. I would attribute the shadow chasing to his being either bored and/or too wound up by the excitement level in a home with quite a few young children. Mine is very attracted to my other high energy dogs and her excitement level escalates accordingly. I would get him some interactive toys (not all have kibble required): Interactive Dog Toys
see "hide a squirrel" and "hide a bee" etc. I have a bunch of various plush toy interactives which are well used by my Spoo, and my other overly intelligent energizer bunny who is a Chinese Crested. There is one called Snakes in the Grass, and Bunnies in the Hat which have the small items attached to the hiding toy with elastic so you don't have to hunt down the toys to put them back inside. I personally believe that acquiring a dog is the same as having a child, you do not give them away if they become inconvenient, at the same time, if your family just realistically can't give this dog the time and attention he needs, then it is in his best interest to rehome him.

 

Chasing shadows......When I temperament test puppies I look for prey drive by dragging a piece of white cloth around. Some puppies are on the material like "white on rice". When they are, I know this is an indication of higher than average prey drive. On the downside, dogs with higher prey drive love to chase stuff like kids, cars and cats. On the up side, all that drive can often be redirected into obedience or agility work, though these dogs do struggle with visual distractions. This type of dog is usually not placed in a home with young children for obvious reasons.

I would say that if your dog is only chasing the kids a little bit, then bravo for him! However, he sounds like he has redirected his drive to chasing shadows and that he is being more than a little OCD about it. You need to start occupying this dog's mind on a more regular basis or the OCD behaviors can diversify and get worse. Have you considered Tracking as a dog sport? How about competitive Obedience.

Re diarrhea..... If your husband is serious about rehoming him if he has diarrhea outside the crate again, then you should start looking for a new home now! I had a vet tell me once that the bread and butter of her practice was vomit and diarrhea. I don't know why he is vomiting, but a fecal sample will tell you if he has picked up an intestinal bug that is causing the diarrhea. Any chance he just ate something the kids left down? One of the boys from my last litter never had an issue until he ate one of the kid's peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Then.... POW.... explosive diarrhea all over the house.

 

Our boy just turned a year at the end of June, and I have to tell you, it's amazing how much he's settled in the last few months... 9 months is a tough age for pups, I'd say it's kinda like terrible 2's for kids!!

I have a home daycare and lets just say, there are kids are everywhere, ALL the time! As much as the dog needs to be taught that chasing little people is NOT ALLOWED, the kids also had to learn to WALK more and be calm around the dog. It's a 2 way street. I taught the kids, that the minute the dog starts chasing, they need to STOP, and turn around and tell him NO, very firmly. I am also always there to correct Rogan, but I wanted the kids to be viewed as little authority figures as well so he would respect them.

I will admit, it took some serious work, (and a few kids might have got knocked down in the process), but now, I marvel at how the the kids can run around the dog like little maniacs and he just sits there and watches.

Give him some time, and he will become what you want him to be, just be firm and 100% consistent with him so he knows what you expect from him.
Just my 2 cents

 

Thank you for the encouragement Heather. I do believe that he will mature into a fine poodle. He's pretty darn good already. I want to defend him a little here. He doesn't chase the kids. He's very calm and tolerant of them. It's this attraction to light and shadows that causes him to be occasionally careless--but it's relatively rare. If a kid gets out a magnifying glass to look at something and it makes a reflection, or if I dry pans when the sun is coming through the kitchen window, he'll pounce on the reflected light without thinking and the baby could be right there by me on the floor. I don't really think lashing him to me will help for that. I just try to be vigilant with the shades. I've tried two interactive toys but they were flops. I like the website linked above, but they don't seem to have anything in stock. I'll look into that more. And I may call a trainer in our area to see if some sessions targeted to that specific behavior might help. He has done very well with basic clicker training around here, I just don't know how to approach this behavior.

 

I think you are being a little unkind about her husband. My husband is fine with things like puke and diarrhea - he mostly tells me about it and leaves me to clean it up. However, that is him and not her husband. I can honestly understand her husband's total frustration because it seems like its ongoing and he probably feels like the problem will never be solved.

We have friends who like my dogs but their house is PERFECT. They are really good friends but the wife NEEDS the house to be immaculate and she says she could never have an animal there.

People are different, I love dogs but I can certainly understand her husband's frustration with the diarrhea.

