new puppy

[Smitty78]

smitty,

thanks for the reply. i guess i should have followed up.

we switched her to nutro puppy food(the light blue tealish colored bag) great stuff!

As for her back, she is not allowed on ANY furniture(our couch was waaay to expensive to let any animal, let alone some people on) id hate for her back to go out, so we have talked with her vet about the proper precautions to prevent any problems.

this is my first dog since moving out of my parents house, and i am going to do it right.

one problem i am having though, is she keeps chewing off her harness. i think its a puppy thing, but i cant afford to buy a 20 dollar harness every 4 days. she chews the part that goes around her waist or stomach. the vet and the people we got her from said to not use a collar as it can lead to neck injuries from jerking away from the leash to hard.

Anyway, she is a sweetie and im glad to say she is now a part of our family.

Buy some bitter apple at the pet store, and soak the harness in it. This should prevent her from chewing on it. A harness is not something that should be left on her for long periods of time. So I guess my question is, how is she having the time to chew it off? I personally would only use the harness when you are taking her outside, walking, etc....

 

[codykrr]

well, i was told to leave it on for a few weeks so she got used to it. bad info i suppose?

also thanks for the tip.

as for messes, she hasnt made any really. she loves her chew toys. mainly her rope and ball. she loves chasing them.lol

she has not had one accident in the house since her first day here. which i blame on her being excited.

she was almost house broke when we got her, and she will hold it for the entire 6 hours per day we are gone. for now we have been keeping her in a dog pin lined with pee pads just in case. this prevents most of her messes and tons of chewed up items.

anyway im going to go to the pet store tomorrow and buy another harness and some apple bitter maybe she wont chew it off.

also anyone know of a good method/tool to get for trimming there nails.

i know how to do it but ive only done on dogs with white/clearish nails so seeing the quick was no problem, but her nails are black. and does anyone recommend a specific brand or type of nail trimmer?

 

[Smitty78]

As long as you are using it consistently, she will get used to it. No need to leave it on for long periods. If you don't leave it on her as suggested, you won't need the bitter apple.

I prefer using a dremel tool with a grinding drum for the nails. She is the perfect age to get her used to it now. If you do it in good light, you will still be able to see the quick. You will be able to see where the nail gets darker, you just have to look close in good light.

 

[Teal]

Great advice Smitty!

I agree.. there is no need to leave the harness on her all the time - she will adjust to it, and pretty soon she'll realize that harness = walk and get excited about it!

That's great that you switched her food!

OUr doxie never had problems going up and down furniture, but then again she was a standard and not a mini.. standards are thicker and less fragile than the minis.

She's friggin cuuuuute! I love all things brindle lol

 

[codykrr]

yeah she is defiantly a looker. and smitty what do yo do, just trim and then round off the nails with the dremel ?

 

[Smitty78]

No I grind the nail down completely just as you would a nail file. It works awesome. Just be sure to do little bits at a time. If you just hold it on there, the nail heats up and gets uncomfortable for them.


Edited to add:

The reason I don't like nail clippers is I have had a few split nails which is very painful for the dog. As long as they are sharp, the risk is low but still there. A dremel completely eliminates that risk.

 

[Smitty78]

I agree.. there is no need to leave the harness on her all the time - she will adjust to it, and pretty soon she'll realize that harness = walk and get excited about it!

Ohhhhh yes. When I get a leash or collar out, my dogs get stupidly excited as they know it's time to go work. It's actually quite amusing watching them fail miserably at containing their eagerness, and trying to stay sat at the same time. They all know, no sit=no collar=you stay at home that day.

 

[Laceface]

I don't remember if it was mentioned, but you might want to get a collar as well as a harness. The collar would be ONLY to keep tags on her, and the harness for walking. That way if she gets out when she doesn't have her harness on, she has identification.

I feed mine Solid Gold, as she has a very sensitive tummy when it comes to anything gluten/wheat. I agree with everyone about the grocery store brands, they are all crap. You want a food with a good amount of protein.

She is absolutely adorable though, I hope you guys enjoy her, and good luck with her. Are you going to get her in to a puppy training class or anything for socialization when she's old enough?

 

[codykrr]

yeah, i switched foods to nutro, i bought her a harness. good idea on the collar though might go get that today.

and i don't think we will put her into any class, but im sure i can train her myself


and yes! we absolutely love her to death!

 

[Laceface]

Do you have a dog park or anything near by? Or friends with dogs? It's really important that she gets socialization , or she might be a terror later, lol

 

[super-pede]

she is cute. you should make a thread for people to post pics of their dogs
oh,CONGRATZ:clap::clap: