The Perfect Storm

Like a growing child, Vinson continues to move through phases of his puppy-hood. Last week he was suddenly more whiny and vocal than he'd been.

At the same time, Vinson began to really test me on the leash, refusing to move in the direction I wanted to go or using his newly-discovered strength to act like a ship's anchor and refuse to go anywhere.

As you can imagine, these two developments combined made for quite a change (and probably some smirking staff during our daily trips outside!).

It is quite common for puppy development to include what may seem like backward steps - but they are really points on the path of growing up. How many graph's have you seen that don't show both ups and down's on the line to success?

Working at a place full of puppy experts, I spoke to many who confirmed what I expected - Vinson's six-month age is right on schedule for acting out and testing the limits. When the training situation changes and what you were doing stops working, it's time to reevaluate and try a new approach. This is what led to the introduction of the martingale collar, which Vinson is doing very well with.

I suspected the whining might be related to the process of losing puppy teeth. Further examination showed that Vinson had broken off his last remaining puppy canine, but the root is still intact. A staff member here has been checking his tooth daily and expects the remainder to be pushed out shortly by the adult canine.

Finally, we weighed Vinson and his weight-gain compared to previous weeks had increased, cluing me in that he is likely also in a growth spurt and probably hungry.

Lessons learned? Growth spurt + sore teeth & gums + 6-months-old = changes!

After a challenging week, Vinson's behavior has noticeably improved... until the next change!

Sewing Needles Be-Gone

Vinson has now lost most of his puppy teeth, including three of the four sewing-needle-like puppy canines! We've managed to save a couple as mementos along the way, but most are digested during meal time or play. One more puppy canine to go and another milestone will be behind him.

Vinson will be six months old this Sunday!

Here Come the Teeth!

Vinson is suddenly in full baby teeth-losing mode! We've been suspicious that his teeth were bugging him over the last few days, as he's been a bit fussy.

It seems like Vinson lost at a couple teeth tonight, each of which he didn't want to reveal, finally chewing up some pieces and relinquishing a few others. Yes. It sounds gross! But this is a timeline moment for the little guy - he's losing his puppy teeth and his adult teeth are coming in.

Tooth Loss for Vinson, Weight Loss for Ryan

During one of our routine checks of Vinson's gums and mouth we've discovered that he has indeed lost the first of many puppy teeth, confirming he's right on schedule and he'll continue losing his sharp puppy teeth over the coming weeks.

Interestingly, we also discovered that I have lost a little over 10 pounds in the three weeks since he's been out of the cast - due mostly to the increased amount of walking we've been doing together.

A win-win for sure!

Paging Dr. Chew

Nylabones can help

In general, most puppies lose their puppy teeth between the ages of 4 and 6 months. Vinson will turn 4 months this Sunday, so it's no surprise that his forceful chewing has increased this week.

Nipping at people is an issue we want to correct every time and as soon as possible before it becomes an ingrained behavior. The process we use is fairly simple but can be challenging simply due to the number of times you may need to perform the correction in a given day.

As per The Seeing Eye's instructions, when the puppy nips something he is not supposed to, we firmly but carefully get a hold of his neck scruff with both hands, pull him back from what he is nipping, make direct eye contact (very important) and then reinforce the correct with a verbal "No". We then release the scruff and if he does not resume nipping we quietly praise him (loud praise might trigger more nipping). If he does resume nipping, we repeat the process. If he stops altogether and shifts his attention we will increase the praise as his reward. Eventually, the verbal "No" should cease the nipping before it begins, but for now, consistent correction is required.

As with humans, when a puppy is in the teeth mode, their gums may become sore and they may feel some relief chewing on certain textures or cold items. If not monitored, the process can lead to some destructive chewing as well. We are careful to keep an assortment of strong, safe chew toys on hand at all times; but puppies also have a way of making toys out of inappropriate items...

An inappropriate toy moment!

Vinson made his first real mark in my office this morning. I had left him out of the crate (which I won't do again!) for a quick refill of my coffee cup. Upon returning, there was a 4-inch spot on the office wall behind my door where he actually removed the paint down to the drywall! Luckily, it appears no paint was ingested as it the little chips littered the rug. I've been told that even one-year-old puppies can revert to destructive behaviors when unsupervised.

Lesson learned. From now on, if I'm leaving the office for even a minute, it's back in the crate for the little guy.