Puppies all know how to rough-house with their litter mates. It is a great game, but humans need to avoid getting too physical with their puppy. Generally, all physical play between you and your puppy should be at the Dogs level of strength, ability and understanding. Puppies are learning to trust and if you go too far with play, you could be over-stimulating. That can result in aggressive behavior such as biting. If your pup does come back at you with teeth, do not punish. Simply stop the play and rub the tummy of your puppy to show affection. It is natural for puppies when playing in the litter to bite back at whoever was getting too rough.
Puppies need exercise, but taking your puppy for long, brisk jogs at a very young age should be avoided. In fact, the larger your Dog will be as an adult, the more you should avoid or limit the amount of jumping, running, jogging or hard exercise as a puppy. These type of physical activities for a large breed puppy can damage growing bones.
There are a couple of different kinds of walks for a puppy. There is the bathroom walk, the training walk and best of all, the sniff everything walk. The bathroom walk is simply your puppy on a leash and taking him to where you would like him to do his business. Just remember to be patient with him and say good Dog when he has gone to the bathroom. The training walk is where your puppy will be bouncing all over the place while you try to get him to walk next to you. Eventually, after many trips on the leash your puppy will graduate to the perfect walk right next to you. The exercise walk that we all see, with the owner running to remove the excess winter fat with his Dog running next to him, is not for puppies.
The best walk for your puppy is the socialization walk. This is the one where it is a calming type of exercise. You take your puppy for a great scenic walk. He gets to smell everything, see every duck, squirrel and critter. It allows you to teach your puppy how to meet other dogs, how to not jump to greet friends, and how to stand quietly while being patted and loved. Who can resist to pet a puppy?
The best type of exercise for a puppy is chase with a ball or a gentle tug of war with a pull and tug toy. Puppies love squeaky dog toys, but remember to keep a watchful eye on your chomping puppy. Squeakers can be very dangerous and costly when swallowed by accident. Puppies need to chew. Just like babies, they have baby teeth and they teeth as their adult teeth are growing. The best chew toys are made of a very durable rubber. Some of the best puppy dog toys is Pup Orbo by Planet Dog. This dog toy even has an area for treats.
Never give your puppy real bones or rawhide. Pieces can splinter or break off and lodge in their throat or puncture their internal organs when swallowed. If you like the look of a bone, consider the West Paw Design Hurley or similar bone shaped hard rubber chew toy. Also, consider that puppies like babies, will have their favorite soft toy. It is always a good idea to have a nice assortment of toys. You should only give 2-3 at a time. Once a toy has been chewed (which your puppy will do), simply replace it with another. Do not forget to have a few dog ball toys around. Puppies love to chase and bounce balls. Balls are great to throw and have your puppy retrieve.
Just remember to supervise play with your puppy. Do not overdo play and make your puppy too frantic. Replace toys as they become worn. Take your dog for walks, but make them slow and easy- more for socializing. Simply enjoy the antics of your new puppy and shower him with love.
By Ann Shevin
http://www.mickeyspetsupplies.com
Mickey's Pet Supplies
Where Pets Want to Shop
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