# URGENT ADVICE REQUIRED!!!



## Sunshine (Aug 20, 2004)

Hi everyone,

I have introduced myself before, letting you all know about my puppy Abby (who I pick up on Friday! YAY!!!), but I've just stressed myself out over something.








I had planned to call my puppy Abby (Kevanthe Abigail Windsor), but I never told the breeder that (my fault completely), and I have found out now that they have been calling her Pixie. Here's my dilemma... she will be 7 weeks old when I pick her up - is that cruel to change her name? I mean, if she recognises her name as Pixie at all, I don't want to confuse her by changing it. Would she be recognising it by then? The more I think about it, the more Pixie is sort of growing on me as a name (I would never have picked it out myself - but I'm sort of getting used to it). But if I do change her name, then everytime I call her, I'm scared that I'll be thinking "you aren't really Abby - you're Pixie". :wacko: 

So what do I do? The only name for Pixie I've come up with so far is Kevanthe Pixie Belle..... any other suggestions? Or should I stick with Kevanthe Abigail Windsor???


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## triste (Aug 30, 2004)

I think a name change is fine...especially this early in the game. If you feel a bit guilty about not using Pixie....how about just sticking it in the name you already have...Kevanthe Abigail Windsor.......so what about......wait that isn't working. I am sorry but Pixie just isn't a formal sounding name!







I honestly think if you keep calling the baby "Abby" over and over...(come here Abby, etc) she'll get the idea in no time. They are very young yet and learn quite quickly. If she doesn't respond to Abby and seems to respond to Pixie more...incorporate them together until she gets used to Abby. Such as..."My little Abby Pixie..." "Abby babe the Pixie" whatever...(ok so I tend to get a bit gushy when I talk to my little guy Oliver







). 

Personally I would just use Abby and stick with it ....she'll love you no matter what







and she'll forget about Pixie in no time ^_^


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## TikisMom (Jul 22, 2003)

She will catch on in no time.... think about all the animals at shelters who have had 2, 3 or more names, they learn their new name once they are in a loving home with lots of treats







.

I love the name Abby... stick with it and she will get it in no time. She is so young she will probably have it within a week of bringing her home!

Judi


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## Lissa (Aug 25, 2004)

I agree with Tiki's Mom. Rocco is a rescue and I'm his 3rd home. When I got him last year, his foster mom had already shortened the name his last home had given him from Skylar to Sky. He didn't answer to either name when I brought him home, so I tried a few names out when I would try to call him to me and he responded best to Morocco, which got shortened to 'Rocco within a day or so.

Good luck! Oh, and I LOVE the name Abby for your furbaby, its adorable!


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## doctorcathy (May 17, 2004)

its totally fine to change her name!







trust me.


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## LexiAndNikkisMom (Apr 13, 2004)

I agree with TikisMom. You should be fine changing the name. If you want you can use Pixie as a nickname. But your puppy with catch on quickly to a new name.


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## Maxismom (Mar 24, 2004)

I dont see a problem she is so young


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## pico's parent (Apr 5, 2004)

I'm sorry but I must say this.....7 weeks is waaaaay too young to be taking Abby away from her mother and siblings. I strongly urge you to discuss this with the breeder. I know of instances of puppies this young turning out just fine but the best breeders insist on keeping them 12 weeks. This is to your advantage, too. Some problems don't show up this early and the breeder may not want the responsibility when they do. I can imagine how much work it is taking care of a litter and maybe she's lazy and/or greedy.

I know how anxious you are to get her home but 4 more weeks will allow time for her mother to teach her socialization skills and to become sturdy enough without mother's milk to avoid the hypoglycemic incidents so common at the age Abby is now. (stick with what you want to call her....she's YOUR baby and she will be with you a long time)


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## Toby's Mom (May 7, 2004)




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## Caesar's Mommie (Apr 8, 2004)

It's not a problem at all. We got Caesar at 9.5 weeks, and the breeder had named him Doc originally. He had no problem adjusting to Caesar and learned his name pretty quick.


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## Sunshine (Aug 20, 2004)

> _Originally posted by Pico's Parent_@Sep 8 2004, 09:06 AM
> *I'm sorry but I must say this.....7 weeks is waaaaay too young to be taking Abby away from her mother and siblings.  I strongly urge you to discuss this with the breeder.  I know of instances of puppies this young turning out just fine but the best breeders insist on keeping them 12 weeks.  This is to your advantage, too.  Some problems don't show up this early and the breeder may not want the responsibility when they do.  I can imagine how much work it is taking care of a litter and maybe she's lazy and/or greedy.
> 
> I know how anxious you are to get her home but 4 more weeks will allow time for her mother to teach her socialization skills and to become sturdy enough without mother's milk to avoid the hypoglycemic incidents so common at the age Abby is now. (stick with what you want to call her....she's YOUR baby and she will be with you a long time)
> <div align="right">index.php?act=findpost&pid=8601*


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No, I do agree that it is young. And I agree, I would prefer for her to stay longer - but this is actually the longest I can leave her with Mum - I'm leaving it to the absolute last minute. As it turned out, the breeder has to go away for some weeks down in Sydney for family reasons (it's kind of an emergency). She isn't sure when she'll be back, so it would mean a relocation of the whole litter. With the family issues, I guess she would prefer to not have to bring along puppies. That makes her sound nasty - but she isn't, I swear. She has given me every way imaginable to contact her if there were to be ANY problems or questions. She has given me a lot of hints and tips etc and I have arranged regular vet visits (her first one is next weekend) on her advice to keep an eye on her. I've gotten a lot of advice and, provided I give her my undivided attention for the first few weeks and keep up with the regular vet visits (depending on how she goes, that might even be weekly), she should be okay. One of my friends got a pup (not a maltese, but a toy dog) at around 6 weeks old and she had lots of advice. It isn't ideal, I know, but I'll be doing the absolute best I can. My boss has even agreed that, if I think it necessary (which I probably will do anyway







) I can bring her to work until I'm satisfied she will be okay on her own.

