Brand New Puppy… HELP!?!

[WBL]

Glad to hear you have a good routine to go through, and that you are getting a crate. Because there may be mornings that the grandparents can't watch him.

As for a little something special from the barbie, a little piece of chicken or beef with no seasonings shouldn't hurt him, I'd go with the chicken though, less fat (more fat can upset the tummy). Veggies are good to if he likes them (minus corn, it doesn't digest well and there are dogs that are alergic to it). My dog loves all veggies raw or cooked except carrots, he'll only eat those cooked.

One other thing I HIGLY suggest is if you do cook something on the grill for him, make sure when you feed it to him that you are a good distants away so he doesn't know that food comes from the grill and one day jump up on it.

[nomrbddgs]

Here's my bit:

Chicken is good-white meat is better than dark for fat content. Watch there is no charring on the meat though. WBL is right corn is not a good source of food for them-but veggies are great. If you'd like to try something else sweet potatoes are a good nutritional source. And definitely don't feed him near the grill. I would suggest putting the food in his food dish in the regular place you feed him. Don't let others hand feed around the BBQ either-he may start begging when he sees people around the BBQ.

[Barklessdog]

I don't think it's a good idea to give him a taste for human food. It really is not good for him and could make him sick

I love the name Raffiki.

I have witnessed our dog almost chew a hole through our wooden fence in minutes. It was crazy! A large fat ground hog was stuck between our fence & our neighbors, the dogs knew it and our girl literally started biting and spiting out small pieces of wood using her sharp little front teeth. I was so amazed I just stood and watched her for a few seconds. She could chew through our fence in minutes if she wanted too. I never saw anything like it.

When she was a puppy she was jealous of our other dog and went in the living room and ripped a hole in our carpet down to the bare wood within a few minutes.

If they really want something they will stop at nothing to get it, like escaping.

About your neihbors-

I learned a trick from my next door neighbor, who is older and kind of cranky sometimes. He kills us with kindness(bakes us bread, makes salsa & so on), so if he complains about anything we are indebted to do what he wants, like trimming trees over hanging his property line & so on. Also if we screw up he is likely to look the other way.

People are less likely to be mean or complain if you "kill them with kindness" Maybe bake some bread and give it to your neighbor as an apology.

I have had the opposite situation with a "war" neighbor who would call the police if I parked my car on the street too early or if I watered my garden off watering hours. They even tied a two page nasty note when our garbage blew over during a bad storm, which we clean up right away. Things can get ugly.

it is so much better to make your enemies your friends, then start a war.

[dash]

gwawleyboy, it sounds like you have a good plan. I'm glad you are enjoying him they are very smart and quirky.

We do allow our dogs to have table scraps. What has been said is good advice. I allow the dogs to like our plates when we are done. I definately would be cautious of your friends giving nibbles. Too much will possibly upset the tummy.

[nomrbddgs]

My take on the 'human food' thing is it's only 'human food' if YOU make it human food-read the labels on dog food. Most of the dog food IS 'human food'. Many people come to me and ask about chicken weiners-this is what I tell them.

If you feed your dog chicken weiners, or treats, or table food on a constant basis this is human food. The dog will definitely want what you have-especially if you feed him out of hand, off your plate or bowl, off the counter or off the table. The dog associates the object with people food.

If, on the other hand, you feed your dog certain things in HIS bowl, in HIS crate this makes it dog food. I, also have had to go back to basics with my previous boxer-boiled chicken and rice. I fed him in HIS bowl. Did this make it people food. IMO NO. He had severe allergies and this was HIS dog food.

I love what you're doing with the Grandparents and their Grandbaby, but I would still continue to crate train him-this may be helpful in years to come. You just never know what to expect.

[Barklessdog]

y take on the 'human food' thing is it's only 'human food' if YOU make it human food-read the labels on dog food. Most of the dog food IS 'human food'.

true to a point, till the food is seasoned in any way or fried

[Barklessdog]

Don't forget something humans eat can be toxic to your dog.

http://www.petalia.com.au/Templates/StoryTemplate_Process.cfm?specie=Dogs&story_no=257

Onions and garlic are other dangerous food ingredients that cause sickness in dogs, cats and also livestock. Onions and garlic contain the toxic ingredient thiosulphate. Onions are more of a danger.

Pets affected by onion toxicity will develop haemolytic anaemia, where the pet’s red blood cells burst while circulating in its body.

