Warning: Puppy on the Loose!

This is an excerpt from Chapter 1 of Puppies chew shoes, don't they?

 

Your puppy arrived five minutes ago. You plunked the little darling in the middle of the floor for all to adore and ... he peed. You admire the fact that his plumbing works. He turns, snags your pant leg (it was the closest thing to him) and pulls. You screech, laugh, and disengage puppy from your clothing.

Fast forward a few weeks and Cute Adorable Puppy has used your entire house as a toilet, pooping and peeing wherever he chooses. He has destroyed two books, a shoe, the remote, your favorite Rolling Stones CD, most of a pillow, three rolls of toilet paper, and is working on gnawing through the legs of your dining room table. Do you have a bad puppy? A stupid puppy? A normal puppy? 

Answers: No. Probably not. Yes.

So what’s up with all this? To start with, your puppy:

• Came to this unfamiliar place – your home – without his mom or siblings and he’s adjusting
• Doesn’t know what “go potty” means (language again)
• Has no idea what language you’re speaking (think English-speaking American in Moscow, trying to understand Russian)
• Hasn’t a clue what a collar and leash are, much less why he’s forced to wear them
• Sleeps, plays, poops, pees, eats ... and then does it all over again
• Is a baby, so cut him some slack

# # #

Time to rewind the tape. Your new puppy will arrive in a week. What should a responsible pet parent do to prepare? 

Puppy-proof your house. Get on your hands and knees to look at your house from a puppy’s perspective. Even if you tether your puppy to you and properly crate train him, sometime in his youth he will escape your watchful eye and destroy something you are fond of – if it is within his reach. Starting now, make sure “it” isn’t within his reach.

Since you have been warned, when your puppy rips apart a pair of $100 shoes, here’s what you do: roll up a newspaper and smack yourself upside the head. It’s YOUR fault, not his! Why? Because Rule #3 is: "If it fits in his mouth and he can reach it, it will go in his mouth". And there are teeth in there. Sharp ones that can destroy an amazing array of your things. So the answer to the question “Puppies chew shoes, don’t they?” is ... absolutely! In addition to shoes, puppies will happily chew:

• Computer cables and electric cords
• Articles of clothing (dirty laundry is a puppy favorite)
• Sporting equipment
• Children’s toys
• Books, magazines, newspapers, DVDs, CDs, homework
• Fingers, arms, toes, legs
• Other family pets
• Pant legs and chair legs
• Remote controls
• iPhones, iPods, & other iStuff
• Eye glasses
• Leashes and collars
• Contents of litter boxes (dog candy)
• Food of any kind – dog, cat, bird, gerbil, fish, human
• Plants (warning: some houseplants are toxic to dogs)
• Anything at puppy nose level

What to do to prevent total destruction of your worldly possessions? 

For starters, there should be a gate at every stairway. Google “baby gates” to find gates that will work in your home. Next, choose a room where puppy is allowed (kitchens often work well) and close doors to all other rooms. Use baby gates to block access to areas without a door.

Puppy should have limited access to your home until he is old enough to exhibit self-control. How old is that? For some puppies it will be around six months – when teething is finished. For others it will be sometime in young adulthood. For still others, the day may never come. Know your puppy. If you try allowing him to roam your downstairs alone when he’s seven months old and he destroys something ... you have acted too soon. 

Oh, and all trash cans should be out of reach. Raiding them is self-rewarding for a puppy and once he has experienced trash can delights, it’s challenging to get him to stop.

Outdoors. If you have a pool, make sure the puppy cannot get in it without supervision. Introduce puppy to your pool carefully, showing him how to get out, as well as how to get in. Those stairs are obvious to you but not to your puppy. Puppies have no depth perception, which is why one will occasionally try to walk on water. This can result in a very surprised puppy when he is suddenly under water. It can also result in a scared puppy who may never go near water of any kind again (think beach vacation). So ease him into the pool supporting his chest and belly. A floating long line attached to his collar will insure his safety. Swimming is one of the best ways to exercise your puppy, so make his first pool experience a happy one.

Yards are full of things puppies like to investigate. Make sure anything poisonous (fertilizer, antifreeze, etc.) is out of reach. If your yard is fenced in, make sure there are no spaces a puppy can squeeze through. Put the gardening tools away. Their handles make wonderful chew toys. Understand that if you have a yard, your new pal may dig holes, bed down in the flowers, chew the corners off of your deck steps, and bark at everything from butterflies to falling leaves. He may eat dirt and rocks and parts of trees. He is, after all, a puppy. 

