Surviving Puppyhood - Shark bites & Milestones to help every pet parent

Puppies.

 

They are cute right! Everyone loves puppies!

 

They are balls of soft fluff with baby sweet breath that we want to jar up and their bellies – Oh the puppy bellies! Puppies bring out the best in us when we see one or visit a friend with a new furry family member. We’ve all seen the pictures of the kids rolling around with puppies on the floor, licking, giving kissies, and the child bursting with laughter and happy squeals. Puppies just make us happy.

 

What we usually don’t talk about is the other side of puppyhood which can catch many off guard, even sending owners straight to the shelter to drop off their new bundle of bites.

 

Puppies are what I like to refer to as baby sharks.

 

Not so much like the joyfully irritating colored sharks in that famous song that gets stuck in your head for days but, more like small shark biting fur terrorists that make us wonder if we should own stock in Band-Aid or if we will ever make it to the other side of zoomie-ville where the bites are soft and the toys stay whole.

 

Let me introduce our baby shark, Louie.

 This month Louie has a birthday and he will be 1. 

It’s been a long year. J Not only because of Covid-19 but because we have been living with jaws and claws for 12 months. Don’t get me wrong - We love our Lou Lou. He’s an absolute delight and we love him very much. From his frantic kisses every time you enter the room to his entire body wiggle when he gets excited; He’s a sweetheart that adds so much joy to our pack.

 

But he’s been the hardest puppy we’ve ever had.

 

In our defense, we are 6 years older than our last puppy and our last one, Sammy Lammington, was a breeze. Sammy’s idea of fun is relaxing in the sun next to his favorite person (me). He would rather binge watch The Handmaid’s Tale snuggling with his person rather than chase bunnies or squirrels and he’s the perfect dog except for the occasional poop eating adventure. Cue the poop burps – it’s disgusting.

 

This time puppyhood seems so much harder than our last two. 

 

We got Louie in 2020 during Covid-19. We knew we wanted to get another dog after losing our heart dog Max in 2019. We are a two dog kinda family and since we were quarantined, we thought it was probably the best time to get another dog since we were going to have the time to invest and ultimately heal from the shark attacks.

 

My husband and I were open to rescuing a puppy and are big supporters of NBRAN and other rescue groups. We filled out an application and had a home visit from NBRAN to make sure our home would be suitable and we were waiting for the right puppy to come our way. During that time, the breeder Sammy came from reached out to let us know they were having a litter that was related to our Sammy so after praying about it, we decided we’d get one of Sammy’s nephews.

 

They are related by blood but that is where the similarities end.

 

Louie was the only boy born among 6 sisters and he was ours. We were counting down the days (literally) until we could meet him and we were so excited to add him to our pack. We drove to Illinois to pick him up and were smitten from the very beginning. He does this thing where he rubs himself against you like he’s trying to dry you off; it’s his way of showing affection. He wiggles his entire body of sheer joy when he sees you and adds fast and furious kisses which are his specialty.

 

But as amazing and sweet as he is, he’s a baby shark.

 

First off, he puts everything in his mouth! 

I know! I know! 

Don't they all?! Well. we actually never had this problem with our other two (I think we were just lucky with them) so the fact that he is a literal vacuum cleaner has been difficult for us. I am constantly bending over to do the mom-choking-finger-sweep to pull something out of his mouth. He eats everything! This behavior, although normal for puppies since they explore the world with their mouths, can be annoying and frustrating.

Louie is also very inquisitive. He likes to check everything out and is like a nosy neighbor. He wants to know what you are doing and how he can help. This would be sweet if it was actually helpful. Simply carrying the laundry in my arms is a safety hazard because he’s directly under my feet jumping up trying to see what he can rip savagely from my hands. Someone call OSHA – I can’t get any work done!

 

Next, let’s talk puppy teeth and nails. First, puppy teeth are like sharp pointed needles that jab into your skin and draw blood. Puppies have shark teeth and they know how to use them. Their claws are like Velociraptors. They will dig them into your skin and tear your flesh leaving you bloodied, scarred, and crying. It is even worse when your puppy acts like you are water-boarding him when you try to clip his nails. It can be a freak show for some puppies and their poor owners.

I mean look at those needle teeth! 

