Tag: puppy tips

Doggy training tips

Puppy secret 3 – Head, Shoulders, Knees and Hips

thetailsofdylan

As a puppy it often felt like we had just got going on my adventures rambling the local countryside, when we we would  turn round and go home. It turns out it was for my own good. The vet told the pawrents that puppies, particularly Labradors, are prone to issues with joints (mainly shoulder and hips) and should only be walked for 30 minutes at a time with sufficient rest (minimum 30 mins) in between walks. Who knew! Is this why a pit stop at the beer garden was invented?

Concurring the stairs aka My Everest
For the same reason I was never able to tackle those stairs until I was 1 year old when my bones and joints had developed. Although many times I was keen to concur that Everest but when I did I’m so glad I was prepared!

Brain games
It was difficult to entertain me at a young age when I had so much energy and a couple of bouts of ‘crazy puppy hour’ a day. I enjoyed the brain games we played. You know; the usual, sit, lie down, we missed out the roll over but we played guess which box the treat is under, hide and seek, and watch me (a staring contest). It was heaven.

Small step for man a giant leap for dog!
Watching you watching me..
Coming ready or not…

A whole load of treats for the simplest of things but turns out this was pre-school. I’d been tricked – played like a dog. I was being trained on my basic manners. I thought it was a game where I play the human to get a treat. Anyway I’m sure the mental stimulation has developed me into a marvelous young dog and it was fun.

Surf the web there are loads of ideas for DIY brain games for us doggies – have fun my friends. And feel free to post some ideas for my fellow hoomans and their puppies in the comments below?

Dylan  Paw Print

Doggy training tips

Puppy secret 2 – tips for teething

thetailsofdylan

My pawrents were introduced to the secret by another puppy owner and have been passing it on ever since.  The secret of frozen carrots! There’re like the ice lollies of the doggy world. They sooth the gum, taste great and apparently are rich in Omega 6 fatty acid, vitamins A and K and potassium. So maybe more like a frozen yogurt than ice cream! Hopefully this will distract your bundle of joy from chewing up everything and anything in the house to chewing on some nutritious veg.

Carrots

Watch out they are also high in fibre so not too many or we’ll have a different type of trouble!

Ice cubes work too, very handy if you’re in the local pub or beer garden….

IMG_7580

What’s your teething tips? Feel free to share below.

Head back for another installment of tips from my time as a puppy next week.

Dylan Paw Print

Doggy training tips

Puppy secret 1 – mastering toilet time!

thetailsofdylan

Every puppy and dog is different. What works for one doesn’t always work for another – that’s why you love us – we’re all so unique!

Mastering toilet time

I was lucky I was toilet trained in 3 – 4 weeks. Not bad eh! I think taking me out every 2 – 3 hours to get me in the habit of going to the loo outside came at a cost for my pawrents. Having to keep a constant an eye on me, and getting up 2-3 times in the night to take me out.

I’m sure the sleep depravation and increased grumpiness vs. me leaving surprises in the house was worth it.   Typical Labrador I’m very easily convinced by the praise and treats for always doing my business outside. Any time I thought about doing it inside I heard a very strong NO and was quickly escorted off the premises to the garden! The technique isn’t for everyone. One of my fellow doggie friends is leaving treasures at seven months – she’s in trouble!

According to the wizards on the World Wide Web a puppy can hold their toilet time in hours equal to their age plus one. This means a two month old puppy can hold their toilet for three hours.

Puppy training pads

My Pawrents once tried those doggie pads for toilet training. Apparently they’re not for eating. I got my family a little worried when I digested one, something about worrying that it would absorb all my fluids, get stuck in my intestine track (this sounded bad to me) and not come out the other end. Luckily there was no need for the panic as some many hours, which seemed like days later there it was a little bit worse for wear! I think I only just avoided a trip to the VET by the skin of my teeth that day! Although I like the VET, I get treats there and I get very excited about seeing other different looking animals (what the hoomans call cats and rabbits) but apparently that’s not normal?

Puppy tips

If you’d have any tips to share regarding your training, or want to talk about your experiences at the VET pen a comment below? It would be nice to hear your story. Sharing is caring……….

Head back to the blog next week for another installment of tips from my time as a puppy.

Dylan