View Full Version : I got a new puppy...
but she is a chewer, particularly my toes and the laptop cord. How can I get her to play with her toys instead of our stuff?
Hmmm, well first off, she needs a name. I say her name should be Blu. After all, it is a great name.
As for the chewing thing, I think you should take her to the pet store and let her pick a toy. That way you'll have something that she'll want to play with. She's probably doing cords and stuff b/c the move alot, same with the toes. Do you have a toy that you can play tug o' war with? They are usually a fave with puppies. But you'd better get that under control b/c it will become a nasty habit if you don't.
Too bad she is already named Sage. When I was a girl I had a dog named blu, she had one brown eye, one blue.
Originally posted by Kim
Too bad she is already named Sage. When I was a girl I had a dog named blu, she had one brown eye, one blue. one brown eye! bwahahahahaha! :heh:
why don't you give her the chicken pox? that'll keep her busy :P
whitak24
03-29-2002, 07:48 AM
congrats on your new puppy kim!
when do we get to see pics? ;)
and i have no advice on how to stop the chewing, as i've never owned a puppy.
BrewMaster
03-29-2002, 08:30 AM
my dog used to chew cords...until she chewed the refrigerator cord and got electrocuted. her whole mouth swelled up for 2 days. she never chewed another cord again...
so my advice? "shock therapy!"
hoey222
03-29-2002, 08:42 AM
variety - give your puppy LOTS of different, appropriate things to chew on. prasie the pup for chewing the right things. quick discipline when puppy chews the wrong thing.
get bitter apple to spray on anything you dont want the dog to chew. i've also used hot sauce to curb our dogs chewing. they will eventually grow out of it.
good luck and enjoy.
:D
Kevster
03-29-2002, 12:48 PM
I tend to believe in the Uncle Matty-style of dog training. My parents did it with their last 2 dogs and it worked very well.
Hoey's advice is good too.
dbax791
03-29-2002, 05:54 PM
You didn't tell us what breed it is..."Sporting" dogs like retrievers and pointers, and "Herding Dogs" like Aussie Shepherds and Border Collies tend to be much more mouthy as pups. Basically Hoey got it right, give them good chew toys (Nylabones and Kongs...NO RAWHIDE!!!) and bitter-apple the stuff you don't want them to chew.
It's cute when puppies nibble on you but they need to be taught fairly early that it is absolutely NEVER acceptable to put teeth on human flesh. This will save you much headaches later on.
If your interested, I have a bunch of good puppy websites that might help you out.
Good luck!
http://members.cox.net/dbax791/Seabirds3.gif
She is a German Shorthair pointer. I would appreciate any good websites you could point me to. Thanks dbax!
dbax791
03-29-2002, 06:47 PM
Wow! I love GSPs! They are really fast and make excellent retrievers. I'm a dog "nut" so I could probably write a novel but the things I would immediately suggest (and I'm sure you already know a lot of this...)
- GSP's are bird dogs, so they are naturally bred to want to chase stuff and have things in their mouth, make sure its a "safe" thing like the toys I mentioned above
- I would STRONGLY suggest you get her in a puppy kindergarten class ASAP. This teaches them how to socialize with other dogs, and teaches you how to touch her ears/paws, brush her teeth, clip her nails, etc... at an early age so you don't have problems later. Petsmart is OK, but ask your vet and ask around if there is a more experienced private class...
- Start planning on managing her nutrition/growth. Sporting dogs are somewhat prone to hip/joint problems, so you don't want her to grow too fast. The plates between the joints don't fully develop until she is 14-18 mos old, so until then, watch the jumping and absolutely no running on concrete/asphalt. Many people recommend switching to an adult food at 4 mos since puppy food has so much protein it accelerates the growth. Do some research and get a high-quality food since proper nutrition is very important in the first couple of years and can help you avoid problems later.
- Oh, and get her microchipped. I'm sure it's not a problem in Utah, but in some parts of the country, hunting dogs like pointers are common targets for thieves. Plus in case she ever gets lost, most shelters will scan for microchips. A good time to do this is when she goes in for her spay.
Here is a good message board group to start. The "health" board and "nutrition" board are very good. Also, there is a pointer group board, but not much activity. I would introduce yourself and tell them you have a new puppy and they would have a lot of good advice to give you about the breed.
ACME Pet Message Boards (http://acmepet.petsmart.com/club/bboard/)
If you have any other questions you can email me or AIM me...
Good luck!
molecularfire
03-30-2002, 10:15 AM
Congrats. Kim. Finally decided to take our advise and ask your husband for a jeep huh? :D
BrewMaster
03-30-2002, 06:16 PM
well, the bitter apple stuff didn't wwork for me. we had a Dauchsand (sp?), i.e. a wiener dog, and she use to chew the wooden boards on our backyard fence to get out. when we put bitter apple on it, she chewed it even more. maybe we just had a freak of nature for a dog, but she actually LIKED the bitter apple. go figure...
Speedfreak
03-30-2002, 08:37 PM
lace your toes and cords with chili pepper.
chrissy
03-30-2002, 08:54 PM
Originally posted by BrewMaster
well, the bitter apple stuff didn't wwork for me. we had a Dauchsand (sp?), i.e. a wiener dog, and she use to chew the wooden boards on our backyard fence to get out. when we put bitter apple on it, she chewed it even more. maybe we just had a freak of nature for a dog, but she actually LIKED the bitter apple. go figure...
I had a black lab like that. Drove me nuts!
Congrats on the pup, Kim!
Jenny
03-30-2002, 09:47 PM
Originally posted by molecularfire
Congrats. Kim. Finally decided to take our advise and ask your husband for a jeep huh? :D
:heh: Funny! :D
And I LOVE the 2nd quote in your sig, mf! :D
Lothar
03-30-2002, 10:07 PM
my dog is too old to be any fun....he cant hear and hes going blind
not fun in him lol
Speedfreak
03-31-2002, 12:44 AM
Originally posted by Lothar
my dog is too old to be any fun....he cant hear and hes going blind
not fun in him lol
"You sir, need a RePet"
come on.. someone knows it. ;)
Hopper1
03-31-2002, 01:27 AM
Originally posted by Speedfreak
"You sir, need a RePet"
come on.. someone knows it. ;)
Hmm The 6th Day?
Speedfreak
03-31-2002, 01:57 AM
Originally posted by Hopper1
Hmm The 6th Day?
:thumbup:
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