What discoveries have I made raising Gunner?

Gunner, my cute adorable horse/puppy is now 5-1/2 months old and an established member of our family. On Wednesday he goes to his vet for his 3rd set of shots including rabies. This is a milestone, as soon as he gets his rabies shot we will purchase his dog license from the Blooming Grove Town Hall. Time to buy a shiny new collar to display his shiny new tags.

With the rabies tags he will be allowed to go for walks in the local dog parks, I am sure he will love this.

What successes have I had raising Gunner?
Gunner is a healthy happy pup. He loves to go for walks, chase tennis balls, chew on bones and rawhide.
He rides well in the truck and slobbers all over the seats and windows.
He hasn't had an accident in the house for over a month except for a bout of the diarrhea that he couldn't help.
He settles down in his crate and sleeps quietly all night.
He is friendly with everyone, always tail waging and ready to greet. He likes other dogs as long as they are friendly he gives them a chance.
He stays in the yard beautifully, but we never leave him outside alone.
He knows come, sit, stay, down, off, fetch it here, drop, heel, halt, ok but does not necessarily obey every time.

What do I need to work on?
We still need to remind him several times a day to get off the counters, rescue clothes, and papers from his quick jaws.
He is pulling more when we go for walks.
He still nibbles on me when he wants attention and uses his mouth inappropriately at times. This is something we really are working on.
Gunner occasionally jumps on people out of pure excitement and ignores commands when he gets excited.
He will fetch his ball to me but doesn't like to drop it, he would rather play keep away.
And he barks sometimes for attention.

What have I discovered?
Raising a puppy is a responsibility that should not be taken lightly. They demand time, patience, forgiveness and lots of love. They will disrupt your life and create chaos in your household. And they cost money for food, vet appointments, shots, toys and boarding when you leave for the weekend.
However they will give you unconditional love always and pay you back in so many good ways. The most important thing is to be prepared for those puppy months and have a training plan in mind. Then remind yourself over and over they are just puppies, clean slates that must be trained to be the companion you want them to be.

Heartworms and Hookworms and Fleas, Oh My!

There is no way, my cute adorable, horse/puppy with the shiny coat and slobbery mouth could have anything as gross as a parasite, is there?

Unfortunately your pup can pick up a parasite all to easily but if caught early it can be quickly fixed.

Parasites, which live on or in a host living thing can be transmitted to puppies from their mothers. So it is important to check for them early and often.

Internal Parasites live in the puppy's digestive system and can be detected by examining their stool. Treatment for these can begin at 2 weeks of age and can be repeated every 2 or 3 weeks. Many puppies are infested with roundworms and hookworms from their mother.

• Roundworms can be transmitted from the dam before birth and when she is nursing. These are thin spaghetti-like worms about 5 inches long. They will stunt growth, and cause vomiting, diarrhea, dehydration giving your pup a pot-bellied appearance.
• Hookworms are also transmitted to the pup by the mother at birth or by nursing. These are very dangerous worms that attach to the small intestine and cause lethargy, anemia, poor appetite and tarry stools containing blood.
• Whipworms cause chronic bowel inflammation, mucus in the stool, weight loss and diarrhea. They live in the lower end of the digestive track.
• Tapeworms tend to enter the pups body when he swallows a flea. The pup will appear extremely hungry but will not gain weight.
• Heartworms are transmitted by the bite of a mosquito. These often fatal parasites live in a dog's heart or near it in major blood vessels causing heart and lung damage. These are difficult to cure but easy to prevent by administering a heartworm preventative perscribed by your vet.

External Parasites
These parasites live on your pups body and can be diagnosed by examination and skin tests.

• Fleas may be aquired from the mother, another dog or from the environment. Your pup will scratch or bite himself frequently and small red spots may show up on his skin. Generally both your pup and the environment will have to be treated.
• Ticks are often picked up in wooded areas during the spring and summer. Ticks can transmit Lymes disease and Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever.
• Lice smaller than fleas can be controlled with most flea products.
• Mange Mites a nasty tiny bug that cannot be seen by the naked eye, live under the skin causing hair to fall out. They are very difficult to cure and spread quickly.
• Ear Mites cause your pup to scratch at her ear and can lead to ear infections. They leave dark earwax or dried blood in the ear.
• Ringworm is a very contagious fungus that can be transmitted to humans. It leaves bare oval patches but can be treated with medication.

Your veterinarian is the best source of help if you suspect your pup has any one of these nasty parasites however many flea products, dewormers and medications can be purchased online for a greater cost savings from Drs Foster and Smith or American Livestock and Pet Supply

What kind of things are toxic for my chewing puppy?

Lab puppies love to chew, and chew and chew! Everything is fair game as long as it sort of fits in the mouth. So it is vitally important you be vigilant about toxic substances

Never give acetaminophen to a cat or dog
This can cause severe stomach pain or even kill a small animal. Beware of aspirin, cigarettes and any kind of prescription drugs.

Watch out for garbage
Rotted food and toxins in the garbage can make your dog severely ill.

Never feed them chocolate or caffeine, these are Neurological Toxin

Many things such as chemicals are obviously poisonous but some plants can be unexpectedly toxic. The following is a list of toxic plants compiled by Karla S Rugh D.V.M. Ph. D. in Training Secrets for Labrador Retreivers.

• Amaryllis
• Anthurium
• Apricot
• Autumn crocus
• Avocado leaves, seeds, stem and skin
• Begonia
• Bleeding heart
• Caladium
• Calla lily
• Castor bean
• Cherry pits, leaves, twigs, seed
• Chinese sacred or heavenly bamboo
• Choke Cherrys
• Delphinium
• Dieffenbachia
• Elderberry
• Foxglove
• Garlic
• Hydrangea
• Jack in the pulpit
• Jimson weed
• Kalanchoe
• Lantana
• Lily of the valley
• Milkweed
• Mistletoe berries
• Morning glory
• Oak
• Oleander
• Pencil cactus
• Philodendron
• Rhubarb leave
• Rosary pea
• Scheffelera
• Shamrock
• Yew

For a complete list and more information visit Healthypet.com.

