How to get through puppyhood without losing your mind: 5 tips from experts
By Kim Campbell Thornton
Andrews McMeel Syndication
You know your puppy will eventually grow up, but how do you get through the canine equivalent of the “terrible 2s”? It takes patience, but the following tips can help you hang on to your sanity while pup is growing up.
1. Frozen food puzzles and frozen chew toys are your friends. Gnawing on them helps to relieve a pup’s aching teeth and gums and deter unwanted exploration of items such as furniture, shoes and cords with the teeth.
“These are great options to allow for mental and physical exploration as well as to direct happy chewing,” says Fear Free lead trainer and Pet Connection contributor Mikkel Becker.
2. When possible, offer happy play experiences with social, vaccinated puppies or friendly adult dogs. “This is an excellent way to allow pups to release energy while also practicing important life skills of using their body language and being gentle with teeth,” Becker says.
3. Make sure they get enough sleep. You might want to wear out your pup with activity, but while he’s growing, he needs 16 to 18 hours of sleep per day. Minnesota dog trainer Denise Nord sees a common pattern: “When people complain about their puppy, the puppy is either home alone in a crate all day and probably all night and is understimulated, or someone is home most of the time and the puppy isn’t getting enough sleep,” she says.
She recommends that puppies get at least three naps daily. After each nap, take them out to potty, play with them for a while, give them a chew toy to gnaw on while you supervise, then put them down for another nap.
When one client implemented this stratagem, they reported a week later that it was like having a new puppy. He was calmer, not as mouthy with their two young kids, wasn’t jumping on the kids and his potty training had improved. “All because he was now getting enough sleep,” Nord says.
4. Know how to recognize tiredness and ways to calm your puppy. Nord’s own beagle puppy is not quite 10 months old. It’s clear when she’s overtired, Nord says.
“Last night, after a busy show weekend, two days of me working from home and a sports foundation class,” says Nord, “she was wild and crazy, barking at dogs on TV, running outside and barking hysterically. I knew she was overtired, but she wouldn’t settle. Chewing is a self-soothing activity, so I dug out a new chewie and convinced her it was the best thing ever.”
5. Prepare for independence. Don’t take it personally when your once-snuggly puppy starts to buddy up to other people as well or has more interest in exploring the world around him. “Increased independence and desire to explore is a normal part of puppy development,” Becker says. Use the time to strengthen the bond with your pup through activities you can do together that allow for exploration but still give you a place of significance in your pup’s life.
When will things start to change? By 9 months, you may start to see calmer behavior and the ability to self-regulate: lying down and taking a nap without being crated, for instance.
At this age, your puppy is mostly done with teething, has learned some house rules and potty training is generally under control, Nord says. You can start to give a little more freedom in the home, while keeping an eye out to make sure they’re not getting into trouble.
“They don't get into as many things, and it might be safe to leave your shoes by the door,” says Nord. “They don't rush to investigate every new thing in their environment. They've learned to chew appropriate things and not the chair legs. Suddenly, you are living with an adult dog. Like humans, they grow up, they play differently, their interests change. And it's a good thing, because puppyhood is a lot more work than most of us ever expect!”
Q&A
Why some cats
have ear notches
Q: Sometimes I see stray cats with a notch in one ear, and it’s clearly not from a fight. What’s up with that?
A: Those are community cats, sometimes referred to as feral cats, and the notch in the ear indicates that the cat has been spayed or neutered and vaccinated.
It’s not always easy to get close to these cats, so ear-tipping is a way for animal control employees or people who find them to know that those procedures have already been performed. That allows the cat to stay in place instead of being trapped and undergoing a stressful and frightening trip to a shelter or veterinary clinic where he might undergo unnecessary procedures, including anesthesia.
Ear-tipping is done with the cat under anesthesia, so it’s painless. Only a tiny bit of cartilage is removed, and the cats recover easily. It’s a visible and highly effective way for shelters or community cat care groups to monitor free-roaming cats in the area and gauge the stability of the cat colony.
It has other benefits, too. One is public safety and health. Ear-tipped cats are generally vaccinated for rabies, protecting any humans or other animals they come in contact with.
Another is population management. Ear-tipping makes it easier to know which cats need to be humanely trapped, health tested, sterilized, vaccinated and released back to their colony to procreate no more. That promotes the welfare of free-roaming cat populations, which return the favor by keeping rodent populations under control.
Cats with a tipped ear should be left where they are unless they appear to be injured or unhealthy. Community cat colonies will always be with us, but spaying and neutering helps to manage their numbers as well as reduce nuisance behaviors such as fighting and spraying. -- Dr. Marty Becker
Do you have a pet question? Send it to askpetconnection@gmail.com or visit Facebook.com/DrMartyBecker.
THE BUZZ
Guinea pigs have
special needs
-- Social, vocal and entertaining, guinea pigs are popular pets, especially in families with young children. Here’s what to know before getting one: Guinea pigs are chatty, and it’s fun to learn what their different sounds mean. They can learn behaviors and tricks. They’re active throughout the day and evening, sleeping for only short periods. They are social and should have a friend -- one of the same sex so that they don’t produce babies. They eat a commercial food that should be supplemented with vitamin C. They usually live for five to six years, although one lived to be nearly 15 years old.
-- Is your dog's tail drooping? If he recently had a cold bath, a swim in chilly water or has been wagging energetically for a long period, he may have a condition known variously as cold tail, limber tail or rudder tail. Seen mostly in hunting dogs, the painful but generally harmless syndrome results in a limp tail. Fortunately, it usually returns to normal within a few days. Your veterinarian may prescribe pain medication or an anti-inflammatory drug to help him recover.
-- A cat’s eye color is genetically linked to coat color. Kittens are born with blue eyes, which may stay that way or change color as the kitten matures. For instance, all pointed cats have blue eyes. Cats who are solid white or mostly white may have blue, green, gold or copper eyes. The most common eye colors range from greenish-yellow to gold. Some cats have "odd eyes," meaning one eye is blue and one is green or gold. The scientific term for this is "heterochromia," from the Greek words "hetero," meaning "different," and "chromia," referring to color. The difference in color might not be noticeable in a kitten but changes gradually as kittens become adults. -- Dr. Marty Becker, Kim Campbell Thornton and Mikkel Becker
ABOUT PET CONNECTION
Pet Connection is produced by a team of pet care experts headed by “The Dr. Oz Show” veterinarian Dr. Marty Becker, founder of the Fear Free organization and author of many best-selling pet care books, and award-winning journalist Kim Campbell Thornton. Joining them is behavior consultant and lead animal trainer for Fear Free Pets Mikkel Becker. Dr. Becker can be found at Facebook.com/DrMartyBecker or on Twitter at DrMartyBecker. Kim Campbell Thornton is at Facebook.com/KimCampbellThornton and on Twitter at kkcthornton. Mikkel Becker is at Facebook.com/MikkelBecker and on Twitter at MikkelBecker.