Your Labrador Retriever Puppy Month by Month by Terry Albert & Deb Eldredge & DVM & Don & Barb Ironside

Author:Terry Albert & Deb Eldredge & DVM & Don & Barb Ironside
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: DK Publishing

HAPPY PUPPY

Let your Lab hold a ball or big chew toy in his mouth while you brush his back teeth.

Caring for Your Pup’s Paws

Your Lab puppy’s feet are exposed to extreme heat, pesticides, fertilizers, and uneven surfaces that could bruise his paw pads. His feet are constantly getting wet as he runs through mud, streams, grass, and leaves, and mud can accumulate between his toes and dry into clumps. In the summer, he sweats through his paws, which creates the perfect environment for bacteria to grow. If he’s licking his paws constantly, something is irritating them. The best way to prevent problems is to keep his paws clean and dry.

Hot asphalt or newly blacktopped streets can burn your pup’s delicate paw pads. He also can get road-burn when the bottoms of his feet are rubbed raw from running on hard surfaces. Treat raw feet with a foot soak (more on soaks later in this section) and antibiotic ointment or aloe vera gel. You’ll need to bandage his feet to keep him from licking off the ointment. Place a gauze pad on the bottom of his foot, and tape it in place. Put an old cotton sock over his foot, and tape the top to his fur.

Labs can get dry, cracked skin and calluses on their paw pads, too. After a foot soak, apply a small amount of vitamin E oil to help heal his skin. To keep him from licking it off, put it on his feet just before mealtime, so he’ll be occupied long enough for it to soak in. Don’t apply too much because it will stain your carpet if he walks on it. You also don’t want his feet getting too soft because that will make it easier for them to be reinjured.

If you need to wash chemicals, antifreeze, road salt, or cleaners off your puppy’s feet, use liquid dish detergent or vegetable oil to completely remove it. Then rinse and dry thoroughly.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.