Just got a puppy - shepperd/lab mix? - Page 1

Hello. I just got a puppy 2 days ago from the parking lot of the Hummane Society. I know, sounds weird. My husband was at the hummane society, trying to find a puppy for our girls for an early Christmas present. All they had there were older dogs, and they were all pits. He felt really bad becauase in our area there's a major problem with people just breeding their pitbulls and then no one is wanting them so they all end up in shelters. If it were just him & I I wouldn't be as worried, but we have a 6 year old, 2 year old, and 10 month old. It would be hard to make sure they didn't approach a pit too roughly. So he had given up and as he was leaving a guy drove up that was dropping off a dog he had just gotten a day before. His reason for wanting to give her up was that she had fleas & he couldn't have a dog with fleas around his house. He said she was 2 months old, and a shepperd/lab mix. So my husband rescued her and brought her home, and we all instantly fell in love. She is such a good dog, so gentle with the kids. My 2 year old tries to be gentle but is kind of like a bull in a china shop, but CiCi (our new puppy) doesn't mind. She adores her. She's already barking at the door when she has to go poop, but we're still having a bit of trouble with her peeing inside. Every single time we take her outside she peeps right away though, so I guess we just have to shorten the distance in between taking her outside to go. We've been trying to do it hourly but with 3 kids it can be hard to keep track of. Well anyway, the first night we had her, she did poop inside, & I hear my husband say, "Oh looks like somebody had spaghetti for dinner. Why would they give you that?" Excuse him for not making the connection, lol. So I realized she had roundworm (after researching it online..this is my first time having a puppy), and the next day made an appointment with a vet. We took her to the vet (fleas didn't seem to be a problem, so I'm not sure if that was the real reason they gave her up before, but we put some frontline on her after bathing her), and they gave us the medicine for the roundworm. It's 4 doses, and they wrote the dates on the doses so we would know when to give her her next one. Then tonight I'm supossed to bathe her really good to get any kind of eggs off of her. I'm kind of nervous because my 6 year old knows to wash her hands immediately after touching CiCi, and to not eat afterwards, but my toddler is a thumbsucker so I'm very nervous that she could end up getting it. Not to mention I caught her the day before with her face in the food bowl "eating numnums with CiCi". Just out of curiosity I asked her vet if he thought she could be a lab/shepperd mix like the guy had said. He said the lab looks the most dominant, but because of her brindle coloring she looked like she could be a pitmix to him, but its hard to say. He said he didn't really see shepperd. Although to me she looks just like a german shepperd puppy..I wish I had a camera so I could post a picture! He gave her a shot for distemperant, and he said that the way she's behaving he thinks she'll be a really gentle dog but to keep an eye on her. We're already in love with her so it doesnt' matter to us if she is a pitmix, other than we need to keep an eye on her temperant around the children. Does anyone else have a lab/pit mix? I looked at pictures online and she didn't really strike me as looking like any of them, so I'm wondering if maybe he just assumed since we had gotten her as someone was dropping her off at the hummane society, or because they're a problem in the area as being overbred? Also does anyone have any advice as far as the roundworm thing goes? I'm so nervous my little one will get it, so I've been a paranoid nut every since, driving my family crazy chasing after them with handsoap and lysol spray, lol.

firstly god bless for giving her a home and you are treating her for worms so all should be well just try to wash the little ones hands as often as possible I am sure that the little one wont get anything nasty from the puppy  and it wont be long untill cici is fully wormed however i wish you good luck with the puppy and enjoy her  have a very happy christmas and new year let us know how you are getting on with the puppy and some photos please 

Just because it's not a pit, doesn't mean that you don't have to do socialization and extreme supervision with the kids. Every rescue is a shepherd/lab mix. You didn't know that? They're all listed as one or both. People love the breeds and it draws you in. And the dog may change a bit after he's healthy. He could be bogged down with worms, etc.

Bless you fo adopting!  Please post photos when you get a chance. I wish you the very best with your pup.

I had a lab/GSD mix once, he was a wonderful dog. Congradulations!

Sign up for obedience classes as soon as possible, this will help to ensure that your new puppy will be socialized and that you will learn how to handle and train it.

It good that you too the pup to the vet. Puppy worms are very common especially with adoptions. If your kids get worms, the treatment is the same as the puppy's. Gross - yes, life and death - no. Do your best to watch over the little one and relax.

