Like all little puppies, Rottweiler pups love to nip, gnaw and chew their way through their puppy-dom into adulthood. Everything and anything is fair game and your ankles could look especially tempting leaving you eventually feeling pretty much like an old chewed-up shoe yourself. Using a few nifty tricks, especially when your puppy is between two to six months old, will help you survive the ‘chewing years’.
Puppy Proof Your Home
When a puppy is going through his chewing years, you should make it a point of putting away all items that puppies are notorious for chewing up and spitting out. Shoes are a special favorite; so make sure you lock up all your Manholo Blahniks and your Jimmy Choos.
If you have Persian carpets, roll them up and stash them away for those few months. If you absolutely must have them out, cover them with a protective sheath.
Make sure all loose electrical wires are WAY OUT OF REACH. Electrical wires that dangle and dance in the breeze just a little out of reach can tempt your little pup who is sure to make an all -out effort to get at it. Don’t underestimate how high your little Rott pup is capable of jumping.
Puppy proofing your home is almost like baby-proofing your home where you lock up the cabinets and keep away the candy. And if you do have other children in the house, make sure their toys, especially little blocks such as Legos are safely out of sight.
Provide Alternatives For Chewing On
If your pup is still eyeing your ankles, don’t fool yourself into thinking it’s because you’ve got delicious ankles. That honor rightfully goes to the likes of Cameron Diaz and Halle Berry. Young pups NEED to gnaw and chew and if you’ve locked and stowed away every chewable thing in sight without providing any alternatives, you’ve only got yourself to blame for your puppy’s ankle obsession.
Buy your pup a rubber toy for him to sink his teeth into. In fact, buy him several toys and introduce a new one every few days to stave off boredom. Make sure that the toys you buy are especially meant for little pups. Unlike regular rubber toys that fragment into little bits and can pose a choking hazard, ‘meant for puppies’ rubber toys are hardy enough to withstand a fair amount of chewing.
Your puppy’s insatiable urge to chew may be a little tough to deal with at first but he will soon grow out of it. Meanwhile, you may want to puppy-proof your ankles with a sturdy pair of ankle boots or at least a thick pair of socks.
