Hi,
I spend so much time reading thro other peoples messages which is a great help in sorting out all the teething troubles with our new pup..but sometimes i get a bit mixed up and worried i might be doing the wrong thing for my pup..could i ask anyone for help on a couple of questions..i was reading an old message from someone about excercising her pup,the advice given was (don't let pups climb stairs or "run" them too much etc)because of their young bones..I'm a little worried because to get to the outside my pup has to climb over a lip which is like the door seal and then down a rather big step to the grass sometimes he trips up or should i say quite often he trips up (being a berner with bigger paws than most puppies he does tend to fall over himself) he's such a lump that whenever you try i pick him up its as if he's uncomfortable he groans as if he's too heavy to carry his own weight off his feet, i can tell he doesn't enjoy being picked up.He's now 11 weeks old. but when he's outside we sort of play a running dodging game with him and i thought this good for him. Also he has a small hernia on his tum, the breeder advised me to rub it gently so , thinking i'm helping his hernia (nothing to do with any "roll" which i knew nothing about! I've been gently rooling him over, usually when he's laying down anyway, he did it quite easily and seemed to enjoy me rubbing his tum, so now it's become a thing we do maybe 5 times a day and he gets a good ol scratch and stroke and rub from under the chin to his toes ends.. he seems on cloud nine..altho his ears which are usuallu down, flop back and cos he's looking at me from a funny angle his eyes show more white than normal and he has got this wild kind of expression on his face, his mouth is usually wide open as if he's saying awwwww! am I reading it all wrong and am i doing the wrong thing , we've only had him since 31st December so i'm still working him out.. He does spend an awful lot of sleeping time on his back with legs spread out.. so have i got a dog that doesn't mind it..

Thanks everyone..Sandy :) xx

My pup ADORES having his tum scratched/tickled too .
He also slept alot on his back ( he's 13 weeks) but he has mostly stopped this now .
Sometimes I think you can read too much advice . You can follow what you think is good advice and then you read something contradictory and start to worry . I know I have done this .
In time you will instinctively know which advice to follow for your pup and what suits him .
Although there are times when something crops up and you havent a clue ( thank god for champdogs) .
Good luck :)
Lel

Hi Sandy,
Panic not! A step or so into the garden won't be a problem - but don't let him go up and down flights of stairs yet. (Personally, I like to keep upstairs a dog-free zone anyway!) Playing games like this for a few minutes in the garden - again, not a problem, as long as he lets you catch him in the end, because there is bound to come a time when it's vital that you grab him, and you don't want him darting away thinking its a game!

My two youngest dogs, now aged 3 1/2, both love to come and sit on the floor with me. They lie in the "lapspace" between my legs, and luxuriously stretch out on their backs with their head on my lap and their feet by mine (I can only do this with one at a time, you understand!! :) ) This is the position for tummy rubs and comments on my part such "What a lovely boy you are....who's a silly boy then.." and all that nonsense! As far as I know, when they're happy to lie like this, they are feeling absolutely secure, and know that they are completely safe, so be pleased that he does this!

Hope this helps.

Will going up and down stairs cause a pup big problems ? Our pup is always trying to get up .What age would you recommend as "safe" ?
Lel

It depends on the size of the breed. Giant breeds, I'm told, shouldn't go up and down stairs till they're at least 9 or 10 months. (I remember the outcry with one of the "Beethoven" films, when all the half-grown pups came thundering downstairs at the end). With medium-sized breed, labradors, dalmatians etc, 6 months is probably about right (but controlled, particularly coming down - this is where shoulders can be ruined.
With little dogs, I imagine that by the time they are physically big enough to cope with the stairs, they are old enough to - but don't let them fall down!

Hi Sandy --Panic ye not !;)
like someone above said -the back step aint going to hurt and if he's such a lump ! then you aren't going to be able to pick him up much longer anyway !
pretty soon ( if not already ) you will be in the realms of getting in and out the car ---and that'll be fun ;)
As to the lying on his back and looking wild ,murph does this -kids call it his 'mad head'
I think lying on his back having his tummy tickled is completly different to 'alpha rolling'( i presume that is what you were refering to )
at puppy class we were encouraged to roll the dogs over and tickle their tummys -it is a submissive position but they learn to be comfortable with you and trusting .
Murphs favourite position is -legs akimbo with all his tackle on display :D
HTH
Liz :)

Hi Sandy,

I would not think that one step would do too much harm (I had two bitches who when tiny pups were climbers and could get over my "pen" made of wooden pallets in seconds - they both had 0:0 hip scores and died of cancers in their 11th year still very mobile).

Your breeder probably told you to rub his tummy around the hernia to try to push it back in. Can you gently pop it back or has the hole closed up, if you are not sure then ask your vet for advice if you have not done so already. Sometimes it is just a bit of fatty tissue left outside.

Who gets tired of the running dodging game first - if it is you you proably don't need to worry as pups will play this amongst themselves and do they do need plenty of exercise but in short bursts

Have fun with him and make the most of his laying on his back as it will make it easier for you to groom his tum :)

Christine

Could anybody tell me whether letting a three month old Staffy go up and down stairs will ruin his shoulders ?
:(
Lel

Hi Lel,
I should imagine he'd be fine as long as you don't let him charge down - make him come down steadily. Much safer for him anyway - he's much less likely to tumble! :)

Be very careful with your pup - they have a tendency to charge around! If it is just a couple of steps then fine, but more than that and if steep then a no no... Are they inside or outside? If outside then do what i did! I got a scaffoldinf plank and put it down the side of the stairs so that he could get in and out of the garden without my help.. if inside can you stop him getting to them with a baby gate at all?

Alex

Sandy,
I can't decide if you are worried about the rolling eyes mouth when you rub his tummy, I wouldn't if I was you. My 21 month old puppy loves to roll around all four feet in the air and have his tummy rubbed. His eyes look quite wild while this is happening but I don't think there is any bad intent, all my dogs have done this often with a toy in their mouth
Anne

Hi Sandy
Just sent you an e-mail:D
Marley always has a wild expression on his face:D :D :D

Vickie & Marley (the psychotic demon) :D

Thanks everyone for your help once again I feel much better...I'm so glad that I won't have done any harm I hadn't realised how easy it could be to damage their young joints.. I too won't be allowing oscar up the stairs so I don't have to worry on that score.. I'm so glad that we can carry on with the belly stuff.. reading his body language told me everything was fine.but reading his face was a bit difficult from his normal face. I didn't really want to be putting him in this " alpha roll "thing without realising and scaring him half to death..Altho when I think about it he's such a spunky liitle fella that if he didn't like it he certainly would be letting me know!!!!His hernia is about an inch round, quite soft and easy to rub back in, I will mention it to the vet tho next week.
You are all great thanks for taking the time to help, if it hadn't been for all the advice on here I'm sure I would have taken oscar back to the breeder in that first week(and i'm so glad I didn't):)
Sandy xxx