Puppy Problems

WARNING: This post is not intended to be read if you are in the process of consuming food or beverages.

So I had a pretty interesting wake up call the other night. At around 2 in the morning I woke from a peaceful slumber to the sound of my boxer puppy jumping off of our bed, running into the hallway, and releasing explosive diarrhea everywhere. As upset as I was at that moment, I do applaud him for running onto the tile floor instead of ruining our carpet or bed. Then I got the privilege of cleaning it all up by myself because the smell alone made my poor husband instantly sick from the other room. I can already foresee into our future, him gagging every time he has to change our child's diaper and handing the job off to me. Ohh joy...

I love my puppy very much, and it is amazing to see him grow so quickly, but I am totally ready for this puppy stage to be over. In one aspect I feel as though I am failing horribly at properly training him because my husband and I are at work all day, but then I think about how he won't let me leave the room without him being my little tail wagging shadow, and it makes me feel like maybe I am doing something right after all.

When we first brought Sammie home we were able to house train her within a few weeks, and ever since then she has been the most well-behaved dog. However, Champ seems to be the complete opposite and still struggles with his training. I think the worst thing to happen lately is catching him in the act of eating his own feces. Yes you read that correctly, and I hope that I haven't totally grossed you out at this point. I read that this problem, also known as Coprophagia, is very common for puppies and is caused by a number of reasons. Boredom or anxiety could be a cause, as well as overfeeding, feeding a dog food low-quality food that lacks in nutrients, parasites, lack of exercise, emotional stress, or their need to "clean" their area. I am not sure which of these could be the cause to Champ's problem, but I read that incorporating a small amount of canned pumpkin, pineapple juice, or spinach, to the dog's food helps to make their feces repulsive to them. I suppose it is worth a try.

For those of you that may share my debacle, or are struggling with training their dogs, I found some helpful infographics that may aid you in your quest:

 

The Dog Training Secret

Hella Wella

If anyone has any helpful dog training tips and tricks that they would like to share, I would love to hear from you!

I also came across this great website called The Dog Bar, that is full of goodies to spoil your animals. They are located in Miami Beach, Florida. The prices are a bit steep for me, but I still have fun browsing!

Looking at stores like this also make me really interested in one day owning my own pet store/bakery/spa/training class/hotel/park/hangout for fellow obsessive pet lovers :)

A girl can dream..

- Jenny