At first, pets affected by onion poisoning show gastroenteritis with vomiting and diarrhea. They will show no interest in food and will be dull and weak. The red pigment from the burst blood cells appears in an affected animal’s urine and it becomes breathless. The breathlessness occurs because the red blood cells that carry oxygen through the body are reduced in number.

The poisoning occurs a few days after the pet has eaten the onion. All forms of onion can be a problem including dehydrated onions, raw onions, cooked onions and table scraps containing cooked onions and/or garlic. Left over pizza, Chinese dishes and commercial baby food containing onion, sometimes fed as a supplement to young pets, can cause illness.

Be sure your not grilling any onions on the same grill your cooking the dogs meat.

A Word Of Advice About Trying New Foods
Before you introduce a new food to your dog, there's one other thing that you should take into consideration:
…the "begging" factor.

In our household, we've noticed that our dogs tend to "beg" for people foods any time they smell something they're familiar with. On the other hand, if they've never had it before, then they don't beg for it.

For that reason, we have only introduced 2 human food items to our dogs: peanut butter and bread. (And bread is only for very special occasions!)

To give you an example, any time we crack open a jar of peanut butter (...wait, I mean move the peanut butter jar from the pantry to the counter!) or open a loaf of bread, our dogs start salivating and licking their lips in anticipation of getting some. Yet we could hold a big 'ol steak in front of them, and they wouldn't blink an eye!

So just remember, once you introduce a particular food to your dog, there's no going back. They'll always want some of yours whenever you're eating it in the future.

When it comes to filling Kongs, we layer ingredients inside the Kong toy using various combinations of those two human foods and other dog foods, treats, and Kong-friendly products made specifically for dogs.

We've also reserved a handful of other human foods for times when our dogs have various ailments (like diarrhea) or need to take pills.

Those foods are: rice, cheddar cheese, cottage cheese, and plain yogurt.

[Barklessdog]

Don't forget something humans eat can be toxic to your dog.

http://www.petalia.com.au/Templates/StoryTemplate_Process.cfm?specie=Dogs&story_no=257

Onions and garlic are other dangerous food ingredients that cause sickness in dogs, cats and also livestock. Onions and garlic contain the toxic ingredient thiosulphate. Onions are more of a danger.

Pets affected by onion toxicity will develop haemolytic anaemia, where the pet’s red blood cells burst while circulating in its body.

At first, pets affected by onion poisoning show gastroenteritis with vomiting and diarrhea. They will show no interest in food and will be dull and weak. The red pigment from the burst blood cells appears in an affected animal’s urine and it becomes breathless. The breathlessness occurs because the red blood cells that carry oxygen through the body are reduced in number.

The poisoning occurs a few days after the pet has eaten the onion. All forms of onion can be a problem including dehydrated onions, raw onions, cooked onions and table scraps containing cooked onions and/or garlic. Left over pizza, Chinese dishes and commercial baby food containing onion, sometimes fed as a supplement to young pets, can cause illness.

Be sure your not grilling any onions on the same grill your cooking the dogs meat.

A Word Of Advice About Trying New Foods
Before you introduce a new food to your dog, there's one other thing that you should take into consideration:
…the "begging" factor.

In our household, we've noticed that our dogs tend to "beg" for people foods any time they smell something they're familiar with. On the other hand, if they've never had it before, then they don't beg for it.

For that reason, we have only introduced 2 human food items to our dogs: peanut butter and bread. (And bread is only for very special occasions!)

To give you an example, any time we crack open a jar of peanut butter (...wait, I mean move the peanut butter jar from the pantry to the counter!) or open a loaf of bread, our dogs start salivating and licking their lips in anticipation of getting some. Yet we could hold a big 'ol steak in front of them, and they wouldn't blink an eye!

So just remember, once you introduce a particular food to your dog, there's no going back. They'll always want some of yours whenever you're eating it in the future.

When it comes to filling Kongs, we layer ingredients inside the Kong toy using various combinations of those two human foods and other dog foods, treats, and Kong-friendly products made specifically for dogs.

We've also reserved a handful of other human foods for times when our dogs have various ailments (like diarrhea) or need to take pills.

Those foods are: rice, cheddar cheese, cottage cheese, and plain yogurt.

