2. Puppy Safety
Your puppy is a Goat. He will eat anything - twist ties, candy wrappers, pennies,
poisonous plants etc. Watch him closely and make sure if your puppy is alone, there is
nothing he can get into his mouth. Puppy toys are also a hazard and need to be monitored.
Raw bones are an excellent thing to chew to avoid boredom.
Your puppy is a Curious Monkey and will go places it is not safe to go like in a
drain pipe, down a hole or too close to an edge with a steep drop off. [including stairs]
Your puppy is a Rubber Man. His spine and joints are soft and flexible.
- Always fully support his whole body when lifting him.
- Never walk your puppy on a leash for extended periods of time. The best exercise is
playing and running around at his own pace.
- Never confine your puppy where he has to stand on his hind legs to see out. This is
very hard on the hip joints.
- Never push down on your puppy's hind end to get him to sit. This can lead to hip
problems. Instead, put your hand behind his back knee joint and apply gentle pressure
forward to encourage him to bend his leg or better yet, you can use clicker training to
teach your puppy to sit without even touching him.
- Avoid stairs as they are very hard on the joints. Excessive use of stairs is not
recommended for the first year of life by some vets. Carry your puppy up and down
stairs as long as you can. This applies to jumping in and out of the car as well and hiking
on steep ground.
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