New Puppy Questions!

[AlliKat]

Okay, so we have had our pup now for two and a half days... and man has it been exhausting! :lol:

I have a few quesitons though - because my husband and I have never owned Frenchies, I'm not sure what is normal or not normal in terms of the amount and types of noises he makes! I know that Frenchies snort and snore and make piggie noises... but how much noise is too much noise? So hard to tell if he is in distress or not! Also... sometimes he is lying down (dozing) and he seems to be breathing SO rapidly.... like panting. Is this normal?

AND... one final question (for now) - he is gobbling through his food (dry kibble from the breeder - we haven't started mixing it with what we want to feed him yet) SO quickly that he is not chewing/digesting it and it is coming right back up. He starts almost... coughing, wheezing, and you can tell he is trying to bring it back up. And then up come the pellets, with white foam. What can we do to ensure he eats slower and actually EATS it??

Thanks, I am sure I will think of MANY more in the next couple of weeks! :)

[citygirl]

Allison -

When I first got my second Frenchie, Lexi, I was shocked at some of the rapid breathing and what looked nearly like panting while she was sleeping. (My first one never did this.) I thought she was in distress, but it turned out not to be the case. She's now 9 months old and she doesn't do that anymore. However, when she first lays down to go to sleep, she does a rapid breathing that is kind of like snoring, even before her eyes are closed. I learned that this is her "normal" and I no longer fret over it.

Both my dogs eat fast; however, they don't immediately regurgitate food. I read somewhere that you can put something big into the bowl (too large to eat), like a tennis ball (or something similar) and make it harder for them to get to their food so that they have to slow down and work at getting their next bite. I've never done that since I don't have a big problem, but it sounds like it could work.

You'll have many more "baby" Frenchie issues as the days pass. :) Keep sending them to this board. You'll find so many helpful people here who are so willing to share their experiences that you'll find it invaluable. Good luck to you and your new babe!

[imogene]

The rapid breathing sounds okay. Both my frenches rapid pant once in a while, especially when they are in REM sleep. The food regurgitation doesn't sound normal. If you're feeding him too much at one time it could cause issues. But it sounds as if he is regurgitating not vomiting. You may have an issue with megaesohogus (http://www.marvistavet.com/html/body_megaesophagus.html). It is the most common reason for puppy regurgitation - some puppies out grow it some don't - but you may want to have your boy examined, and you may want to talk to his breeder to see if it shows up anywhere in your babies lines.

I was on your introduction page - the pictures are great, and he is very cute:)