Night-Time
Missing the comforting presence of his fellow litter-mates, your puppy may cry during the first few nights so tire him out by playing with him before he goes to sleep. Place a hot-water bottle under his bedding, put a ticking clock in with him and play the radio quietly – you are trying to fool him into believing that he is not alone.
It is best to place the box on a washable, non-carpeted floor and to surround it with newspaper in case the puppy wants to urinate during the night. Puppies rarely soil their bed.
If he howls during the night and you go to him he will think you are answering his call so steel your heart and try not to go. However, it is cruel to let him cry all night and if he is very persistent and cannot settle, you may have to take him into your bedroom. Put his box by the bed and comfort him by stroking him from the bed, but on no account let him get up onto the bed because you may be setting a pattern that will be very difficult to change when he grows to his full size.
When he is relaxed, you can move his box a little closer to the door each night until it is outside, and then it can be taken back to the kitchen. However, if he does sleep upstairs, make sure that he cannot fall downstairs – his bones will not be calcified until he is about six months old and will break comparatively easily at this age. As a temporary precaution, place a child-proof stair gate at the top of the stairs. This can be used at the bottom of the stairs during the day to prevent him climbing upstairs. If he does go with you, always carry him up and down as he is likely to injure himself if he falls.
Life Expectancy
Like their owners, dogs are living longer nowadays, but few will pass seventeen years, which is eighty-four human years. The record for canine longevity is claimed for a twenty-seven-and-a-quarter-year-old black Labrador that died in Boston, Lincolnshire, though there are less reliable reports of another dog tottering up to an incredible thirty-four years!
| Dog Years | |
| Age of dog | Equivalent age of a human |
| 1 year | 15 years |
| 2 years | 24 years |
| 3 years | 28 years |
| 4 years | 32 years |
| 8 years | 48 years |
| 12 years | 64 years |
| 15 years | 76 years |
| 20 years | 96 years |
Did you know?
Like cats, dogs are very sensitive to vibrations and they will give warning of earth tremors some time, and occasionally even days, before humans are aware of any movement in the ground. In 1853, the famous British meteorologist, Vice-Admiral Robert FitzRoy, wrote: ‘In the town of Concepción on the Pacific Coast of Chile at 11.30am the dogs fled out of the houses. Ten minutes later an earthquake destroyed the town.’
The curious thing is that dogs react like this only to the imminence of true earthquakes; somehow they can tell the difference between the advance tremors of the real thing and the 150,000 other vibrations of the earth’s crust that occur each year and that cause the animals to show not the slightest alarm. Even scientific instruments cannot tell the difference between the two kinds of tremor, so how does Fido do it? No one yet knows.
One year of a dog’s life is equivalent to seven of a man’s, or so the saying goes, but it isn’t true. A one-year-old bitch is mature and can have pups; a seven-year-old child cannot. Many dogs reach fifteen years of age but few folk celebrate their 105th birthday. A more realistic approach has been worked out by the French veterinarian, Dr Lebeau. He has suggested that the first year of a dog’s life equals fifteen human years, the second equals a further nine human years and thereafter each dog year counts for four human years. This provides us with the table shown opposite.
Toilet-Training
Wherever you put the puppy’s box, surround it with newspaper as he will not want to soil his own nest. When he is accustomed to using the paper, gradually remove some pieces and move the remainder towards the kitchen door. At the door it is then an easy matter to place it outside. Every puppy will indicate that he wants to perform, but each one is different. One may turn in little circles while another will run back and forth sniffing.
Whenever your puppy indicates that he wants to go to the toilet or finishes a meal or awakes from a sleep, put a collar and lead on him and take him outside to the place in the garden where you want him to go. Always use the same one or two words as a command and then praise him rapturously when he performs to order. Never chastise him severely when he makes a mistake in the house unless you catch him in the act. If so, use your voice, never your hand. He regards defecating, and where he wants to do it, as perfectly normal behaviour and will not understand why you are punishing him.
There are some times when the puppy should be taken into the garden, which will stimulate him to perform his toilet: first thing in the morning, after every meal, after any strenuous play, after a daytime sleep and before bed every evening. With the praise system, he should soon relate it to the required performance.
Cats and Other Pets
Do not force your new puppy to accept a cat. Holding a cat near a puppy so he can smell it is not advisable – the cat will object and it could be painful for the puppy if he gets scratched. Anyway, the cat will probably find a high place to keep out of the way for the first few days. Feed them both in different places and don’t let the puppy eat the cat’s food; it may not suit his digestion. Sooner or later the cat will venture closer to the puppy, but if he gets too frisky the cat will defend itself. In this way, the puppy will soon learn to keep out of the cat’s way.
In the fullness of time it is usual for a dog and a cat to live together in harmony in the same house, even after a tense start. However, this does not mean that the dog will tolerate a strange cat running across the lawn.
Take special care to separate him from any pet rabbits, gerbils, hamsters or other small animals, as they are a natural prey for a dog and it would be wise not to tempt him. When your puppy is a little older he can be introduced to any small pets under your supervision, and most dogs will learn to live alongside them.
Dangers and Hazards
Dogs like being outside if the weather suits them, and their garden becomes an extension of their territory. As puppies, they will explore every corner, so for obvious reasons you must make your garden escape-proof and remember that most puppies can squeeze through very small holes. As they grow, some of the taller breeds will jump 1–1.5 m (3–5 ft) if something attracts their attention. Securing wire netting on top of the fencing and then bending it over inwards towards the dog’s territory solves this particular problem.
Make sure also that any gates and garden doors close securely and cannot be opened by an inquisitive dog. Nor should there be a gap at the bottom under which a dog can crawl; if there is, attach fairly strong wire netting to the gate or door at ground level.
Inside the house
There are danger points inside the house, too. When they are young, long, low dogs, such as Basset Hounds and Dachshunds, and large breeds, such as Wolfhounds, should not be allowed to go up and down stairs as their vertebrae can be over-stressed, leading to spinal disc troubles in later life. A child gate at the bottom of the staircase will put an effective stop to this activity.