My first inclination after it has gone on a couple of days is to take the dog to the vet's. My son's dog had a similar problem over a three day period and so my granddaughter and I took the dog to the vet's, along with a poop sample in an old cottage cheese container. The dog did not have an infection but she said from the sample she could tell he had an inflamed stomach and he is on a bland diet with rice and antibiotics and kaopectate if he has diarrhea again. For the first day he was on water only - no food at all.

Of course, all that happened when my son was working nights so the clean up was down to my granddaughter and I.

 

I think you are being a little unkind about her husband.

I can honestly understand her husband's total frustration because it seems like its ongoing and he probably feels like the problem will never be solved.

See, I have to disagree about being unkind about the husband - I think just about everyone stayed pretty on topic in this thread and made little to no mention. And I am sorry I also agree with the OP and also the mention of 5 kids and messes and how does he handle that? I didn't get into that but bottom line its part of the OP's post. She is trying to make this work and we gave advise based on our own experiences and I think all of us would agree that this is a tough situation and even mentioned that

The OP wants to make this work, and we do too - but I would be a bit fumed at my significant other if he was threatening to get rid of the dog because we haven't found a fix yet. Mine would never do that - nor let puke or crap lay for me to clean uphwell: Thats just my home......

I hope to see follow up on this soon.

 

The OP wants to make this work, and we do too - but I would be a bit fumed at my significant other if he was threatening to get rid of the dog because we haven't found a fix yet. Mine would never do that - nor let puke or crap lay for me to clean uphwell: Thats just my home......

I hope to see follow up on this soon.[/QUOTE]

I am in total agreement with Olie.
Too many dog owners take the easy way out rather than try to work out a solution to correct problems. We dont get rid of our kids for peeing and pooping in their diapers and at times in their undies or in bed when mature , so why get rid of a dog who encounters some problems which require the owners AS A TEAM to work on to correct ?!
If my husband ever threatened me or made me choose between him and our dogs, I will hand him his luggage and make reservations for him at the furthest hotel. LOL I will, I am serious !

 

I just have to add that I certainly know the frustration of ongoing diarrhea - I had 9 dogs with Giardia at one point, brought in by a rescue dog (now I quarantine and test for this right away). It took three different rounds of drugs to finally clear it up. I was almost at the end of my rope. But that was 9 dogs with diarrhea and one person trying to cope with it. There are 345,000!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! dogs on Petfinder looking for homes. I have no patience with adults getting a dog and then abandoning it. We have all seen the dogs put in rescue because people have a baby so the dog must go. Now I am getting off topic. Good luck Wowbaby, I am glad you have the patience to help your husband "work on it".

 

Wowbaby:
It may seem to you that some here are ganging up on you and I dont blame you for feeling this way, however you must understand that in life we marry, we have kids AND DOGS for better and for worse. It is so disconcerting to hear of people having SO LITTLE regard for an animal's life and wanting to get rid of the dog for merely having diarrhea episodes which are NOT his fault but result from other issues. I would even go as far as saying that your puppy MAY BE so stressed in the 4 children loud and overly active envrironment that his diarrhea MAY BE stress induced and not as a result of his food. A new puppy finds it hard as it is to leave his breeder, familiar litter mates and place he was born and raised in and go to a new home, let alone get to that new home with a family running amock with numerous loud children, I am not at all surprised that the puppy would chase his tail or go for his shadow.
Personally I would not have a dog in your situation, I would call the breeder and tell her the truth about your home situation AND your husband's feeling. I would do this STRICTLY for the emotional welfare of your puppy NOT your husband's, and let the breeder take the puppy back and re home him in a suitable home where he gets the proper attention , care AND patience from the owner (s).
I would never sell a puppy to a family boasting 4-5 active young children. No parent can possibly control five children, let alone have a new puppy above it all and having to train, and properly raise the pup. Just NOT fair to the puppy. I am not even thinking here about the family, I am thinking here about the puppy's welfare as he can not speak nor voice his needs and if you as a family see that your husband is less than prepared to tollerate the diarrhea episodes then do the pup a favor and call the breeder to re home him.. If the breeder is ethical and feels responsible for her dogs she will take the puppy back NO questions asked.. I know I would .
You know what the right thing for this puppy is.. Do the right thing and do it now, before the dog's personality is affected. They are very impressionable at this age and their experiences can either make or break them.
I am not only speaking here from a dog owner point of view but from a breeder's as well. I wish you the best of luck and would very much like to know what happens with this puppy in future.

