doodles on schnoodles
Fantasy Pups
It is important to recognize that it is natural for puppies to chew on things. This instinct has two purposes: one, to help new teeth come in, and two, to help them explore and experience their world. In curbing your puppies biting instinct, it is important that you respect these two goals, and to also understand that nature has connected these two goals. The physical need for teething drives the puppy to explore his world, thus developing his psychological need for a variety of experiences. To the first goal, one needs to provide your puppy with a chew toys to teeth on, keeping in mind that a teething toy can also serve the second purpose as well, and so provide plenty of play toys for your puppy. The alternative is that out of sheer boredom your teething puppy will be driven to teeth on your furniture! A single toy can be explored and its interest exhausted fairly quickly, although better toys will include plenty of interest –sounds of crinkling, squeaking, rumbling, multiply appendages to explore, multiple textures. Yet no one toy can do everything and so one wants variety. Even a relatively simple and predictable toy like a ball can act in complex and very unpredictable ways in the puppy’s environment. This mix of predictability and unpredictability in itself can capture the puppy’s interest. Keep in mind that just as man communicates friendliness and intimacy by holding, so do dogs. The difference is that we men hold with our hands and arms, two things dogs do not have. The dog’s hand is the mouth. And so there is a third purpose to the puppy’s instinct to mouth on things: socialization. Puppy’s begin to nip their littermates in their third week of life, and continue to mouth other dogs in play their whole life. As puppies, however, it is important that dogs learn “bite inhabitation”, which is the difference between biting and mouthing, and refraining from mouthing all together. Bite inhibition is a learned behavior. It is a dog’s ability to control the force of her mouthing. Even if a puppy learns this behavior with other dogs – a littermate will let him know when he bites too hard with a harsh yelp, and an unwillingness to continue play – your puppy needs to learn this with people as well since the sensitivity of human skin is much different than that of a dog’s and so the acceptable force of contact is much different. This is not to imply that a dog should not be trained to forego all mouthing. Comfort levels and views on what is sanitary vary and many people would not want their dog mouthing their hands any more than they would want this behavior from their child, teen, spouse, or best friend. And yet, at an early age, there are definite advantages to allowing the puppy to follow their canine instincts in this area. Some behaviorists and trainers believe that a dog who has learned to use his mouth gently when interacting with people will be less likely to bite hard and break skin if he ever bites someone in a situation apart from play—like when he’s afraid or in pain. It can be argued that is not enough to teach the puppy never to use her mouth on a human being – the instinct is too strong and will resurface when the puppy is afraid or in pain – so one needs to train the puppy the difference between acceptable force, such as a bump with the teeth, and unacceptable force, a nip or bite. A puppy or dog who hasn’t learned bite inhibition with human beings doesn’t recognize the sensitivity of human skin, so he bites too hard, even in play. Once the puppy learns that negligible pressure is the only acceptable way to mouth a human being, and this lesson has become ingrained and the need for teething has passed, you can eliminate mouthing behavior in your dog altogether. There is another reason that you want your dog to learning hand-mouthing which has nothing to do with nature, but with technology. A dog needs to become comfortable with having his mouth manipulated for his medical care. A puppy that is used to having his mouth manipulated by the human hand will allow her vet to inspect her mouth, will allow her owner to brush her teeth, and in an emergency situation, when a foreign object needs to be extracted by the owner from the dog’s mouth, will not have her stress level further elevated when that foreign object is joined by a set of human fingers! Hardly a week goes by where it is not necessary for me to take something out of the mouth of one of my dogs, and a dog that is used to human fingers in and around her mouth will be perfectly compliant in such a situation. Young dogs usually learn bite inhibition during play with other dogs. If you watch a group of dogs playing, you’ll see plenty of chasing, pouncing and wrestling. Dogs also bite each other all over. Every now and then, a dog will bite his playmate