Archive for the ‘development’ Category
What to do for a dog that chews
This in from Ginger’s family (formerly known as Ani)…
The question:
Ginger (Ani) as a puppy
Ginger’s 7-mos old now, and is doing great — except for one thing.
I know all puppies love to chew, but lately — within the last few weeks, she’s taken to chewing a few odd things, like carpeting, rocks, etc. The carpeting really concerned me, because a few times, she has swallowed pieces. Including the backing. The next morning she would throw it up. (which I’m glad of) the pieces are up to a couple of inches long. But I still fear that pieces can get lodged in her intestines, and cause serious blockage.
I’ve more or less given up on rawhides, because she demolishes them fairly quickly — when they would get to be a few inches long, she would swallow them. (which I don’t think is good either). The rope type toys she chews up and swallows the little pieces of rope.
Do you have any suggestions on what I can give her that will satisfy her chewing desires, yet would be safe if she swallows it???
I haven’t tried one of those huge fat rawhides yet — I was thinking that might be my next option — but thought maybe you could offer some better suggestions.
Hope you had a good summer — can’t believe it’s almost September…
I’d appreciate any advice you can give me….
Take care,
P -
The answer:
Hi P-!
Yes chewing is a big deal for some pups…remember I sort of said that she was kind of mouthy? I think I did but whatever the case, she is needing to chew now. Here’s what I would suggest:
1) Make sure she is getting enough exercise. Often dogs who are really bored and antsy will chew like crazy and chew things that are “bad” for them. She should be getting two walks a day, one of them being a hour long, the second a half hour. That is the MINIMUM I would recommend. Yes it is a lot. Yes. And if you do it, you will see a decrease in her chewing. It is difficult to chew when you are asleep!
2) Make sure she is getting enough mental stimulation. Similar to #1 above, dogs will chew when bored. Even 15 minutes of training a day will suffice. Just run her through her paces each day.
3) Give her something really great to chew. I am a BIG fan of the real beef bones sold at the pet super stores. Make sure it is a beef bone (not lamb or pork) and make sure it is larger than her leg. The kinds with the “meat” sort of dried on it is my dogs favorite. You can also get them from a regular butcher. Just ask what they have and most will be able to meet your needs. You can just give them to her raw or simmer them until they’re cooked. Be aware though, the cooked ones will be more likely to splinter so make sure they are good and thick. The Petco ones are already smoked and ready to go. For about $10 dollars (for two from Amazon), they are the best chew toy we’ve ever gotten. We’ve got some that are over 5 years old that they still love to chew.
So, I would make sure to address all three items and you should be fine. You may also want to consider re-crating her while you are out of the house for the time being. You are right to be worried about her ingesting those sorts of things!
Thanks for the update and let me know how this works out.
-Kristin
Update from Boomer’s family
Boomer
Hi Kristin!
Here is a photo from last weekend of Boomer smiling on our bed! He smiles all the time, now. He is doing great and has reached a number of milestones! He has passed the six month age mark, the fifty pound mark and graduated in awesome fashion from his first round of puppy classes!! He is now on week four of “Puppy II” classes and doing fabulously! Everyone wants to know what breed this beautiful dog is! I say I don’t know. Everyone is fascinated and charmed with his big ears. : ) They look like Shepherd ears but I am guessing he also has some cattle dog somewhere in his genetic make up. Thank you for saving him and getting him to us. He is a treasure.
Best, Kathy
Kathy, thanks so much for the photo and update! I love his look!! He looks a lot like my dog Bella who we also think is some sort of Shepherd/Cattle dog mix. He is a lucky dude to have such dedicated pet owners. It makes me smile to see him so happy. Thanks for giving him such a great life!
-Kristin
Dogs teaching dogs
Otis likes the treadmill
We’ve had a busy week – Otis visited us for a week and overlapped with Teddy who is still here and now Jackson has joined him! So many male dogs … but everyone has gotten along great.
Otis is a hard worker and while he was here he asked for treadmill work every night. He asked by running around the basement, pushing the heavy leather furniture around with his head and then jumping on the treadmill and looking at me longingly. Every night he’d run for a half an hour – at 7.0 mph. I can’t keep up that pace myself, but he did. And little Teddy, nearly 5 months old, watched him. So, Otie has left and I miss him. He is a sweet, simple, joyful and accepting spirit. And I think Teddy misses him too.
