Can You Afford Your Puppy's Chewing Habit?

Recently, we welcomed a new addition to our family: a puppy! One of my elderly family members had bought a puppy of a mixed breed between a short-haired Dachshund and a Jack Russell Terrier. I had been told of the puppy's springiness and his slightly uncontrolled hyper demeanor. Aware of these issues, I still took the puppy. How bad could this puppy really be?

It had not taken long for me to see that despite this puppy's somewhat small size, it had been able to jump to heights that I had yet seen any dog jump. I was astounded by the puppy's ability to jump onto my four foot high counter top with no troubles at all.

If you are like me, hearing someone tell you the names of the different kinds of breed that a particular dog is, it always sounds like gibberish. I mean, a dog is just a dog, right?

Upon researching both breeds of dog, I had found that this is not so.

The Jack Russell Terrier was originally bred in Germany for the purpose of fox hunting. The Breed of Dogs web site explains, "Fox hunters needed small dogs to roust the foxes who had escaped to ground." Eventually, Jack Russell Terriers were used for ridding farms of rats and other rodent pests.

A Dachshund dog was originally bred in Germany. Like the Jack Russell Terrier, the Dachshund was used primarily for hunting purposes. The hunting chores of these dogs were to chase rabbits and chase them out of their wholes, to search for various game and also for tracking prey.

When we had gotten this puppy home, he had suddenly taken a liking to me, following me everywhere in my home that I had gone. Every time that we had left the house to even go to the store, we would come home with toys and books, as well as other items, chewed to pieces all over our floors.

The Wikipedia web site states, "If left alone many dachshunds will whine until they have companionship. Some dachshunds are prone to separation anxiety and may chew objects in the house to relieve stress."

We had gone through many forms of chew toys and tasty bones in an attempt to divert this puppies attention else where and away from chewing things that he should not have been chewing.

Eventually, we had by chance stumbled upon a dog toy that had suited purpose. It's thick rope making it hard to chew threw, prolongs the lifespan of this toy. On one end a tennis ball, and the other, a handle.

The rope runs through the center of the tennis ball, containing a knot both above an below the ball to keep it in place. The rope loops, forming a handle, all the easier to play tug-of-war with your dog. Between the handle and the ball, there is about six to eight inches long of rope, allowing distance between you and your overactive dog.

The thick rope acted as a chew toy whose lifespan is long. The curved handle allows me to play with my dog despite his over active demeanor. The tennis ball allows for the dog to chase an object when playing fetch. A multi-tasking dog toy may be an option for you to look into.

Finding the right toy for your pet can sometimes be a hard task to complete. Here is a suggestion, write a list of what you or your dog need from this toy? What do you hope to accomplish? What would the lifespan of this toy be? By knowing what you and your dog need, you not only have a better idea of what it is that you are looking for, you are more likely to find what you are looking for.