Without the usual fanfare, Cooper reached his four month birthday yesterday. No celebration because he has been feeling under the weather and not behaving well. It appears that we might have been a bit lax monitoring his outdoor activities. He seems to have picked up a slight UTI from the presents left behind by our neighborhood rabbits. We are not veterinarians and have not had him tested; it is based on our experience. The two indicators were an increase in consumption of water and crying by the door every two hours requesting a potty break.
It is not a serious issue, but we have implemented a strict leash policy for relieving (to monitor his consumption) and we have started a cranberry regimen. The illness hasn't slowed him down as he has been shopping the last three days and attended training class last evening. We blamed the UTI for his lapses in behavior, however, it probably has more to do with our limited focused training the past seven days.
Another possible cause of bad behavior in puppies are the "Terrible Fives", which shouldn't happen for another month. This is where your puppy starts acting like a teenager: selective hearing, defiant, and uncontrollable. Can't wait.
2 comments:
They can also pick up Tapeworm from rabbit droppings.
If he's anything like his daddy he will be just fine in the behavior dept :) I have Cashew here now. We are using him to breed to our E. Mastiff, Hannah. He's such a gentle, kind boy.
Hope he is feeling better soon! Poor little guy :( It's no fun being sick!
Hopefully you all can make it to the Kickoff for Custom Canines. If not, we hope to see you in the not too distant future!
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