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<DIV><FONT face=Baltimore color=#800000 size=4><FONT face="Times New Roman"
color=#000000 size=3>Maliah is going through teething and has lost 7 baby teeth
in the past week. I have been trying to get her to chew on toys, but she seems
to like my hands better. Those little puppy teeth are sharp! I was just
wondering how long this phase lasts and if anyone has tips on surviving the
teething stage other than providing lots of chew toys.</FONT></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Baltimore color=#800000 size=4><FONT face="Times New Roman"
color=#000000 size=3></FONT></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Baltimore color=#800000 size=4><FONT face="Times New Roman"
color=#000000 size=3>----Never let a puppy use your hands or any other part of
the human anatomy as a teething toy. a firm grab around the
snout (as the mother dog would do), a firm NO, and give them a substitute chew
toy. One of the joys of getting a puppy from a breeder who keeps their
puppies till 10 or 12 weeks is the fantastic bite inhibition the puppies learn
from mom and siblings.</FONT></FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Baltimore color=#800000 size=4><FONT face="Times New Roman"
color=#000000 size=3>Teething can last upwards of six months and one of the best
toys I've ever given my dogs is old tennis shoes to chew on. The resilient
rubber gives them plenty of chew time without falling apart and they love to
drag them around by the laces. Of course I keep my good shoes in the
closet through out the teething stage, but I've never had a puppy grow
into an adult dog that eats shoes. Then of course there is my little
Mercedes who ate the puppy gate.-----</DIV>
<DIV><BR><BR>Maliah is doing great, by the way. - learning the basset 500 and
racing up and down the stairs. </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>--- I have Dachshunds and Bassets. Racing up and down the stairs is a
serious no-no for puppies. I don't even let puppies walk up and
down stairs until they are 4 or 5 months old. Joints and backs
are much too fragile and small, un-noticeable injuries in puppies can
grow into large problems in adults. In fact when placing puppies one of my
first questions is how many steps they will have to negotiate. </DIV>
<DIV>I was recently at a seminar on puppy development and the instructor said
one of the easiest ways to ruin a puppy is to let them run with adult
dogs. The puppy tries to keep up and it puts way too much strain on
the developing joint and muscle system of the puppy. Socializing with
gentle adults is very beneficial to puppies, trying to do the basset (or
Dachshund) 500. possibly sliding on the floor or crashing into the furniture is
probably too much for a young pup, outside in the grass would be much
better----</FONT><BR></DIV></FONT>
<DIV><FONT face=Baltimore color=#800000 size=4>Cathy Blatz<BR><A
href="http://www.summerhilldachshundsandbassets.com">www.summerhilldachshundsandbassets.com</A><BR><A
href="http://www.geocities.com/clubbasset/index.html">http://www.geocities.com/clubbasset/index.html</A><BR><A
href="http://www.dachshund-wpdc.org/">http://www.dachshund-wpdc.org/</A></FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>