Buppies Blog: Halloween Hounds: Halloween is "fright night" for humans not dogs. Screaming, running, spooky children in masks make many dogs uncomfortable, ner...
Monday, February 27, 2017
Halloween Hounds
Halloween costumes are fun and are meant to disguise our normal appearance. Dogs do not understand this change in appearance and may become frightened. Costumes that change the way a person walks, stands, or their general appearance may cause a dog to react different then usual even with those they know.
Keep in mind that children on Halloween night are excited and doing their best to be scary. This is not a fair or safe situation to put even the best of dogs in. Even the normally terrific tolerant family dog can find this night hard to handle.
Along with costumes being frightening to a dog there are some that may become interesting too. Swords, tails and dangling things may be fun for an excited dog to chase and toddlers certainly won't appreciate that.
Every child and every costume is a new opportunity for different reactions from the same dog.
I recommend setting up your dog with their own private Halloween bash in a safe quiet spot with a yummy treat of their own.
1. Stuff a food dispensing toy with yummy mush and freeze it until it is "Halloween" time.
2. Use a fan or radio for white noise. Something consistent is best.
3. Be sure the blinds are down or the dog is not watching kids coming and going by the window. This will only frustrate him and allow him to practice barking and carrying on at the window.
Chocolate is toxic to dogs. Put candy in a safe spot.
Many dogs are stolen, poisoned or injured by Halloween pranks. Keep your dog safe and sound inside your home.
Be safe and aware and have fun
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Wednesday, February 22, 2017
Tips for How to Housetraining Your Puppy
With these virtues - as well as following the guidelines that we will discuss below - you will be able to lessen and even totally eliminate incidents of soiling accidents inside your home. Always remember that when it comes to dogs, especially puppies, you need to be prepared for several accidents to occur. This comes with the territory of pet ownership.
The key to all basic housetraining procedures is consistency; the more consistent you are in performing a regular housetraining routine, the faster it would be for your puppy to learn that this is the behavior that he or she should follow. Of course, don't expect to housetrain your puppy in just a few days. It will usually take several weeks and, in some small breeds like the Bichon Frise and the Chihuahua, it may take even longer.
Observe Constant Supervision
Always
keep an eye on your puppy whenever he is indoors, so that you can catch
him before he pees or poops. If your puppy is a bit frisky, you may
need him to tie his leash to you or to nearby furniture. Be on the
lookout for signs that he wants to urinate or move his bowels. The most
common signs are sniffing, restlessness, circling, squatting, barking,
or frantic scratching on your door. If you notice any of these signs,
take him outside immediately to his potty spot. Once he finishes, shower
him with praise and reward him with a doggie treat.When it comes to your garden or backyard, you should also treat it the same way as you would the inside of your house. Your puppy should be on a leash until he learns that he should do his potty in that one spot. Once he is housetrained, only then can you give your puppy freedom to roam inside your house and yard.
Practice Confining Your Puppy
There will be times when you cannot watch your puppy, so it may be necessary for you to keep him confined in a small area which would discourage him to eliminate in it. The space should be big enough for him to stand, turn around, or lie in. It could be a small corner of your laundry room or bathroom which you block off with old baby gates.
Another way is by crate training your puppy. Obviously, you put your puppy inside the crate as a confinement space. There are many procedures on humane crate training that you can learn on the Internet. If your puppy has spent several hours in the crate, take him at once to his potty spot. Praise and reward him if he finishes his potty outside.
Establishing a Housetraining Routine
When it comes to housetraining a puppy, you need to establish a schedule, much like what you do with a baby. With a regular routine, your puppy will start to follow a schedule for play, eating, and of course answering the call of nature.
In general, puppies are able to hold urinating 1 hour per month of age. Puppies that are 2 to 3 months old will be able to hold their urine for 2 to 3 hours. Do not go beyond this period or there will be a greater likelihood that it will pee inside the house. If you are at work for much of the day, you may need to get the services of a dog walker who will take your puppy outside for bathroom breaks.
Before you start housetraining your puppy, already choose a spot outside your home for its bathroom. The best potty spot should have loose earth so that it will be easier for you to cover his pee or poop up.
It is important that you take your puppy outside on a leash every two hours or more, after wakes up, during and after playtime, and after he eats or drinks. Bring him to his potty spot with a leash. As your puppy is doing his business, say a word or a phrase ("Wee wee!" or "Pee!" or "Potty!") which he would gradually associate with the act of elimination. Eventually, every time he hears this word, your puppy would know that it is time for him to answer the call of nature. Once he is completely finished, you can reward him with some playtime or a longer walk outside.