Important Puppy Milestones

There are 6 important developmental deadlines a puppy must meet in its first 3 months according to Dr. Ian Dunbar's Before and After Getting Your Puppy. If your puppy fails to meet any of these deadlines you will "probably be playing catch-up for the rest of your dog's life"

Your Doggy Education
Before you even choose your puppy you must decide what kind of dog you are looking for, research their temperament and have a training game plan in mind. Dr Dunbar has some good online videos to help you understand puppy training.

How to evaluate your puppy's progress
By 8 weeks of age your puppy should be happily accustomed to your home, scary noises, your puppy should have met and been handled by many persons especially many shapes and sizes of men and children, house training and chew toy training should progressing and have a beginning understanding of good manners.

House and chew toy training
It is important to understand the reasoning behind confining your puppy both for long term and short term. The first day your puppy arrives at your home he should begin his house training. Keeping him confined with chew toys teaches him to settle down and happily chew his toys. Letting him out every 20 minutes and taking him to his pee spot then rewarding him when he does his business will eventually lead to a house trained puppy.

Socialization, Socialization, Socialization
By 3 months of age the puppy must be fully socialized. The rule of thumb is a puppy should meet at least 100 different people during his first month at home. This is the period when puppies learn to enjoy the antics and actions of all kinds of people, they will be hugged and handled and will even give up favorite objects such as bones and food bowls.

The Importance of bite inhibition
This is the most important lesson a puppy must learn and the window if time for learning it begins to close at about 4.5 months of age. At this time the adult teeth are starting to show. It is important for puppies to learn to inhibit the force of their biting before they stop biting and mouthing altogether.

Introduce your puppy to the big wide world
Walk your puppy so he can meet unfamiliar dogs and people, take her for rides in the car, visit friends houses, introduce her to the big wide wonderful world so you both can eventually enjoy walks at the dog park, picnics at the beach, car trips and all sorts of companionable fun.

Keep these milestones in mind as you journey through the first few months of puppy ownership. What you do at this stage will determine how well you and your dog interact through out its life.

Visit Sirius Dog Training for more information on Dr Ian Dunbar

How do I really feel about my adorable puppy?

Puppies are wonderful and awful all at the same time. They are so full of love and eager to please and you fall totally in love with them. But then...everything in the house becomes fair game. You cannot leave them un-attended for a minute. The "tomes on puppy training" are so diverse, one will say their way is the only way and the next will say no that is all wrong! The puppy book I finally chose to follow advocates treats for every good action. Sunday I listened to a dog training show on TV that claimed never use treats, it creates fat dogs and encourages biting of young children. Yikes!

Meanwhile Gunner rules the household, his favorite object is the broom which he drags through the house at full speed, whips past the chairs and smacks everything in its path.

I am his favorite chew toy! My hand, feet, clothes and shoes are in constant danger! We are working hard to curtail this habit. The Dog Whisperer advocates putting him on a leash tied to a stationary object, playing with him and as soon as he mouths turn and walk away. Then come back when he as settled to try all over. This may take a while!

He does walk on leash quite well to begin with. This has been my worry since day one that he will grow into a huge horse/dog and drag me around the block instead of a nice walk. He does well until about 2 blocks from home. He recognizes the surroundings and feels he should pull me the rest of the way home. To train him not to pull, I stop every time he pulls and wait for him to relax. Then we start walking, he pulls, I stop, we start, he pulls, I stop. It has taken as long as 20 minutes to go that last block!

He appears to be a rather stubborn puppy.

I signed up for email puppy care information from Drs Foster and Smith and have found these newsletters to be very encouraging and good reminders that Gunner is a puppy! Even though you expect increasing good behavior because he is growing so fast, he still has a puppy brain and needs constant vigilance, care, and gobs and gobs of patience!

What, when, how much do I feed me hungry puppy!

Remember when you were told never to feed you puppy table scraps? Always stick to dog food.
Paul Owens Quotes Veterinarian Dr. R.L. Wysong, in his wonderful book The Dog Whisperer
"How many parents would take the advice of a pediatrician who placed a package food product on the exam table and told the parent that this is the only product they should feed the child day-in, day-out for the child's lifetime..."
A good diet for your puppy suggested by Paul Owens, should include:

• Grain - cooked brown rice, oats, corn, wheat barley, rye or millet.
• Protein - boiled or broiled lean hamburger, chicken, turkey or lamb
• Vegetable - grated raw zucchini, yellow squash, carrots, steamed broccoli
  
• Oil - High-quality vegetable oil, safflower, corn sesame, sunflower or extra virgin olive oil.
• Vitamin or mineral supplement - formulated from a natural pet food company
• Enzyme Supplement
• Antioxidant supplement 1.
  

However the idea of planning a diet for your dog when you don't even plan a good diet for yourself can be daunting. In that case choose a human grade dog food and supplement it with raw vegetables, raw fruit, raw organic egg once a week.
And always have plenty of fresh, clean water available.

There is speculation that many behavior problems can be traced back to the poor nutrition in dog food. 2.

Our Vet recommended Purina Pro Plan for Gunner and gave us a sample to try it out. Gunner loves it, seems to be growing well with it and has a really nice shiny healthy coat. We give him carrots, healthy treats and chews through out the day since he loves to chew, chew, chew!

1. 2. The Dog Whisperer, Paul Owen, 1999 Adams Media Corporation