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Teens & Pets
Toy Puppies Presents: 'Puppy-Dog Tales'
Newsletter - December 2001
Hi, everyone. I can't believe it's holiday
time again. It really snuck up on me this year. I hope this writing finds you
all well and happy. I trust you all had a very happy Thanksgiving. On Friday
(the day after Thanksgiving) I got not less than 17 phone calls from friends and
clients asking what to give their dog for diarrhea, now how do you think that
happened?
There are a few topics I would like to touch on today. You always hear how
wonderful pets are for elderly people, and indeed they are. You also know that a
pet is recommended for small children to help them understand how to treat other
living things and that is equally important. There is a group, however,
frequently not mentioned that can benefit tremendously from the companionship of
a dog. I am referring to teenagers. The teen years can be very difficult for
most kids. They are under a great deal of stress from their family, their peers
and the opposite sex. Some kids have trouble communicating with others and
really need the comfort of a sounding board for their feelings. A dog can be the
one who always has time to listen to you no matter when you feel the need to
talk. Your dog will always love you unconditionally even if you get a C in Math.
Your dog will always be ready to go out for a walk if you are bored or rest with
you on the bed if you are sad. Your dog will always be happy to see you and
greet you with love, even if it's after 11 o'clock. Most teenagers are very busy
in their own world and many don't think about having a pet. You need not force
the teenager to take part in the choosing or purchase of the dog if he or she
doesn't seem to be interested. But if the dog is there the bond will develop if
mom is clever enough to encourage it. "Hey, Bobby, will you take Spike out for me
while I make dinner?" or "Michelle, could you feed the dog when you get home? I'll be late."
Get the Idea?
I sell puppies and frequently when I am showing the puppies a man or woman will
get a wistful look in their eyes and say "We had a dog when I was growing up, he
was my best friend". Enough said, just food for thought.
Next topic; tips about training that new Christmas puppy. Housebreaking seems to
be the single most important issue people have with their puppy. They seem to
forgive other puppy annoyances, like whining, teething, not coming when called
and most of the other baby activates as cute. More people part with their dog
for house training problems than any other reason.
Training a small dog isn't always easy. Small dogs cannot wait as long as a big
dog and I don't think they have as much control as a larger breed. Many factors
can change a result you have worked hard on. I will use in part the story of my
sister Rhoda and her new puppy "Buffy". She got Buffy at 9 weeks old and using
a crate she immediately began house training her. All went well at the
beginning. Rhoda was taking the dog out every two hours and even had the option
of taking her to work with her and walking her there. Buffy caught on fast and
was doing really well. By 5 months she was all housebroken. Not! My sister and
her husband had to go out of town for several long weekends. Her housekeeper,
unbeknown to Rhoda, wasn't too conscience about walking the dog while she was
away. When the dog messed she merely cleaned it up and said nothing. Major set
back! Another problem arose when her husband walked the dog: if Buffy piddled,
he assumed she was done and brought her back in. She frequently was not done and
did the rest in the house. The dog has started making in the house again. Now my
poor sister has to go back to square one and start retraining with the crate and
going out every two hours.
The moral of this story is "Everyone caring for the dog MUST be on the same
page".
A secret that many people don't know is how truly clever the dog is. If the dog
detects a weakness in a caretaker and can take advantage without any
repercussions, he will. Every time an accident goes unpunished it re-enforces
the dogs bad behavior.
Now Buffy, a very smart and personable dog, might I add, is six months old and
still not completely house trained. I told my sister she must become very strong
in her corrections if this dog is to stop taking advantage. One really good Rant
is worth a thousand no, no's. If you discover the dog has left a lump in the
house while you were available to take him out or indeed you had taken him out
in the last hour you must take action. I know the books say that you can't
punish the dog after the fact but I don't agree with that. At least if you catch
it within an hour or two. Grab "Miss Buffy" by the scruff of the neck and drag
her over to the crime. You don't have to put her nose into it; she knows from
across the room what she has done. Now put on your meanest voice and scream at
her: NO! BAD DOG!! Give her a swat on the butt. The trick is not to hurt her
physically we want to hurt her feelings. Let her know you are really MAD. Make
her think you are going to kill her. Yell and swat for a full minute. That is a
really long time when you actually do it. Now drag her outside. If you have a
fenced yard leave her out there alone for 10 or 15 minutes. If no fence put her
lead on and tie her out there. DO NOT put her in the crate as a punishment. Put
or take her outside. Do this every time she makes in the house, NO exceptions.
If the dog has a brain in her head she will learn very quickly. At the same time
you must go back to having her sleep in her crate and take
her out Every two hours during the day until she is back on track. If you are
really ambitious you can get up at 5:00AM take her out and go back to bed.
At the moment I have nine dogs, three of which are 4 months old and I am trying
to housebreak all three at the same time. It's hard but not impossible. I let
them out in the morning for 20 minutes. After they come in I wait one hour and
let them out again. If one pees on the floor I scream at all three. (I'm not
usually sure who did it). It is working, but with three it will take more time.
Have a great Holiday everyone!
Until next time, remember:
Try to be as wonderful as your dog thinks you are.
Warmest Regards,
Myra
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