the do's and don'ts of taking care of a puppy

[jujur14]

Hope other dog lovers can share their inputs.

recently, we brought home an 8 week old labrador male puppy. he's been microchiped and given his first dose of vaccination by the litter owner.

currently, we're feeding him eukanuba puppy food and yesterday, i introduced him to 2 slices of banana which he chowed down.

since we're informed not to go for vaccinations, please share how to prop up his internal immunity with what type of supplements, dosages and the frequencies please.

how do we ween him off nipping at our ankles, knees, calves and fingers pls? we've been putting him into a cardboard box as a time out box for naughty behaviour as well as to calm down his frisky energy. also, trying to potty train him which is back breaking.

hope for some sharing soon. TQ.

[Justion]

I have a story to share:

I was cat-sitting my friend's two cats, grown-ups but behave like kittens. So I allowed them to roam freely within my house… And they started scratching my couch in the absence of a scratching post…

So I 'punished' them by putting them back into their cage. For 5 minutes.

And all the while I was thinking "sigh, am I not suppose to respect their free-will…? The fact that I have them confined is not really 3Ps…"

It's hard with cats, they operate differently than dogs. And it's hard to take care of your living space when they run around and start scratching all porous, fibrous stuff they can put their paws (claws) to…

How do we co-exist with animals that do not possess the same intellectual capacity as us humans? Are we suppose to make decisions for them? I know we are suppose to love them? The cats know I love them =D.

And I never ever want to have cats again, unless of course, I have a more conducive space for feline woes.

[jujur14]

Hi Justion,

Tq for sharing your cat-sitting experience. Agree with you that we're suppose to exercise 3P's but i personally feel that when we're to co-exist with each other, certain perimeters need to be set - like not clawing furniture, curtains, table legs, etc.. They need to be broken in in that sense if not, how about staying outdoors then? for cats, best is to give them a room unto themselves, their crates for sleeping, clawing posts and other toys to amuse them. at times, they're pitiful as they're confined within a limited space and they'll be bored stiff starring at the 4 walls. after a while, even their toys don't seem to amuse them anymore, jaded.

it's the same with puppies and dogs, they don't get to see their owners almost the whole day and when they return home, the pets just want to have fun and show their love, no?

anyway, that's my take on this issue.

[springtime]

I have been hooked on dogs and cats since i was young! and have been having dog(s) for most parts of my life. first of all, one need to do some research work on how to care for them when they are puppies and as they grow up and what are the things to watch out for. this i believe is the 'awareness' part. you can't blame the poor cats for making marks on your couch or furniture, it is part of their instinct! or perhaps they are marking their territory when they are in a new/strange place. i believe animals are in a way here to teach us how to love.. and or some lessons. they are not here for us to judge them.., for they do not judge us, they have unconditional love for us when they feel loved and safe.

there are books written on how to train dogs and speaking to dog owners would certainly help. being consistent with them is important, if a member of your family allows him/her to be 'chewed' by the puppy, it would think that it is ok to do that to all humans. so, do check if your are training him in a consistent manner. harmonise with your family in terms of how you want the dog trained.

on supplements, i avoid feed made from chicken as much as i can, trying feed them with fish formula. if your dog has worms or there are signs of worms, can try garlic oil. i do feed my dog probiotics and enzymes as she is getting old and displays some GI tract problem.

[jujur14]

TQ Springtime. the key issue is trying to get family members on the same page. in my case, those on the same page aren't around consistenly enough to carry out the repetitive lessons for the pup. so, whatever we tried to implement, unravels when we're not around. agreed that we shouldn't blame the poor pup which is quite confused. when he grows up a little bit more, probably have to let him stay outside the house.