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August 22, 2011

I may be bringing home a 3 month old puppy tomorrow that had surgery to remove a sock from her stomach just last week. She seems like a great pup otherwise. Do you think this pup will be ok psychologically and physically?

Full Question:
So sorry to ask you to respond immediately, but I was hoping to get your opinion on a german shepherd puppy that I may be bringing home tomorrow. Her breeding seems excellent for temperament and health (including hips, etc.). She is 3 months old. The only concern that I have is that she swallowed a sock last week and had surgery to remove it. The vet, who is supposed to be very good, had to cut open her belly (6 inch cut) to remove the sock which she swallowed whole. The stitches are inside and she seems to be recovering well. She's been kept somewhat confined, at least from the other 2 puppies and mother dog which the people are keeping. In your expert opinion, from experience, etc., do you think that this puppy will be O.K., healthy physically and psychologically due to this experience? Thank you so much. I will wait to hear from you.

P.S. I am also doing a lot of research on the raw food diet. Still a little confused, but am trying to learn as much as possible about diet and training before I get a puppy. I also ordered 3 of your DVDs, 8 weeks to 8 months and 2 training.
Cindy
Cindy Cindy's Answer:
I'd be concerned about a puppy that is swallowing foreign bodies. This is called Pica and can be caused by many things. A google search will turn up more info than I could type. It can be linked to diet, stomach issues or a obsessive/compulsive disorder or it simply could be the breeder gave the puppy access to things she should not have. I owned a puppy about 10 years ago that was a compulsive swallower of non food items. More than one surgery was involved for him before one year of age, so I'm gunshy.

The puppy would have to be a superstar in every way for me consider a pup with this type of history. There are too many other choices out there to take a risk on this, for me.

Purely my opinion, based on my experience.

You may take the pup home and never have an issue, but since you asked...

Here is a Q & A section on raw feeding.

The best books for learning about the raw diet are Raw Dog Food and Natural Nutrition for Dogs & Cats. We give both these books to our puppy customers and rarely have questions about the diet. One of the newer feeding books we offer is Raw & Natural Nutrition for Dogs. This title covers homemade cooked & raw diets complete with recipes. I highly recommend all these books.

Cindy Rhodes

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Expert Dog Trainer Cindy Rhodes
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