# #  #

The bell on the door

Potty training your puppy is a challenge. Clear communication between you and him will make the process easier. If you teach your puppy to ring a bell attached to a door, he can tell you every time he needs to go out. Here are the steps:

1. Take your puppy out the same door every time you take him outside for a potty break. Within a couple of days, he will know that when that particular door opens, he gets to go outside - which most puppies love to do. Most likely he will start gravitating toward that door when he has to go potty.
2. Get a bell. It doesn't have to be anything fancy, only something loud enough for you to hear throughout your house. And don't make it so big your puppy can't easily set it ringing with paw or nose.
3. Hang the bell on the "go outside" door knob at puppy-nose-height. Or hang it on a hook on the wall or even from the ceiling. The only thing that matters is that your puppy can see the bell as he approaches the door and can ring it with paw or nose without jumping.
4. When you get ready to take your puppy outside for a potty break, put on his leash, approach the door, and jingle the bell(s). Your puppy, being the curious sort, will most likely touch the bell with his nose. If he does (even if it doesn't ring), open the door and your happiest voice, with a spring in your step, take puppy with you, telling him he is brilliant for ringing the bell. In most cases, the only reward he will need is being outside with his person.
5. Repeat until your puppy rings the bell on his own.
   
   
   

    

   
   

   This "cow bell" (above) is a bell worn by hunting dogs on their collars and works well as an inexpensive "bell on the door". Attach with twine.

   
   

   

   And then there are the designer versions - lots of options available online. 

   
   

   # # #

Protect those puppy paws

The pads on your puppy’s paws are tender. Musher’s Secret or dog booties will protect those pads on hot sand or pavement during summer, as well as the extreme cold in the winter.

Winter warning: Products that can clear a sidewalk of ice can be toxic to your puppy. And since puppies lick their pads to clean them, wipe those paws thoroughly after a walk outside on the sidewalk, street or parking lot. Use pet, child, and environment friendly ice melt around your home.

# # #

Crates

There are many different kinds of dog crates. The two most popular in the U.S. are the wire crate and the molded plastic crate. If you want to buy only one crate that will work from puppyhood to adulthood, get a wire crate made for the approximate size your puppy will be when he grows up. Get one with a divider and at least two doors, one on the end and one on the side. Adjust the divider forward in the crate to allow puppy only enough room to stand up, turn around, and lay down. Too much room and he may use one end of the crate as bedroom, the other as a bathroom.

Molded plastic and soft crates can be good for travel. Wait for that soft crate until your puppy is complete crate trained. Otherwise he will likely eat or claw his way out. There are even wooden covers for crates that make them look like a piece of furniture. Google "dog crates" and you will find much to choose from. Ian Dunbar, the famous trainer/behaviorist, crate trains using Kongs. Get a free download of his book, Before You Get Your Puppy and After You Get Your Puppy online at Dog Star Daily. 

TIP: Google "pet products consignment store" with your city and state. If there is one of these near you, savings can be significant and anything your puppy no longer needs can be resold. 

 WARNING: Always remove puppy’s leash and collar before crating to prevent choking.

Above is an example of a wire crate with two doors.

 

Introduce puppy to everything!

Your puppy needs to be socialized with all kinds of people early on. He also needs to experience the world outside his own home so that larger world does not frighten him. Here's a checklist to get you started.

Harnesses

Sometimes it's all about the gear. One of the best solutions for puppies who pull is a front-connecting body harness. A couple of good ones are the Halti and the Sensation.

The key to success with both of these harnesses is that the leash is attached to a ring on the chest. Why is that important? Because it's the puppy's center of gravity. Uses? These harnesses are great for small people with big dogs, dogs with neck injuries, and dogs for whom nothing else works (including head collars).

A body harness does not replace a well trained puppy. If you do not have a positive dog trainer in your life, find one in your geographic area through the Association of Pet Dog Trainers.

Google "dog harnesses" or pick one up at the nearest pet store.

Do you have a story about your puppy and his harness? A picture of him wearing one? Send it along so we can share it with our readers. Woof!

Martingale Collars

The day that I saw a frightened German shepherd back out of her collar in a pet store, run at full speed to the front of the store, and fly out through the automatic doors straight into a busy parking lot - that was the day I started recommending martingale collars.

A martingale is comfortable for your puppy while keeping him secure on leash. It is made with two loops. The large loop goes over your puppy's head and onto his neck. Then the puppy's leash attaches to the ring on the small loop. When the martingale is fitted properly, your puppy will not be able to back out of it. The tension on the leash pulls the small loop tight, which makes the large loop smaller and tighter (but not too tight) on the neck. The following image shows how the two loops on a martingale collar work.

