Q. My one-year old puppy was chewing on a tube of Tinactin this morning. Not sure how much she ingested. She weighs about 25 lbs. Any need to w…

ANSWER : A. If she’s young, then this is just normal puppy behavior. Don’t worry about it. The thing about puppies is, they explore using their mouths. If your puppy grabs a coat hanger, or a slipper, you should roll up a newspaper, and smack yourself on the head with it for leaving those things out.. your puppy is going to explore things, that’s normal! It is 100% up to YOU to keep those things away from your puppy when your puppy is unsupervised… even for just a moment.

Remember to never scold your puppy for grabbing these things. They are just curious little cuties, and they don’t chew things up to bother us.. Dogs do not have intentional thought, so they aren’t ever doing anything ON PURPOSE to us.. The most important thing you can do when your puppy is chewing something you don’t want her to be chewing is TRADE her the inappropriate item with a toy of hers, so she understands “no honey, that isn’t what puppies chew on… THIS is what puppies chew on!” and then begin playing with her using her toy to show her that TOYS ARE FUN.. Way more fun than a boring ol’ coat hanger.

Another helpful thing you can do is have two bags of toys. In each bag is many different kinds of toys. Lots of chew toys, lots of soft squeaky toys, lots of rope-type toys, a bunch of balls.. All kinds of things! For one week you have bag#1’s toys out for your puppy to play with.. At the end of the one week, you collect those toys, and you bring out bag#2! The toys will be more interesting/feel like new to your puppy, which will in-turn, make her chew less inappropriate things. Her toys are too fun to care about that dumb Wii-mote that you left laying around.

Hope this helps!

ANSWER : A. Tolnaftate which is active ingredient of Tinactin is not dangerous to dogs unless large amount have been ingested. Your dog may experience stomach upset, vomiting and /or diarrhea but there should not be any more serious signs

ANSWER : A. It should say on the Blue Buffalo on the back under, “puppies” or some sort of age chart. Make sure it’s puppy food.. puppies need extra protein and nutrients. http://bluebuffalo.com/product-finder/dog/?facets=Puppy,Dog_DryFood#

http://www.bullytree.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/Feeding-Chart-Blue-Buffalo.gif – On the back of a puppy-food bag from Blue Buffalo it says underneath 3-5 months, “3 to 20 lbs: feed 1/3 – 1 1/4 cups per day” and “21 to 50 lbs: feed 1 1/2 – 3 cups per day.” Make sure you are breaking that up into at least three meals. Let’s say you decide to feed them 1 1/2 cups per day each, then, you should measure that out, and set it aside. Throughout the day, you should offer at least three mealtimes with that set-aside amount. You want to start with the least amount, and then if they seem hungry (licking the floors, begging you constantly for food, whining/crying) feed them a little more until you get it right. Do not overfeed, and try to avoid underfeeding a well.

ANSWER : A. Puppy food is designed specifically for the nutritional needs of young and still growing dogs, with twice the daily nutritional requirements that a mature dog needs.

Puppies are growing and developing rapidly — in their bones, muscles, joints, internal organs and immune system, to name but a few of the developmental needs that are being met by nutrition. A well balanced puppy food contains those nutrients that a puppy specifically need for this purpose, nutrients that are not necessary once the puppy has finished growing into a dog and that are not added to adult formula dog foods. For example, to build a strong body, puppy food contains about 30 percent protein, as well as the vitamins and minerals that are needed for a puppy to be healthy.

ANSWER : A. Puppy food packaging usually contains information on the recommended amount of food that a puppy needs. However, the amount can vary depending on your puppy’s particular breed, weight and size, whether the puppy has specific nutritional requirements that deviate from the norm, and sometimes, on how active your puppy is. If you have any questions or concerns regarding how much you should be feeding your puppy at each meal time, consult your veterinarian.

ANSWER : A. It is not likely that either one of these puppies has diabetes. It is very uncommon for a puppy that young to have diabetes. If your puppy is straining to urinate or is urinating very small amounts frequently and cannot seem to wait for very long between urination, he may have a urinary tract infection. It is quite possible that your puppy is completely normal. I would suggest an exam with your veterinarian and discuss the behavior with them. They may suggest a urinalysis. Your puppy should be going to the vet at 3 week intervals for vaccinations at this age, so you can discuss it when he has his next set of vaccines. The other person with the other puppy should also be taking hers to a vet for proper immunizations and she should also discuss her concerns with her vet.

ANSWER : A. I’d agree with the answer below, and I’d add that with a puppy as young as yours the most common cause of chewing is external parasites and fungal disease. It’s important to realize that almost always, chewing is caused by being itchy. It’s essentially a way that dogs scratch.

The first thing to do is to rule out parasites. Even if you don’t see fleas, treat her for fleas. Use a good product like Frontline – it’s easy to apply (avoid the hairless areas, it should be placed between the shoulderblades. You should also consider that your dog might be getting bitten by mosquitos – a common problem in thin-skinned dogs, and depending on where you live they can still be a problem this time of year.

Your vet also needs to perform a scraping of the skin to rule out mites. And again…even if no mites are found, I would recommend treating for them. They are almost as common as fleas in puppies, and depending on her recent situation (rescued from a shelter?) stress can depress the immune system and cause a mite infestation to take hold.

And finally, ringworm, which is actually a fungal disease, should be ruled out. It’s also almost universally related to conditions, like overcrowded shelters, but it does happen and puppies are more susceptible.

One more note: allergies are possible, but other things are probably more likely at this point. If your vet doesn’t know what to do, I would recommend looking for someone who does.

ANSWER : A. I would suggest that you have a one on one consultation with a Petcoach consultant such as myself and I would suggest that you sign your puppy up for a puppy class. Puppy class Dog trainers help teach their students everything and anything concerning puppy care and training. They can help you with potty training, biting, chewing, toys, care, commands, ect. Also you will be able to socialize your puppy with other puppies at a young age which you NEED to do! If you have a dog that was never socialized with other dogs it will become fearful and even aggressive and bite other dogs later in life.