Thameswood Veterinary Clinics Ltd

Puppy Diaries...back to Maverick!

Our big, bold and very beautiful Maverick has now nearly reached his First Birthday. Maverick and his Mom and Dad will celebrate his birthday on the 4th April.

He now weighs in at a mere 60kg ( 9 stone 6 lb ) and still has some growing to do. He really is a big adolescent teenager with the spots to match. He loves everyone and has developed into a gentle mannered young man.

Maverick had his neutering operation last month to remove his manhood. He was a very well behaved patient and doesn’t seem to notice he is missing something. Neutering is very beneficial for health reasons unless you are planning to breed of course.

He is doing well at his training classes and after being awarded his Bronze Certificate he has now been promoted to the Big Boys class. The training classes have been an excellent experience for Maverick as he developed from young puppy into adulthood. He walks very nicely on the lead with the help of a Gencon headcollar and has learnt how to behave politely in public.

The changes from puppy to adult have been remarkable and we will be showing you some photo’s of Maverick at just eight weeks of age to his Birthday . Log on next month to see Mavericks first year.

Empi's agility training

Huw's puppy Empi is now 15 months old, and is well into her agility training. Since she was a baby she has been taught obedience commands and targeting using a clicker and lots of food and play. Now that she has finished growing she's learning about the agility equipment.

The dog-walk, A-frame and see-saw are the "contact" equipment, which means that the dog has to make contact with the different-coloured contact area at each end to avoid scoring penalty points.

In the picture below Empi has a plastic disc target on the floor just beyond the contact that she is aiming for; when she has touched it with her nose and then waited on the contact she will be rewarded with a click and a throw of her favourite tuggie toy.

Another obstacle that Empi is spending a lot of time learning is the weaving poles. These are a line of 6-12 equally spaced poles that the dog must weave through, starting to the right of the first pole. Here Empi is learning using V-weaves, these can be angled out to the side to help the pup find their way through, and then gradually straightened up as they start to understand the obstacle.

Empi still has lots to learn, but Huw is confident that she will be ready to start competing in May when she is 18 months old; we will let you know how she gets on!

Maverick...seven months

Our Lovely Maverick is now nearly 7 months old now and weighs in at a whopping 51kgs (nearly 8 stone 3lbs) and is still growing. He will continue to grow until he is about 14-18 months of age but this rapid growth rate should start to slow down.

As you can see, Maverick has thrown himself into the Halloween Trick or Treat Season as he proudly models his witches outfit. Not sure what the neighbours will think as he knocks on their door for a treat.

Since our last puppy diary, Mavericks favourite Mr Ducky (his cuddly toy which went everywhere with him) has sadly passed away. His owner reports that Mr Ducky was laid to rest after suffering a terrible haemorrhage in his stomach and all of his beans fell out.

Maverick has recovered from his loss and has a brand new toy called a Pup Tire Truck which bangs into the walls and doors as he marches about the house. Apparently, the nice thing about this is that you always know when he’s coming!

Maverick’s big personality is really taking over the house now. He seems to have a fascination with buttons and has removed every single one from his quilt cover and decided that he didn’t want any filling in his quilt either, so promptly removed this too. He had to have a new quilt after this episode.

He loves nothing more than cuddling up with dad with his new pillow and quilt. And regularly drags them into the lounge so he can do just that.

Maverick...16 weeks

Our lovely Maverick has now reached the age of 4 months. He is a very clever boy now and his owner is very pleased to announce he is fully toilet trained. As you can imagine, being a Great Dane pup, the puddles aren’t exactly little……they tend to resemble a small pond.

Maverick is still going through the play-biting stage but is learning how to control this. Now play biting is a natural behaviour for puppies – they tend to spend a lot of time in rough and tumble play before leaving their littermates and this carries on when they come to live with you. Play biting is important because it teaches them about ‘bite inhibition’ , if they bite their litter mates too hard they will make them cry and they won’t play anymore. Maverick is learning this message with his owners. When Maverick bites too hard, his mum and dad stop play.

Maverick has also started puppy training classes.

He is thoroughly enjoying them so far but as you can see he does tend to prefer lolloping around on the floor just messing about rather than actually learning the basic training commands like ‘sit and stay’. This training class is a fantastic way of socialising Maverick with lots of dogs as he grows into adolescence and he certainly doesn’t seem to be shy.

