Well we have success! Violante has now managed the last 2 nights without either of us having a half night on the couch. We even put the kids to bed and left her 'alone' whilst we went out for some nice Nepalese nosh.
The night time routine is now to play with her for a while before bed time and then scatter some of her food (dried complete dogfood) into her crate and around the floor of her room. We retire as she's hunting some of her food.
We're currently feeding her 3 meals of 90g Nutra large breed puppy food and it never seems enough. At the start we were using a small plastic bowl that she would pick up when empty and throw down the passage. We've moved to a slightly larger stainless steel bowl and it's taken her 1 day to start to pick up and throw this around.
Despite buying more toys, so she now has toys in every room and the garden she is still finding things to play with. She seems to love the sound of velcro being pulled and actively seeks out my daughters trainers if she leaves them on the floor to pull the starps undone. She's also chewing the corners of the skirting board, lifting carpet and started on some of the kitchen units. Her favourite seems to be to lie under the dinging room chairs and chew on the cross members.
Her brown colouring appears to be going more gingery red, but she still has loads of black. Will take more pics tomorrow.
Saturday, 2 June 2007
Tuesday, 29 May 2007
Last night was better, in that Vio slept on her own for about 3 hours before starting to complain. Obviously the rest had doen her good and she was barking, whining and howling for 30 minutes before my wofe decided to take tonight's sofa shift. I know some people say we're setting ourselves up for a fall, but there's only so much distress a puppy (and it's family) should take. We're going to work on her seperation anxiety over the next few weeks; our only problem is at night time as she has someone around all day.
Vio visited the vets for her first innoculations this morning. Off we went to Animed in Portsmouth; Max Tuck looked after my previous dogs who lived to 16 and 17 years old so I know her well and she's good. The Estreal Mountain Dog doesn't show as a breed on her computer, nor can they say that she's brindle...so for now on the records she's just brown. Vio was chilled and relaxed throughout and not even a twitch when the needle went in....though this could be Max's skill and manner rather than Vio's behaviour.
I had Max check her eye's as they were still swollen, and I was told there were indications that her eyelid had turned inwards and that her tear ducts may be blocked.
Max put some green dye in both eyes and whilst nothing came out the left nostril, the right nostril had a hint of green. However when we got home there was a nice big smear of green from her left nostril so the ducts are working if a little slowly. 
Max put some green dye in both eyes and whilst nothing came out the left nostril, the right nostril had a hint of green. However when we got home there was a nice big smear of green from her left nostril so the ducts are working if a little slowly. 
Th other thing of note from the vets is that Vio is now 8.7kg...should she grow to around 40 kg in the next 16 months then she'll have to put on about 0.5 kg (1lb) a week every week. Vio who had managed the 1 mile to the vets in the car with no problems managed to upchuck her breakfast from 3 hours before on the way home.
Monday, 28 May 2007
A relaxing night on the couch
After the noise of the previous night I decided on a different approach. I put the radio on in the kitchen throughout the evening when Vio was being fed and coming and going with me into the garden and had everything set up for sleep time. We decided to settle her down before we went to bed so that we were just the other side of a door talking and watching TV as she settled. Vio, was settling to sleep after a meal and some play in the garden so we moved her to her bed and watched her fall asleep whilst tidying the kitchen.
All was well for a full 5 minutes....then the howling, barking and scratching started. After 10 minutes my wife and I decided another night of interrupted sleep for the kids and both of us would be counterproductive, but we weren't taking Vio to bed with us. I waited till Vio stopped barking and was quiet before walking into the kitchen and reaching for a bottle of ice cold cider. Vio was laid a few feet from the door on the lino and was immediately yelping and bashing herself against my shins. I just carried on as normal and went back into the living room; Vio followed. After a late night watching TV and drinking cider I curled up on the 9 foot sofa to sleep. Vio just laid out on the carpet. I needed the loo at 3 am (cider can do that to you!) and sadly my timing was out...by the time I came down from the toilet Vio had woken and had her 3am wee. Still I took her outside with the floodlight on and stood in the wind and rain in case she needed to go any more...Nada..so back in and onto the couch and Vio onto the floor with her head thrust into one of my trainers.
