1. Firmly say “No” and replace your body with a chew toy. If your puppy continues to bite, place it in a crate until it calms down. Don’t act angry. Simply put your puppy away quietly.
2. Encourage the behaviors you want with praise. You may want to come up with a few words you repeat whenever one of these behaviors occurs, such as saying “kisses” when your puppy licks you.
3. Ignore your puppy if it starts to bite. Fold your arms and turn away. Don’t jump around and make a lot of noise. That will just wind your puppy up further.
4. If your puppy is persistant with nipping, try spritzing yourself with Bitter Apple or vinegar.
5. Avoid games that encourage nipping, such as tug of war.

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So, the next time your little rascal comes to the dinner table, stands up on its hind legs and looks at you with those big sad eyes, say “No” and make sure you mean it.

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Weighing your puppy on a daily basis is also a good idea. If it is losing weight, you should consult your veterinarian, who may want to worm your puppy and give it a physical to rule out more serious problems.

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Other signs of separation anxiety include:

1. Your dog has decided to be your shadow when you are home. He will follow you wherever you go from room to room and has no interests in anything but you.

2. Your dog acts agitated or mournful when you prepare to leave. He may do things that will draw attention to himself in an attempt to keep you from leaving.

3. Your dog is overly enthusiastic when you come home. Some dogs may even wet the floor upon seeing you.

4. If you place your inside dog outside to potty, he will refuse to leave the door area and will just stand there and bark.

Dogs can develop separation anxiety from the start, or it can be acquired at any time in their lives. Changes in the household, such as the death of another pet or family member can trigger separation anxiety in dogs. Anything that would disrupt your dog’s life, such as a move, new child or even the dog owner working a new schedule, can make a dog go into the doldrums. If your dog has never shown signs of separation anxiety before, you should take a look at your lifestyle. What has changed in your dog’s life that would make him so anxious?

What You Can Do

* Do not lash out at your dog in anger. This only makes your dog think that it is wrong for him to want to be around you and his anxiety will become worse.

* Teach your dog that you always return. Play games with your dog that will show him that you will always return. Teach him to sit and stay. Move to other rooms in your home and then come back. When you do come back, reward your pet for remaining calm. Gradually increase the amount of time you are away in different rooms and then return. Start the process over and start going outside for a few minutes. With time, your dog will come to understand that you will not be gone forever.

* Find something for your dog to do while you are away from home. Purchase new chew toys to occupy your dog while you are away.

* Change up your leaving pattern. If a dog knows your routine, this can bring on his anxiety.

* Don’t pay a ton of attention to your dog the moment you walk in the door. This seems to make separation anxiety worse. Instead, take off your shoes, flip through the mail and then make a fuss over him.

* For a dog with severe separation anxiety, you may want to consder a trip to the vet. There are anti-anxiety drugs that a vet can prescribe your dogs. They work as a calming agent and are good to use when you are training your dog that you will return.

* Talk to your neighbors if you have received barking complaints. Tell them you are working hard to relieve your dog of his anxiety and ask them to bear with you.

When your dog realizes how much he is loved and that you would never leave him forever he will finally start to relax.

Wishing you and your new puppy a long and happy life,
Katelyn

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Teach Your Puppy Proper Chewing Manners
If you leave a chewing puppy to roam at will, it can destroy your home very fast. It is important that pet owners understand that teaching dogs chewing manners is as important as housebreaking them.

Why Do Puppies Chew?
Many people feel that when a puppy is left for a longer period of time with its siblings and mother, it will be less likely to chew on its new owner’s possessions. Studies have shown that puppies that are taken from their mothers and siblings before eight weeks of age do exhibit more aggressive forms of chewing than puppies that were taken from their mothers at 10 weeks of older.
Why? Probably because there is nothing like being scolded by your mother, even if your mother is a dog. When puppies start cutting their teeth and start to chew on their mothers, they are quickly scolded with a painful nip. Mother dogs will not tolerate being a chew toy to their puppies. If nipping the young pup doesn’t curb the pup’s desire to chew, the mother dog will leave the area and force the puppy to be alone. Puppies soon learn that chewing is not tolerated.
When puppies find that their mothers won’t put up with their chewing, they usually start taking their aggression out on their litter mates. When they hear a yelp from their siblings, they are shocked to discover they were the cause of the yelp. When the offending pup is nipped in return, or if its litter mates refuse to play with it, the chewing pup learns again that biting and chewing is not tolerated or acceptable.