too hard. The victim of the painful bite yelps and usually stops playing. The offender is often taken aback by the yelp and also stops playing for a moment. However, pretty soon both playmates are back in the game. Through this kind of interaction, dogs learn to control the intensity of their bites so that no one gets hurt and the play can continue without interruption. If dogs can learn from each other how to be gentle, they can learn the same lesson from people. When you play with your dog, let him mouth on your hands. Continue play until he bites especially hard. When he does, immediately give a high-pitched yelp, as if you’re hurt, and let your hand go limp. This should startle your dog and cause him to stop mouthing you, at least momentarily. (If yelping seems to have no effect, you can say “Too bad!” or “You blew it!” in a stern voice instead.) Praise your dog for stopping or for licking you. Then resume play. If your dog bites you hard again, yelp again. Repeat these steps no more than three times within a 15-minute period. If you find that yelping alone doesn’t work, you can switch to a time-out procedure. Time-outs are often effective for curbing mouthy behavior in adolescent and adult dogs. When your dog delivers a hard bite, yelp loudly. Then, when he startles and turns to look at you or looks around, remove your hand. Either ignore him for 10 to 20 seconds or, if he starts mouthing on you again, get up and move away for 10 to 20 seconds. If necessary, leave the room. After the short time-out, return to your dog and encourage him to play with you again. It’s important to teach him that gentle play continues, but painful play stops. Play with your dog until he bites hard again. When he does, repeat the sequence above. When your dog isn’t delivering really hard bites anymore, you can tighten up your rules a little. Require your dog to be even gentler. Yelp and stop play in response to moderately hard bites. Persist with this process of yelping and then ignoring your dog or giving him a time-out for his hardest bites. As those disappear, do the same for his next-hardest bites, and so on, until your dog can play with your hands very gently, controlling the force of his mouthing so that you feel little or no pressure at all. Although you may want to encourage hand-to-mouth play in the puppy’s early life, it is important that you transition your puppy to understand that such play is always under your own initiative. Even if you wish to continue hand-to-mouth play with your adult dog, but you don’t want her taking such freedoms with everyone! So once bite inhibition is learned, you need to teach your puppy the next lesson: that her teeth don’t belong on human skin. You can prepare for this transition while you are still teaching bite inhibition. Here is how:
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Travelers coming through Washington DC on Friday to pick up their puppies should use the Beltway to avoid the city. Today half a million demonstrators will be marching on the capital for the March for Life and traffic will be particularly congested.
Do not plan on taking your puppy outside on the drive home -- it is still too cold. But probably the biggest health hazard to your puppy as it changes homes is stress. It can lead to dehydration or hypoglycemia. But both these conditions are easily avoided with a little advanced preparation. So let's prepare...
Here is a checklist of Questions to consider as you prepare for your puppy pick-up: 1) Did I call the bank to verify that my check cleared? (If not, be prepared to bring cash.) 2) Do I have a few disposable pee pads or towels - one per hour of travel - in the car with a roll of paper towels and garbage bag in case the puppy evacuates or gets car sick? 3) Do I have a safe place for the puppy to ride? (A passenger to hold and calm the puppy is the best stress-preventer, but a securely buckled crate is best protection in a collision.) 4) Do I have a small bottle of drinking water and a small bowl in my car? 5) Have I purchased puppy food? (The two cups I send home with you will not last long!) 6) Do I have a chew toy for my teething puppy? 7) Have I prepared a puppy nursery at home? 8) Does my puppy nursery include a comfortable, warm, enclosed place for the puppy to sleep? 9) Have I arranged a potty tray in the nursery to continue housebreaking my puppy? 10) Have I made an appointment to see my vet within 3 to 4 days of my puppy pick-up and to arrange for future vaccinations per puppy purchase agreement? 11) Have I written on my calendar a reminder to make an appointment with my vet to spay/neuter my puppy before May 28th per puppy purchase agreement? It isn't long now until you bring home your bundle of joy! Be prepared so your joy is unalloyed. ...you get excited about housebreaking.
