Gembobbs
Posts:16
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| 03/23/2012 10:46 AM |
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Just under two weeks ago we rescued a gsp puppy. We picked him up from a family home he was very tiny, all skin and bones too. His parents could be seen and they were large, but mum had had a litter of 16. We brought him home got him checked via a vet who expressed he was in poor condition and he was wormed. For the rest of the week he was pooping what I believe to be tapeworms and having the runs. I took him back to the vets five days later as he was pooping pure blood the vets were worried that it was parvo. I refused to believe it as he still was having tiny little plays and expressed I believed it was tapeworms. After getting a second opinion from another vet it was agreed that I was probably correct and I was able to bring him home with a new diet, antibiotics and a supplement for an upset stomach. I am pleased to say he is a happy healthy puppy and doing really well. HOWEVER he weighs just 6 pounds at 10.5 weeks, we have already gotten him up from 3 pounds 4 ounces. My question is do you think we can get him to a full size male gsp in the future?
In the vets last week I saw a jack russell puppy who was a week younger and bigger, that's what we are up against! |
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Owner of Pepper a male GSP Liver and White Fleck, born 11/01/2012, Bramble a Liver Roan Cocker Spaniel born 17/12/2010, and Buddie a Blue Roan Cocker Spaniel born 22/08/2008 |
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Texas Belle
Austin, TX
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Posts:7835
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| 03/23/2012 10:50 AM |
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| If his size is because he was a small puppy and malnourished and not hereditary he will likely grow to his full size since I am guessing you have turned him around with a good diet and getting rid of the worms. Just keep the healthy food coming. I had a litter of thirteen (11 survived) and all my pups, even the tiny one, have grown to full average size GSPS. |
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Bev Quarles, the Pointer Sisters (Belle and Halo), the Outlaw GSP (Johnny Ringo) and the little Princess (Fauna)
Yellow Rose GSPs
   
"A dog has the soul of a philosopher." - Plato |
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everbell
Kanata, ON
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Posts:3162
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| 03/23/2012 10:57 AM |
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I can't comment on the size, but I suspect Bev (Texas Belle) is probably right.
Bless you for rescuing him the little fella. If you get a chance, please post some pix. |
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Joce and Rich
Bogart and Shiraz (GSPs)
Roxane (RIP: 1995-2009) and Tiger Lily (Cats)
The Everbell Adventures |
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Nancy D
No. Lower MI - Gaylord Area
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Posts:849
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| 03/23/2012 11:03 AM |
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| Awww, the poor little guy. Bless you for taking him in. Sounds as though you have him on the right road to health. Am inclined to agree with Bev's opinion as to growth. Look forward to seeing a pic of your little one. |
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Gembobbs
Posts:16
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| 03/23/2012 11:15 AM |
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That's very reassuring, thank you!! He is on a good diet now and he is looking well. I'm hoping the vets will vaccinate on Monday they couldn't do it at first because of how he was doing. Where do I put pictures for you to see? I can try and add some shortly then. |
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Owner of Pepper a male GSP Liver and White Fleck, born 11/01/2012, Bramble a Liver Roan Cocker Spaniel born 17/12/2010, and Buddie a Blue Roan Cocker Spaniel born 22/08/2008 |
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pixie bee
MH
Posts:4448
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| 03/23/2012 11:16 AM |
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Welcome to the site.
My first thought -
who cares about his size?
My second thought -
who cares about his size?
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"Time with my dogs clears my mind, renews my faith, and lets me see the world as it is. My only regret loving dogs as I do, is the misery of their early departure." Robert G. Wehle
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Gembobbs
Posts:16
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| 03/23/2012 11:26 AM |
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His size isn't important in terms of our love and affection etc, but we do care about it as we want to know if he has a chance of growing to full size despite his start. It would be nice to know if others have experiences they can share and if we need to expect any problems in terms of his health etc
ps I have managed to put a photo on of him in his blanket. He gets shivery without it, and im not sure if you want to see his bones |
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Owner of Pepper a male GSP Liver and White Fleck, born 11/01/2012, Bramble a Liver Roan Cocker Spaniel born 17/12/2010, and Buddie a Blue Roan Cocker Spaniel born 22/08/2008 |
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Texas Belle
Austin, TX
MH
Posts:7835
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| 03/23/2012 11:44 AM |
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| I think he has a good chance of growing to his full size (of course that is based largely on his breeding and lineage as to what his full size will be). As far as his health I would just go with what your vet tells you as he has examined the puppy. The tapeworm could have definitely been stunting his growth as it sounded like it was pretty bad. My brother found a lab puppy who had been literally living off of acorns and had all different kinds of worms. He was skin and bones. Someone had evidently just dumped the pup in the middle of nowhere. Anyway after we wormed him and got him on a healthy diet he absolutely caught up in growth and was a beautiful healthy full size lab. By the way, the worms he had were round worms and they were so large they blocked him up and he almost died from the blockage. Worms are very nasty especially in a small puppy. You might also want to ask your vet about reworming in the near future, because he could pick the worms up again. I worm my pups several times before they go to their forever homes. |
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Bev Quarles, the Pointer Sisters (Belle and Halo), the Outlaw GSP (Johnny Ringo) and the little Princess (Fauna)
Yellow Rose GSPs
"A dog has the soul of a philosopher." - Plato |
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mrspwgunny
Long Island NY
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Posts:250
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| 03/23/2012 1:34 PM |
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| aww poor baby.... I think I like the idea of a mini GSP!!! |
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Gembobbs
Posts:16
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| 03/23/2012 2:01 PM |
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What a fab story about the lab! It sounds like good nutrition, time and love is just the recipe. Thank you it's made me feel positive it's been a happy yet worrying two weeks.