 

Look, Whitepoodles. I love dogs, poodles especially. I think there is evidence on this thread and other evidence (like the fact that he is obsessively well groomed-and I do all the trimming) that this dog is getting excellent loving care in this family. I have a very high regard for this dog's happiness or I would never be on this forum in the first place. But dogs are not equal to children or spouses. No, I would not send my spouse packing if he said "me or the dog" because I made vows before God to my husband and not to this poodle, as wonderful as he is. And if this dog were a danger to my children in any way he would have to go. But I'm here looking for solutions because we love him and want him to stay. I can tell you that it is most certainly possible to control five children, and more, I have seen it many times face to face with lovely families that we know. My children are not loud (well not constantly anyway) and do no run amuck. My breeder knows full well what my family is like and I don't think her irresponsible. What about the fact that this family boasts three boys to play fetch with the dog? Two little girls who love him? The two oldest are able to take him around the block for an emergency walk if he needs it and I'm tied up. He gets lots of love and NO abuse from the children because I do not neglect my duty to train them up right.

And we have *somehow managed* to train this dog to wait, stay, sit when I cross my arms, lay down, roll over, spin, sit for food and we're working on heel. Some of the clicker training has been done by my seven year-old daughter with excellent results. And there's no one better than my three year old son to tell Lenny to "drop it" with an air of authority that commands obedience.

Yes, my husband wants to get rid of him. This sentiment alternates with hugging him and calling him "his poodle", laying on the floor with him and whatnot. Yesterday I wondered too if we should have a dog, since I was elbow deep in diarrhea. But today he is still soft and fresh from his bath yesterday, sweet and affectionate, and pooping normally again... and I'm sure he will stay.

Thanks to all who gave helpful suggestions at his bump in the road. Especially those who could relate to the stress and who reminded me that he's still young. I have called a trainer about the light chasing and I'll try post an update on that.

 

wowbaby-
very well said!! we should all understand that sometimes you get so frustrated you can say things you dont really mean (at least i do) and i bet that if it really came down to it your husband would never let you take "his poodle" anywhere.

 

Good luck wowbaby, it sounds like a tough situation.

Has he been to the vet yet?

Honestly, raw is a great way to go (my father-in-law's poodle thrives on raw), but some dogs simply don't do well on it. I think switching to high-quality commercial food (and giving his body time to adjust to this change) could help.

The light chasing sounds very odd to me... somewhat compulsive? Since he's so bright and quick to learn tricks, I wonder if you can channel this quirk into a fun trick or activity? Have you heard of the sport of lure coursing? It's mostly for sighthounds, but some groups let all dogs compete. I bet he would adore that.

 

He has been to the vet, not for this incident though since he seems back to normal today.

I had not heard of lure coursing but just looked it up and I think he would LOVE it. How does one get involved with that sport?

One of the training facilities I called also has a huge indoor space and tools for agility training. Judging by how he makes his own agility course out of Little Tikes slides and things in our yard I think he would really take to that too. We could even buy and keep some agility things in our yard if that was an outlet for him, we'll see.

 

But dogs are not equal to children or spouses. No, I would not send my spouse packing if he said "me or the dog" because I made vows before God to my husband and not to this poodle, as wonderful as he is.


Well.. you see wowbaby.... your comment is precisely what sets you apart from me and others like me who I am sure share my feelings that dogs are to most humans who own them like their chidlren and babies.

You summed your feelings about your puppy in a lump sum to make us here believe he is disposable because he is NOT equated to your children and husband. When taking a vow before God to be loyal and loving to a man you marry, the same comittment should be taken by a dog owner. For better or for worse.... Sadly some dog owners do not feel that a dog equates to a human being, and as a result SO MANY puppies end up in shelters, unwanted and unloved.

I do not mean to offend you, but as a breeder, I hope to GOD I never meet a client who would ever make such a comment to my face. Nugh said.

 

Ora,
I'm with you on this one. Some dog owners lack empathy for the dog.
Would you announce "if that kid of mine pukes one more time, out he goes"?
I'd more likely have some real concern about the health and sanity of the pup, rather than just my own displeasure at having to clean up the mess.
In this case, if I were the breeder, I'd ask to have the pup come back home, he is in a no-win situation.
Carole

 

I should add... Jasper had a severe reaction to chicken wings at one point. He was doing fine on them so it was completely unexpected. A nasty mess to greet me when I arrived back from a trip at 12a.m. Judging by posts on the board it doesn't seem to be all that uncommon. I'm sure there are ways to adjust the diet to not include chicken, if needed, in order to continue feeding raw. I've not been brave enough to try raw again :/. You'll have to figure out what your goals are for the pups diet.