At 6 am I woke to the sound of Vio unlacing my trainers and I swapped it for her rope chew before taking her outside (still raining and very windy). Vio performed her ablutions in the garden as soon as we went out and I gave her loads of praise. I went to clean it up and got involved in Vio's 'pounce on the poo' game. She has no interest in what she's done till I go to pick it up then she deftly jumps her fore paws straight on top of my hand and kitchen roll as I attempt a swift pick-up. So far I've managed to get the paper over the poo so no paw cleaning for Vio...so far.
Vio's feeding instructions from the breeder were for Nutra Large Breed Puppy food, plus a little scrambled egg, some raw beef mince, and some goats milk. I know that the complete foods say no other supplements are needed, but the breeder has produced some beautiful dogs so I guess she knows what does best for them. The good side is that Vio only needs a little scrambled egg....so I get the rest on toast. Much nicer than shredded wheat!
Vio loves the scrambled egg. We give it to her in a little plastic bowl which she picks up and throws in our direction as soon as she's polished off the egg (well she's done it twice...and she's had the egg twice).
After a good nights sleep, we've all got more energy and the kids and Vio have been amusing each other between her regular puppy naps. We have found a little problem in the garden that she's picking up the stones around the garden edges and trying to eat them. I've introduced a mini rugby ball and a mini football to the garden and she now focuses on bashing the balls with her paws and picking the football up and carrying it around.
Will have to wait and see how tonight goes. I introduced her to her collar briefly yesterday with no problems and she wore it for half an hour today, including a play in the garden without signs of discomfort or trying to get at it. No doubt this will change when she goes to the vet tomorrow for her checks, first jabs and microchip. I'm also a little concerned that her eyes look a little swollen and red. They were like that when Vio arrived home, but the puffiness and droopy bottom left eyelid come and go; certainly no worse than when she first arrived and not appearing to deteriorate.
Let's see how tonight goes....
All was well for a full 5 minutes....then the howling, barking and scratching started. After 10 minutes my wife and I decided another night of interrupted sleep for the kids and both of us would be counterproductive, but we weren't taking Vio to bed with us. I waited till Vio stopped barking and was quiet before walking into the kitchen and reaching for a bottle of ice cold cider. Vio was laid a few feet from the door on the lino and was immediately yelping and bashing herself against my shins. I just carried on as normal and went back into the living room; Vio followed. After a late night watching TV and drinking cider I curled up on the 9 foot sofa to sleep. Vio just laid out on the carpet. I needed the loo at 3 am (cider can do that to you!) and sadly my timing was out...by the time I came down from the toilet Vio had woken and had her 3am wee. Still I took her outside with the floodlight on and stood in the wind and rain in case she needed to go any more...Nada..so back in and onto the couch and Vio onto the floor with her head thrust into one of my trainers.
At 6 am I woke to the sound of Vio unlacing my trainers and I swapped it for her rope chew before taking her outside (still raining and very windy). Vio performed her ablutions in the garden as soon as we went out and I gave her loads of praise. I went to clean it up and got involved in Vio's 'pounce on the poo' game. She has no interest in what she's done till I go to pick it up then she deftly jumps her fore paws straight on top of my hand and kitchen roll as I attempt a swift pick-up. So far I've managed to get the paper over the poo so no paw cleaning for Vio...so far.
Vio's feeding instructions from the breeder were for Nutra Large Breed Puppy food, plus a little scrambled egg, some raw beef mince, and some goats milk. I know that the complete foods say no other supplements are needed, but the breeder has produced some beautiful dogs so I guess she knows what does best for them. The good side is that Vio only needs a little scrambled egg....so I get the rest on toast. Much nicer than shredded wheat!
