Hey April Birthdays -- HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU ALL! I hope you are enjoying your month. And best of all, the month isn't over and at least one of us still needs to get some out yet! That would be me :) Alwaysagarden, could you drop me an email with addresses? Or someone. I remember getting an email that said to save it and um, well, I failed. I have kinda been a bit lost. I've been working full time for 3 months now and job will probably last another 2 months at least. I'm not used to full time. It puts a big cramp in my old routine! I love part time where there was actually time for email, internet, hobbies! And now garden time is approaching FAST! I recently found a fantastic variety of commercial seeds which surprized me -- at a local feed store! I can't wait to get back there! And I really feel a deep NEED to spend some time at the nurseries in town!!! And this job is depriving me of my addiction! Actually I'm just kidding. So glad to have the job to have the money to spend. Anyway, I haven't posted much but you April birthdays are on my mind and will do what i can soon.

Sounds as if the pup is left outside alone? What bred is the dog? If this is so then you'll have a very hard time keeping him/her from chewing on plants without putting up a fence either around the plants or making a pen for the pup. If you choice to pen the pup up please make sure it's in shade and has a place to get out of the rain. It will need lot's of attention an unattended dog makes for an unhappy dog. My two dogs stay with me all the time. If I go outside they go outside if I come in they come in. Lacy the younger dog knows my moves and if I start to head outside and she's in the bedroom she'll come running to go out with me. If I'm outside and the older dog doesn't want to come out he stay's with DH. The only time the dog's are alone is if we go somewhere and it's not for very long half a day at the most. Both dog's know when it's time for DH to get home and they both start listening for him to come threw the garage door and when they here it both jump up and wait for him at the kitchen door, then as soon as he comes in they both welcome him home like he's been gone for a week LOL. Fact is I can't get to him for the dog's till they get their welcome in then I get to kiss him and ask how his day was. Dog's live in packs and you are the leader or should be the leader, they need the social life. You can leave it in a dog crate inside to help the pup get use to what is acceptable behavior, Do not close the pup in the crate just teach it to stay in the crate and in time the crate will be it's safety place to go. I don't remember where I learned about potty training a pup but this is what I'd learn. Put a collar and leash on the pup and keep him/her with you at all times while your up. Take the pup outside every hour. After a meal or drinking take him/her out within 30 minutes. This way the pup is with you and you can know when he/she needs to go outside. It does not take all that long, depends on the dog though some take longer to train. Maybe someone knows of a good book to help train a pup or you can go to petsmart training class. All that said any animal you have needs love, care, training and lot's of patience.

I think you are doing excellent and exactly what needs doing. This is not a normal case of a dog not eating as you know, I would ask the vet if he has a good formula food you can give her with a syringe, I have had to do this with one of mine and it worked well. Dehydration is a huge concern, I was able to give my cat with kidney disease IV fluids at home, it's relatively painless and helps so much. I know it's difficult but you will know that you did everything possible for her. Keep up the good work and I will say a little prayer for her.

Isn't she a sweetie! My three dogs were all adult 'rescue' dogs so I didn't go through the puppy stage with them. But I did keep them in individual kennels (at home) while I was working for the first few weeks. Then I restricted them to a couple of rooms using a pet gate (similar to what you'd use for a human toddler). I walked them before work, then came home for a late lunch and walked them again, then walked them after work and then once more at bedtime. Now I work full time from home and they spend most of the day in the office with me. They make great foot warmers in the winter :-) We still walk (no fenced in yard) three times a day. Before work (about 7 am), early to mid afternoon (2-4 pm), and before bed (any time from 7 to 10 pm). I think it would be very hard potty training a puppy when you can't stay home with him/her. A rule of thumb is that a puppy can handle one hour per month of age. So a 4 month old puppy should be able to go up to 4 hours without having to go out. A six month old puppy can go up to six hours, and so on. One thing I wouldn't recommend is using puppy pads in the house. I had a dog once, that was trained with puppy pads from the time she was tiny. It was an awful process re-training her, and she would still potty in the house years afterward, if the notion struck her.