For a standard buckle collar to be tight enough so it can't slip over a puppy's  ears, it may well have to be uncomfortably tight on puppy 's neck. The martingale collar allows your puppy to wear a collar that is only tight when it needs to be.

Should you leave a martingale collar on  your puppy all the time? No. All collars can be potentially dangerous because of the risk of the puppy getting hung up on something and choking. Plus, puppies have been known to chew a martingale off. I recommend a break-away buckle collar your puppy at all times except when he is crated or kenneled. When the leash comes out, the martingale goes on. In fact, my dog's martingale stays attached to his leash all the time.

May all your outings with your puppy be fun and safe!

 Google "martingale collars" or pick one up at the nearest pet store.

Do you have a story about your puppy and his martingale collar? A picture of him wearing one? Send it along so we can share it with our readers. Woof!

Baby gates

Baby gates are a great way to keep your puppy from wandering all over your home - when he's too young to do it safely. They are great to block access to stairs, kids' playrooms, rooms within open floor plans, etc. There are all kinds of gates in a wide range of prices. They can be spring loaded, mountable or free standing, made of wood, metal or plastic.

Read more about puppy safety in Puppies chew shoes, don't they?

  Google "baby gates" for lots of options.

Break-Away Collars

Rather than a standard buckle collar, start your puppy off with a break-away buckle collar. Choking and strangulation are very real concern for puppy parents. Puppy playtime can turn into tragedy if a puppy's regular collar gets caught on something like:

• steps, gates, fences, and decks
• shrubbery
• kennels and crates
• air conditioning/heating units, vents
• another dog's jaw (they wrestle and play and one dog's jaw gets caught in the other dog's collar)

The beauty of the break-away collar is that the buckle releases when pressure is applied. Used properly it does double duty as a collar you can attach puppy's leash to. Here's an example: the KeepSafe.

Think this can't happen to your dog? Listen to this episode of Bark Radio called "Not Ready for the Rainbow Bridge."

Do you have a story about a puppy and his break-away collar. Send it along so we can share it with our readers. Woof!

Ho, Ho, Ho ... Scary Christmas?

Your holidays may include a picture-taking event for your puppy or dog - perhaps one that includes the guy in the red suit. If this is something new to your dog, watch his body language. If upon seeing Santa your dog starts backing up or barking or tries to run away, he may be afraid. Don't force him to have his picture taken with someone who scares him. Cut him some slack. Take him to the park instead. 

And consider this: rather than paying for a portrait with Santa, give generously to a local doggy rescue group. Santa will be pleased.

Exercise Pens

If you are reading Puppies chew shoes, don't they? for Kindle, this post goes with Chapter 2.

Exercise pens are a good way to contain your puppy. They come in lots of sizes, heights, and materials. Some you can use outside: you garden, puppy plays safely in his exercise pen. Make sure you get a size appropriate to your dog's breed. Google "exercise pens" for a big selection.

Here are three examples.

Wire.

Plastic.

 

Soft-sided.

 Woofs 'n wags!

Kindle edition coming soon!

Puppies chew shoes is a great gift for anyone getting a puppy. Soon it will be available through Amazon and readable on your iPad, Kindle, or iPhone.

Choosing a veterinarian

If you are reading Puppies chew shoes, don't they? on a Kindle, this post goes with Chapter 1.

Many dog owners know only one dog professional ... their vet. Make certain that you trust yours enough to put your puppy's life in her hands. To help choose the right vet for you and your puppy:

1. Look into an accredited American Animal Hospital Association (AAHA) vet clinic near you. I recommend AAHA vets because as a service dog trainer, I have accompanied families nationwide on that first puppy wellness visit. Across the board, AAHA accredited vets were consistent in their knowledge of veterinary medicine and offered appropriate recommendations for socialization, toys, training, etc. Because they have to follow standards set down by the accrediting agency, the vets seem to be those who continue their education and are, therefore, up on the latest best practices.
2. Consider an integrative/holistic vet. Learn all about this approach to keeping your dog healthy for life at the Veterinary Institute of Integrative Medicine. 
3. For complex medical issues or for a second opinion, know where to find local veterinary specialists. Start with the AVMA American Board of Veterinary Specialists.

When you take your puppy the first time, make sure your puppy is comfortable with your vet. Personally, I also want friendly, helpful people at the front desk and I want to be able to call my vet with questions and not be put off.

To better understand your dog's health issues, the one of the best online resource for articles and videos is Dr. Karen Becker's Healthy Pets website.

Keep that smile on your puppy's face with good health for life!

The Fabulous Furminator

Note: If you are reading Puppies chew shoes, don't they? on a Kindle, this post goes with Chapter 1.

