Comments on: So we have a sick puppy

By: Tricia's Musings - One whole year with our Labrador Retriever puppy, Midnight

Tricia's Musings - One whole year with our Labrador Retriever puppy, Midnight — Mon, 15 Nov 2010 01:45:24 +0000

[...] was quite a sick puppy when we got her. She looked healthy, but she had a very bad case of worms, a gastrointestinal [...]

By: Matthew

Matthew — Sat, 10 Apr 2010 01:56:49 +0000

I’m sorry to hear that your puppy is sick, but it is nice to know that she is doing better.

One good tip for stopping the nipping/chewing is to rub frozen butter on your hands. This way she’ll learn to lick your hands instead of chew.

Hope that helps!

By: WendyWings

WendyWings — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 23:52:33 +0000

I hope she is feeling better by now. She is adorable. We only have a little dog. Even he is not really ours, our son left home and HIS dog still lives here lol.

By: Heather in Beautiful British Columbia

Heather in Beautiful British Columbia — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 16:53:26 +0000

I’ve heard the spray bottle works, but never tried. Hugo, at just over a year, still wants to chew my hands – and it hurts. Midnight is so darned cute though, it’s probably hard to keep your hands away…

Dogs are very smart – she’ll have you trained in no time!

By: Tina Silva

Tina Silva — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 05:09:25 +0000

The one suggestion I tell almost everyone who gets a new pet and wants them to learn to stop doing something or know their boundaries is to get a mini plastic spray can and fill it with water.

Whenever the puppy bites your hand, just spray her face with the water. It’s harmless and eventually she’ll get the hint not to do that. Don’t forget to firmly say “No!” when you spray her face. She’ll pick it up rather quickly as most pets do because they don’t want to get wet.

Since you live in Toronto, you can check out Dollarama. They have the little spray bottles that I’m talking about near their cosmetic section.

By: Rachel

Rachel — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 00:58:16 +0000

Yes, I remember the trials and tribulations of the ‘Chew Wars’ very well. I now have a 3-year old pooch and am slowly rebuilding my shoe collection! I’m a big believer in rewarding the positive, ignoring the negative behaviors. So when he’s biting your hands, maybe curl them into a ball and look away so he can’t get to them. Then if when he stops trying, give him a good pat and a little tasty reward. It might not work so well until Midnight is a little bit older, but I found this method really helpful for training my dog.

Good luck!

By: Rachel

Rachel — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 00:56:39 +0000

By: Lynne

Lynne — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 00:36:06 +0000

Crate training will be a huge help for you. As for chewing on your hands, make sure you have chew toy handy, close by at all times. Whenever he grabs your hand, replace your hand with the toy and tell him to chew the “toy”. Soon, he’ll learn the word toy and associate it with the things he is allowed to chew on. It doesn’t happen overnight, so be patient, it will happen!
Hope he’s feeling better.

By: Ellen

Ellen — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 00:15:36 +0000

What an adorable puppy! Sounds like he is on the mend and you are handling him appropriately. I agree that the pee pads will send mixed messages. I have used those in the past but I don’t remember much about them. I just take my dog out to pee. Sometimes he has accidents in the house but it’s always my fault because I ignored his warnings. But for the most part, my dog (Bailey) pees (outside) in the morning and then in the evening and he seems to be fine with that.

By: Seth

Seth — Wed, 28 Nov 2007 22:01:56 +0000

Sick dogs are never a good thing. One of my airedale terriers has a bum knee that is so painful for me to see him with. After he gets some pain pills he feels great too, it’s because the medicine is working! I’m glad the medicine is working for your dog too.