Dealing With a Chewing Puppy
If you come home to find your expensive pillows torn to shreds or your nice leather shoes torn apart, it can be very frustrating. If you have a puppy that likes to chew, it usually won’t stop at your possessions. The pup may also try to chew on your toes, fingers and clothing. It is important to understand that all puppies will go through a teething stage, much like human infants. Expecting a puppy to not chew is virtually impossible, especially when it doesn’t see a difference between your nice new belt and a chew toy.

In fact, if your puppy is feeling lonely when you are gone, the scent of your personal possessions will probably be more intriguing to it than a bone or chew toy. Understanding that all puppies will go through a teething and chewing process is important. However, you must teach your dog chewing manners. If you do not, it will never learn boundaries and everything in your home will be up for grabs.

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To wrap up the main portion of the course, we are going to leave you with some advice from our experts. We asked them for their top five tips for new puppy owners and here they are:

Bernadine Cruz, DVM says:

1. Feed a well balance food appropriate for its age and breed. When in doubt, ask your vet for a diet that will suit your dog’s growth profile.

2. Keep your puppy slim. Studies have shown that a pet that maintains its ideal weight throughout its life can expect to live 15% longer than its chubby littermate.

3. The number one reason why dogs are relinquished by their owners to a shelter is unacceptable behaviors. Train your dog. Set compassionate rules that are reinforced by all members of the family.

4. Follow your veterinarian’s advice. What you read on the internet or learn from your breeder or friend may be stated with the best of intentions but not necessarily correct. Your veterinarian is trained to provide the best medical advice for your particular pet.

5. Before adopting a pet, do your homework. Just because you see a particular breed on TV or a movie that is just too cute, it may not be the most appropriate pet for you. Be sure you have the time, finances and desire to devote to your dog. When you adopt a pet, it is for life, their life.

Anyes Van Volkenburgh, DVM had six important tips to leave with new puppy owners:
1. Nutrition is key – If you choose not to cook for your pet (and there are a myriad of great books with home made pet food recipes), then make sure the pet food you buy is made of wholesome, human quality ingredients.

2. Proper medical care – I stress the improtance of finding a progressive, preferably holistic, veterinarian who will treat your pet’s mind, body and soul.

3. Training – find a positive trainer to help you teach your puppy what is expected. Do not wait for behavioral problems to develop; take your puppy to a puppy class asap.

4. Talk to your puppy – We’ve been conditioned to think that animals do not understand our language, but new research shows that dogs, cats and parrots are more capable of understanding complex sentences than we ever thought before. Talk to your pet – tell him or her that you are happy, excited about a new opportunity, or hungry or tired, that you have to go work and will be back in 9 hours, that you’ll miss them while you’re gone. You’ll be amazed to see that in a short time your puppy is able to understand seemingly complex sentences. And you will cherish the bond that talking to your pet fosters.

5. Play together – dogs living in packs play together to show that they share a friendship and feel safe and comfortable with each other. Cats who like each other play, too. Play is a way of letting your guard down.

6. Smile – Animals gravitate towards people who are joyful, calm and centered, not negative, scattered and anxious. Since animals pick up on our emotions and often internalize them, they much prefer healthy emotions.

Wishing you and your new puppy a long and happy life,
Katelyn

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New puppies need to eat more frequently than adult dogs, just as baby humans do. Since their digestive systems are still maturing, they also need to stay on a consistent diet. Feeding your puppy properly can help him settle in to his new home more easily.

Before you bring your new puppy home, make sure you know what he has been eating so that you can buy the same food. If you can’t find that food in your local stores, be sure to ask the breeder for a three to four day supply so that you can gradually mix it with the puppy food you are going to be using. This way, there is no abrupt change in diet.

If you do change the puppy’s food and he develops diarrhea, contact your veterinarian immediately to be sure it is really the change in food that has caused the diarrhea. (If his diarrhea is bloody, he could have a medical problem, such as coccidia.) If it is the change of diet, your veterinarian will probably recommend feeding him rice with broth or chicken baby food mixed with it until he returns to normal and then gradually reintroducing the puppy chow.

