| How to Care for an 8 Week Old Puppy Posted: 24 Jan 2020 12:00 AM PST At 8 weeks of age, your puppy is ready to leave its mother and littermates, and join your family. Your focus should be on your puppy's basic needs of eating, drinking, sleeping, playing, and eliminating. Around this time, a puppy is also becoming more curious and interested in its environment, so this is the best time to start teaching your puppy everything it needs to know! [Edit]Keeping Your Puppy Safe and Healthy - Puppy proof your home before you bring the puppy home. Your puppy will try to get into things it shouldn't. Telling your puppy "no" will not be effective this early, and it will be impossible for you to watch your puppy all of the time. Ensure that your home is free from hazards to your puppy before you bring it home. Some effective ways to puppy proof your home include:[1]
- Placing cleaning agents and other chemical bottles on a high shelf or in a locked cupboard.
- Putting up small hazards, such as coins, paperclips, pins, and rubber bands.
- Using baby gates to block off rooms and areas that you do not want your puppy to enter.
- Get a bed for your puppy. Your puppy will need a cozy place to sleep at night. Make sure to get your puppy a bed that is big enough for it to fit on now and as it grows, such as a bed that is or larger for a big dog. Place the bed in a draft-free place in your home to ensure that your puppy will be warm in its new bed.[2]
- If you do not want to purchase a bed, then designate a few blankets as your puppy's bed. Fold and stack them to make a soft place for your puppy to sleep.
- Select appropriate chew toys for your puppy. Puppies still have their baby teeth at 8 weeks. As they lose these and grow their adult teeth they'll need to chew. Make sure your puppy always has plenty of simple toys and size appropriate rawhide bones. Have some in every room your puppy is allowed to be in.[3]
- If your puppy chews the wrong thing, pick up its toy or bone, go to it and take away what it has with a stern "No" and then give your puppy its toy or bone. When it starts chewing the toy, give it praise.
- If you don't give your puppy something to chew, it will find something to chew. Puppies need to chew to help relieve their teething pain.
- Make an appointment for vaccinations and deworming. Your puppy will need to be vaccinated once every 2 to 3 weeks until it is 4 months old and it will also need deworming treatments during this time. Call your local veterinarian and arrange an appointment for your puppy for soon after you take the puppy home.[4]
- Good breeders begin vaccinations very early before the pup is ready to come home with you. Ask your breeder for its puppy vaccination records so you can give it to your vet. If you are adopting the puppy from a shelter, its early vaccinations should also already be taken care of, but make sure to ask!
- Puppies are often born with worms and may need to be dewormed by your vet. The breeder or shelter should have already done this, but ask to be sure.
- Get heartworm prevention medication for your puppy. Heartworm prevention is important to puppies and dogs of all ages and should be started when they are young. Make an appointment with your vet to get your puppy its heartworm medication. Dogs of any age can get heartworm from a mosquito bite, and heartworm may kill your dog once they get it, so prevention is key![5]
- Heartworm can be treated, but treatment is very expensive and the treatment itself kills the dog in about half the cases.
- Microchip your puppy in case it gets lost. Even if your puppy has a tag, it could get lost. Ask your puppy's veterinarian about having a microchip implanted in your puppy. This way, if your puppy gets lost and taken in by a shelter, they will be able to contact you using the information in the microchip.[6]
- Keep in mind that a microchip does not work like a GPS device. It only serves as a way to identify your pet if it gets taken to a shelter.
- Some countries, such as the United Kingdom, legally require dogs to be chipped by 8 weeks of age. Check with your country's laws and regulations to see if microchipping is required.
[Edit]Feeding an 8 Week Old Puppy - Purchase dog food that is specifically formulated for puppies. Puppies cannot eat regular dog food. They need to have a food that is meant for puppies. This type of food will provide your puppy with the nutrients it needs to grow and it is in smaller pieces that are easier for your puppy to chew. Purchase a bag before you bring the puppy home.[7]
- Ask your veterinarian or the breeder or shelter for a recommendation if you are unsure about which type of puppy food to buy.
