Pupdate!

[LittlestFinch]

Hey folks I posted about my BC Mac a few months ago when I got him! He’s going on 16 weeks soon! 

Im not going to lie and say he’s been a total angel cause we’re still on mouthiness (though it’s much less recently, he’s gonna start teething soon I imagine so it will probably get worse again!) and we’re working on being alone cause he’s still just having a really hard time with it. We have been attached at the hip since I got him so I’m sure it’s partly my fault. 

However he has been doing really great!! Even in the city/apartment. He is the chattiest dog I’ve ever owned and I love it, though we try not to encourage it. He’s extremely clever and sweet as well! 

Hes also really a pretty boy and it’s been extremely fun and weird taking him places cause we get wild interactions with some humans!

Based on everything I read prepping to get him he’s been extremely mild! Idk why there are so many horrible BC stories! I’m still partly waiting for some switch to flip and for him to turn into a fearful, flighty, anxiety beast. Even if he does though I’m feeling more confident that I can handle it. 

Currently we’re looking for ideas to occupy him when I’m working (from home) he’s been having a super hard time allowing me to talk to coworkers/clients. Like he’s totally fine when I’m doing solo work, I can toss a ball or play one handed tug, etc. he’s got the run of the apartment cause he’s just been so good! However, the minute I get on a call he’s trying to gnaw my fingers, jumping, etc until I crate him. A good chew will keep him occupied for a bit, but he just tears through everything I give him SO FAST. Those sharp baby teeth are ruthless! I don’t want him to HAVE to go in the crate for every call, but once he’s in there he’s totally fine, so that’s what we’ve been doing. 

Does anyone have any toy recommendations or fun solo activities? I can’t give him a pig ear every three hours even if it would keep him quiet all day hahaha!

ps these forums have been a huge source of help & info so thanks for sharing your knowledge

 

[Lawgirl]

Oh, I do love a white face BC! Even though he is a half white face, your Mac reminds me so much of my Oscar!

 

As for a longer lasting chew, you could try a bully stick, or beef tendon, or something like a goats horn or deer/elk antler.  Horn and antler can cause concern about broken teeth, but are much longer lasting chews, and not messy or smelly.  I will only give my boys whole, not split antlers. Obviously, you need to remove them when they get small enough to be a choking hazard.  I have heard that you can soak the antlers overnight to soften them, although this will probably mean they are chewed up more quickly, but reduce the chance of a broken tooth.

Others on this board will recommend a stuffed kong, possibly stuffed with his normal kibble wetted and then frozen, so you feed his meals this way so as not to over feed him.  I have known people to give their dogs carrots, even frozen carrots as chews, though this can be a little messy.

From memory, there was a recent thread about chews etc. that you should be able to find if you search.

Hope this helps.

[Hooper2]

Gave my young dog an antler to chew. Paid $1700 on root canal to treat broken tooth. Just sayin'.

[LittlestFinch]

@Lawgirl Oscar is so pretty!!!!!! He actually looks really similar to my boy’s gorgeous mama! <3

I have actually tried stuffed Kongs on advice of this awesome site! For some reason my child is totally disinterested in Kongs even with food stuffed in them. I have three different sizes and he’s just like “nope” even with his fave treats. I’m wondering if he had a bad kong experience haha! Yesterday I actually froze some meat baby food into a marrow bone and that occupied him for about twenty minutes! Which is a success as far as I’m concerned! 

Horns made me think of hooves which are something I didn’t consider and it is real smart cause my family dogs used to love horse toe nail XD when we got their hooves trimmed! Plus it’s soft enough that it’s hopefully not a tooth break risk! Though goat horn is keratin and should be softer than deer antler! 

I’m going to go seek the chew threads out!

@Hooper2 I am wary of antlers for that reason but I feel like lots of chews can result in fractured teeth so I just try to be conscious of it and supervise the kid when he’s chewing stuff! 

[GentleLake]

3 hours ago, LittlestFinch said:

I actually froze some meat baby food into a marrow bone...

Frozen marrow bone is a double whammy for breaking teeth. They're too hard all on their own; freezing or cooking (as sold in pet stores as treats) just makes them harder.

I give commercial cow hoof treats. Probably too hard, as they're heated to sterilize them, but mine have always done OK with them and they last a long time.

Another longer lasting chew that many people recommend is Himalayan chews. It's a very hard type of cheese. I haven't tried them yet but ordered some from Chewy where they seem to be less expensive than most other places.

 

[LittlestFinch]

@GentleLake I didn’t think about it making the bone harder!! Big yikes on my part! I am gonna just go toss it in the trash!! I can find a tube toy or something to replace it 

tried Himalayan cheese chews. He showed absolutely zero interest. Picky child. Gave them to my folks pit when I visited a week or so back and she was INTO them. So I’m guessing it’s just a Mac quirk.

[HerePupPup]

My pup loves bully sticks, but they are costly so she mostly gets them when riding in the car and only rarely at home.

Our trainer recommended a raw, frozen chicken wing. My pup loves them. She gets one almost every day. It's not a long lasting chew, though. She is 7 months and can devour a frozen wing in less than 10 minutes, bones and all, but she really does get a good chew workout with it.

I'm still trying to teach my girl how to use a frozen Kong. She's fine if it's smeared with peanut butter and nothing else inside. But if I freeze moist kibble inside she'll ignore it, even once it's thawed. I think she does not grasp the idea of getting her tongue inside to get at the food. The only way she uses her Kong is if I fill it with dry kibble and she tosses it around until the kibble flies out. I might need to mix the moist kibble with peanut butter and very lightly and loosely fill the Kong to see if that works.

My pup is good about chewing her Benebone wishbone. But she wasn't always interested. I tried soaking it in beef broth and smearing it with peanut butter but all she'd do was lick it. Finally, we'd have play session where I'd animate the wishbone until she wanted to bite it. Then I'd animate and let her bite again. Then she'd chew it, but only if I held it for her. (Talk about SPOILED) It took weeks but she finally started picking it up and chewing it on her own. For us, the Benebone is one of the safest and most cost-effective chewables.

I have not tried Himalayan cheese sticks. They are out of my price range, especially now that I'm buying so many training treats. From what I can tell, the sticks are pretty hard. It could be that they were too hard to be interesting to Mac. When my girl was a couple months younger, we gave her cow ear. They are thinner than a pig's ear and crunchy -- like a doggie potato chip. She used to like them a lot but now that she has big girl teeth she's not as interested.