Lots of Labrador retrievers live at my house. They have double coats. They shed. Year 'round. The only grooming tool I need for my furry beasts is the Furminator. The company calls it a de-shedding tool. I call it amazing.

Tricky Treat Ball

Puppies tend to be underfoot all the time. It's what they do. And when they're bored, they get in trouble. When they've spent a good bit of time in a crate while their humans are away, it's even worse. Out of the crate, outside for a potty break, back inside to run and play with their people. But wait. Their people have had a long hard afternoon at work and really need to put their feet up or start dinner or sort the mail. At this particular moment, playing with puppy is not on the top of the to-do list. One solution is to provide puppy with something to occupy him.  Something that will be interesting enough to keep him busy, at least for a little. Something that does not require a human to be attached to it.

There are a variety of toys that hold treats or dry dog food. Try different kinds. Find your puppy's favorite.

Puppy Nail Trims

Keeping puppy's nails trimmed is key to keeping you and your family from getting scratched by those sharp puppy toe nails. This is a great video explaining the importance of getting your puppy comfortable with having his paws and toes touched, how not to hurt puppy by cutting into the quick, and even how to desensitize a pup who is already fearful of nail trims.

Microchip Migration

Should your puppy and you get separated, the idea of permanent identification implanted just under his skin around the shoulder blades is reassuring. You bring your puppy home with his microchip number. You are his registered human to be contacted in case of emergency. Everything is as it should be.

And then the unthinkable happens. Your puppy gets away from you. He is lost. You are comforted because he has a microchip. Someone finds your puppy and turns him into the animal shelter, where he is scanned. But they find no microchip. You never see your puppy again.

Microchips are tiny and can migrate in a puppy's body. To anywhere. When a puppy shows up at a rescue or a dog pound or a shelter, the person doing the scanning may not scan everywhere on the puppy. They may simply scan down the puppy's back, where the microchip should be. Or, as happened with a client on vacation, the pup can be scanned almost everywhere. In this case she was not scanned under her armpit, which was where the microchip was found much later by her veterinarian. The puppy was reunited with her family because of phone calls to the right agency in a small town, not because she was microchipped.

So... be prepared.

• Have your veterinarian scan your puppy's microchip on puppy's first visit to confirm that the microchip number matches your microchip paperwork.
• Have your veterinarian re-scan your pup every year during his annual checkup to make sure it is still where it belongs.
• Always include an I.D. tag on your pup's collar. 

One last thing: If you move and/or change your home number, contact the microchip company with your new contact info.

Your pup's first aid kit

Bag balm is like a medicated band-aid for your pup's cuts, scratches, and paw abrasions. Years ago, two of my female Labs had a bit of a disagreement and one of them ended up with a cut on her ear. That's when I learned how much dog's ears bleed. Every time she shook her head, blood flew everywhere - from a very small puncture wound. I went in the house, grabbed the Bag Balm, and slathered the cut with it. It stopped the bleeding immediately and kept the small wound clean. There was no need for a vet visit. No need for stitches. They even make small tins of the stuff for traveling. Definitely include it in your pup's first aid kit.

Editorial assistant

We're almost there, Murphy. Soon there will be less writing and more walking in the woods!

The amazing, incredible Kong

Kongs are the best interactive toys ever. Get the Kong shaped like a snowman. Start with a red one that is appropriate for your puppy’s size. The pink or blue ones made specifically for puppies will last a large breed puppy about five minutes. Black Kongs are for puppies/dogs who can destroy anything, anytime, anywhere (this is the definition of a heavy chewer).

Here is my favorite Kong-stuffing recipe:

In a container with a lid, pour a cup or more of dry food. Cover it with water. Put the lid on and put it into the refrigerator. Wait until the food has absorbed the water (you now have moist food about the consistency of turkey stuffing). Too wet? Add more dry food. Too dry? Add more water.

In the bottom of the Kong (where the little hole is), drop something really smelly and tasty like a dried liver treat. Your dog will be able to smell everything you put in the Kong so make it enticing.

Start stuffing the Kong tight with the moist food. Stop about mid-way and put something yummy in there like a drizzle of honey, a bit of tuna, or small pieces of apple. Fill the rest of Kong with moist food and cover the big hole with peanut butter or yogurt. Most important of all: freeze the Kong. This is terrific for teething pups — the frozen Kong feels great on their teeth and gums.

Stuffed Kongs are also good for when company comes. They can keep puppy busy while you are visiting with your guests. A stuff Kong can also help ease the anxiety of your leaving the house. Going out for the day? The very last thing you do is give puppy a yummy smelling frozen Kong.