[Jen_westoz]

Hi, Being an Aussie myself I realise the importance of BBQ's !! and don't see why he shouldnt have a little bit of Chicken cooked especially just for him or maybe buy some chicken mince and make a little patty from it with no seasonings of course. But just one little word of caution would be to make sure you guests are aware of the trouble you have gone to by making his own special treat. As a typical Aussie BBQ usually involves way too much meat for everyone to eat and there are usually dogs at every BBQ so people are often in the habit of chucking the poor "starving" creatures the odd snag (sausage) etc without thinking too much of it. This quickly develops into a dog that expects food from the BBQ and will hang around with those big puppy dog eyes begging for a scrap. Or even worse trying to steal something off the hotplate and burning his paws. So just let your guests know not to feed him and you should be fine.
One more thing…make sure you have a good fat collector under the BBQ to catch the drippings as dogs just love to get under there and lick up all that fat and oil and apart from it probably being too rich and not good for a pup it might also be too hot as well.
Also watch out for people putting drinks down by their chairs as an inquisitive pup can go unnoticed under the chairs and tables and help himself to a beer or two. Its certainly be known to happen.

[JazzysMom]

@Jen_westoz:

One more thing…make sure you have a good fat collector under the BBQ to catch the drippings as dogs just love to get under there and lick up all that fat and oil and apart from it probably being too rich and not good for a pup it might also be too hot as well.
QUOTE]

We USED to have a little metal cup that hung from a hook just under the grill for the purpose of collecting the fat. We had it for years; none of our other dogs ever bothered it.

Then we got a Basenji. Jazzy took it, LOL. Three times her puppy summer. No matter how we rigged it to be "unstealable", she managed.

We gave up. Now we just have a flat pan under there, and all three dogs just hover when we grill. We haven't seen evidence of stomach upset, and if it's too hot - well they haven't complained.

The first time Jazzy wound up covered in grease that was impossible to wash off. It had to wear off; Gypsy LOVED her for those few days. LOL.
Now, they'll get a little spot of grease on their ears or neck, but nothing too bad. I just make sure dh doesn't grill before a show! LOL

Not saying it's a good idea; just saying . . . :rolleyes:

[JazzysMom]

@Barklessdog:

Don't forget something humans eat can be toxic to your dog.
Onions and garlic are other dangerous food ingredients that cause sickness in dogs, cats and also livestock. Onions and garlic contain the toxic ingredient thiosulphate. Onions are more of a danger..

This always baffles me. I remember when I was a kid, people gave their dogs garlic to ward off fleas {no idea if it worked}, and the dogs were fine.

When Gypsy almost died of pancreatitis about five years ago, she was unable to even keep ice chips down at first. Little by little we were able to ease her back into food. The first thing I gave her was plain chicken broth. Then I addded chicken. Then onions, then garlic. Then carrots….
Until she was eating some pretty good chicken soup.

I mean, since hearing that these things are bad for the dogs I've been more hesitant {not to say there hasn't been the occasional stolen burger w/onions at a bbq}, and I'm not really doubting the science, but it just really baffles me that foods that were fed to dogs for years w/no problem are toxic to them.

[Barklessdog]

Same with chocolate. Our dogs have eaten it by accident (easter basket not hidden well enough & ate a chocolate bunny) and nothing happened.

I think I read with chocolate they have to eat a lot of it or it has to be dark chocolate to really poison them. I know someone who had a beagle and supposedly ate a lot of chocolate and died from it or complications from it.

They also say in the article that Garlic is not as bad as onions. I thought I remember garlic being an ingreadiant for some dog treats?

[nomrbddgs]

Onions, garlic, chocolate, grapes-although I watch how much they eat, I know I'm not supposed to give it to them (according to the studies). I do give them little bits of everything except onion. I haven't had a problem. They do have to eat a lot of anything to get a reaction but that being said, some dogs are allergic to these things and do get severe reactions. I know of one dog who ate a 5 lb chocolate bunny and ended up with just a tummy ache.

[Jen_westoz]

Yeah this one is really confusing and to make matters worse if you do an online search on "garlic" and "dogs" you get just as many hits on it being good for dogs as you do for it being bad. I was always lead to believe the "garlic deters fleas" remedy but now maybe "Better safe than sorry" and they can go without.

[Barklessdog]

"garlic deters fleas"

Also works on my wife. Either everyone has to eat it or no one.

Dogs don't seem too fond of garlic breath either, this should be for the foot & kissing thread?