Author Topic: New Saint mom!!  (Read 8238 times)

Offline lelly

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New Saint mom!!
« on: March 03, 2007, 09:47:43 am »
Hello everyone. This is my first post and I am looking for some helpful info for my new Saint puppy. I got her from someone that couldn't keep her in his new home. He assured me that she is full blooded but I'm really not sure (not that it matters) because I've never seen a young Saint. We will be visiting the vet next week but I'd like some help from owners with experience. I was told that she is 8 weeks old. My unreliable scale puts her at around 20-22 lbs. OK, here we go.

* What food would be best to start her out on?
* What supplements will she need?
* She is scratching and chewing a lot even after a bath.   
  Possibly allergies?
* Does her weight sound right for her age?

Any help will be very appreciated and any other info that anyone might think of.

I look forward to raising this beautiful new baby and meeting lots of great people on this forum.

Thanks, Leslie & Bella
Leslie, Xena, & Bella

Offline schelmischekitty

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Re: New Saint mom!!
« Reply #1 on: March 03, 2007, 10:25:42 am »
i'm not sure about how much i can help with you saint specific questions, but i can help you with some of your other questions.  i feed innova, i LOVE it, it helps keep my danes fur and skin in really nice condition, keeps pooping to a minimum, and also keeps weight on him very nicely.  some others feed other foods, i'm sure they can tell you more about theirs!  as far as scratching after baths, is it JUST after baths?  you may need to use oatmeal shampoo or something, because it might just be drying her skin out too much and making her itch.  also, here's a link to a saint bernard growth chart, naturally some dogs vary and are bigger or smaller than the chart will say.  the chart says for 8 weeks, a female should weigh about 17.00 lbs, but at 9 weeks it says 21.7lb average.

acay.com.au/~dissi/sbc/weight.htm
steffanie in atlanta

aiden (4), tristan (2), & maya (born sept. 17th)
axle-140ish-lb akita (4)
peanut-5lb, 11 months chihuahua
[img width= height= alt=Image Hosted by ImageShack.us]http://img207.imageshack.us/img207/3339/alltogethernowme6.jpg[/img]

Offline schelmischekitty

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Re: New Saint mom!!
« Reply #2 on: March 03, 2007, 10:28:16 am »
btw, congrads, and welcome to bpo!  i'm mom to axle (130ish pound akita) sheeba (akita chow at about 75lbs) diesel (dane at about 100) caine (pitbull about 75lbs, and the puppy (unnamed, chihuahua puppy 2lbs) as well as 2 skin kids and a hubby!
steffanie in atlanta

aiden (4), tristan (2), & maya (born sept. 17th)
axle-140ish-lb akita (4)
peanut-5lb, 11 months chihuahua
[img width= height= alt=Image Hosted by ImageShack.us]http://img207.imageshack.us/img207/3339/alltogethernowme6.jpg[/img]

Offline lelly

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Re: New Saint mom!!
« Reply #3 on: March 03, 2007, 02:55:36 pm »
Thanks for the info.

My other dog, Xena, is a mixed breed from an animal shelter and she doesn't require much maintenance. I'm slowly learning that a Saint does require a little extra attention to keep them healthy. I'll definately be doing some research.

I talked to someone today that said Bella is a mix. Oh well, I just hope she is a BIG, healthy girl.

Thanks, Leslie, Xena, & Bella
Leslie, Xena, & Bella

Offline shangrila

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Re: New Saint mom!!
« Reply #4 on: March 03, 2007, 05:23:19 pm »
It's possible that Bella is a mix because she doesn't have a typical mask. But who cares - she is beautiful and looks like a lovebug and that's all that matters!

20 lbs sounds pretty normal for a giant breed. My saint zoey was 18 lbs at 8 weeks. Also, just so you know, the goal for her should be to gain around 3 lbs a week.

As far as food goes, there are lots of good choices. Just make sure you get a high quality one. I would reccomend anything from the "whold dog journal" list of approved foods. What I would suggest you do to pick a new food is go to the pet store of your choice, find out what they sell, bring the list home and research them on the net. Then you can make an informed decision based on the quality, ingredients, price, etc. When you have a brand(s) in mind, feel free to post ithere and we can tell you about it.

As far as supplements go, the two that I would recommend are glucosamine/msm/chondroitin and omega3 (usually from fish oil). The glucosamine is for joints - you probably won't need it right away but once bella gets larger it will be helpful since giant breeds are so prone to joint issues. The omega 3 is for her coat/skin. I would probably start that one right away since she is having coat issues.

The scratching/chewing can have a lot of possible causes. She could have fleas or something - has she had a puppy checkup at the vet? Also, is could be an allergy to her current food or lack of nutrition in her current food - which will get fixed when you switch brands (by the way, do you know about switching brands slowly?). And the other reason that comes to mind is the bathing - when you bath dogs it strips away natural oil so if you are bathying her frequently, make sure you use a conditioner in addition to the shampoo. Finally, I would probably get some anti-itch spray from the vet or the pet store since that will help too.

:)
RIP former BPO

Offline Michael2559

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Re: New Saint mom!!
« Reply #5 on: March 05, 2007, 12:15:14 am »
Great looking pup, just as with my pup, I didnt know what a young St. pup at 4 weeks old looked like or it should weigh. My pup Sheeba wieghed about 5 pounds at 4 weeks old and from that point on she gained about 3 pounds a week until she was about 7 weeks old and then she gained about 5 ponds a week. Now she is about 1 year and 5 months old and wieghs about 96 pounds, the wieght gain is slow now, which is good , she is slim and she is growing up and not out.

If your like me and in seeing so many pictures of Sts, I didnt know they looked so different from short haired, to femals being so much smaller then a male is. There is so much of a difference in color in the dogs, some being heavy some being slim. But they make a great companion, Sheeba has to be with me every minute and sleeps on our bed, when I eat she eats. When I had surgery, she cried when I was in pain, that blew me away how she cried because she knew I was in pain.

I do know that my dog was so easy to poddy train, nothing to it, only took me taking her out side a few times and she went out on her own from then on at about 5 weeks old. They are very smart dogs , but they can get very bull headed and stuborn, but you cant help but fall in love with them.

Great advice here, hope everything goes well for you, great looking pup.
« Last Edit: March 06, 2007, 05:03:32 pm by Michael2559 »
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Offline PennyK

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Re: New Saint mom!!
« Reply #6 on: March 05, 2007, 08:36:14 am »
Congrats!!!  This place is an awesome resource!!!  I got Teddy in February last year and we couldn't have survived without BPO!!

Your girl is probably purebred.  Teddy's litter had one little fella that had a mostly black nose. 

Can you please post more pics??  We LOVE pics!!!
Every girl needs a Teddy bear!

Offline Michael2559

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Re: New Saint mom!!
« Reply #7 on: March 06, 2007, 05:15:06 pm »
My Pup was given to me and they asked me if I wanted the papers on her and I told them I didnt care about papers. I will never breed her anyways and with in the next 2 months Iam going to take her to get her spade.I just took her to the Vet today and she got her shots and nails cut and she wieghs 96 pounds, she is alittle small to me but she of coarse is a female and I was told she would be smaller.

Does anyone know if there is a size difference in the females from being a short or long haired breed ? I have seen smaller and larger saints,when long and short haired. When we got Sheeba my wife didnt believe she was a full blooded saint, but she is , I think she was a runt of the litter, but I really dont care I love her anyway.
"Nothing is real unless its personal"