Research Check 14

Source: The Puppy Diary
Pgs:1
Author: Cathy Lewandowski

Puppy Proofing your Home
L: puppies can eat cabinets, furniture, carpet and damage a wide variety of other things.
I: not only will you have to pay for the repares, you will also have to pay to have your puppies stomache pumped of foreign material.

L: Simple and easy solution for this is crating up your puppy. A crate is a container made up of wire or mesh and is able to hold your puppy comfortably.
I: other solutions are fencing off part of your house or garden so your puppy won't be able to get into trouble. Make sure you also puppy proof the fenced off area so your puppy will not eat anything like rocks or poisonous plants.

L: Puppies are still too immature to handle temptations such as plastic bags, feathers, shoes... Moste dogs depending on the breed gain maturity when they're about 6 months old.
I: puppies are exactly like babies you gotta be watching them at all times to make sure they don't eat anything that will make them choke and die.

L: puppies are smaller and more active then human babies, not to mention they have claws and teeth making that easier to get into things. Important things you need to look out for are electrical wires seeing that they can give your puppy a nasty shock.
I: Apparently if your puppy never gets electricuted then you are doing a great job.

L: next step of puppy proofing is teaching the puppy what is acceptable to chew on and what isn't.
I: to do this there are a variety of training tools you can use; such as biter apple spray. Biter apple leaves a biter stain without staining whatever you are spraying. Use this spray as a training aid never depend on it to keep your puppy out of trouble.

L: At 4 to 5 months puppies will begin to get their permenant teeth.
I: that means a lot more biting!

L: some things you can do to help ease the pain of the new teeth is to freeze a wet towel to help numb the pain of the new teeth and to soften the kibble a little bit with warm water.
I: have to heck with Cindy to see if these are GDA approved methods.

L: puppies loose their teeth in a pattern first the front ones, premolars, molars, and then finally the canine teeth.
I: bleeding(ew) is normal and should cause no concern when puppies loose their teeth.

L: a puppy will never release where it sleeps, unless the crate is too large, there are soft blankets to obsorb the mess or the puppy has been in there too long and cannot hold it any longer.
I: use the fact that the puppy never pees where they sleep, crate a pee schedule that both you and your puppy can follow.

L: two important rules of house training are puppies have to go pee after eating and after waking up.