Quick! Here is a cute picture of our sweet Lou Lou and Sammy so you can see it’s not all bad! :) 

Our experience with Louie was different than what we expected and although it was difficult, we wouldn’t trade him for anything. In his defense, I was in the middle of writing a book when we brought him home so writing and editing my book while I had a 3 month old puppy running around proved to be quite difficult.

 

That is on me.

 

Not baby shark.

 

But I did want to share some “life rafts” that may help other puppy parents that feel like they are drowning and to help them get through the shark attack phase of puppyhood.  I wanted to give some hope to those going through the tough stages to let them know it does get better and to let you know you aren’t alone.

 

When I was feeling overwhelmed early on in puppyhood, one of the things that really helped me was breaking things down into milestones. As puppies grow, they will achieve milestones as they grow and these achievements will certainly make our lives easier too. From sleeping through the night, to potty training and teething – these are milestones that every pet parent needs to survive. They can be overwhelming at times so it really helped me to focus on one milestone at a time and then celebrate when Louie (and we) achieved them.

 

Below are a few milestones that I focused on and celebrated with Louie.

 

I broke them down and added tips under each one to try and help pet parents. These aren’t all of them but they are certainly the milestones I focused on during the “survival phase”.

 

Puppy milestones are:

·         Sleeping

·         Potty training

·         Biting

·         Losing teeth

·         Nail & grooming

·         Leaving alone

 

Sleeping Milestone

1. Establish a routine – Dogs are very routine and their sleeping patterns are no different. Your puppy will likely get into a routine with napping during the day and getting them to sleep through the night will be no different. Routines are good. If you are crating your puppy, having a set bed time during puppyhood will get their bodies and minds trained for sleep.
2. Potty breaks – Puppies are usually not able to hold their potty for more than a few hours at a time. Make sure you are aware of how much they are drinking prior to bed and then for the first few weeks, be aware you may have a middle of the night potty break. It’s not because they are trying to ruin your beauty sleep. Their bodies are growing and they need extra potty breaks.
3. When crating your puppy, do not place them in a large crate thinking that the more room they have the better. Use your crate divider so they have just enough room to turn around. This will help with potty training because dogs don’t like to pee where they lay. The more room they have, they are likely to pick a corner and make it their pee spot. As they grow and their bladder gets stronger, the bigger their space can be in their crate.
4. As always, never put your puppy or dog in a crate with their collar on. It is a choking hazard. We know from experience with our dog Max and thankfully we were home to save him.

 

 

Potting Training Milestone

1. Expect accidents – Accidents are going to happen. Just expect them. Remember you were in diapers for years! Be thankful puppies don’t take that long to train.
2. Don’t wait – Do not wait for your puppy to go to the door. They won’t. You need to train them. When you are home, take your dog out every 30 minutes to go potty whether they tell you they have to go or not. They need to associate outside with going potty. 
3. Take them out on a leash - Do not play outside while you are potty training. Puppies need to know outside is for potty. Playing outside can come later.
4. Repeat the words “Potty” (or whatever words you want to use) when you go outside. Just like their names, they will eventually learn what potty means.
5. Reward. Reward. Reward. Don’t be afraid to cheer, use your excited voice, and give treats when your puppy goes potty outside. You want them to see this is what is expected of them and reward them for it.
6.  Don’t use harsh punishment – When (not if) your puppy has an accident inside, tell them no and immediately take them outside, repeating your potty word of choice. When they go outside, reward.
7. Carpet cleaner – If you have carpet, just invest in a carpet cleaner. It takes the stress and pressure off the accidents and it will clean your carpets well. Don’t worry. This milestone comes sooner rather than later. You will get through it.
8. Consistency, understanding, and patience are key when potty training.

 

Biting/ Shark Attacks

1. Puppy mouths – Remember that your puppy discovers the world through their mouths. Picking things up, chewing on you and other things is how they learn.
2. Bandaids – Buy some. You will need them.
3. Ouch! – Sometimes all it takes is a loud “ouch!” screamed in order to let your puppy know that is unwanted behavior. This is what worked for us with Louie.
4. Time out – If the “ouch” doesn’t work, you can ignore the behavior. Get up and walk away from the puppy. If needed, put them in their crate for a timeout to calm down.
5. Spray bottle – Some dogs love the spray bottle while others do not like being sprayed. Find out what works for your puppy. Louie does not like being sprayed.
6. Alternate chew toy – If your puppy won’t stop chewing on you, make sure to have a toy near by and switch out your flesh for a puppy toy. Showing them what can and can’t be chewed on is important to train them what is appropriate.

