Bringing a New Puppy Home

You got your new puppy almost a week ago. Since then, the little angel has eaten your favorite shoes, two of your favorite novels, gnawed the trim around every doorway, chewed through the power cord of your computer and this morning he found boxes and boxes of kleenex in your bathroom… what a mess! This is getting really expensive and it’s starting to get very dangerous for the puppy also. Maybe you should do something.

What do you do?

You need to understand that chewing is a normal and healthy part of any pup’s development, but they should know what to chew, right? Puppies are like human children, they learn about their world through chewing. They use their senses to explore the new world, and their tactile sense and sense of taste is brought into play as they chew on various objects.

Like human children, pups need our protection from the dangers of the dangers that lurk in their explorations.
Everything from needles, electrical cords, houseplants and household chemicals, to chocolate and raisins, all pose very real threats to your pet. It is your duty to protect her from these threats.

You have to be very consistent training him with the “NO” command. You puppy should learn and respond to the word “No” instantly. This one word has saved many dogs from horrible fates. The puppy is trained by using the “NO” command every time a situation occurs. If you catch your pet chewing on your shoes, say “NO” in a serious tone, not screaming, not angry, and take the item from him or her. Don’t let it become a tug-o-war. Just remove the item quickly and give him a suitable toy. Also, try not to chase him when he has the object in his mouth or he’ll think it’s a game.

When I bring a puppy home, I like to use one of my unwashed pillow cases, and put a lot of different toys with different textures (hard plastic, cloth, soft plastic, rubber, etc.) in it. Then I choose one toy of each textures, and those are his toys for the day. That way he doesn’t get bored, and since the toys have my scent, it helps the bonding process as well.

Another thing I do is buy marrow bones and boil them just a few minutes just enough to get the marrow out. Then I wrap them in foil and freeze them. This serves two purposes: one, it keeps him entertained and happy for hours, specially if I give it to him just before I leave. And two, the frozen bone alleviates the pain of his growing teeth, so he’ll be grateful. Just be careful never to boil the bones more than 4 or 5 minutes, and never give him any other kind of bone!  You can give him raw-hide bones, but not too many, just once in a while. Pieces of ice are also a good idea. My dogs have always loved to chew on those!

With these simple suggestions, you can insure your puppy’s good health and the well being of many, many shoes.

Control Your Dog’s Excited Urination

Who has not come across a dog that pees on cue as soon as you approach him or her to greet them?  This is what is called submissive or excited urination

What is submissive or excited urination and why does it happen?

A submissive urinator is a dog that cannot help urinating in situations of extreme excitement or stress – he’ll go on the floor, on himself on you, on your furniture or on your guests!

Puppies are a perfect example of submissive urinators. They’ll pee whenever they’re excited to see you or when they meet a stranger. But sometimes very timid or sensitive adult dogs can have the problem too. It’s very typical of a dog that has been abused to exhibit this behavior.

This problem can happen in many situations:

-When they meet you after a prolonged absence
-When they’re playing
-When your guests arrive
-When there’s a stressful situation at home
-When you scold him or correct him
-Loud noises like a thunderstorm or fireworks

But don’t despair. It is really not difficult to fix this problem of submissive/excited urination.

First of all, take him to the veterinarian to make sure there’s no medical reason for the issue. Diabetes or a bladder infection can have the same effect.

Then you can follow some simple steps:

-Limit his intake of water. This doesn’t mean that you should restrict his water intake, but if, for example, you are expecting guests, or you will soon have a play session, take his water bowl away for a little while before the event happens.

-Don’t make your coming home a big event. When you come in the door, ignore him, go about your business and don’t get him worked up. The more excited he is, the harder it will be for him to control his bladder. I know I have a hard time not saying a warm hello to my baby, but you can always ignore him for the first few seconds and then crouch down and greet him calmly.

-Keep in mind the importance of NOT punishing or yelling at your dog when he has his “accident”. Remember he cannot control it and above all, he’s not doing it on purpose. When you catch him in the act, interrupt him with a firm “No!”, and praise him when he stops, but never punish him. Keep calm and be understanding: he doesn’t mean to do it.

-When he urinates out of fear (submissiveness) when you are scolding him for another reason, try to maintain an authoritative and firm tone, but don’t get angry. Keep in mind that in all probability, you are dealing with a sensitive, highly-strung dog, so, if you get angry or worry him further, the problem will definitely get worse.

-When the problem happens with loud noises like fireworks, if you show a reaction yourself and pet him for being scared, you will only be rewarding the behavior and training him to repeat it, and you don’t want that. You can try and make it a game. When you hear a loud bang, say, “what was that!” Make it a search game and give him a treat or a toy. You can also make no reaction whatsoever, or fuss or comfort him. Give him the down and stay commands, give him a treat and tell him he’s a good boy.

Always remember that when you have a dog, you must treat him with respect and understanding. Almost every “problem” has a solution, and with a little patience, you can do it without the need of expensive training. A few hours working on a problem, can give you many years of enjoyment with your best friend.

Life with dogs

For as long as she could remember, ancestry had been an important part of her life. Her uncle Marcus had kept numerous records of their history. No small feat, considering he was all feet and no hands! Buried throughout the neighborhood were small mementos of their family tree. In their personal back yard, the oldest treasures were well hidden and guarded by her uncle and brother. In the farthest corner of the dog house lay the most prized possession – a bone and buffalo hide collar that had belonged to her great, great, great, great, well, you get the idea, her old grandfather. He was the oldest tame ancestor, and really tame was a relative term, tamer would be more accurate. You see, he was a defector from the wolf clan who had tired of the fighting and struck out on his own…

He would have starved to death if it were not for the kindness of a young cave boy. Love and commitment bloomed in the exchange of food; life would never be the same for man or beast. Equally important to uncle Johan was a silver collar worn by his… well old grandmother. Greeks had used the animals for guards during sieges upon the town and the sole survivor was rewarded with food for life and a beautiful collar. Imagine it, and before women’s rights no less.

She secretly thought he would wear the collar himself if the other males in the area wouldn’t make fun. For a few generations there were not many artifacts could be found, they call this time the hungry time. This was because the care once afforded the canine was in decline humans know this time as the dark ages.

They were unsure why this occurred her family simply knew that warm hearths and large meals were now gone and they were left to roam and survive anyway they could. Just the thought of it brought a whimper to her throat. From then forward, the trinkets would vary in size and even sophistication. Beautiful feed bowls from France to bone bowls and collars from the American Indians. Yes, her family had traveled from near and far, been held in high regard as well as cast aside but through it all they retained a love and devotion, always returning to his side as protector, helper and or friend. Today she was starting her own treasure trove of trinkets. Into her special place was the blue ribbon her mother had won for her superb physique, and the bandanna her father had worn in his photo shoots. Soon her cousin, a buff police dog, was going to give her his badge. Well, that is if he can get it off without his partner noticing.

As for her legacy and any artifact, she hoped to bury one day the picture of her and her human little girl. Looking out for her as she grew from a tiny hairless pink thing to the tall loving woman she was today was the high of her life. Soon she would be leaving with her to guard and comfort her human all the days of her life.

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