Merry Christmas.

 Your new dog sounds wonderful! Congratulaions, I'm sure he will be a darling. 

Though if he is brindle, I doubt he is Shep/Lab, that coloring would not occur in either of those breeds. He is probably Lab/something else? Would be cool to see a pic and try to guess. Whatever breed mix he is, Don and the others gave you good advice - take advantage of his puppyhood to socialize him to the hilt, expose him to as many novel environments and stimuli that you can think of, then some. Do take the time to go to puppy classes, then on to more advance obedience. The extra effort put in now will go a long way to ensure that you have a model canine citizen that is a joy to own. 

Im not sure why you would be concerned with her having "pit" in her, I have 2 rescue Am Staff/Pitties and they are the MOST tolerant of ANY dog I have EVER owned with my kids, they are almost 10, and 16 months, and one on the way. I NEVER leave my kids unattended with any of my dogs, no matter the breed. My neighbors labs will take your fingers off because they are unsocialized, and untrained, but mine will lick your face off :o)
I agree with Don, ANY dog needs socialization, obedience and training. Expecially with 3 kids, and having a puppy, your going to HAVE to find the time to work with her.. or its not going to work out. I also agree on the if the pup is full of worms, she may be more lethargic.. and her personality may change as she settels in, and relaxes, and feels better.. so keep that in mnd as well too.  
On the otherhand, congrats on your rescue, I hope with the time and dedication, she stays that member of the family!

Thanks everyone, and merry Christmas to everyone as well :) I'll be getting a new camera for Christmas (pretty sure...think I hinted enough, haha) so I'll be able to take pictures. Until then I've been having my mother-in-law take pictures on her camera so that I would be able to look back, because I'm sure she won't stay this little for long! Right now she's 10 pounds. I think she'd look a lot skinnier if her tummy wasn't bloated from the worms. She's doing so well though. She's had a few pee accidents in the house since, but for the most part will let us know if she has to go by whining at the door. I really didn't expect her to take housetraining so well! Wish my 2 year old would! When I was younger I had a Lhasa Apso mix (vet wasn't sure what else but I guessed long-haired dauchund, just by browsing pictures) that we adopted from the hummane society, and he was 4 years old when we got him and he just never was able to be housebroken, so we ended up having to give in and lay newspaper down..I think he was so used to being paper trained. He would actually hold it when we were outside and then go on the paper inside! So I'm excited that CiCi is doing so well. She's still being gentle as ever with the kids, but is starting to do the puppy nipping thing with their toes. It kind of freaks out my 2 year old so I taught her how to say "No" in the stern voice. When I've noticed her doing it I say "No" and that's usually enough to get her to stop, but the times she hasn't I took the vet's advice and put her in "time out" (we have an old baby octagon playgate, and you can change the shape & make it smaller, so it works perfect for a time out) and she calms down after that. She's so sweet though. She took really well to my husband. He left last night and she cried almost the whole time and fell asleep on his xbox controller..what does that tell you? lol. I'm not worried about the pit, as my husband had a pitbull when I first met him (she passed on) and when we had our first daughter she was very protective over her and always worried about her, but the only thing that worries me is that I know they can react to interactions differently (such as being hugged around the neck), but I guess that's with all dogs. When I had my Lhasa Apso, I adored him, but he wouldn't be good around children because he was very snappy (he had been abused and abandoned, and I think he used to get kicked a lot because he would attack your feet if you stepped too close to him) and had been through a lot, so with CiCi being so young it's the perfect time to train her around social settings. Thank you everyone for the advice! I will definitely check into training! After doing a little less Google searching and talking to more people I know that have had puppies with worms I'm a little less worried. I think the severe cases have probably been in untreated pets with unaware owners who didn't know what to look for. Thank you for helping putting my mind to ease! I even called my kids doctor to see if they knew what kind of things I should look for and they said it would be just like penn worm. I've been vacuuming and steam mopping daily and doing frequent hand washes so I'm sure we'll all be fine, and CiCi will be worm free in no time! :)

I'm back, and finally w/ a picture! lol.

Cute! Can we see one of her whole body? Might be able to give a better guess as to the mix... and a front angle of her cute face!