 

 Losing Teeth

1. Puppies start losing teeth between 4-6 months. This is a huge milestone and will help with the unwanted chewing and negative chewing behavior.
2. Their teeth hurt – Try to remember their teeth and gums get sore during this milestone so giving things for them to chew on that will give comfort is a great idea. Wet a clean sock and place it in the freezer. Once frozen, set it out on the counter to soften a little and then let your puppy to chew on it. Make sure this is done supervised so the sock is not swallowed or shredded, but the cold will provide comfort. Frozen fruits and frozen bagels are also great options. Just make sure to supervise your pet at all times.
3. Puppies often lose teeth and you won’t even know it. You may see teeth on the ground or even blood on toys after they have been chewing. This is all normal and will stop once all of their permanent teeth come in (around 6-7 months old).

 

 Nails and Grooming

1. Start young – Start clipping your puppy’s nails with a human nail clipper. This will work while their nails are thin and small. Once they get older, their nails will get thicker and you will need to move on to a dremmel. We recommend a dremmel over clippers. It’s too easy to hit your puppy’s quick with clippers and once you hit their quick and it hurts your puppy, they may not want you to touch their nails again. 
2. Exposure therapy – If your puppy (or older dog) won’t let you cut their nails or groom them, they may need exposure therapy. Exposure therapy is simply exposing them to the sounds of the dremmel/clippers while not actually doing anything. Let them smell the tools, turn them on and set them next to your puppy, and give positive reinforcement. Make happy sounds and give treats to show your puppy those tools are associated with good things. It may take months but it will be well worth it. We know from experience with Louie because he would act like we were murdering him when we’d try to cut his nails. Exposure therapy completely changed things for him (and for us!).

 

Leaving alone

1.  Leaving them alone - Leave your puppy alone in a controlled fenced in area while you do other things. Puppies need to know it’s ok to be left alone and that you will come back. Pick an area of your house (we used our kitchen area because of the tile floor and it was large enough for them to not feel confined) and fence it off with puppy fencing. Leave them in there with their toys and give them space to be alone to play and nap while you do other things.                                              
2. Short bursts – When it comes to leaving your puppy outside of his crate or fenced in area, it’s best to start with short bursts. Go out in the backyard for 5 minutes and leave your puppy inside. When you come back in, if they were good, reward them. Then try for 10 minutes. Eventually work up to leaving and go run a few errands. If you get home and they were good, make sure to reward them. 
3. Toys work – When you are training to leave your dog alone, coming home with a toy and reward them when you’ve been gone. This is another great way for them to see that you leaving is not bad and their good behavior brings rewards.

 

Some other good tips that will help you survive puppyhood:

 Reinforcement – Reinforce the behaviors you desire. We can’t always be saying no. Make sure to reinforce the behavior you want. When they are resting comfortably, let them know how good they are being. When they ask to go potty, be their cheerleader and reward them. When they are behaving and playing nicely, make sure to acknowledge that behavior. The more we say no the bigger the chance is they will start to think that is their name. J

 

Focus on your milestones. Puppyhood can get overwhelming and it’s a lot of work. Focus on achieving and hitting the milestones above and once you hit one, focus on the next one. This will help it to not feel so overwhelming and it will give you something to look forward to.

 

Remember who the alpha dog is. It’s you. Not them. Set the tone early with training and development so they know you are the boss and not them (I am not quite sure we have figured this out yet but we sure fake it). J

I am not a licensed trainer nor do I pretend to be but these are all things that have helped us over the decades of having dogs. Hope some of this helps pet parents as they set out to survive puppyhood. In the end, know that surviving puppyhood CAN happen! All it takes is time, patience, and band-aids. If I can do it you CAN do it too!! 

Remember they are only puppies for a short time and before you know it they will be full blown sharks so enjoy them while you can! 

Happy biting,

Brenda and Louie (aka baby shark)