Any ideas would be appreciated. 

I'm not sure about the name, I think it was just a "tag" name to identify her from the other pups, so I don't know how much they have called her it - I think I was just having a minor heart attack cos I'm so anxious!







but like you guys said, maybe it'll be fine just to change her name...


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## LexiAndNikkisMom (Apr 13, 2004)

It will be fine. Lexi knows her name but I have 4 or 5 other nicknames that she responds to also. These little guys are pretty smart and catch on very quickly.


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## Sunshine (Aug 20, 2004)

Thanks everyone. I feel a bit better now! Abby it is!!


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## joe (Jan 5, 2003)

I have to agree, when I got Sampson his name was chubby checkers (a little on the plump side  ) anyway, i bet it was within 2 weeks he was fully responding to Sampson


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## Brittany Lot (Jun 24, 2004)

At seven weeks she probably only has a very vague idea that she is being called Pixie...I wouldn't worry about it.
You mentioned that you might take her to work with you the first week or so? It is SO important to be with a baby that young...you can't just leave a seven week old alone at home. It's not completely ideal to have her at work but if it's all you can do (and I understand that getting time off work is often not any easy task







) then you need to take her with you.
Good luck


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## Brit'sMom (Aug 18, 2004)

I don't think your breeder is a bad 'un. It sounds like she is trying to cover all bases, but it really is better to not take a litter of pups all the way to Syndey. Im sure you will do fine!

Also when I researched for 6+ months trying to find a quality breeder, I saw a lot of breeders named their pups little basic tag namesn like Baby Girl, Princess ect.. Brit's name was Belle, her sister was Bella just little names so when you see pics you can difrentiate (totally sp?), especially for breeders that are out of state from where you are. I don't think these names are suppossed to be permenant, but something for the breeder to call the pup while she is socializing her! I mean she can't say "Hey you, come here and let me hug you", ya know?

JMO!


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## Toby's Mom (May 7, 2004)




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## Brinkley & Neyland's Mom (Jun 14, 2004)

> _Originally posted by Nichole_@Sep 8 2004, 06:50 PM
> *I agree.  I didn't realize that you made your post that you meant is was a "tag."  I absolutly agree that it is a necessity.  Sorry--didn't mean to be so harsh!
> 
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That is pretty funny Nichole.








On MO...I think that is where it was...yeah..pretty sure. Someone posted about the breeder putting red polish on the tip of the tail. Someone freaked out! Of course it was the breeder's way of telling them apart. Someone else said they painted the toenails different colors. I did like that better than the tail.


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## Sunshine (Aug 20, 2004)

All is well Nichole! No harm done!







I know you were only looking out for the well-being of my puppy!









In all honesty, I would never have agreed to take Abby if I thought the breeder was at all dodgy... she can't help what has happened with her family - and she is more than willing to give all the support and advice I need to help Abby settle in. I'm sure with everyone's help on this site, along with the vet and the breeder, I'll be able to look after her well! 

Yeah, she'll definitely be coming to work for at least the first week or two! I couldn't leave her by herself







!!! I am the only female at my work, so I have my own dressing room. For the first week I will keep her in with me in my office (with crate & toys etc), but after that I will probably set her up in that room (cos no-one else accesses it) to try to get her used to being alone - but being able to check up on her regularly. I have taken a four-day weekend to settle her a little. I would have rathered get a couple of weeks off work - but I am a "temp" worker, which means that I don't get paid for holidays - so I technically can take the time off - but I'm not in a financial position at the moment, having just moved house etc, to take unpaid leave... -_- 


Oh I just can't wait to get her







only about 20 hours to go!!! YAY!!!!


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## Toby's Mom (May 7, 2004)




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## Sunshine (Aug 20, 2004)

> _Originally posted by Nichole+Sep 8 2004, 11:15 PM-->
> 
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I remember that feeling--excitement and nerves all mixed into one. Just make sure you have everything you need before you bring her home. I know we forgot a few things when we brought Toby home and had to run out and get them.
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Yep! It's a strange feeling! I just CAN'T WAIT!!!! Now it's only 17 1/2 hours!!!





















I'm getting the baby gate today, and then I'm pretty sure that's it then!! I've been buying stuff over the last 6 weeks or so!!!


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## Elegant (Jul 17, 2004)

Definitely...you can change the name!  

~Elegant


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## Snertsmom (Jul 18, 2004)

Hey, You and ABBY will be just fine. You sound like you have the 'new mommy jitters'. 

When we raised Chow dogs we use to give them 'tag' names just so the kids would know which dog we were talking about. I seriously doubt that the puppies even knew they had a name. It's not a big deal to change it. 

I really like the name Abby and am looking forward to seeing her picture.

keep us updated on her progress. 
Good Luck


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## Brit'sMom (Aug 18, 2004)

> _Originally posted by Nichole_@Sep 8 2004, 06:50 PM
> *I agree.  I didn't realize that you made your post that you meant is was a "tag."  I absolutly agree that it is a necessity.  Sorry--didn't mean to be so harsh!
> 
> 
> ...


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LOL! That would be hilarious! We all know Nichole looks out for everyone's babies!









I can't wait to see pics! I love puppies!

Oh and about the red nail polish on the tail... its not mean but its kinda.... well, Im just going to say it... DUMB! LOL You are going to either have to cut it off, or use polish remover which will try out the hair and skin and probably not even work. Why not just paint the toenail or put different little tee shirts on them or something normal and reversable.... LOL at that particular breeder!


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