By Fran Black Before bringing your new puppy home, select a veterinarian and set up an appointment for you new puppy to have a checkup. Your puppy will need to have regular checkups, and immunizations to protect him from common canine infections, so it is important that you establish a relationship with a veterinarian early on.
A new puppy is akin to having a new toddler. The puppy, while only an baby, the puppy has the ability to be mobile and access everything that he or she really shouldn't. New puppy owners should not let their new puppy out of their sight for too long of a period of time.
Puppies love to chew. Electric wires can mean instant death to puppies. If you are not using an electrical appliance, unplug it or put it up out of puppies reach. Pet repellent such as Bitter Apple, can be used as deterrent to prevent puppies from chewing on cords or other items that attract their interest. Ideally puppy owners should furnish chew toys or a hard rubber balls for the puppy to play with. Puppies are teething and have the need to chew, so give them an alternative to your favorite shoe. Any chew toys that are provided should be made especially for dogs or puppies. What is safe for a small child may or may not be safe for a puppy and vice versa.
A few of your common household plants, shrubs and trees can be very toxic to puppies. Make sure you remove any poisonous plants or place them in an area where the puppy will be unable to access them. Garbage cans are another potential source of danger. Most puppies like to root through the contents of the trash. A trash can contain a number of puppy hazards. Make sure the lids on trash cans are secured and that the puppy does not have access to any garbage. Additionally puppies should be restrained from any areas in the yard that are used for composting. Decomposing produce while great for gardens can be very harmful to a puppy if ingested. Be sure that any compost areas are cordoned off and are inaccessible to roving puppies.
Keep toilet lids closed, or better yet, keep your bathroom door closed. Some puppies love to get a hold of toilet paper and either shred it or run down the hall with it. A fun game, but not that much fun when you are tasked with clean up.
Don't forget, many puppies are good climbers and can get to many things you wouldn't think about, like a kitchen table when a chair is pulled out.
A child proof medication bottle is not necessarily puppy proof, their sharp teeth can crack the plastic, so make sure you do not leave any bottles or pills where a puppy can get to them.
Some puppies are capable of opening cabinet doors, especially those that are ajar. If you keep bleach, detergent or poisons in low cabinets either move them, or use a childproof lock to secure the cabinet.
Check your yard, fence and gate and make sure that your puppy can not escape. Be on the look out for loose dirt around the fence that might be an indication your puppy is trying to dig his way out.
Watch new puppies closely for elimination signals. A leash is a handy tool to keep your puppy nearby when you are preoccupied. Your puppy should not be considered house trained until he/she has gone for at least 6-8 weeks without eliminating in the house. Remember, house training takes time. If you need to leave your puppy alone during the day or for any extended period you need to crate train your dog.
Paying close attention to your puppy will ensure that he or she grows up to be a happy well adjusted puppy.
About the Author
Francesca Black works in marketing for Dog Pound http://www.dog-pound.net and Horse Stall http://www.horse-stall.net leading portals for pet management.
Showing posts with label Puppy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Puppy. Show all posts
Monday, November 14, 2011
House Breaking Your Puppy
By J. Kruczek The first necessary and often unrealized initiation into dog training is when a person or family decides to get a puppy in the house. Puppies are not only demanding in terms of craving affection and a play partner, behaviorily they can push the patience of the calmest people on the planet.
One of the most difficult things to break them of is the dreaded "accident", or unexpected going to the bathroom in the house, commonly referred to as House breaking. I recently purchased a male miniature Schnauzer, and he was leaving surprises all over the house. He being a very smart dog, seemed to be actually hiding them, behind whatever piece of furniture he thought would do the trick.
Fortunately, I've had many dogs up to this point, so I am accustomed as to how to approach such mishaps. First and foremost, it is helpful if you can have someone in the home all day (or as often as possible) for the first few weeks. Its difficult to expect a young dog or puppy to hold it's urine or movements for more than a few hours. After all, how would you feel if your were chained to your favorite recliner and not able to relieve yourself when the urge came. This provides an opportunity to familiarizing the puppy with going out and going to the bathroom, since one can let the dog out every hour or so.
Be sure to create "KEY Word" that the dog will recognize each time they are let outside. The obvious one that I use is "Outside!" everytime I let the puppy out. You will be amazed at how quickly they catch on to key words. My puppies grasped the outside keyword along with "upstairs" and "whose here". Each time I now excitedly yell "Outside!" the dogs come running.
Monitoring when the dog eats and how much it is drinking is also beneficial, since most dogs will have an urge to relieve themselves shortly after. Puppies will tend to eat and drink alot since their energy requirments are quite high, so visits outside should be often.
