Help! New owner panicking!!!!

[Irish Stafford]

Hi all, I've got a 7 1/2 week old Irish Stafford, he's been really great so far, he sleeps a lot though! He's never refused food until this morning, he's just lying in his bed, looks asleep, his breathing is normal, put his food out but he's not interested.
I know I'm worrying unduly, but you know how it is with a new pup!
He has been sleeping a lot, then waking for a play for an hour or so, then back to sleep.
He also has had what seem to be hiccups? a couple of times in the last 2 days, is that what they are????
Any ideas anyone please?

Thanks all!

Aaron and Scooby!
P.S.
I live in the UK and it's 10 am here, not 1.49 am like it says on the posting!

[Leslie H]

Puppies do sleep a lot, especially when stressed or adjusting to a new situation. Is he drinking? A thermometer is always helpful, dog normal is about 101.5. If he is willing to play enthusiastically, I'd be less worried. If he is being lethargic throughout the day, or has a temp, see your vet, puppies can go downhill very quickly.

[Irish Stafford]

He's been having a bit of a play, and was his ususal self, it's obviously difficult to know what "normal" is for him, I've only had him since monday! He does seem a bit more awake as the day has gone on, a couple of things I've thought of are that it wasn't me who filled his bowl and put his food down today, as it has been every other time he's eaten since he arrived. I was having some well deserved sleep, he's waking and crying/yelping every 3 or 4 hours, but when either me or my girlfriend go down to him he goes to the toilet on newspaper straight away and plays for a little while then goes back into his bed and falls asleep again, I was absolutely worn out today so had a lie in, my g/f fed him and that's when he didn't eat it! I wonder..............

I'm off out to buy a small thermometer, I would imagine an adult one might hurt, he's still only little!!!!

Thanks for reading this and your replys so far.

Aaron and Scooby

[frenzy2223]

Hello,
I got my pup right before she turned 8 weeks old. I had the same worries as you do. For the first week all she did was sleep! She did eat her food in moderation for that first week and drink water. I called my vet and he said that this is normal for a pup that young. She seemed to perk up very quickly after that first week. She also had the hiccups and terrible nightmares! The nightmares are gone, but the hiccups continue but not as frequent. I would not worry about him unless he continues to not eat or becomes lethargic.

[SuperNova]

Nova was like that in the beginning too.. sleeping a lot and not eating very much--now she eats more and she plays more.. I think it took her a while to get used to the crate/play/eat schedule we have going on here.

[Fish]

Never heard of an Irish Stafford, what is that?

[Irish Stafford]

Hard to define, but I'll try.....

It's a variation on the standard SBT, here in the UK SBT's that are bred for show (Kennel Club) are noww a caricature of the dogs of old, they are short and wide with short muzzles and definitely are not suited to any sort of sporting purpose, ie. Weight pulling, springpole, or in fact any kind of physical activity.
So a new strain has evolved, these dogs are taller, leaner and are in general much fitter and more suited to activity.
For more information, try........

www.theisf.org.uk

Hope this helps, I also hope I got it right, remember I'm new to this!

[Fish]

Do you have a pic of a full grown dog you could post, would like to see, thanks for the info.