Rewarding your puppy for successfully eliminating outdoors is a part of the housetraining routine. However, remember that you only praise or give him a treat immediately after he has finished eliminating. Do not delay giving his reward until you are both inside the house. Rewarding your dog while you are both still outside would make him understand that he needs to finish his business there to get his treat. Also, make sure that he is completely finished before giving him a reward. Puppies are quite distractible, so that he may forget to urinate or defecate and end up finishing his business inside the house.
You need to establish a regular feeding schedule for your puppy. Naturally, if you feed your puppy every 3 to 4 hours, you can expect him to answer the call nature at the same intervals. The usual feeding schedule for puppies is 3 to 4 times a day. So, you can expect your puppy to eliminate at the same frequency as well. Establishing a feeding routine will make housetraining much more convenient for you.
Before going to bed, make sure that you remove your puppy's water dish 2 and ½ hours prior to retiring. If the puppy does not have anything to drink, the less likely you will need to wake up in the middle of the night to take him out to go potty. It is estimated that puppies can sleep without eliminating for 7 hours.
Puppies that wake you up in the middle of the night should be prevented from making this a regular habit. Do not create a fuss or make a big deal out of it. Do not open all the lights in your house. Just quietly (never speak or play with him) take him outside and then put him back in his sleeping area.
What to Do when Accidents Occur
Soiling accidents are unavoidable since it is part and parcel of housetraining. Here are the measures that you should take when such incidents occur...
Quickly interrupt your puppy when you catch him doing his potty indoors.
Say "OUT!" or create a noise to startle him. Swiftly take him to his potty spot and praise and reward him with a treat once he finishes urinating or moving his bowels.
Never punish your puppy for doing his potty indoors. If you discover a puddle of urine or a pile of poop, just clean it up thoroughly. You will only make your puppy afraid of you or afraid to do his business in your presence if you rub his nose in his filth, scold or yell at him. In most cases, frightened puppies will only end up doing their potty in unreachable places of the house, making cleaning more difficult.
Make sure that you clean up your puppy's leavings thoroughly. If it still smells of urine or feces, the greater is the likelihood that your puppy will again eliminate there. Inquire with your local pet store or with your vet on the best cleaning products that can completely get rid of odors.
Through constant supervision and practicing confinement measures, you will be able to reduce the incidences of soiling accidents inside your home. Puppies have a tendency to get confused if you are not consistent and allow him to pee or poop frequently indoors, and this will only make the housetraining process much longer.
When You're Not At Home
Puppies 6 months of age and below are unable to control their bladder for long periods of time (again, it is approximately 1 hour per month of age). If you are at work for more than 4 to 5 hours a day, a puppy may not be the best pet for you. It is better to get an older dog that has been trained to hold it until you return home.
However, there are some measures that you can take if you need to be away from home for a long duration...
Ask help from your neighbor or hire the services of a pet sitter to take your puppy outdoors to do his potty.
You can also train your puppy to do his potty in specific areas inside your house. It should be mentioned though that this will only prolong the housetraining process. There is also a risk that your puppy may become accustomed to doing his business on specific surfaces, such as newspapers. If he sees any newspaper lying around, he may automatically do his potty on top.
Paper Training Your Puppy
Puppies that are left alone for long durations need to be confined in small space that is enough for him to play and sleep him and allot a separate area for his potty.
In his indoor potty spot, lay out old newspapers or place a sod box. You can make a sod box out of a small wooden box or an old children's swimming pool (filled with sod). Your local pet store may have dog litter products that you could use.
If there are soiling accidents in other places of your home, pick up the soiled rags or paper towels and dump them in the potty spot. The smell will enable your puppy to determine that that specific area is where he should do his business.
Sunday, February 19, 2017
Is Training a Chihuahua Easy?
Is training a chihuahua easy?you may be wondering if Chihuahua training is easy or hard. Well, from my experience it is very easy! If you've already managed to raise a dog with behavioral problems (this is easy too!) you can correct them in a very natural way by following a few simple recommendations. There is one book that I highly recommend (I wish I had written it!) that goes well beyond what most dog trainers talk about and gets to the heart of how your dog feels about and experiences life. In the book The Dog Listener by Jan Fennell, you'll read that dogs naturally feel like they still belong to a pack and they want to interact with you as part of the pack.
Our Chihuahua is named Yoda (our son is a huge Star Wars fan) and he's so happy now that he doesn't have to worry about leading the pack anymore. He's no longer "top dog" ...unless of course we change our behavior in a way that promotes him up to leader of the pack again. But then it's easy enough to change positions again by performing our newly learned Chihuahua training methods!
Another thing to try is to ignore (this can be very hard with Chihuahuas since they're so cute!) your dog for the first 5 minutes after you come home. The top dog never makes a fuss over the pack when returning home. But it's OK to worry about and make a fuss over your Chi when it returns home (like after going outside to "do it's duty").
