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[Reminisce] Puppyhood challenge No.2: Teething

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Another challenge during Versace’s puppyhood was his behavior during the teething phase.

When puppy teeth start growing, they are razor sharp: I mean, they really hurt!   As Versace had been pulled away from his brothers and sisters at very young age, he never got the idea of “bite inhibition”, so he grew up without knowing what it feels like to be bitten.   And he liked biting anything he could get his teeth on, including our legs.

Ms.S, the principal trainer of Versace, constantly had bruises and bite marks on her shins as a result of his rebellious behavior.  It was not until we bought loads of rawhide bones for him to chew on that he stopped sharpening his teeth on her.

Whether it be electric cords, shoes, socks, hand tools, gloves, floor mats or anything else within his reach that could fit into his small mouth, he had to chew it to pieces!  And as a Dobermann, he was pretty strong and fast from very young age, so it was absolutely impossible to catch him if he decided to do a road-runner with some soggy treasure in his mouth.

He particularly loved eating Ms.S’s treasured herbs and sleeping in the planters after digging up everything inside.  As we almost always discovered his misconduct after the fact, we could not discipline him, so he got away with his misdeeds most of the time, not to mention the fact that he was so cute when showed remorse afterward that we couldn’t really bust him anyway, although I am sure he fully exploited his Academy-Award-winning acting talent to con us!!

Even on the rare occasion when we caught him in the act, disciplining him on the spot was another story: we had to catch him first, which was no easy feat.  By the time we caught the hyperactive brat on steroids, he probably did not remember what he had done before the Tom and Jerry chase!

It was very challenging, frustrating and infuriating during those times, but looking back, it was also very funny and we loved watching him go crazy, especially because after playing hard and bulldozing everyone and everything in his way, he would suddenly stop and fall asleep, as if a toy ran out of batteries.

So future Doberman puppy owners, be warned: you will have to give up wearing a skirt and stop leaving expensive shoes on the floor, and get used to putting up with a trashed garden, at least for a while!!

Mr.T

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