Teddy watching Otis on the treadmill
Tonight Teddy got on the treadmill all by himself. I ran to get his leash and some cheese and turned on the power. Ever so gingerly, Teddy started to walk, almost on tip toes. He did fantastic! It seemed to me that he had learned how not only to do it but to not be afraid of it from watching his buddy Otis! I was amazed.
A puppy with a biting problem
Most puppies are mouthy but they rarely bite to draw blood.
I’ve been working with a very sad case of a puppy who bites when frustrated. Ordinarily, that isn’t that unusual as all puppies need to learn (and therefore be taught) to tolerate frustration. They need to learn patience and self control much like people need to learn those skills. They are the foundation of what we consider “manners.” When young puppies are very frustrated, it is normal for them to bite. However, all puppies who are healthy and have been raised with their mama and littermates have a natural respect for those in charge. And they all learn something called “bite inhibition.” They learn to hold back from biting full strength, and to use a bite only as a last resort. Their mama teaches them by her reactions when they do bite too hard or too quickly – she swiftly puts them in their place, usually by a nip of her own and a hard growl. And as puppies play together they learn that a hard bite stops play and that a soft bite lets it continue. Through these daily interactions all puppies raised well learn this important social skill.
Puppies learning how to inhibit their bite so that play can continue.
Not this little puppy. At 2 months of age this puppy would bite hard enough to draw blood, whenever it was even a bit frustrated. By the time I saw him at 4 months of age, he was confident in his ability to boss people around and bit frequently and with very little provocation. He bit me three times before I even knew what had happened, and that isn’t a common occurrence for me! What is so sad is that this sort of behavior in a puppy so young is highly unusual – to the point of being considered abnormal. It suggests that something has gone very wrong in this puppy’s neurological development or upbringing. I suspect that a large piece of the puzzle is that this particular puppy, even though he is registered with the American Kennel Club, was purchased at a pet store. It is likely that he wasn’t a product of one of the notorious puppy mills, but he could have been. It is more likely that he was taken from his mama and littermates far too young – I’d guess at about 3 or 4 weeks. And his mama is likely mentally unstable herself. It is such a sad story. The family who owns him loves him dearly but the pup has bitten everyone, and there are young children who live in the home. It is my strong opinion that this dog should be rehomed, if there is a home who could work with him. But I strongly suspect that this pup will likely have to be euthanized.
So, please, I cannot stress this enough, please do not purchase puppies from pet stores. Adopt a homeless puppy from a shelter or a foster home (H.E.L.P. is a great resource!). If you must, use a reputable breeder. Make sure they insist on keeping their puppies until they are at least 8 weeks of age. Make sure they keep them in such a way so that they have frequent contact with their mama. And make sure that they are willing to (and interested in) making any problems like this one, right.
Chloe is thriving with her new family
Chloe at her Family Reunion 11/09
Second chances
I am happy that there are times in this life for a second chance. I have felt so worried about Chloe after the terrible mistake I made giving her to her first adoptive family. I felt so responsible for not following my gut, for not following H.E.L.P. procedure and interviewing absolutely everyone in the family, and for failing her in general. But seeing her at the first ever Chloe Family Reunion was like getting a pardon from the Universe.
Chloe looked fabulous. On the outside she was the happy, confident dog I remembered. Her coat looked good, better even than when she was with me. Her eyes shone. She held her ears and tail with interest and calmness. But the thing that mattered the most to me was what I saw in her in relation to her new family. She was clearly bonded to them.
But let me start at the beginning.
I saw her at first and nearly cried. She came out of the car so differently than she did the night she was returned to me. She was interested and approached me cautiously but directly. She sniffed, stepped back and then sniffed again. I believe she remembered me. When she got outside with her pups it was clear that she remembered my yard. She ran like she used to, circling the yard over and over again – tail high, tongue hanging out. She was completely happy though, not a frantic running, just a run for the pure joy of it. Then she greeted her pups, sniffing each on the nose. There was much wagging and nuzzling all around. Everyone commented on how they were certain the group remembered one another. At one point I even saw Chloe lie down on her back as her pups gathered round! Just like she used to when she was still nursing them! But that didn’t last long and she was up again racing around the yard, her pups in pursuit.
After a number of games of chase, numerous wrestling matches (everyone having fun, no aggression whatsoever!) and a few tug of war games, everyone dispersed to explore on their own. Chloe found a mud puddle and promptly lay down in it. Something she used to do while living with me. As the afternoon wore on each of the dogs’ energy was drained, and I noticed them going to their people and resting. Chloe did that too - joined her family, laying at her new mama’s feet and snoozed.
