Topic: advice re JRT puppy

[debster]

on another forum i belong to, a JRT puppy is looking for a permenant home. he was found wandering in a field and taken to London and is now in slough being looked after by a lovely lady who cannot keep him cos she has a 13 week old staffy puppy
hubby would love and dog and is seriously considering getting one and although i have never kept dogs i love my friends and would very happily provide good care and attention and walk and im certain love it too
this pup is about 8 weeks old still has its baby teeth not sure when it was found but certainly not long ago
has been seen by a vet and wormed though too young for vaccinations
what i would like to know is at what age are pups weaned and has it left mum too early? is this likely to cause problems
apparantly it is really good with children, cats birds and other dogs
what questions should i ask and is it too much to expect a pup to travel from london to devon
thanks
debs

[banshee]

Hi debster,

In an ideal world, puppies will stay with mum until aged 8 weeks or more and will be weaned by 6weeks. You really should not have any more problems with this puppy than any other at it's age, especially as it has been in foster care for a few days/week or so, other than it may be a little more timid and depending on when it actually left it's mum, it may not have learned to inhibit it's bite - but then you get that with most puppies. A JRT will have a never ending supply of energy once it has settled in, so be prepared to keep him active both mentally and physically. If you do decide to go along and take this little one into your home, I would buy a cage or get a very large cardboard box to put him in if you have to leave him alone in a room for a while.

I hope this helps, enjoy him and have fun    :)

[debster]

thank you for your advice i am really reassured by that, i already have a dog crate that i use to transport my african grey parrot so that would not be a problem
i would definatly love to rescue a dog rather then buy a puppy so i am looking at rescues a little closer to home too its only the distance that worries me so much now

[banshee]

With regular stops on the journey, the little one should be fine to travel the distance. When you think of it many puppies come over from Ireland and other such places on the ferry so I think it would be fine from london. By getting a puppy you should be able to train it to leave the parrot alone too.
We have a 14 year old German Shepherd x Rottie and last year we got another one who was 10 weeks old when we got her. They have both been great with our african grey and our Jardines parrot, but you must remember that not all older dogs will accept your AG especially if it is fully flighted like ours.

[woodybrown]

we brought one of our rotties down from a rescue man in sheffield , it took about four hours to get back to sussex because we had to stop but she was fine . having a rescue dog has been great you feel like your really making a difference and she seems to appreciate everything we do for her.as for training it should be ok round birds its just small furry animals they aint too keen on.GOOD LUCK 

[debster]

well we have decided not to have the puppy mostly cos of the journey although he has now been found a home near to where he is. Hubby and i have decided to rescue a dog, of jack russsel size we will be able to make sure that the dog is in a seperate room in the house when we are out, yes our grey is fully flighted but would not be out in the same room as the dog unsupervised, im not certain that the grey wouldnt give the dog what for either,
we are going to have a look round a few rescues as we decided we would like to meet the dog first

[Rainbow]

We have two rescued terriers who are now aged approx 13 and they still have boundless energy!! They have both been fabulous with the boys despite the reputation they have about being snappy. I would definately recommend a crate though as the first time we left the first one he jumped up on the kitchen worktops and chewed all the wooden spoons etc. It was quite funny but  in the crate they just curl up and go to sleep.
As for travelling I would imagine at that age it would probably sleep quite alot of the way!!

Claire

[banshee]

Glad to hear that the puppy has a new home. I hope you get the dog that's right for you soon.  :)

[debster]

well we are not in any rush, it will happen when its right looking through the rescues becaue i would like an older dog and i would like to support a rescue

[Pinkflamez]

I have a wonder JR and she is full of energy she is only 1 but acts like aa baby lol she runs round like a nut case sometimes she loves to play and loves to hide things they are diggers so garden beware but it is so worth it in the end i have had mine since birth and apart from her nicking me smalls n the kicks socks and the odd hairbrush or 3 she is the best thing i have ever had x