Puppies may be just as much work as human babies – maybe more so because puppies can’t wear diapers and they have very sharp teeth!! It’s definitely true that, similar to infants and toddlers, puppies explore their world by putting things in their mouths. In addition,puppies are teething until they’re about 6 months old, which usually creates some discomfort. Chewing not only facilitates teething, but also makes sore gums feel better. Although it’s perfectly normal for a puppy to chew on furniture, shoes, shrubbery and such, these behaviors can be a problem for you. A puppy won’t magically outgrow these behaviors as he matures. Instead, you must shape your puppy’s behaviors and teach him which ones are acceptable and which aren’t.It’s virtually inevitable that your puppy will, at some point, chew up something you value. This is part of raising a puppy! You can, however, prevent most problems by taking the following precautions:
Never discipline or punish your puppy after the fact. If you discover a chewed item even minutes after he’s chewed it, you’re to late to administer a correction. Animals associate punishment with what they are doing at the time that they are being punished. A puppy can’t reason that, “I tore up those shoes an hour ago and that’s why I’m being scolded now.” Some people believe this is what a puppy is thinking because he runs and hides or because he “looks guilty.” “Guilty looks” are canine submissive postures that dogs show when they’re threatened. When you’re angry and upset, the puppy feels threatened by your tone of voice, body postures and/or facial expressions, so he may hide or show submissive postures. Punishment after-the-fact will not only fail to eliminate the undesirable behavior, but could provoke other undesirable behaviors, as well.
Tony is a frequent speaker at our Saturday Meet and Greets here at Green Cottage Pets.
He genuinely cares about dogs and their owners and we thank him for sharing his knowledge with all of us.
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