Correcting puppy and dog behavior
I have been training people to teach their dogs to be well mannered for a few years now. I have been teaching myself even longer. But it is always amazing how simple it is for a dog to teach another dog how to behave.
I have a puppy class I’m currently teaching at The Water Bowl. I brought Hermes tonight to show the class what they can shoot for, what is possible. Hermes is a great dog. Very self possessed but still funny and playful. Smart as a whip and very willing to work for me. He always makes me look good and when he bucks my authority it is usually either a helpful teaching moment or a message that I’m asking him to do something I shouldn’t be asking him to do. So, I brought him and as soon as the wiggly, overexcited, and uninhibited puppy, Abby, came in I knew we’d have a “teachable moment.” Abby is old enough to know better. Her family is tired of her antics. In a baby pup her behavior would be considered cute but she is big now and so it is just plain rude. We all are seeking ways to help her understand what parts of her behavior are unacceptable. Hermes did what her family has been trying to do for 2 months in less than 2 minutes. Abby understood him completely.
Update on puppy Rubi
This is from another of Willow’s crew – puppy Rubi’s family. Thank you so much for the update!! I love to hear how well she is doing…it seems that Willow’s pups are really smart!!
Sweet Rubi is getting so big. Her legs are growing and growing. People are shocked to find out how young she is because she’s so big. I make it a point to tell people that she’s a rescue. They’re shocked and tell me what a beautiful dog she it. Lets rescue more!!!
Rubi loves to go on walks and loves to play in the yard. She knows “sit”, “down” and “lets go” (instead of “come here”). She’s a really smart dog and we’re so proud of her.
She also loves her naps. She makes these grunting sounds when she lays down and goes to sleep. So cute. Oh, and those “puppy dog” eyes are to die for.
She does like to chew, chew, chew and eat whatever she can pick up. The bitter apple spray seems to be working mostly. Her 9-week vet visit went great and got a clean bill of health from the doctor. She’s still learning all the sounds and isn’t so sure about other dogs. We are working on that. She loves kids and still needs to learn that her teeth are sharp and they hurt.
She now sleeps through the night with no accidents and we hope this continues. She loves to eat and eats way to fast. We got this ball to put in her bowl and that has slowed her down about 20 seconds. We tried the bowl that has little compartments, but she figured out how to flip that over and spill the food all over. Any tips would be great for that. We’re really lucky to have such a well-behaved puppy and a quick learner. She’s our little cuddly lap dog…soon to be big lap dog.
I’ve attached a few pictures. There’s so many to choose from.
E- and D-
A little puppy Sugar
Here we have a note on puppy Sugar from Willow’s group…
Sugar is doing great, she plays real hard and then crashes for a couple hours. She has had a few accidents in the house and I don’t know if she knows how to let me know when she needs to go potty. I’ve been reading on your website about cleaning with the natures cure (actually the product is Natures Miracle …and it is!) and I will try that, because she definitely goes to the same spots where she went before. I have a silly question that maybe you can help with. She loves to go out for a walk on the leash but it takes us an hour just to go down one block because she stops and stiffs and trys to eat flowers, plants and other things she shouldn’t. How do we get her away form these things, I don’t want to pull her so I usually run a little to distract her, if you have any tips that would be great.
**************************
I am so happy things continue to go well! Yea!!
You know, some people have found that putting a bell or a small wind chime on the door for the dog to ring works…you teach them to ring it by making sure it is at “nose” level and then you ring it every time you take her out. Within about 2 weeks she will get the hang of it and ring it when she wants to go! Then you must always let her out when she rings, even if she was just out, just so she makes the connection. Then after a few weeks of that you can be sure she understands it. It is a pretty cool way to have your dog let you know she needs to potty without barking at you.
About the walking…puppies are like kids – they need to explore to understand their world. This exploration also helps their brains develop, so don’t be so quick to shut this down. Try to make some time for exploring and some time for walking. I find it a good idea to get out the door in a controlled fashion (dog at your side, not out in front of you) and keep that position for the first 10 minutes of the walk. Then give the command, “go sniff” and let her leash out to the full length so she can explore. Then after a few minutes of that tell her, “Let’s go, in close” and reel her in and start walking again for another 10 minutes, and then repeat. You will find that she gets the hang of those command words eventually. Like all training, it is all about the consistency and repetitions.
Let me know how this works out!
-Kristin
