Don't get me started on the Nutrical. We had our first "event" last night when we found out we had been feeding him improperly the first week we had him. He would never drink water out of a bowl, so I would dip my finger in water and he'd lick it off. I did this for an entire week thinking he's just slow to take on a bowl of water since he's so small. I called the breeder and she explained to me again to put water in his food. I didn't hear that part when we bought him because I was so entranced with him in my arms. He got a touch dehydrated and a had a diahrrea<sp?> incident and got VERY tired. Our breeder provided us with a tube of Nutrical and we immediately gave him some of that and he perked back up. We then fed him the watered down food and he was back to normal. Cut to today, and he's had four watered down meals and is back to his normal self and no runny poop. Close call!
I've been reading this forum for the last two hours and I've made a decision on the route I'm taking in raising my "son".
1. He won't live in that cage, I refuse.
2. Tommorrow I'm building him a 4 ft. by 4 ft. pen that will have a small doghouse with a linoleum front porch and a carpet side yard.
3. He is no longer being outdoor trained. Litterbox or pee pad from now on, haven't decided yet.
4. He will spend nearly every moment, that I'm home, in my arms and care until he's at LEAST 12 weeks old. At that point, I'll start letting him roam the house.
Here's my thinking on this. Cages aren't humane, plain and simple. I'll build him his own "house" complete with front yard and play area so that I can put him in my guest bedroom and not relegate him to the cold stark bathroom. Here, he can live while my wife and I are at work and still have some freedom and not be confined in a cage. We'll cover the entire pen with newspaper so we can find out where he likes to go potty and then remove that newspaper SLOWLY over time. When I'm at home, he sits in my lap or on my chest, just the way I've always thought it should be. I agree that he's too young to be left alone scared and cold in a cage in a new house.
How does this plan sound? I need to figure out how to ween him on to litterbox training next, so I'm open to suggestions. Perhaps if he likes a particular spot in his pen I could replace it with a small pan filled with litter? Then, once I feel he's picked up on the training, I can cut an exterior door so that he can come "home" whenever he needs to potty? |