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Thanks all.

No, I don't have him on any supplements. I've kept him lean, as best as I could. Most everyone that sees him says he looks too thin. I find when he's starting to look chunky, it means he's about to shoot upwards.

How large did Navarre get?

Our last dog enjoyed frozen poopcicles. BLECH! But I've never had to deal with litter robbers before. 

DH won't let Bear lick him either, and I won't let him near my face, considering where that tongue's been.


I'm hoping his weight gain starts slowing down soon. He LOVES his Orijen, and even the cats' Orijen. In fact, the bunch of them swap food bowls all the time. It's funny how, until we started this food, he was never really food driven. He sure is now!!!  He'd knock me over if I weren't so big. One good thing about his food drive is that it makes train so so so much easier. He's learned stay, even if it is for only 10 seconds. 

One thing that might help keep your pup from chewing the furniture and carpet is Bitter Apple.  It is a spray that you can get at the pet store ... you just spray it on your carpet and furniture and it makes everything taste really bad.  So after your pup has a taste, he won't want to chew anymore!

Although some pups LOVE the taste of it!!  Bear thanks me everytime I spray something with it, as if to say "Thanks Mom, it tasts so much better now!!!"


So far, I've found having tons of different toys around: ropes, squeaky toys, soft toys, hard toys, toys with bumps, and squiggles, balls and anything else you can think of. When pup starts gnawing on something he's not supposed to, pick up a toy, make a big fuss over it, like there's nothing on earth that is better than it, and soon he wants it from you.

The crate! Thank the dear Lord above for the inventor of the crate. This is a great place to put him, along with several chewable safe toys.

I also use rawhide rolls, not the bones, but the ones that look like ladyfingers. I find he's able to gnaw at these better, especially when he was younger.

It takes some time, and lots of patience, but they do finally get the hint that these are GOOD chewables, and these are BAD ones. Good luck, and welcome!

Glad to hear she's doing better. It's horrible when our kids (skin or fur) aren't feeling well. 

Please do not take this as a panic post. I don't want to be Chicken Little here...

My daughter had 2 febrile seizures, due to high (~104.5), unexplained (at the time) fevers. They came on without warning, without symptoms. One minute she was low grade, the next BAM! into full body trembling, tongue down her throat, seizure. The first time it happened I thought she was choking on food. She went limp, blue lips, and stopped breathing. Luckily I knew AR.

They transported her via ambulance to the ER, by the time we were there, she was alert, no fever and had a sore throat. She was 3 at the time, and wouldn't let Drs look in her throat. We were told Tylenol to keep the fever down. It was nerve wrecking. After seeing a walk-in clinic Dr, we were advised to use the Tylenol-Motrin method, switching back and forth between the two every 3hrs. This worked to keep the fevers down.

The second happened a month later, but this time we headed straight for ER when her fever reached 102. While waiting for the Dr, I realized I forgot my meds at home, so I asked the nurse to get her a Motrin (explaining the T/M method we were using), to which she said, ok. 15 minutes later, while still waiting, the seizure came on. This time she was seen by a ENT specialist, who said, she has an acute case of tonsilitis AND an acute ear infection. Again, no complaint of sore throat or ear.

Tonsils here (Canada) are not removed unless there are 7 documented cases in 1 year, but with the febrile seizures it went down to 4. BUT the first episode was never documented!!! 


We have never had another episode of seizures, and she is now 11 (febrile seizures are most common between 6mos and 6yrs). We still use the T/M method, and are currently fighting something, with a fever of 101.4 an hour ago. She now fights most of her fevers without meds, but my cut-off point is 101.5 ... she got Tylenol tonight.

Again, this wasn't to say OMG your child will have a febrile seizure if you don't....... but to make you aware of them. I never knew of them before. I warn all my friends with children in that age range.

• Just watch them closely with fevers.
• Trust your instincts.
• Tylenol and Motrin combined (alternating every 3 hrs) are the best defense to fighting stubborn fevers.
• DO NOT cool your child down with a bath/shower or ice packs... the shock alone could cause a febrile seizure if they are prone.
• Dress them in panties or diapers and let the room's temp cool them off.

Good luck, and keep us posted.

I know a lot of you have already heard this story:  the hubby was walking Jack.  A guy driving by stops and yells "What kind of dog is that"  Hubby was really sick of this question by then.  He yelled back "Chihuahua"

LOL!! I've used "chihuahua on steroids" before. People just have no sense of humour. LOL

I know, it's like we're idiots and didn't realize what kind of breed we have. My husband and I just start LOL when someone says it now. Of course, the person looks at us like we're aliens or on drugs cuz we're laughing so loud.

I don't know about the rest of you, but Bear can't seem to get enough of Orijen. He devours it like there's no tomorrow, and hasn't been fed in weeks. I'm using it as training treats too, and BOY does he listen well now. 

His poops are solid, first time in a long time. It's hard to say if the amount is smaller, as it's hard to compare cow patties to sausages.