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How do I stop my puppy from peeing inside?
by Dr. Wendy A Shiao, VMD
May 20, 2016
One of the biggest challenges when raising a puppy is house training. It's not a pleasant job but it must be done, unless you don't mind your home being turned into a giant toilet.Puppies are born with the natural instinct to keep their den clean by eliminating away from it, and that is how we are able to house train puppies at all. However, in their mind their den might just be the small area where they sleep, and they could just walk 10 feet away to pee in a different room in the house. Our job is to teach them that the entire house is the den and peeing should be done outside.
When Can I Start House Training My Puppy?
Most puppies have enough bladder and bowel control by 8 to 16 weeks to begin house training. Some puppies are ready sooner than others, as they develop at slightly different rates much like human babies might reach their milestones at slightly different times. If you try to start before a puppy is ready, it'll most likely just be an exercise in frustration.
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How do I get my dog to drink more water?
by Dr. Wendy A Shiao, VMD
April 23, 2016
There are many reasons why a dog might not drink enough water. If he is on a dry food diet, his water requirement will be much higher than you might realize. Dehydration, even if mild, can lead to severe and potentially life-threatening kidney and other problems later in life. The good news is that there are a number of effective ways to encourage dogs to drink more water. These 8 are a good place to start!1. Filter the Drinking Water
In my household, even the plants get filtered water! Humans and dogs, too, should be getting filtered water to drink. Good quality filters remove most of the chlorine and other chemical and mineral contaminants from the tap water, even if you live somewhere that you would think should have water that's safe to drink right out of the tap.
It is true that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulates the safety of tap water, and as a result Americans are blessed with safer water than many places in the world. However, the Safe Drinking Water Act does not in fact prevent all contaminants from reaching your tap. It regulates what level of each contaminant it considers safe, and if any of those levels goes over the threshold the water company is required to notify the public. In multiple cities/towns I've lived in (suburbs of Philadelphia, Boston, and Baltimore), I have received notices in the mail from my water company listing the levels of various contaminants in the water. These notices are difficult to read or understand unless you have at least a trace of a scientific background. I imagine that most people just throw these away without reading them. I've actually read these, and saw that the levels of some of the contaminants listed do go over what EPA considers safe.
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