Chug Dog

While many die hard sports fans were anxiously awaiting the Saints V.S. colts, others were tuned into the Puppy Bowl.

How was the winner this year – a chug puppy!

See the highlights here:

http://animal.discovery.com/videos/puppy-bowl-vi/

So we recently took our chug Max to the vet. They gave him his first round of shots (which cost $114 at Pet Smart), some anti-flea gel and a heartworm pill. The vet told us that our chug puppy may experience some side effects such as fatigue, nausea and disorientation. Our chug puppy was less than 2lbs when we administered the dosage. For the first 8-12 hours he seemed fine. However, later in the evening while playing hard with another dog, Max began to look ill and before you know it…YACK – he threw up right in my lap.

The next day he was very tired – more so than usual. He slept the majority of the day and by evening was chewing his favorite toy again.

Bottom line: the side effects your vet describe are very real and you should take them into consideration when you bring your chug puppy to the vet.

As with most puppies, Chug puppies have a tendency to have some anxiety when they first leave their mother. When we first brought our Chug home, he was constantly crying and running up to us when we left the room. We have had our chug for 2 weeks now and his seperation anxiety has gotten better.  We did this by following a few guidelines we researched:

How to cure your chug puppy’s seperation anxiety:

1. Get a training crate and start putting your dog in for short periods of time. At first we left him in all day when we went to work. We did not see any improvement in our chug’s behavior. Soon after realizing this, I worked from home more and put him in the crate for shorter periods of time and the whining began to stop.
2. Give him lots to do. There are plenty of toys to keep your chug puppy occupied. Our chug puppy prefers to chew on Ziggys. They are available at pet smart.
3. Exhaust your chug puppy before leaving. Let him run outside or play with toy in the house.
4. Turn on the radio or TV before you leave. Chug puppies are generally calmed by the ambient noise.
5. Don’t make a big scene when you come home. This type of behavior will encourage the chug to anticipate your arrival more eagerly.

These tips should help cure your chug puppies seperation anxiety. Above all, it is important to love your chug. The more you demonstrate this, the more independent he will become.