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Puppy Potty Problems
Contents:
Potty Primer for Puppies
Cabin Fever
Keep your Pet's Breath Fresh
Brushing your Pet's Teeth
Potty Primers for Puppies
 Getting a puppy to learn to use the bathroom outside or on a
special place in the house can be a little challenging, and for some puppies it
seems impossible. There is good
information from the major pet food companies on how to train a puppy to go
outside. Often on your first veterinary
visit you will get a kit with a puppy care book that has these instructions in
it. If you missed that, ask your
veterinarian for a puppy kit.
Here are the most important factors to potty train your
puppy:
1. Feed only
meals. Do not leave the food out. Two times a day, food down for 20 minutes
maximum will result in the puppy having a bowel movement in about 10-30
minutes. So scheduled feedings leads to
scheduled poops. If you puppy is not
eating well, be sure that your pup has been wormed and is on a high quality
major brand food. Cheap food equals lots
of stools.
2. Water is a drink. Offer about 1/4 to 1/2 cup of water every 2-3 hours. Some puppies just love to drink so they will drink
a lot and then you know what a lot leading to accidents in the house. Ice cubes are okay if they seem thirsty a lot.
3. Use a leash, go out the same door to the same spot every
time. The puppy sees the leash and
learns that this is potty time. Off the
leash after the first week the pup gets distracted and does not finish all the
business. With you on the end of the
leash you praise as the puppy is going. Do not wait until you are in the house - otherwise the puppy thinks they
are good to come in and will not finish up outside.
4. When the puppy is awake, take them out every hour. Set the kitchen timer for an hour right after
you come in. They need to go more often
when active and the repetition of all the steps to going outside is what
teaches the puppy overtime to go to the door, or come to you and bark to go
out.
5. Do not punish your pup for accidents in the house. They don't understand, they cannot help it
and it creates a lot of fear and anxiety problems later. If the pup has had an accident, clean it up
and take the pup out. What did you
miss? Get busy and not take the pup out
as soon as they started to pace or whine? Puppies have a literal 5 second
warning for you so follow the prompt no matter how cold and get them out!
6. Avoid problems by using a crate positively and baby gates
to keep the pup in the room you are in. When a pup is out of sight, how can you know they need to go? If a puppy passes stool or urine on a surface
4 times or more they think that is a toilet even if it is your oriental carpet
or hardwood floor.
If you are having frustrating potty problems after following
this advice, give our office a call and
we can go through a potty plan for you and your pup. Having a specific plan for you and your pup,
addressing any early weaning distress or bowel problems can help speed up puppy
potty training and decrease a lot of frustration for you. We have a 14 days to the perfect puppy
program as part of our puppy potty consults (yes in 14 days you can have a
trained puppy) and we offer a lot of
support to you.
House training is the first thing a puppy needs to learn
well. There are a number of steps and it
does take time. As is often said,
sometimes it is training the human to be consistent and observant to the
puppy. Good luck with your new friend,
and please go to our website for helpful behavior videos, blog, and articles.
Cabin Fever in Pets
 When the weather gets horribly cold, it is really difficult to give our pets as much exercise and play outside. Both dogs and cats that go outside may act up due to boredom. Feet freeze, making in painful to walk very far. It is harder to find the ball in the snow or chase mice and birds that are hunkering down in the shrubbery. Sometimes dogs may have accidents in the house because it is too hard on their feet to get "in position" to potty. Their toilet area may be covered with snow or just frozen, making it hard to smell the area. Accidents are forgivable; they are also very aggravating. Other ways that pets may act up in the winter is being more mischievous in the home. Cats may be knocking more items off your dresser or getting on the counters. Dogs may be pulling things off shelves to get your attention. You may hear more barking at squirrels out the window, or your cats may be swatting at each other more.
What to do? First of all, try to understand why your pets are behaving badly. The house is no where nearly as fun as the great outdoors. There are not as many places to sniff out, dig out or climb on top of. So, to help cure cabin fever, make the indoors more interesting. First
be sure to keep the routines regular such as feeding and going outside.
When you do feed make feeding time more interesting by using food
puzzles rather than just feeding out of a bowl. Both dogs and cats get a lot of mental stimulation figuring out how the heck to get the food out of the toy. Meals in the puzzle, not just treats. You can see some videos starring Bella and Ranger using food puzzles on my website.
To avoid accidents in the house, keep your dog on a feeding schedule. They will typically need to toilet about a half an hour after eating. You can now predict when they will need to go and not have to spend so much time outside. Take your pet out for short but more frequent breaks and praise praise praise when they get it right. You may give them the first chance to eliminate, come in for 5 minutes (keeping them confined) then go on out again to finish up. Outside cats may still demand to toilet outside. If you let them out, give them some super yummy canned food just inside the house door to reward them for coming home.
Offering a potty pad in the home may be another way to help out the toy breeds. Reward the dog when they use the pad. Shoveling off some snow or making a path can also help the small dog go outside. For the housebound cat, reward them after using the box and keep the box absolutely clean. As soon as it is used, scoop it.
Increasing exercise cuts down on boredom and can help pets get along. Walking, even limited, is still good in the cold. Booties and coats help and there are sizes for the large to small pets. More
frequent short walks going in different areas can help to minimize the
frozen paws and still provide variety and some outside time. Head halters and front attaching harnesses can make walking easier and safer for the humans as well. Premier and other makers have various halter models that are easy to use.
