If amazes many people the stories we veterinarians have about the things dogs have eaten. Earrings, keys, parts of toys, knives, you name it. It does not make any logical sense to us humans why dogs would eat such things. It makes a lot of sense to a dog.

 

First of remember that dog's use their nose and their mouth to find out a bout the world. In the roof of the mouth is also a part of the smelling sense, so mouthing things is a way of smelling them. Even past puppy hood, dogs will want to mouth, chew then swallow what they have. This is all normal dog behavior. The more the item has a smell, especially of a human, the more the dog wants to check it out. So the things you touch or have your skin oils on them like jeweler, cell phones, TV remotes, clothing, and kitchen utensils are really enticing for a dog.
 
It is very difficult to train a dog to leave these things alone. It is good to train this, but it is not good to trust that their training will keep them from the temptation of getting after the pot roast wrapper in the garbage. Have a snap shut lid garbage can, or keep the garbage in a cabinet that will latch shut. Keep your keys, cell phones and other items on a shelf that your dog can not reach. Close the closet door or have a closing hamper for your clothes. 
 
Pets that have eaten things may not get sick right away. Often the pet may vomit after the object has moved and then plugs up the stomach or intestines. So a pet that has eaten something may still eat their food, play and have bowel movements but later have problems. X-rays and other tests can detect if a pet has something in their tummy. 
 
Use a leash to walk your dog, and supervise them in your yard. In the spring there can be old bones, animals that have died and bunny poop that a lot of dogs will eat in finding out what was under the snow. Be aware of what your dog is sniffing at when you walk around town too.  

 

Most puppies are already friendly, active, and playful. These behaviors are normal, and a part of how a puppy learns both good and bad about the world. The window of time for learning is primarily from 7 weeks to 16 weeks of age in the puppy. This is when a non fearful puppy can see that loud noises, new people, animals , and car rides are not a threat ,especially if some kind of reward goes along with the experience. This is socialization. Basically the puppy who will later grow into a dog, feels happy and content when experiencing lots of different situations.

So, puppies do not automatically become socialized. They need lots of chances to go to new places, meet people and other animals while being rewarded for acting calm or friendly. This is where puppy socialization classes come in. Your puppy has a chance to learn with you the owner, how to meet and greet other dogs well. You learn what a reward for your puppy is. For most it is food, but for some it may be verbal or physical praise. Some puppies are ball crazy so having their toy to play with is their reward. Owners need to know how, when and why type of reward for thier puppy. That is why a class is helpful - to teach both the owner and the puppy.

Puppy socialization classes are not obedience classes. One or 2 commands may be taught as part of your puppies needed learning, but that is not the focus of these classes. Owners are teaching their puppies a lot at this point such as house training, leash walking, proper play, and they need some guidance on these things. Puppies need a chance to play with other pups to learn how to communicate with other dogs too so play sessions are a big part of class but not all of class. All of these things are covered in class.

In the past veterinarians recommended keeping puppies away from other dogs or places until all the vaccines are finished. Current medicine now shows that this can hurt the puppies behavioral and health development. It is important to have your puppy start the proper vaccine and worming program as soon as you get your puppy. This will start their protection while in class and actually being around other dogs stimulates their vaccine protection. You can find more information about this at the American Veterinary Society on Animal Behavior website.

Some puppies are timid and fearful right at the start. This may be due to some harsh experiences that the puppy already had, but actually may be genetic in this puppy. Mix breed dogs as well as purebred may be "wired" to be timid. These pups really need socialization class to help them learn at a controlled slower pace that they need.

We are now starting a puppy socialization course beginning April 17th.

 

We are in the thunderstorm season. Pets who are afraid of storms are likely having a tough time as are their owners. There is help and there is hope.  
 
Many trainers and tv shows give a lot of information about ways to train your dog to be less afraid. These techniques can help for the mildly frightened dog. Training must be practiced on non storm days. For the dog to learn. This is the key - do the teaching and rewarding for calm behavior on non stormy days so the dog is able to learn.
 
There are also products such as DAP, special capes and under shirts, and other calming products to use. These do help, but must be used before the pet gets upset, or when they are mildly anxious. When there is a very high level of anxiety it is difficult for these products to help activate a calming response.
 
Anxiety and fear shuts the brain down from learning. There is actually a change chemicals and activity in the brain in fear that blocks out part of the area of learning new things. The animal stays in the panic state and can not help it. The triggers of thunder, wind, rain change in air pressure and electrical charges are steadily increasing the fear. This is why you can see dogs start with whining, then refuse to go out, then increase to pacing and searching or worse. When they are up to whining, or searching for a place to go their brain cannot handle hearing a new command or taking a reward for a down and stay.
 
There are new medication plans and therapy plans for dogs with thunderstorm phobia. A plan is best developed for your pet in with you. For dogs that are really affected and the owners affected, there is hope. The plans are centered around antianxiety medication combined with a therapy plan to learn how to be calm in the storms. These are newer techniques that veterinarians offering behavioral services are best at applying for your pet. The medications are not sedatives, and dogs that had both the medication and therapy plans for one storm season often were off meds and doing much better by the next year.