Maverick's favourite time of day is when he goes to ‘Na Nights’. This is when he gets to pick out his own treat from his pic n mix box. He loves his lazy times in between his sudden bursts of energy. His favourite toy is Mr Ducky who goes everywhere with him. He even joins Maverick for dinner….literally!

Meet Maverick!

Maverick is an eleven week old Male, Blue Great Dane puppy who will need lots of room to grow. Maverick is a very handsome, noble young man who according to his owner has settled in very well to his new home.

He is already showing his mischievous side to his personality . He loves his crazy monkey and has a huge fondness of squeaky toys. Maverick has learnt to sleep through the night (thankfully) and is doing his very best with his toilet training.

So, how would we best describe a Great Dane; alert, powerful, exuberant, outgoing; independent but at the same time, they love to be around their family. Now they can be a little clumsy and will think nothing of trampling over your feet but these gentle giants do need extra time and care to train and socialize them. Obviously a dog of these immense proportions can spell trouble if the essential social skills are not learnt. The exercise requirements of these giants are not too demanding unlike a border collie that will run for hours without tiring. They have short dense sleek coats which require minimal grooming. Of course, bath time involves getting just as wet as your Dane.

Mavericks owners contacted the surgery via e-mail before purchasing the big pup. She sought advice from what to look out for when purchasing a puppy, specific breed health problems and obviously scrutinised our range of services. Luckily for us we came up to scratch and we are proud to have Maverick as one of our news pups.

Maverick came into the surgery at tens weeks of age for his 1st vaccination and general health examination which he passed with flying colours.

The nurse then talked Maverick’s owners through the worming and flea regimes that will be needed to keep him parasite free and about his diet. As maverick will be growing at quite an astonishing rate, his growth and weight will be monitored throughout his puppyhood to ensure he is developing properly and grows into a healthy young male.

All our puppies are invited to our Puppy Parties. These are great fun and as you can see by the pictures, Maverick was not at all shy and was soon rollicking around with his new found play mates.

Puppy parties are an excellent way to introduce your pup to other pups of a similar age. A puppy’s socialisation period is from four to 14 weeks and this is when he will be most responsive to new experiences. What he experiences now as a pup will shape his attitudes and character for the rest of his life.

We will be following Maverick’s progress throughout his puppyhood until he reaches and adult. Log on next month to see how he’s doing and see what antics he gets up to next.

VHD Outbreak! Is your rabbit protected?

In the past few days at least four pet rabbits have died in the Swindon area, showing signs that are consistent with viral haemorrhagic disease (VHD). None of the rabbits was vaccinated.

VHD is a highly infectious, lethal disease of rabbits with a high mortality rate. Disease is caused by a a host specific 'calicivirus'. The disease was first seen in China in 1988, spreading throughout Europe.

The virus is stable and survives for long periods outside the host. The virus is spread by biting insects such as fleas, blowflies and mosquitoes and 90-100% of infected rabbits will die within 3-4 days of infection.

Often the first sign of infection in a rabbit is death, although pale or blue mucous membranes, bleeding from the nose, convulsions and vocalising may be seen.

The only effective protection is vaccination with the 'Cylap' vaccine. All rabbits over 10 weeks of age should be vaccinated, and annual booster vaccinations are required to maintain the protection.

Contact us now if your rabbit needs to be vaccinated!

Thanks to Great Western Referrals for the bulletin.

The lucky Weimeraner

Our pet of the month this month is a lovely, exuberant young Weimeraner called Herman (not his real name, but he's a bit embarrassed about this whole incident so he asked to remain anonymous).

Herman was out on his daily expedition across the fields with his owner, playing ball as he always did. His favourite rubber ball was about the size of a cricket ball, and used to have a rope through it that had fallen to bits thanks to Herman chewing it.

With Herman in full pursuit, the ball took an unlucky bounce straight into his mouth. The force was just enough for the ball to get past his teeth and to jam securely in the back of his throat, blocking his airway.

Quick thinking by Herman's owner undoubtedly saved his life, as he managed to rotate the ball so that the rope hole lined up with his larynx enabling him to continue breathing.

It was in this state that a rather alarmed Herman and his owner (bleeding from a panicked chomp from Herman) burst into Thameswood's Purton Road clinic in the middle of evening consults.

Vet Huw and Nurse Vicky quickly anaesthetised Herman with a rapid-acting injectable anaesthetic, enabling Huw to pop the ball free. Herman went home fully recovered an hour later, none the worse for wear.

Make sure that your dog's toys are big enough that they won't get stuck in his throat; they may not be as lucky as Herman was!