And Then There Were Three!!

[t1gg3er]

Ooops!  Went to Darby's 1st puppy training class yesterday    The 1st one was without the puppies & going through stuff like collars, leads, toys, treats, training methods etc...  Whilst there we heard about a 14.5 week old golden boy who was back with his breeder after being savaged by one of the cats at his 1st home.

We went to see him & the rest was inevitable!  Poor mite has a bald patch with teeth marks just behind his collar where the cat made a mess of him .  It seems the owner has 2 cats & decided that dogs aren't her bag.   

We brought him home last night.  We're calling him Dexter.  He & Darby are getting on well now.  After initlal intros & not being sure they chased each other round for an hour then slept together in the crate.  Didn't hear a peep out of them all night.    Mindy just sits watching them as if she's thinking they're bonkers!    Every so often she'll join in for a while then go back to the settee to watch again.

We now have more than double the work.  He's not been very well socialised & was quite defensive at 1st - probably thought Mindy & Darby were going to have a go at him.  Hard work - yes.  Rewarding & worth every minute - definately!  He's already coming around really well & cottoned on to 'sit' within a couple of goes (with a treat of course) 

I do need a bit of advice - he's guarding food & toys a little (just little growls if Darby goes near).  I can understand why - feeling scared, insecure, worried someone's going to take them away or hurt him etc...  Obviously, we want to sort this straight away.  At the moment were doing swaps with the toys.  Is this the right way to do it?

Secondly, his 2nd vaccination was only on Friday after he'd gone back to the breeder & was 6.5 weeks after his 1st.  Is this OK or too long a gap?  We'll be phoning our vet when they open at 11am to get him registered & checked over.

Finally, he keeps (pardon the expression) humping our legs!    Is this normal for a pup of his age?  We keep saying 'off' and removing him from the leg & he is starting to get the message.

[Mrs K]

Don't have any advice just wanted to say that I am very jealous! 2 cockers is lucky, 3 is downright greedy 
Sounds like Dexter has landed on his paws  Good luck with it all - I'm off to check the puppy photos in the hope you've been quick off the mark 

[debsallen]

YEAH, another Dexter, I think I have counted 3 on here now, mind you we spelt ours different, beginning to wish we had not 

[KatieJean]

Good luck, you will probably need it but I'm sure it will be worth it.
Have fun.

[louis mum]

Aww congratulations. 

My Alfie has humped from day one really  usually a toy and not us though, so yes I would say it is normal. Good luck with him, he sounds  Where are the pics 

[Harveypops]

We need pictures. sooo jealous! Everytime I use the phrase 'I think the next cocker we get ...' I get a firm 'no!, one dog is enough' from OH      You are so lucky-you've got 3!!!

[minimoo]

ohhh lucky you , no advice but we do need pictures of him and the other two as well     im sure someone will be along to give you some advice soon , ive got 3 but the youngest is 2 , 2 puppies = double the fun 

[Karma]

My Goodness - you are a glutton for punishment!!! 

As Louis Mum said, the humping is pretty normal - I would just keep distracting him onto doing something else.
As for the guarding I would just keep going with swaps and see how he behaves once he is settled - if there is still a problem after a couple of days, there are a few threads on here about managing guarding behaviour, but it is quite possible things will settle down once he feels more secure in his new home - he's had a lot to deal with in a very short space of time, and the poor wee soul is probably very confused. 

I really don't know about the vaccines.... 6.5 weeks seems a very long time, but now that he has had the 2nd ones I would be reluctant to then start all over again.... I would see what the vet says...

Good luck - you certainly have your hands full, but it sounds like you are well prepared for the challenges and will end up with a gorgeous trio of cockers - and as others have said - where, oh where, are the piccies? 

[Mudmagnets]

Heavens, I bet that pup thinks he has really come up trumps:shades: Pity the poor mite being attacked by the family cat but the only way for him now is up with pals to play with and a mum that will show him what's what ...well done you

[t1gg3er]

Thanks for all the replies.  He is    I'll try to put some piccies on this evening.

We've been to the vets.  Poor baby has another puncture wound under his elbow which we hadn't seen (he's very hairy!).  He also has a broken tooth which would explain what we thought was guarding with food & toys - it's hurting as the nerve is exposed.     They don't want to take it out as it should come out on it's own quite soon.

Re the vaccines - the gap is too long so he has to have another in 2 weeks & go out a week after that  so we're coming up with plans as to how we can socialise him in the meantime.  At 14.5 weeks he's quite heavy so we're trying to come up with a sling or something so he can come out for walks etc... 

All 3 have worn themselves out playing tag in the garden & are currently all snuggled up on the settee.  Have to say I'm especially proud of Mindy - for a dog who's never had pups, she's the most fantastic Mum! 

[Sarah.H]

Poor little man  , how lucky he found you  .