Hello everyone. I'd like to know if anyone has advice on a few questions I have concerning our yellow lab daushund mix. Her name is FAITE, and she is 13 months old. We got her from my wife's step daughter, and she was only 4 weeks old, but her mother died and there wasn't anyone to feed her. So my wife bottle fed her, and now today, Faite truly believes that Brandy is her real mommy. We got her in November 2017, and in January, shortly after the New Year, my wife's health started to decline. She was seldome able to leave the house, and often times slept for a week at a time. Only to awaken to take a swig of whiskey to make sure she didn't get the DT's. She was very very ill in February. I was scared to death. She had retained so much water that she put on 70 lbs in about 2 weeks, stopped eating, only took aboutj 6 shots of whiskey each day because she was just too sick. Sick and stubborn isn't a good combination, because I couldn't get her to go to the hospital until Feb. 06, 18. We drove her to the hospital in Ada, and she was told after 8 long hours of testing, that she would die if she ever drank another alcoholic beverage again. She was suffering from final stage cerrohsis, and also making the liver detierierate much faster was the added complication of Hep C. From February 6, to the current day, Brandy hasn't touched a single drop of alcohol and I attribute a lot of her success in sobriety to our little puppy Faite. They have such a wonderful bond, and i believe that Brandy needs her just as much as she needs Brandy. Faite stays by Brandy's side all the time. She snuggles under the heating blanket, and only pokes her nose out to make sure Brandy is still in the room. Separation anxiety is a true and real thing!! Anyway, I have several questions pertaining to Faite and her cross breeding. 1. She has short little legs, and her knees look double jointed almost folding the opposite dirrection as ours. Is she prone to have leg problems? 2. My wife was ill for a long time and did not do the best job potty training Faite. Is it too late if she is already 13 months? Can anyone help me with ideas about it? 3. What is the life expectency of a dog such as her? 4. Why does she continually scratch her self? 5. When she isn't scratching she is barking running around in a circle chasing her tail. Why? Please oh Please tell me why.
Hi - Here are some answers that might help: 1. It's hard to say whether she will experience any physical problems as a result of her legs. It would be a good idea to research (online) typical problems with dachshund legs, though, as it sounds like she has inherited those from dachshunds rather than labs... Then you can be looking out for signs. 2. It is never too late to toilet train a dog, but it might be harder if the dog has a long learning history of toileting indoors. You will need to treat the dog like a little puppy, take her out frequently on leash to the same spot, give her a cookie immediately after going outside (and nothing when she goes indoors) and so on. There are lots of links and help for toilet training in this forum. 3. I've no idea what the life expectancy would be, but probably something similar to that of dachshunds and/or labs - or perhaps a lot better, as she is a crossbreed. 4. Scratching can be a sign of fleas - have you checked her thoroughly for fleas? If you are sure she has no fleas, then she may have a low-grade allergy to something - this can be anything from grass (yes really), to the detergent you use to wash her bedding with, to grains in her food, to a lot else besides. I'd suggest feeding her a grain-free food which is good quality and has few additives... 5. This can be a sign of canine obsessive compulsive disorder and at the very least, is a sign of under-stimulation. I would interrupt her as soon as this starts (not with punishment, but with a tug toy) and try to get her to play with you - rather than with her own tail. You don't want her to have opportunities to practise this behaviour or it will only get stronger.... Also make sure she is getting walked off the property daily, has a stuffed Kong every day, and a little training session at home. Enrichment, for her.
