Puppy proofing table scraps.

First off, it's not a good idea to feed your dog un-sorted table scraps, for several reasons; doing so fosters begging, some foods are toxic to your dog, some meals are high in fat content, sugary foods and starches can cause cavities that are super expensive to fix and if your dog gets a tummy ache from the food you fed him... he can't yell at you.

That said, there are enormous benefits to foregoing bagged dog foods and putting puppy on an all natural diet of proteins, raw bones, vegetables, and starches. But that's a whole different chapter. For now, lets concentrate on foods that are bad for your dog.

1.) Cooked bones: They become brittle and can splinter, which means that your puppy is ingesting sharp flinty pieces that can damage the soft lining of the throat or puncture his stomach lining. Fish and chicken bones are especially bad.

There are cheap marrow bones available in the meat section of your supermarket. You can give those to puppy, raw of course and they're good for his teeth and they are indestructible.

2.) Raw eggs, chicken: Because of salmonella. If you can't resist giving puppy these things, cook them first.

3.) Candy, gum, soda, sugary foods: Dogs get cavities too, except tooth decay is exerbated by the fact that they don't have their teeth brushed every day. Also, sugary foods are fattening, and can lead to obesity, and diabetes. Plus, if your dog gets cavities, he can't tell you his teeth are hurting, and doggy dentists are super expensive and of course, dental visits are scary (well for me they are).

4.) Beer, alcohol: (DUH) This is not funny. Invariably some idiot will try to give your dog beer. Of course dogs like it, but it's bad for them. It can cause intoxication, coma and death, alcohol is a poison.

5.) Onions: Even what appears to be a small amount can kill them. Garlic cloves aren't very good either. I recommend avoiding things seasoned or cooked with onion powder as well.

6.) Chocolate and Caffeine: Chocolate is toxic to dogs. Dark chocolate and baker's chocolate are more dangerous than milk chocolate but all of them are bad for puppy. You need a somewhat larger amount of it to cause problems, especially with milk chocolate, so an M&M or two won't kill puppy.

7.) Grapes and raisins: They cause liver failure in dogs. Large and small quantities of both should be avoided.

8.) Mushrooms: Be careful of the ones that shoot up in your yard, they're often irresistible to dogs.

9.) Artificial sweetner: Xylotol is the ingredient to watch for. It's used in sugarless gums and candies, so avoid them.

10.) Macadamia nuts

Still curious? The Animal Control Poison Center's website:
http://www.aspca.org/site/PageServer?pagename=pro_apcc_poisonsafe

'Pet' Peeves, when owners misbehave

Bad dog.. I mean owner!

There are some things that every dog owner should be aware of.

1.) Not everyone likes puppies: So don't let your puppy bother people who don't want to be bothered. Most people will approach you and your puppy if they want to say hi, and that's fine. But not everyone likes your jumpy, happy puppy. Be respectful of this.

2.) Respect the rules: Be careful of bringing your puppy into stores, shops and beaches. The signs say 'no dogs allowed' for a reason. Puppies pee and poop whenever it suits them and a store owner will not like a mess in their store. So respect the rules and if a place prohibits pets, then don't bring puppy.

3.) Supervise puppy: Puppies are like kids, take your eye off of them for a second and a whole wall is covered with crayon marks. So if you bring your puppy out, watch him to make sure that he is behaving. Be careful with children, puppies are notorious biters and children have soft skin-- if puppy bites a little one's face, and the mark leaves a scar, the parents could sue.

4.) Bring poopy bags and clean up after puppy: If your puppy poops in a public place, clean it up. Nobody likes stepping in dog poop. OK? Especially on beaches, when you're barefoot. Karma.... enough said.

5.) No jumping: Train your dog. There's nothing worse than a dog who jumps on you and plants a nice muddy paw print on your clothing. It's your responsibly as an owner to train your dog so that he's socially polite with strangers.

Showing puppy his new world

Spending time with your new puppy during these formulative few months is important. Your puppy is so eager to explore everything around him because it's all brand new!

You need to be there to expose him to new things so that he'll grow into a well-adjusted and confident dog.

There are certain things that will frighten puppy; loud noises, swimming, crowds of (tall) people, car rides, vet trips, the vacuum cleaner.

The only way to alleviate these fears is to expose your puppy to these things without traumatizing him. That means that you should not try to shield him from situations or things that frighten him, but you should try to make him comfortable with those things by building up his confidence.

Think back to your first day of school. It was scary, having to ride the bus and being away from home and in a strange place with strange people. But you did it, and after a few days, it wasn't so scary anymore.

Puppy feels the same way. The vacuum cleaner is scary, because it makes loud noises, looks funny and moves quickly. But you're going to have to use your vacuum cleaner and so puppy will have to learn to like it.

Here are some guidelines for exposing your puppy to new things:

Let your puppy have control. DO NOT forcefully make your puppy face something he is afraid of. For example: Do not corner your puppy and confront him with a roaring vacuum. He will feel more comfortable if he knows that he can run from a scary thing.

If he feels trapped, his heart rate will skyrocket, his adrenaline will kick in and he will be terrified. So, just start the vacuum, keep him in the room and let him keep his distance if he wants to. After he realizes that he can escape if he needs to and that the loud noise won't hurt him, he'll relax (this may take a few times).

Be confident in your puppy. Do not encourage your puppy's scared behavior by fussing over him when he shows fear. If you do that, you are rewarding insecure behavior and your puppy will learn that being afraid will get you to fuss over him with attention.

Lead by example. If you show no fear, and if you don't expect him to be afraid, then he'll relax. Dogs are very perceptive-- things like happiness, excitability and confidence are contagious. If you are talking in an upbeat positive voice, your puppy will know that there is nothing to fear.

Realize though, that anything that hurts puppy will make him afraid of it, and if this happens then it will be hard to reverse the trauma. So, be careful to avoid exposing your puppy to things that will hurt him.

An example: Rupert used to have an affinity for wires.

Our phone chargers, iPod cords, laptop cables were all shredded by puppy teeth. Mike became a wire-patching expert and our cords all bore electrical-taped scars-- until he chewed through a lamp cord that zapped him. He quickly abandonned the habit.

In this instance, it worked out in our favor (thank goodness he wasn't seriously injured) but if, for instance, he'd been hurt by a vacuum cleaner-- we'd have problems.