The Proper Preventive Puppy Collar Check (modeled by ZumaDog)

EverythingDogBlog #34

(This blog first appeared on ColumbiaPatch.com on March 21, 2013.)

The easiest and most important health and safety check for your puppy and dog.

    

PHOTOS (2)

EverythingDogBlog #34: The Easiest and Most Crucial Puppy Check, According to Zuma!

The Proper Preventive Puppy Collar Check (modeled by ZumaDog)

by Skye Anderson, MS

Puppies grow and grow and grow – so fast, it seems, we wish we could slow them down and enjoy puppyhood more. One health and safety check I have my students do in every class is a collar check. If the collar is not checked often for size, the pup can outgrow his collar, causing it to tighten and hurt.

So, every class we start out with a puppy check and make sure we can fit two fingers between the collar and the pup’s neck (see Zuma’s photos) for a perfect fit. Any more and the pup may be able to get out of the collar. Any less and it may become too tight too soon.

So, put a ‘collar check’ on your calendar (for Sunday nights perhaps) and, just do it! Your pup will thank you for it.

Collar Check and Pass the Puppy

Also in my classes, I usually include a collar-check/‘pass the puppy’ game: pass your puppy to the person next to you who checks the collar-fit on your dog, thus familiarizing your pup to other people.

Collar Check and Massage Minutes

Or, we include a collar-check with lengthening massage-minutes. Each week, at the end of class, I teach a different canine massage stroke or I have students massage a new part of their pup. The class is amazingly quiet during this time (you can hear a pin drop – in puppy class!) and pups fall asleep, allowing me to summarize what we have covered, answer any questions, and prep the peeps (people) for the next week. Puppies really look forward to their massages, too!

Collar Check and Puppy Parts

If I don’t incorporate massage into a class, I will at least hold a Puppy Inventory. Each person lifts up puppy paws one by one and counts them to make sure they are all there. Ditto with ears and tail, accompanied by treats. This never fails to elicit giggles in the ‘grown-ups’ while teaching the pup to love being examined (your vet will love you for it, too)! And kids do a great job of counting.

And thank you, Zuma, for being such a great model!

(Photos - Zuma Models a Perfect Collar Check and Zuma's Collar Fits Just Right! credits: DStark)