Vio loves the scrambled egg. We give it to her in a little plastic bowl which she picks up and throws in our direction as soon as she's polished off the egg (well she's done it twice...and she's had the egg twice).
After a good nights sleep, we've all got more energy and the kids and Vio have been amusing each other between her regular puppy naps. We have found a little problem in the garden that she's picking up the stones around the garden edges and trying to eat them. I've introduced a mini rugby ball and a mini football to the garden and she now focuses on bashing the balls with her paws and picking the football up and carrying it around.
Will have to wait and see how tonight goes. I introduced her to her collar briefly yesterday with no problems and she wore it for half an hour today, including a play in the garden without signs of discomfort or trying to get at it. No doubt this will change when she goes to the vet tomorrow for her checks, first jabs and microchip. I'm also a little concerned that her eyes look a little swollen and red. They were like that when Vio arrived home, but the puffiness and droopy bottom left eyelid come and go; certainly no worse than when she first arrived and not appearing to deteriorate.
Let's see how tonight goes....
Violante Pics
Just thought I'd share some of the pics so far...
Paws for thought? She's gonna be big!
So which way is up???
Violante comes home
Saturday 26th May I went up to Clerafora to collect Violante. First thing that struck me was how much she'd grown in the last 3 weeks. In one of those converse situations the other brindle headed for Belgium sat on my feet as soon as I came in and rarely left me; Vio was happy in her room or leant against Puebla.The trip home was punctuated only by 3 pukes, but she was looking red eyed and worse for wear by the time we got her home. As it was sunny she went straight into the garden for some more water and some food, as most of her breakfast had not stayed down. She polished off the small amount of food promptly and sought shade under the trampoline after a brief wee stop.Having found the wooden shed, which must have reminded her of the outdoor kennel the puppies used during the day she proceeded to try and get around the back and side before falling asleep. The kids were despatched to the local pet shop for some toys...and returned with a sausage rope; Vio was playing with a rubber sausage at Sylvia's so they thought that would be good...and when it came home she immediately took it for a drag round the garden.Bedtime was stressful....I'd expected whining but we got Vio's full vocal range for 40 minutes. IT stopped suddenly and I almost went down to see why she was suddenly quiet. 3 hours later it started, then 2 hours later and then after another 2 hours I decided 5 am was ok to get up on a Sunday.Vio was so pleased to see me, after a cleen-up of the floor and a trip into the garden in the rain she had a small meal and proceeded to play for an hour before falling asleep. She seems more settled now and is certainly resting more whic is good.Things I learned about Vio in the first 24 hours:-
- Screaming on Dr Who upsets her
- My house isn't dog proof :)
- She is absolutely adorable
Violante at 5 weeks
Here's Violante at 5 weeks weighing about 3.6 kgs.
We visited with the kids to see how the pups had grown, and to let the kids see how quick they would grow and how big they end up. We wanted one of these pups badly, but we were way down the list and had to wait another 10 days before we got a yes.
We visited with the kids to see how the pups had grown, and to let the kids see how quick they would grow and how big they end up. We wanted one of these pups badly, but we were way down the list and had to wait another 10 days before we got a yes.
Violante April Fool?
Violante was born on 1st April 2007, at Clerafora Kennels.
One of 7 puppies out of Clerafora Puebla (dam) and Sturtmoor Lammond (sire). Here they all are at 3 days old. In this pic there are 3 brindled females, 2 fawn males, and 2 fawn females. I think Violante is the dark blob on the left. I visited primarily to see all the Clerafora dogs and how they were kept and didn't expect to see the pups. So this was taken on a mobile phone without flash.
One of 7 puppies out of Clerafora Puebla (dam) and Sturtmoor Lammond (sire). Here they all are at 3 days old. In this pic there are 3 brindled females, 2 fawn males, and 2 fawn females. I think Violante is the dark blob on the left. I visited primarily to see all the Clerafora dogs and how they were kept and didn't expect to see the pups. So this was taken on a mobile phone without flash.
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