Two questions for seasoned doodle parents

[Pattty Oehrlein]

 Two question for all you seasoned doodle owners.

My 13 wo old puppy Quincy (bows were groomers idea- lasted an hour)  Q1-

She loves her antlerz and this dried pumpkin thing on a natural rope. She will chew all day long if I let her. I usually give it about an hour at a time and then put it away and she gulps down water and crashes. How long is safe?  The antlerz piece doesn't even have a dent in it, the pumpkin thingy gets mushy and she can chew off little bits which get all over the carpet and she seems to just adore it. The natural dog food store said to supervise all chew toys, which I do but they never mentioned how long to allow her to "play" with these chew items.

 Q2-

Sticks- they are going to be the death of me!  Even though we have raked and picked up all know offending sticks from our yard, she still manages to find them.She has a talent for finding the very one that will lodge in the roof of her mouth and then she gets all anxious to get it out. Of course I try and keep her away from them, and we are working on the give command with praise and treats - but these stuck sticks scare me and when she whimpers it breaks my heart, I cant remove it fast enough. I bought a rubber stick and thought of just buying more and spreading them about the yard. Does anyone have any suggestions on this?

Thanks in advance for all the help- this site has given me daily guidance and know how in raising my new puppy. I have gotten such great ideas and tips that really work. For everyone who posts you will never know how much it means to new dog owners like myself.

I wish you all a fantastic day!

Patty

[Pattty Oehrlein]

Ha, Ha - I love this...gosh they really do speak like this Im sure of it. :-)

[Jennifer,Chloe & Myla]

Myla was really into sticks as a puppy-she grew out of it. Leave it started working on her finally!!!

[Pattty Oehrlein]

Yes leave it - is a work in progress- patience is a virtue when raising a puppy.

[Moe]

My doodle was obsessed with biting her leash when she was about 14 weeks. We did a systematic desensitization with the leash. She would have to know the how to do leave it first. It might work for sticks too. We would put the leash near her nose and treat if she looked up or left it. We would use the leave it command. We would snake it on the ground and click and treat when she didn't go for it. We would put a toy near her and click for playing with it instead of the leash. We started it in the house. I think it would work for sticks also.

[Pattty Oehrlein]

we are working on giving her an alternative and leave it is " a work in progress" -I have gotten such great ideas on the post I will keep everyone updated on how they panned out.

[F, Calla & Luca]

My two chew sticks all the time and seem to just spit the pieces out so I let them. Maybe Quincy is so little that she hasn't perfected the technique yet. I know some people worry about sticks, though. My dogs also have antlers and marrow bones that they chew on sometimes. All chews have some danger, if not pieces swallowed then tooth possible damage. We've had lots of discussions about this.

[Pattty Oehrlein]

My husband says let her experience it then monitor- that sounded like a good idea until she had it stuck twice. I am going to try most of the suggestions here and hopefully one will work or she will outgrow it as I try.

[Pat and Traveler]

Quincy is adorable!  I usually let Trav have an antler for 15-20 minutes.  He does tend to drop it after a while anyhow, then I put it up on a shelf.  I didn't know he'd learned the word 'antler' until he was gnawing on his foot one day and I asked if he'd rather chew on his antler.  He looked right at the shelf where I kept the antler, and always looks there now when I say 'antler.'  So cute!  I don't like it when he chews on sticks, though he hasn't gotten one stuck in his mouth yet.  That would be a worry!  I try to get sticks away from him before he has a chance to get them into a splintery state.  I tried the frozen cloth idea somebody mentioned, and that worked pretty well, though they thaw quickly.  

It does sound like Quincy is teething, so the chewing should diminish before too long.  Good luck!! 

[Pattty Oehrlein]

thanks for the reply Pat- I think she understands more than she lets on to. I did the frozen tea towel and she just barks at it- its actually very amusing.

[Maryann,Roo and Tigger]

Roo and Tigger are four plus and nearly four.  I still only let them have their antlerz for at the most an hour, so I think you are very sensible to keep it to a half hour.  Same for the pumpkin thing. 

 

As for sticks as long as you are watching her or at least near her I would let her just have them.  She will either get tired of them or chew on them off and on her whole life.  All of my dogs have chewed on bougainvillea sticks which have large thorns on them.  Mostly I don't think it will do any harm.  In spite of your best efforts some puppies just will chew on anything and sticks are better than stones - yes I had a dog who loved to chew on huge stones.  Stones can break teeth.

 

As long as she is a puppy just keep her close and use your own good sense, which you seem to have plenty of.

 

[Pattty Oehrlein]

wow thanks Maryann!

- as a new dog mom I am a bit of a nervous Nellie- I do spend a lot of time looking over the posts here and they have been oh so helpful - Keeping her close is not a problem, we are attached most day and night - if not with me she is right next to my husband. We have no children so she is becoming very very spoiled!

[3td08pz5vpw1h]

Hi Patty, cute picture. Having had dogs my entire life and now 2 doodles, I know a 13 week old puppy needs lots of exercise and attention. She is finding sticks because they keep her entertained as does the pumpkin thing. Although 13 weeks is still a little young to get Quincy out and about, unless she has had all her boosters, which I doubt,  you still can spend a lot of time playing with her in the yard. Remember she is part retriever also. Teach her to play ball and bring it back to you. Keeping her busy, giving her lots of exercise, will keep her from getting into mischief.  Never too early to get her on leash in the yard and start to leash train her, that will take up lots of time and energy and also begin bonding you with with her.  When you walk past a stick with her on the leash and she goes towards it, Leave it, as someone else mentioned is a great useful command. Pick up a stick and drop it in front of her a few times, say Leave It. Eventally she will learn sticks are off limits. Hope this helps.