It's amazing to see the difference in Yoda's behavior when we follow a few simple rules of how to live life in a [Chihuahua] dog pack. Chihuahua training becomes easy!
Why Neuter Your Dog?
Spaying or neutering is surgical
sterilization. Spaying of females involves the removal of the entire
reproductive tract (uterus and ovaries). Neutering of males is done by
removing the testicles. Both procedures are performed using strict sterile
technique while the pet is under general anesthesia.
When to neuter. A male dog can be
neutered any time after eight weeks of age. A few years ago, most
veterinarians advised waiting until puberty hit at about six months, and some
still make that recommendation. Talk to your veterinarian about
what's best for your dog
When should you get your dog spayed?
When it's time to spay your dog. She can be spayed any
time after eight weeks of age, and preferably before her first heat for the
best health benefits. The first heat cycle occurs somewhere around six months of
age, depending on the breed.
Why is it important to neuter your dog?
Neutering will often decrease or eliminate other
objectionable male dog behaviors, such as mounting furniture and family
members. Male dogs and cats will cease roaming to find a mate because the
hormonal urge to do so has been removed. Neutered animals are not sexually frustrated!
Benefits
The benefits to your dog — aside from his not siring unwanted puppies — are
considerable:
- He’s less likely to get certain diseases, such as testicular cancer and most prostate diseases.
- He will be calmer with less testosterone in his system, and thus you’ll be calmer too.
- He’ll mark less, inside and out, since he has less incentive to announce his presence.
- The lower level of testosterone can improve if not eliminate roaming, aggression, humping, and other dominance-related behaviors. (He still might want to hump, but mounting after neutering has more to do with dominance than sex. He can still show interest in females in heat or hump your knee.)
- In the case of senior dogs, neutering reduces the size of an enlarged prostate.
- The health and behavioral benefits occur whether your boy is a wee puppy or distinguished senior citizen.
When to neuter
A male dog can be neutered any time after eight weeks of age. A few years ago, most veterinarians advised waiting until puberty hit at about six months, and some still make that recommendation. Talk to your veterinarian about what’s best for your dog.
In general, dogs neutered
before they go into puberty grow a bit bigger than those neutered after puberty
because testosterone is involved in bone growth; sometimes that growth is
preferable and sometimes it’s not. Most dogs are sexually mature by the age of
five or six months (the blink of an eye).If your dog’s testicles don’t descend, you still need to have him neutered. These dogs tend to have more testicular tumors than normal dogs.
Preparing your dog for surgery
Presurgical blood work is usually offered to make sure your dog is healthy enough for surgery and doesn’t have any health conditions that would affect the choice of anesthesia. Typically, young and healthy dogs don’t need it, but it’s a good idea to have a baseline reference for future blood tests.Follow the directions your clinic gives, but generally speaking, the dog should not eat for at least eight hours before the surgery, because the anesthesia may cause nauseate. Drinking water beforehand is fine.
What to expect
postsurgery
- Male dogs can usually go home the same day they have the procedure.
- The dog might be a tad nauseated and turn away from food with a theatrical flourish for the first day or two. No need to be an overbearing parent and force your dog to eat — he’ll be fine even if he misses a few meals.
- For the first few days after surgery, the dog’s scrotum will be swollen. You would be far from the first person to wonder if the vet really did the surgery: “Doc, are you sure he was neutered? It looks — well, it looks just the same as it did before surgery. Just swelling, huh? Uh…you’re sure, right?” Often this swelling is exacerbated because the dog licks the incision.
- If he keeps licking the stitches, pop an Elizabethan collar (a lampshade-style device your vet can supply) around his neck.
- If your vet has used stitches, they’ll need to be
removed after about seven to 10 days, depending on the type of stitching
material used. Your veterinarian will give you details about how to check
that the incision is healing, and when to come back in for this final
detail.
- After neutering, a puppy’s scrotum will flatten as he grows, and you won’t notice it. Adults will always have a flap of skin from the empty scrotum.
- Typically, most dogs want to play hard the next day, but restrict his activity for a couple of days so the incision doesn’t open.
- Some mild bruising can occur around the incision.
What to watch
for after the surgery
Check with your vet if there’s a discharge from the incision, or if your
dog seems to be in excessive pain. (It’s rare for a dog to need pain
medication, but it’s not unheard of.)
If the dog keeps licking the stitches, use an Elizabethan collar to prevent
this. Some dogs have trouble walking while wearing these, and they bonk into
doorways and tables. Nonetheless, have the dog wear it even during sleep,
because licking can prevent the incision from healing properly.