If you absolutely want a dog, and no one will be home for a large part of the day, see if a neighbor, family member or friend will help you out at first by letting the puppy outside at regular intervals. If this is not an option, you can corral a section of the home (laundry room, basement) and place paper on the floor to get the dog accustomed to only going on the paper. For shorter intervals, you can place the puppy in a crate or metal cage designed for keeping the dog's run of the house in check. It seems most dogs will not go to the bathroom in an area where they sleep or 'nest' and a crate offers this environment.
You will also want to take the dog outside on a leash when letting them relieve themselves to avoid the "running off" behavior that can occur if a rabbit or other animal is seen. Be sure to let them out in the same area every time so that they will begin to realize that this area is for going to the bathroom. This may sound funny, but they do indeed begin to realize the purpose of going outside to their special area is for relieving themselves.
Lastly, surviving throughout the night with a new puppy can be a daunting task for many. The best thing to do here is the crating method that was mentioned earlier in this article. Place a crate in or near the bedroom of the person or persons who will be responsible for reacting to the puppies yelps to be let out to go to the bathroom. As was mentioned earlier, they do not seem to want to urinate where the sleep or nest, so this is very effective for getting through the night. Be sure that you carry the pup, since letting him/her run the house with a full bladder or bowel is asking for trouble. I've made the mistakes and learned the hard way.
Having a dog can be a very rewarding experience. They are the most loyal pet and can be the most obedient if you take the time and caring required.
About the Author
Have been involved with raising dogs from the puppy stage since I was a young child. My family has had many dogs and I have been directly involved with training them from all aspects.
I have had no other pet that has brought greater enjoyment and consider all the time training them and helping them well spent. Other Articles
One of the most difficult things to break them of is the dreaded "accident", or unexpected going to the bathroom in the house, commonly referred to as House breaking. I recently purchased a male miniature Schnauzer, and he was leaving surprises all over the house. He being a very smart dog, seemed to be actually hiding them, behind whatever piece of furniture he thought would do the trick.
Fortunately, I've had many dogs up to this point, so I am accustomed as to how to approach such mishaps. First and foremost, it is helpful if you can have someone in the home all day (or as often as possible) for the first few weeks. Its difficult to expect a young dog or puppy to hold it's urine or movements for more than a few hours. After all, how would you feel if your were chained to your favorite recliner and not able to relieve yourself when the urge came. This provides an opportunity to familiarizing the puppy with going out and going to the bathroom, since one can let the dog out every hour or so.
Be sure to create "KEY Word" that the dog will recognize each time they are let outside. The obvious one that I use is "Outside!" everytime I let the puppy out. You will be amazed at how quickly they catch on to key words. My puppies grasped the outside keyword along with "upstairs" and "whose here". Each time I now excitedly yell "Outside!" the dogs come running.
Monitoring when the dog eats and how much it is drinking is also beneficial, since most dogs will have an urge to relieve themselves shortly after. Puppies will tend to eat and drink alot since their energy requirments are quite high, so visits outside should be often.
If you absolutely want a dog, and no one will be home for a large part of the day, see if a neighbor, family member or friend will help you out at first by letting the puppy outside at regular intervals. If this is not an option, you can corral a section of the home (laundry room, basement) and place paper on the floor to get the dog accustomed to only going on the paper. For shorter intervals, you can place the puppy in a crate or metal cage designed for keeping the dog's run of the house in check. It seems most dogs will not go to the bathroom in an area where they sleep or 'nest' and a crate offers this environment.
You will also want to take the dog outside on a leash when letting them relieve themselves to avoid the "running off" behavior that can occur if a rabbit or other animal is seen. Be sure to let them out in the same area every time so that they will begin to realize that this area is for going to the bathroom. This may sound funny, but they do indeed begin to realize the purpose of going outside to their special area is for relieving themselves.
Lastly, surviving throughout the night with a new puppy can be a daunting task for many. The best thing to do here is the crating method that was mentioned earlier in this article. Place a crate in or near the bedroom of the person or persons who will be responsible for reacting to the puppies yelps to be let out to go to the bathroom. As was mentioned earlier, they do not seem to want to urinate where the sleep or nest, so this is very effective for getting through the night. Be sure that you carry the pup, since letting him/her run the house with a full bladder or bowel is asking for trouble. I've made the mistakes and learned the hard way.
Having a dog can be a very rewarding experience. They are the most loyal pet and can be the most obedient if you take the time and caring required.
About the Author
Have been involved with raising dogs from the puppy stage since I was a young child. My family has had many dogs and I have been directly involved with training them from all aspects.