Lastly, find ways to play and get exercise in the house. Games
of chase up and down the stairs, review obedience commands or teach
them a new trick. This will decrease naughty behaviors that come from
boredom.
For cats use laser
pointers they can chase, stuffed toys they can pounce on or boxes they
can investigate. Cats really need to have their toys rotated every day
to keep it interesting. You don't need many; just keep most up taking one or 2 down a day. Be sure you have enough places for the cats to lay and perch on. A step ladder set up with towels on the tread can increase the space to the cats. Placing this near a window can relieve much boredom.
Make the home mischief proof at this time. Remember that both cats and dogs can smell much better than us. So
even though you put the chocolate brownies way back on the counter,
your dog or cat will be very interested in getting to them. Be sure your garbage has a closing lid as well.
To learn more about pet behavior, tools to use and understanding your pet read my blog and look out for our events announced in our newsletter.
If your pet is driving you crazy, give us a call. Take a look at the behavior services we offer.
Keep your Pet's Breath Fresh
Keeping your
pet's mouth healthy is important. Your pet will be healthier and not
have "doggy" or "kitty" breath. Here are a few tips you can do at home
to help your pet's breath to stay fresh. If these tips don't work for
your pet, call us and we will set up an appointment to look at your
pet's teeth.
- Encourage your pet to chew on rawhides, nylabones and other toys
to help clean your pet's teeth. The chewing motion helps to clean
teeth. Some nylabones and toys are designed to help clean teeth.
- Use
a water additive to help keep your pet's teeth clean. We sell an
additive called Clenz-a-dent. We also have a cleaning rinse that can be
squirted into your pet's mouth. If your pet doesn't like the
rinse squirted into his or her mouth, you can squirt it onto a toy or
rawhide and let your pet chew on that.
- Brush
your pet's teeth. Use a pet tooth brush and tooth paste. Do NOT use
people tooth paste. People tooth paste can make your pet sick. Read the
next article to find out more about how to brush your pet's teeth.
If none of these are helping with your dog or cat's bad
breath, call us to set up an appointment. Dr. Foote will look at your
pet's teeth. We can set up an appointment to clean your pet's teeth.
We
place your pet under anesthesia while we perform the dental. Dr. Foote
cleans the teeth while one of the veterinary technicians or assistants
monitor your pet. We look at your pet's gums for any abnormalities. We
remove plaque and tartar from your pet's teeth and look for loose teeth.
We will remove loose teeth. We will also remove teeth if they are
damaged. We then polish your pet's teeth and apply a sealant to help
prevent tartar build up. Here are a before and after picture of a dog we
performed a dental cleaning on.
Before  After 
Most
adult dogs and cats have some form of periodontal disease. Tartar and
plaque build up on your pet's teeth. Bacteria starts to live and
reproduce around the plaque. Hair and pieces of food also can get stuck
between your pet's teeth, allowing more bacteria to grow. The bacteria
releases toxins that irritate the gum tissue. This causes inflammation,
redness and pain. The toxins also attack the supporting
structures, including the periodontal ligaments and bone, around the
tooth. The loss of supporting structures makes the tooth loose. The
bacteria can enter your pet's blood stream and travel to other organs,
including the heart, kidney and liver. The bacteria can inflame these
organs and cause health problems. The bacteria living in your pet's
mouth also causes bad breath.
The
progression of dental disease has four stages. During the first
stage, the gums will be slightly red and swollen and teeth will
have plaque on them. The first stage is reversible with a dental
cleaning. During the second stage, the gums are red and swollen and painful, the
teeth have chunks of plaque on them and the breath will smell. This
stage is also reversible with a dental cleaning. During the third
stage, the gums will also bleed and some teeth may be completely covered
by tartar. The mouth is also very sore during this stage. This stage
may be reversible with a dental cleaning. During the fourth stage, the
gums may contain pus pockets and tooth roots may be visible. This stage
is not reversible. We perform a dental cleaning to remove the
tartar, loose teeth and any infected tissues.
If you would like to schedule an appointment to get your pet's teeth cleaned, please call us or send an email.
Brushing your Pet's Teeth
 Brush your pet's
teeth daily. Use a pet tooth brush and tooth paste. We sell a tooth
brush that has a three sided head so it brushes each side of the
tooth in one swipe. Pet tooth pastes come in chicken, liver, beef and
other flavors. Do NOT use people tooth paste. It is poisonous to your
pet. Read the next topic below to learn how to teach your pet to accept
their teeth being brushed.
You can teach your pet to
accept having his or her teeth brushed. The best time to start brushing
your pet's teeth is when they are a puppy or kitten. But you can teach
your adult pet too. It just may take a little bit longer. Purchase a pet
tooth brush and paste. Pet tooth pastes come in various flavors. Try a
flavor you think your pet will like.
When you start, don't
just shove the tooth brush into your pet's mouth. They can get scared.
You need to slowly work your way up to brushing your pet's teeth over
several days. Start by putting some of the tooth paste on your finger
and let your pet lick it off. When your pet looks forward to getting the
tooth paste, start sticking your finger in your pet's mouth and move in
like a tooth brush a few times. Do this until your pet is comfortable.
Then start putting it on the brush and let him or her lick it off. When
your pet is comfortable with this, move the brush in and out of the
mouth one time. Do this until your pet is comfortable. Then slowly add
more swipes until you can brush your pet's mouth.
You can give your pet
treats after you brush his or her teeth. This may seem strange. After
all, you just cleaned their teeth. But giving your pet a treat lets them
know, if they let you brush their teeth, then they get a treat.
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