Saturday, February 18, 2017
The Importance of Early Socialization for Puppies
When it comes to raising a confident well-adjusted puppy, an ounce of prevention is certainly worth a pound of cure. By socializing one's puppy early on with a variety of new and unfamiliar people (including calm and gentle children), on a regular and ongoing basis (for at least the first two years of the dog's life), you can help prevent serious behavioral problems such as shyness, timidity, and aggression from developing as the puppy matures. Once a puppy has all of his puppy shots (usually by 16 weeks of age), he should also be socialized with other friendly dogs, and acclimated to new environments beyond the owner's home and property, by being taken for regular daily walks on a leash.
Puppies raised in country and suburban environments should be gradually acclimated to city noises such as traffic noise, crowds of people and other everyday life scenerios early on. A weekly visit into town (beginning when the puppy is around 8 to 10 weeks of age) can be very helpful in preventing environmental phobias. In order to prevent exposure to disease, puppies with fewer than 3 or 4 series of vaccinations, should avoid contact with unfamiliar dogs, and be carried (in a Sherpa Bag, Snuggly or crate) to avoid contact with the sidewalk (or any other public areas where other dogs may frequent).
What To Do If Timidity Has Already Taken Hold
Visitors and passersby should avoid suddenly reaching out to pet your puppy, as allowing a stranger to approach a timid puppy right away is likely to increase the puppy's fear as well as his inclination to react defensively. In fact, when a timid puppy is first introduced to someone unfamiliar to him, the person should remain relatively still and quiet, avoid eye contact with the puppy, offer non-confrontational body language, and allow the puppy to approach the person and initiate contact. The puppy should never be forced or dragged over to meet someone he is fearful of.
Asking the visitor to crouch down near the floor, with their body facing at an angle AWAY from the puppy, and their hand slightly extended to the side while holding a small puppy treat, may help the puppy to gain enough confidence to approach. The puppy should be allowed to sniff the person, and to take the treat from their hand, without the person talking to or reaching towards the puppy. Even if the puppy continues to show fearfulness, the owner should remain upbeat, and resist the temptation to coddle or "poor baby" the puppy.
Once the puppy appears to feel a bit more secure, the visitor should slowly begin petting the puppy under the chin, and continue offering him small treats. These steps should be repeated with as many new people as possible, in as many new environments as possible, until the puppy develops sufficient confidence around new people.
Timidity Around Other Dogs
Supervised puppy play groups and puppy kindergarden classes may also be helpful, provided that bigger, more dominant puppies are not allowed to bully or intimidate the more timid ones. Puppies should be properly matched by size, age, dominance, activity level and temperament. Unsupervised group "free-for-alls" can in fact be very counter-productive.
Ideally, an experienced dog trainer or behaviorial consultant should supervise all play activity and be present to prevent any overly aggressive interactions between puppies.
Friday, February 17, 2017
Dog Ages and Stages
As with human relationships, ups and downs are guaranteed throughout your years together, but knowing what to expect will keep you one step ahead of the pack. During your dog’s life, she will:
Upset you–or, at the very least, frustrate you. Housetraining is no picnic, nor is cleaning up vomit or finding your slippers chewed beyond recognition. Even if your puppy never misbehaves (ha!), her never-ending need for you will sometimes feel overwhelming.
Surprise you. Your Australian Shepherd loves agility training. Your Doberman can bark her name. Or your Cocker Spaniel actually draws a smile from the grumpy neighbor across the street. Sometimes, you’ll just be astonished by your adolescent dog’s endless desire to please you.
Bring you incredible joy. She doesn’t care whether you made your sales goals or how good you look for your high school reunion. Your dog is thrilled simply to be around you–and she’ll demonstrate those feelings on a regular basis.
And probably grief. No matter how long she lives, saying goodbye to a treasured friend is difficult. If it weren’t, the relationship wouldn’t be worth it.
How long each stage lasts
On average, smaller dogs mature faster and live longer than larger breeds; bigger dogs mature later and generally know shorter spans of adulthood and senior citizenship. That said, every dog develops and ages at her own rate. The following is a rough breakdown of the stages of canine life:
Puppyhood ends between six and 18 months of age.
Adolescence starts between six and 18 months of age.
Adulthood starts between 12 months and three years of age.
The senior years begin between six and 10 years of age.
Keep in mind
Dogs are as individual as people; there’s no hard-and-fast rule for what she’ll do and when she’ll do it. If you treat your dog with the love and respect she deserves, what you can count on in return is devotion, adoration, and a mistake or two along the way as the two of you learn to communicate across the human-canine divide.
Bottom line: Dogs age at different speeds, with large dogs generally maturing more slowly than small dogs. But timing aside, they all go through the same stages: energetic puppyhood, unpredictable adolescence, the relatively smooth ride of adulthood, and the slower, lazier senior years.