Basics: Watch Me

"Watch me" is eye contact between puppy and you. It teaches puppy to look to you for guidance. Warning: if your puppy looks at you and you ignore him, he will stop trying. He will do what he chooses rather than what you prefer.

Teaching it. Start with the name game. When your puppy is looking away from you, say his name. If he turns and looks in your eyes, reward and praise. Repeat, this time saying your puppy’s name, then “watch me”. When eye contact is made, treat and praise. Increase the time your puppy looks at you by withholding the treat for a few seconds. Practice every time you want your puppy’s attention.

Testing it. Turn your back to your puppy, say his name and "watch me". He's got it if he moves in front of you and makes eye contact.

When? Start teaching "watch me" no later than the second week puppy is in your home. Spend the first week on potty and crate training and getting acquainted.

Prefer using your pup's name like "watch me". Do it. The important thing is focus through eye contact, not what you call it.

Zero to 8 minutes at breakfast

A training story from Puppies chew shoes, don't they?

Puppy: Lilly.
Breed: Lab.
Age: 6 months
Scenario: 3-week board and train

Lilly had very little self-control – pretty standard in pups. Fortunately, she was food driven. And after a good night’s sleep, she was hungry. Perfect time to train.

Lilly had a terrific sit/stay but a sloppy down/stay. This first morning of “board and train” she earned her entire breakfast as we worked on her down/stay.

Since tracking training results is extremely important, I pulled out the stopwatch. I put Lilly’s dog food in her dish but made it inaccessible to her. She could see and smell it but couldn’t get to it. Next, I needed a baseline. I learned she could not down/stay for 30 seconds, so I backed it up to 20 seconds. It took many false starts until she understood that a piece or two of dog food would be delivered by me, by hand, only when she maintained the down/stay. Initially she popped up into a sit as I approached with kibble in hand. Each time she did, I put her back in the down/stay and started over.

Finally, we got our 20 seconds. Then we got 2 minutes. Then 3 minutes 43 seconds. And the last down/stay that first morning, from which I released her for a potty break: 8 minutes 13 seconds.
While the above scenario played out, my two adult Labs were in down/stays about six feet from Lilly. As we worked on the stay, I walked around the living room and toward the end, out of sight into the kitchen. Other dogs and my movement were intentional distractions. More distractions would be added as Lilly got better and better at her down/stay.

That's Lilly in the photo practicing under, down/stay, and watch me during training out in the world.

Tips from Grover. UTIs in puppies.

Tips from Grover appear throughout the new edition of Puppies chew shoes, don't they? Who is Grover and what makes him qualified as a tip giver? That's him. The one with the permanent "Seriously?" expression. And those ears.

 

Grover's qualifications as a tip giver stem from his time spent being a puppy. He remembers it well. For example, he remembers that UTI he had when he was just a few months old. 

Yup. Even boy puppies can get urinary tract infections, although they are more common in girl puppies. What to look for? Here's the most common scenario. Potty training has been going pretty well. Your puppy manages to pee and poop 95% of the time outside rather than inside. But then, over a period of days, you realize your puppy is peeing in the house. What the heck? You either think "what am I doing wrong" or "what's wrong with this puppy ... is he just being a brat?"

Light bulb moment. If your puppy's peeing routine changes, call your vet. If frequency of urination increases, call your vet. Tell her what's going on. She will probably suggest that you get your puppy into her office and ask you to bring a urine sample with you. And that, puppy parent, is a whole other experience.

Here's a good internet article with lots more detail.

2012 edition coming soon!

Editing. Writing new stuff. Yup, the furkids and I are hard at revising 2010's Puppies chew shoes, don't they? It promises to be fun and helpful for you and a big old relief to your puppy, when he gets that you understand him.

If I don't sleep it will be ready for prime time in a week. If I DO sleep, it should be ready by the middle of October. Don't know which way that will go ...

Here's a sample from the book:

Pulling opportunities. So, your puppy pulls on the leash when you take him out to potty, does he? Here’s what to do: put his leash on, pick him up and carry him outside, put him on the ground, let him sniff and squat but ... don’t you move. If you stand still he can’t pull you. When he is finished doing his business, tell him what a brilliant boy he is to potty outside, pick him up and carry him inside. The moral to this story: don’t take your puppy anywhere on leash before you teach him to walk politely on leash.

Here's how it looks when you get it right. Check out that loose leash. Links, training tips, videos ... all kinds of good stuff coming soon. Follow us, think happy puppy thoughts, and stay tuned!

Woofs 'n Wags!
Dee & The Furkids