Housebreaking a Puppy

After spending time with my 3 1/2 month old Great Dane friend Rossco while his parents were out of town, I thought I should write something about puppy potty training.

The formula for how often a puppy needs a potty break is one hour per month of age plus one (i.e. a three-month old puppy will need to go out every four hours). At 6-8 weeks of age, he'll need to go out every one to three hours. That's why it's best to bring your new puppy home when you have a couple of days free to establish the routine of where you wish him to relieve himself. That being said, the best way to figure out what your particular puppy needs is to keep a journal of how often he goes during the first two days. His schedule will cue you as to what your schedule for taking him out should be.

Puppies will need to be taken out after eating, playing, training, being left alone and before bedtime. Scheduling your puppy's feedings and allowing him 20-30 minutes to eat before taking up his food will send him the message that he eats when you put his food down. The reason this is important is because he will have to eliminate shortly after he eats, you will be able to get him outside in a timely manner and you will reinforce this routine.

Puppies can generally "hold it" overnight because they're not eating, drinking or being active but that doesn't mean they can "hold it" while you're at work or away for longer periods of time. Housebreaking is a quicker, more reliable process if the puppy gets a mid-day break (or more depending on age/needs).

I am happy to be able to provide these breaks for puppy parents. Mid-day visits are important not just for housebreaking but also provides the exercise and stimulation that puppies need.

Bliss

Sienna and Katie love to shmooze when we get back from our walk! Okay, I'll admit that I love the post walk celebration too. Sienna is extremely smart but a bit reserved. She's starting to let her guard down and will sometimes offer her belly for rubbing. Katie is one of the happiest dogs on earth. She is true to her Lab heritage. She always has a smile on her face and loves everybody except people on bikes and skateboards. They are a joyful addition to the Leash Leaders family!

A Bird in the Hand...

Robbie is an adorable Caique with a great disposition. He likes to 'beak surf' in my hand and likes to chat with me as I learn to speak his language. He loves music and bobs his head up and down when he hears it. His favorite song is 'Coconut' by Harry Nilsson. What a treat to be able to hang out with him while his parents are out of town!

Trip and Ezri

My latest satisfied customers are two beautiful 8 year old brother/sister Siberian Huskies. Trip is extremely handsome with light yellowish brown eyes and a penchant for 'talking'. Ezri has gorgeous blue eyes and is shyer and more laid back than her brother. Even though they look a lot like wolves, their disposition is very calm and sweet. I've been spending lots of time with them while their mom and dad are out of town. It's been wonderful getting to know these two and giving them lots of attention and love. I feel blessed to be able to do this for a living!

Mikey's Allergies

Mikey's photo provided by Pet Prints of San Diego 

Everyone who lives with dogs knows that they can suffer from all kinds of allergies. Their allergies may be  caused by their diet, their environment or a combo of the two. Since diet is the easiest one to control, we have been working on feeding Mikey the food with the least amount of common allergy-causing ingredients. That helped him for a while but lately, the rashes and the scratching (mostly on his neck, armpits and recently, down in his groin area) have worsened so we decided to make an appointment for him at the Animal Dermatology Clinic.

The vet at the clinic spent a generous amount of time explaining the ins and outs of allergies and what our options were for diagnosing and treating Mikey. Since the 'gold standard' for diagnosing allergies involves sedation, shaving an area and multiple injections meant to incite a specific reaction, we decided to start over with diet. The doctor suggested we try a yam/black bean diet (yes, we're cooking for our boy!) , fed in equal portions 3xs a day along with a regimen of prednisone (a steroid) to provide immediate relief from the itchy-scratchies. He also prescribed an antibiotic for the staph infection Mikey had from all the scratching. We also bought Mikey some new T shirts (he actually likes wearing them, honest!) to cover his armpits along with a sock to cover his neck to keep him from restarting his scratching cycle. 

One week later, his skin is starting to look better and he is definitely scratching less. We are hopeful and happy that he's experiencing some relief. We know that there may be an additional environmental component to his allergy but we're taking it a day at a time right now. The vet said that he could be on his new diet (which he LOVES, by the way) for eight weeks but if we decide to keep him on it, we would have to add more nutrients to make it a complete diet. We're scared at the thought that he may be allergic to whatever it is we need to add, but we're willing to do whatever it takes to make him healthy and happy. After all, he's our boy and he loves us as much as we love him. 

Size Does Matter...

Had an idea to take my very sweet Cairn terrier mix, Penny to meet Savvy today. Savvy's still a puppy but is about double the weight of Penny. Also, double the enthusiasm. While Savvy was exhibiting some of the right body language for an invitation to play (play bow and tail wag), Penny was too intimidated by Savvy's other enthusiastic greetings (pawing and barking) to be receptive to more than a just-out-of-reach viewing of Savvy's other exploits in and out of the swimming pool. Glad we tried but maybe a meeting in neutral territory next time...

Savvy and I having a blast yesterday. In typical Lab fashion, she keeps me on my toes!