Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
A. I got my 7 weeks old bulldog puppy and she's absolutely precious and adorable. I make sure that I leave enough water for her during the day and I only feed her twice a day. (7:00AM and 9:30PM)
I have read several books on how to select puppy toys. So far, she has 5 different toys to chew on. Well, during the first couple of days after she got her new toys, it was heaven for me because she left shoes, furniture, and other stuff alone. But she grew bored of these expensive toys rather quickly. I am thinking about buying one of those eight panel bronze wire pens for her so she can only gain access of certain area of the living room. Is this a good idea? During weekend, I spend a lot of time with her and I make sure she gets at least 1 hour of outdoor exercise a day. But still, nothing is able to correct her chewing problem.
What are my options?
B. My other question is that I would like to give my dog some snack in between two meals (only during the weekend while I train her.) The brand of the dog food I am using is Royal Canine (recommended for bulldogs only) I am wondering if there are some specific brands I need to purchase for her as snack.
I heard from other dog owners that fresh carrots will be good snack choice for dogs. Is it safe for a 7 weeks old little pup like her?
For all of your viewing pleasure, here are some of the pictures of my cute puppy.
Buy a few more toys of varying types and textures. Rotate the toys, leaving 4 or 5 out at a time for a couple days and then putting those away and switching to a different batch. Keep rotating like this every couple days so that she feels like she keeps getting "new" toys to explore.
You're in for a few months of the chewing phase, so buckle up baby. If you didn't want to experience this, a 7 week old pup was not a good choice.
Here's my guide for puppy chewing:
The goal is to get through the puppy chewing phase with as much of your home and stuff intact as possible! Casualties are somewhat inevitable, but follow the guide below to give your carpets, furniture, used tissues, and dirty socks their best chance of survival…
1) Puppy Proof to the best of your ability. If inappropriate items are never accessible, then they will never be chewed and destroyed. And if Puppy never gets ahold of them, she’s never forming the HABIT of chewing inappropriate items!
2) Supervision! The ONLY time you can correct a pup for inappropriate chewing is if you catch her IN THE ACT. Simply interrupt the chewing in a disapproving but casual way, then replace the inappropriate item with an acceptable one. If pup is caught chewing a stationary item (like a heavy piece of furniture, or carpet that can’t be ‘taken away’) – consider removing the pup from the area and then redirecting to an appropriate chew item. Another option is to spray Bitter Apple on the spot where pup was chewing then redirect to a more productive activity.
3) Confinement or baby gates can be very useful during times when owners are unable to provide direct supervision. There is no reason a young pup needs to have the run of the house before she’s trustworthy!
4) Bitter Apple or other chewing deterrent sprays can be helpful in stopping carpet and furniture chewing. If your pup happens to fall into the 5% of dogs that don’t mind the taste of Bitter Apple, you will have to block access to tempting items until pup can be either trusted or supervised.
5) Provide plenty of acceptable chew items. Provide a variety of textures and ROTATE which items are left out for pup.
6) Lots of exercise is always recommended for dogs of any age. A tired dog is a well behaved dog. Drain pup’s energy so she’ll be napping instead of chewing up the house!
7) Puppy chewing is completely NORMAL, so simply do what you can to prevent it and look forward to pup maturing out of this phase. If chewing persists past the puppy stage and seems to occur most frequently when your dog is left home alone, separation anxiety could be the cause.
The OP also asked for advice about snacks to feed between meals. I give a variety to my dogs: carrots, green beans, blueberries, apple, banana.. I always have boiled chicken on hand in the fridge for a special treat for them.. I will give them commercial dog treats if the ingredients are healthy.. I stuff kongs and hollow sterilized bones with peanut butter or pumpkin and freeze that for a treat, they love when I put chicken broth in ice cube trays and give them frozen broth cubes.. I also give them bully sticks now because of the recommendations on this forum for a long lasting chew that's safe for their teeth!
A. I got my 7 weeks old bulldog puppy and she's absolutely precious and adorable. I make sure that I leave enough water for her during the day and I only feed her twice a day. (7:00AM and 9:30PM)
I have read several books on how to select puppy toys. So far, she has 5 different toys to chew on. Well, during the first couple of days after she got her new toys, it was heaven for me because she left shoes, furniture, and other stuff alone. But she grew bored of these expensive toys rather quickly. I am thinking about buying one of those eight panel bronze wire pens for her so she can only gain access of certain area of the living room. Is this a good idea? During weekend, I spend a lot of time with her and I make sure she gets at least 1 hour of outdoor exercise a day. But still, nothing is able to correct her chewing problem.
What are my options?
B. My other question is that I would like to give my dog some snack in between two meals (only during the weekend while I train her.) The brand of the dog food I am using is Royal Canine (recommended for bulldogs only) I am wondering if there are some specific brands I need to purchase for her as snack.
I heard from other dog owners that fresh carrots will be good snack choice for dogs. Is it safe for a 7 weeks old little pup like her?
Great puppy!!!! Love her pics. Anyway, why did you decide on this breed? (I want one too!)
1) She is only few weeks old. Feeding her at 7:00am and 9:30pm may be too far between. Most dogs I know of (and cats) eat dinner 5:30 - 6:00pm.
2) At her age, she will chew and chew. As the more experienced posters commented, it a phase. Another phase will be when she becomes a teenager. Wait and see. If you raised kids, it may be more familiar.
Quote:
Originally Posted by k9coach
The OP also asked for advice about snacks to feed between meals. I give a variety to my dogs: carrots, green beans, blueberries, apple, banana.. I always have boiled chicken on hand in the fridge for a special treat for them.. I will give them commercial dog treats if the ingredients are healthy.. I stuff kongs and hollow sterilized bones with peanut butter or pumpkin and freeze that for a treat, they love when I put chicken broth in ice cube trays and give them frozen broth cubes.. I also give them bully sticks now because of the recommendations on this forum for a long lasting chew that's safe for their teeth!
I am not comfortable with feeding only two meals a day to a 7-week-old puppy, personally...I'd go for at least three at that age.
X-pen or crate for sure. At least some sort of confinement, both for her safety and the integrity of your belongings. Hate to tell you this but her chewing and destructiveness will get a lot worse before it gets better! Just wait until she starts teething...
Also, deer or elk antlers make excellent chewies as well. Two of my current three dogs (the Rottweiler and the JRT cross) can entirely devour a $30, 24-inch-long, high-end gourmet bully stick in 30 minutes. My two previous Rottweilers, when adults, also inhaled bully sticks. They are fabulous for non-aggressive chewers and little puppies, though. Antlers are not too hard to crack teeth because they are sort of fibrous and are really satisfying for most dogs.
Again: the chewing is not a "problem." It is what puppies DO. In fact, I'd consider a puppy that didn't chew to have a problem. They all do it; a puppy that didn't would be abnormal!
yes ... that is entirely too much time between feedings for one so young..... I would try to make sure she eats something nutritious every few hours or so..... when we have puppies that age on transport, we give them small amounts kibble about every 3 hours or so......
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