So, is that commercial puppy food ok for your dog? According to AKC spokesperson Lisa Peterson, “The BARF diet is hard to administer because the owner is left to decide if the dogs are getting the proper ingredients. A good commercial food has all the necessary nutrients. Ask your veterinarian or breeder for a recommendation. If the dog’s coat is glossy and healthy, the food is good.”

Once you decide on the proper diet for your new puppy, you will need to decide how many times a day to serve his meals. Ms. Peterson says, “Puppies have smaller tummies and a higher metabolism. They need to eat three to four times a day until they are six months and then two times a day until they are one year.”

After your puppy is one year of age, you can switch to one meal a day. However, I know I’d have a hard time eating once a day, so you may want to feed your dog most of his meal in the morning and offer the remainder of the meal in the evening.

Ms. Peterson mentions another important feeding concern for owners of smaller dogs. “Toy dogs can suffer from hypoglycemia.” This means that small dogs should eat several small meals throughout the day to avoid low blood sugar problems.

Now that you know how to provide basic care for your new puppy, you are ready for the final lesson of the course, which includes some great quick tips about new puppy ownership from our experts.

Until then, don’t forget to give your puppy plenty of hugs and kisses,
Katelyn

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Now that your puppy is healthy, it is time to consider puppy behavior and training. Although some people feel that puppies should not be trained at a young age, many breeders and other pet professionals say that puppies can learn some basics by the age of eight weeks.

In fact, according to AKC spokesperson Lisa Peterson, “You can begin training your puppy the day you bring him home. Up to the age of four months, puppies pick up new behaviors at lightning speed. After four months of age, they learn more slowly.”

While you can train your puppy on your own, you may want to consider going to puppy classes once he has been vaccinated. These classes teach basic obedience, but Ms. Peterson says they also provide important socialization skills. You will need to decide if you want to teach your puppy using traditional methods or if you’d prefer clicker training and then look for a trainer who uses the method you choose. Frankly, my dogs and I love clicker training. It is a lot of fun and they learn quickly. However, traditional methods usually work just fine for basic obedience.

Maralyn Redford, an obedience instructor and breeder of Champion Golden Retrievers has some great training advice for new puppy owners. “The biggest mistake new puppy owners make is that they are inconsistent. Puppies learn best when you teach using consistent, positive training techniques. Plan a routine for meals, naps and playtime. Reward good behavior and distract him from the things you don’t want him to do or touch.”

Ms. Redford also talks about the first command you should teach your new puppy. “Teach him to come when called. It is probably the most important thing he will ever learn and it could save his life. Keep your voice happy and reward him every time he comes. If he doesn’t come immediately, go to him, show him the treat and run backward so he comes to you. Be effusive with your praise and affection.”

Once you master puppy classes, you don’t have to stop training your puppy. Dogs can learn new things throughout their lives, just as people can. In fact, many dogs really love to learn and they and their owners enter obedience and agility competitions.

In Lesson 6, you will learn about feeding your new puppy.
Until then, don’t forget to give your puppy plenty of hugs and kisses,
Katelyn

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While most people understand the importance of vaccinating a new puppy, not everyone realizes that preventative medications are also extremely important, especially in areas that have a high rate of Lyme or heartworm disease. These diseases can be fatal and dogs that survive do so after costly treatment, so it makes sense to use preventative medications.

According to Dr. Cruz, “A pup is often dewormed each time that it is vaccinated. Starting the pet on monthly heartworm medication is an excellent idea. The most commonly administered heartworm preventatives will protect against not only heartworm infection but the most common internal parasites.”

Another important preventative medication is a flea and tick treatment. There are several popular ones at the moment, including Advantix(TM) and Frontline(TM). Ask your veterinarian to recommend the right treatment for your dog. These medications can prevent you from having a home infested with fleas, but they can also prevent some types of worms and make it less likely for your dog to catch Lyme disease by killing fleas and ticks before they can do any damage.

According to American Kennel Club spokesperson Lisa Peterson, “Flea and tick preventatives are very important in the North Eastern United States and the Rocky Mountain region.”

If you aren’t convinced that preventative medications are important for your puppy, you may want to consider another concern that Dr Cruz mentions. “These internal parasites are a potential zoonotic threat. Children can be infected by hookworms, whipworms, and roundworms that they can contract from their dogs. People who are immune suppressed are also at risk.”

In Lesson 5, you will learn about obedience training for puppies.

Until then, don’t forget to give your puppy plenty of hugs and kisses,
Katelyn

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