A mini gsp would be funny, we have two cocker spaniels and people already assume he is a cocker too.. trust me when you see the pics he is a gsp through and through. Pepper is his name by the way, liver and white, and sooooooooooo cute! |
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Owner of Pepper a male GSP Liver and White Fleck, born 11/01/2012, Bramble a Liver Roan Cocker Spaniel born 17/12/2010, and Buddie a Blue Roan Cocker Spaniel born 22/08/2008 |
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smatulewicz
Michigan
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Posts:1188
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| 03/23/2012 3:05 PM |
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Kudos to you for giving him a fighting chance!! I think he will grow with you and your dedication. Sometimes size is so random anyway despite breeding. My nephewdog is probably 3 inches taller and 20 pounds heavier than a male vizsla should be despite exercise, and genes. He is an absolute moose. Just remember they are a lean breed so don't fret if he doesn't seem to bulk much for now. And IGNORE the ppl who know nothing about the breed and throw their two cents at you about your dog being too thin (most who will be walking a furry footstool at the time).
Can't wait to see pictures and see how he grows with your fam! |
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Smylinacha
Connecticut
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Posts:1208
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| 03/23/2012 6:21 PM |
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God Bless you for rescuing him! When we got Velvet she was on the skinny side with hook worms and balding around the ears, no hair on her throat or belly. Put her on Taste of the Wild, groomed her every day and she is at normal weight and good health per the latest vet visit when we got her spayed. When we first got her she was skin and bones and her skin was all wrinkled and Vet said she needed to put on the weight - she is as big as Windsor now.  |
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Splat
Illinois (Northern)
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Posts:3130
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| 03/24/2012 7:35 AM |
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I have no experience with the size issue...though I know a couple horses that as babies were malnourished and then taken in and cared for properly, but they were always on the smaller side and late bloomers...
I am in love the with GSP but I have often thought a mini would be cool especially for when I am elderly...the closest I can think of is the doxie but they just don't have the GSP personality or temperament...but they are a hunting breeding, short hair and floppy ears...and also german!
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kpwlee
Raleigh, NC
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Posts:992
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| 03/25/2012 9:54 AM |
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Sounds like he's in a great home now and fully on the road to an awesome life!
A friend of mine adopted a pup from our local SPCA - a typical lab mix heinz variety but he was really small and super thin but he's now a healthy 60+lbs at 8 months old! The estimate they gave the couple - based on his age and weight at the time - was that he would max out about 60lbs. From their experience I will say that the size of a pup isn't an indication of how large or small they will be
Looking forward to the pics! |
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It's Bugsy's world...
http://dailyzoomie.blogspot.com/ |
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weerubbertummy
Ayrshire, Scotland
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Posts:726
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| 03/26/2012 11:50 AM |
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| I've got so much admiration for what you've done. I think rescuing is admirable enough, but to take on a dog which may potentially bring extra worry through being so small is pretty heroic in my eyes. Cant wait to see him! |
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Miss you forever Kintra baby xxx |
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Gembobbs
Posts:16
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| 03/26/2012 1:55 PM |
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| He is doing so well, he was been deemed healthy enough to be vaccinated yesterday. He is very sore from it and was a bit off colour but is perking up again. He has hiccups at the moment hehe. Yesterday he weighed 6.2 pounds so is doing so well considering he was on 3.4 pounds two weeks ago! I'm struggling with these photos though, how do I put them up? |
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Owner of Pepper a male GSP Liver and White Fleck, born 11/01/2012, Bramble a Liver Roan Cocker Spaniel born 17/12/2010, and Buddie a Blue Roan Cocker Spaniel born 22/08/2008 |
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juliej
Kentucky
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Posts:113
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| 03/26/2012 2:02 PM |
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The first post on the General Discussion page will tell you how to put on photos. You will need to put them on the web somewhere like photobucket first
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Julie
Aldo von der Raucherei |
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Texas Belle
Austin, TX
MH
Posts:7835
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| 03/26/2012 2:35 PM |
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| Glad to hear he is doing so well. My guess is he will grow like a weed now that he is worm free and getting good food and care. |
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Bev Quarles, the Pointer Sisters (Belle and Halo), the Outlaw GSP (Johnny Ringo) and the little Princess (Fauna)
Yellow Rose GSPs
"A dog has the soul of a philosopher." - Plato |
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weerubbertummy
Ayrshire, Scotland
MH
Posts:726
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| 03/28/2012 3:58 AM |
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| Just realised there's a photo of him in your profile. What an absolute cutey-pie! Congratulations x |
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Miss you forever Kintra baby xxx |
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kpwlee
Raleigh, NC
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Posts:992
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| 03/28/2012 5:48 AM |
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OMG just saw his picture - squeeee!! he's adorable! |
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It's Bugsy's world...
http://dailyzoomie.blogspot.com/ |
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