Here is the story: Today I decided to do a major cleaning of the whole puppy nursery, right on down to the floors. So I moved all the puppies to a temporary puppy nursery in the basement kitchen where I set up a bed and dog run for them. Then I spend several hours washing down all the potty trays, hosing down the plastic underlay, scrubbing and disinfecting the pen, running all the bedding through the wash, etc. Several hours later, after everything had a chance to dry, I began reassembling the puppy nursery. And much to my dismay, I realized that I had BOTH potty trays. That meant, I had NOT put a potty tray in the basement kitchen! I ran in horror to the temporary puppy nursery, expecting to see puppy piles and puddles all over the place, and six puppies with damp paws and fur smeared in excrement. As I entered the nursery, however, I saw nothing but a sparking clean bed and pen, and six pairs of anxious eyes which seemed to say, "Where have you been? We have been waiting for you all day." I put the six puppies in a hamper and took them back to their permanent nursery. As soon as they saw the potty tray, all six ran to it and squatted. They had held their bladders and bowels waiting for their potty tray! Of course, I was giddy with delight. IIt took me a while to figure out what was wrong, but the "Poltergeist" white noise has been eliminated. "They're here!" Enjoy the video! This morning at 7:30am, our puppies took a ride in the car to see Dr. Andy, our veterinarian. They got their vaccinations and health check up, and everyone passed with flying colors! They were each weight, their temperature taken, their teeth and bodies examined, etc. I winced as Dr. Andy inserted her needle into the shoulder of each puppy, but the puppies did not even flinch -- they were so enamored with the treats that Dr. Andy's assistant was feeding them!
I did have some bad news today. I ordered a dozen Ugodog trays from California earlier this week and today I learned they haven't left the factory. Boo hoo! Apparently someone copied down my address wrong and they did not think of contacting me to get a correction until this afternoon. They should still be here by Friday, but I don't like to cut these things close. I asked that Ugopet email me a tracking number and I am still waiting for that. Anyway, I still hope to be able to sell Ugodog trays to interested families for $50 a tray. If I get them early enough, I can have the puppies "pre-use" them in their pen here at my place so that the trays carry a familiar scent already when they come to your house. If interested in purchasing a tray for $50 (cash please), email me at [email protected]. I will keep interested parties updated. (If the order does not come by Friday, however, then I will sell the two trays I already have in the pen to the first two families to contact me.) If you haven't purchased a Ugodog potty tray for your new puppy yet, hold off. I just got off the phone with someone at Ugopet in Cardiff, Cailfornia, who said they would make a deal with me for multiple purchases of Ugodogs. I will hear from them tomorrow to find out exactly what sort of savings they can extend to us. I will post the cost as soon as I know but they guaranteed it would be less than the Amazon price of $55+shipping. Of course, there is no obligation for you to buy -- I just am trying to make it convenient for you to get started on the right paw with your new family member. ;-)
I want to recommend that all the families who have adopted a puppy task someone responsible to look at this Schnoodle Puppy website. It has lots of valuable information about how to prepare for and raise your puppy. As you all know, I highly recommend house training your puppy with the Ugodog Potty Tray. I like the Midwest Dog Crate for crate training your dog since it is easy to break down and take with you on a trip. To create a play area in your home (your puppy should not go outside until it warms in April!) I like the Midwest Exercise Pen. Use th 36" high pen so your puppy can continue to use it when it is full grown. Always let the puppy out the door of the pen -- never over the top -- so that it learns to exit by the door only, otherwise, you will teach your puppy to become an escape artist! Or buy the Frisco if you want to save money. You can put the corner of the pen on throw matts if you have wood floors to protect the floors from getting scratched.
Not enough folks expressed interest in buying a 5 pound bag of dog food from me so I will let everyone do their own shopping. (Did someone say "pound"?! No pounds for these pups!!!) Nevertheless, I will send you and your new puppy home with a small ziplock bag of dog food for its first two meals jst to make sure no puppy goes home hungry.
Here is what I am feeding my dogs. You should keep your puppy on the same food initially, and transition slowly over to the new diet if you intend to change brands. So buy at the least a 5lb. bag of Wholehearted brand. This evening was all about puppy socialization -- getting the puppies comfortable with bigger members of their own species. They are used to Mom, but as you can see in the first video clip, Mom is getting tired of them. But now the little guys get to rough-house with dogs ten times their weight. Good things Phantasia and Calliope are gentle with them! |
BreederHello. My name is Marie, and I have three Schnauzers that fill my life with joy! With the help of my children and grandchildren, I am raising Schnoodle puppies and placing them in good homes. Feel free to browse through my website and enjoy the pictures! Archives
February 2020
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