I have had no other pet that has brought greater enjoyment and consider all the time training them and helping them well spent. Other Articles
House Training Your Puppy
by Michael A. Domeck Puppy house training, which includes litter training, is one of the first things we all must do with our new pets. That is, unless we are lucky enough to get a pet that has already been housebroken! Along with housebreaking puppies some people must also litter train their new dogs. Why? With most families working during the day the puppy will probably be left alone for hours at a time. When we talk about litter training we mean training our puppy to use paper to do their business, or better yet, to use special dog papers to potty on when we are absent. If the proper procedures are followed this part of housebreaking your pet is fairly easy to do. It will also substanially speed up the total puppy house training job. If you are keeping your puppy confined to a specified area during the day, which we strongly suggest, then the "den" effect will work in your favor. You see - dogs naturally have an instinct to keep their dens clean and do their buisness elsewhere - outside their den, or living, area! The best way to do this type of litter training is to use specially treated litter training papers. These can be found at any good dog supply store. We have tried lots of them from the grocery store and places like Wal-Mart and Pet Smart. Unfortunately these cheaper products just don't work nearly as well as the better products you can find from the Pet Specialty stores. The best ones we have found are from Pet Care Central. The pads they carry are absolutely great for house breaking puppies, the indoor, or stay at home dogs, the senior dogs, and the incontinent or ailing dogs. These pads feature an extra thick top layer that's 50% thicker than other pads, like those cheap ones you find at the grocery store or Wal-Mart. They will resist scratches and tears three times greater than those "cheap" pads too. These particular pads even have built-in "Dispose-Ties" that make transporting the soiled pads to the garbage easy and hassle free - without getting the mess on your hands or clothing - which is a feature that those cheap pads don't have. Another big advantage is that these pads have the scent of fresh cut, natural grass to teach your pet to "go" outside even faster, while the embedded pheromones quickly attract dogs to the pads. Just type "Dog House breaking Pads", in the search box, and it will take you right to the page where they are listed. Since these pads have special phremones embedded in them it will attract and encourage your pet to use them easier. These phremones also have the scent of fresh grass which trains your dog to use the grass when you do take them outside.If you follow these tips you AND your dog will be happier and your puppy house training will go much, much faster. You can take my word for it. My wife and I have been there and done that. No we don't have the T-Shirt to prove it but we About the Author
All about the poodle breeds and dog care in general. No sales hype just facts and information you can use to help with dog training, proper dog nutrition, dog clothing and dog jewelry.
All about the poodle breeds and dog care in general. No sales hype just facts and information you can use to help with dog training, proper dog nutrition, dog clothing and dog jewelry.
Choosing Your Puppy
When expecting a new puppy addition to the family you want nothing but the best. You check out the best day-care facilities, kindergarten and schooling.
So, why should it be any different when the new addition is a puppy? Hey, if it's good enough for stars like Brittany and Paris, who are we to question this new trend in spoiling our pets.
Before buying your new puppy it is advisable to do some research and find out all you can about on the background, general behavior and sociability of the breed you have chosen. If you have young children, would a puppy be suitable? Stop and consider the future. When the puppy grows into a dog, will it still be as much fun? Will it outgrow your home?
It's all too easy to overlook the fact that what is now a cute little puppy will grow into a dog that without proper training may become unruly and dangerous. Remember all dogs are born wild and need training. Once they know who is the leader... you and not them... they will settle into their new life quite happily.
When you bring your puppy home make sure their first night away from mom isn't to stressful. Give your puppy a warm, comfortable bed to sleep in. A fleece blanket would be a good idea and maybe a small teddy bear or other type of soft toy to cuddle up too. This will help relax your puppy and stop it feeling alone.
The first 12-16 weeks of a puppy's life are all important. This is the time of intense learning and getting the training right now, will reward you with a well-trained obedient dog.
One thing to remember is it won't happen in a day. Done with regularity, persistence and a lot of patience over the coming weeks, you and your dog will soon have a great understanding and be the best of friends for many years to come.
Give your puppy time to settle into his new home (and have the necessary injections) then why not arrange a party. Everyone enjoys a party and what better way to introduce your puppy to other dogs and people. Invite your friends, and their dogs, to come and say "Hello".
Now, lets get round to organizing the Puppy Shower. This isn't as complicated as it may seem. Dogs are natural party animals and will certainly enjoy the day. The party is more to get the puppy used to other dogs and people so it's no great shake to organize. Maybe decorate the party room with blue or pink balloons and streamers. Put up a "birthday" banner with pictures of your puppy on it. This will get the puppy used to strange things being around.
Make sure there are enough soft toys around for the doggie guest to play with, as this is a great way to teach your new puppy about sharing things. Some of the bigger doggie guests may be a bit to boisterous for the puppy, so watch carefully but don't take him away from the fun, as he must learn to interact with others. They have to learn not be afraid or intimidated by other dogs.
Look after your new puppy well and you will have the best friend anyone could ever wish for.
About the Author
Shirley Purdy is the creator of a popular dog birthday party website. Find a wealth of dog party themes, recipes, games, treats and our party planner at http://www.dog-birthday-parties.com
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