- Feed your puppy 4 scheduled meals per day. 8-week old puppies need to eat frequently to get in enough calories. Until your puppy is 12 weeks old, it will need to be fed 4 times daily at regular intervals. Develop a feeding schedule for your puppy to ensure that it gets the nutrition it needs.[8]
- For example, you could feed your puppy at 7 AM, 11 AM, 2 PM, and 5 PM.
- Continue feeding this way until your puppy reaches 14 weeks, and then switch to 2 feedings per day.
- Provide your puppy with fresh, clean water at all times. It is important for your puppy to stay hydrated, and puppies drink a lot of water! Your puppy may drink as much as ½ cup (120 mL) of water every 2 hours. Always keep a bowl of fresh, clean water out for your puppy. Place the bowl somewhere that will be easy for your puppy to access and check the bowl a few times daily.[9]
- For example, try placing the bowl in the corner of the room where the puppy spends the most time.
- If you take your puppy outside to play, bring a bowl of water outside too.
[Edit]Training and Socializing Your Puppy - Take your puppy outside regularly to eliminate in the same place. House training a puppy requires consistency. Your puppy will need to go to the bathroom frequently since puppies cannot hold their urine or feces for very long. Take your puppy to the same spot every time to help it associate the spot with eliminating. Take your puppy out to go potty at the following times:[10]
- When it wakes up in the morning
- After it eats
- When it wakes up from a nap
- After it has just finished playing
- Before bedtime
- Every 20-30 minutes when its awake
- Teach your puppy basic commands. At 8 weeks, your puppy will be ready to learn new things. This is a great time to teach it some basic commands, such as sit, stay, and lay down. Use positive reinforcement to teach your puppy these commands, such as by praising your puppy or offering it a treat when it does the desired behavior. You may train your puppy on your own, or complete a training course with your puppy.[11]
- For example, if you are trying to teach a puppy to sit, use a treat as a lure and hold it up in the air to get your puppy to look up at it. When your puppy's butt hits the ground, praise and pet your puppy and give it the treat. Then, repeat the activity while saying "sit" as you hold the lure. After a few sessions, your puppy will begin to understand that "sit" means to sit and that it will get praise by doing this.
- Introduce your puppy to lots of different sights and sounds. Puppies need to be exposed to lots of different sights and sounds to ensure that they will not be fearful of those things later on. Carry your puppy outside when you introduce it to new sights and sounds. Make sure to keep it on a leash as well so it can explore safely if you set it down.[12]
- The breeder or shelter should have already started socializing your puppy by handling, exposure to different smells, and toys. Ask the breeder or shelter how they started socializing the puppy so you will know what types of exposure the puppy has already had.
- Provide lots of opportunities for your puppy to interact with people. Make sure your puppy has many positive experiences with people from all walks of life. This will help to ensure that your puppy does not develop a fear or dislike of certain people, such as children, men, or tall people. Invite friends over and take your puppy out where it can interact with different people, such as on a walk in the park.[13]
- Everything your puppy experiences during this time will be forever imprinted in him. For example, if a man with a beard does something to frighten your puppy, this is not a positive experience. Expose the puppy to bearded men who provide a positive experience so it doesn't grow into a dog who is fearful of, or aggressive toward, men with beards.
- Expose your puppy to other dogs in a safe, controlled environment. Being around other dogs is also important for socializing your puppy. Take your puppy to a puppy training program so that you can expose it to other dogs in a safe, controlled environment. Check with your local pet store or dog kennel for information on the puppy training programs.[14]
- Make sure that you only allow the puppy around other animals that have been vaccinated.
[Edit]Warnings - Before you get your puppy, know how big he'll be as an adult and the typical personality of the breed. Be sure you can accommodate it for its whole life.
[Edit]References [Edit]Quick Summary |
| How to Get Rid of Bad Smells in Your Fridge Posted: 23 Jan 2020 04:00 PM PST Over time, it's natural for most refrigerators to build up a slightly unpleasant aroma. While the smell can be off-putting, it's not doing any harm to your food itself. If you'd like to remove lingering food smells before they permanently soak into the interior of your fridge, start by throwing away any bad food. You can also place a deodorizer or 2—like coffee grounds and activated charcoal—on an upper shelf. To prevent bad smells in the first place, throw out food as soon as it begins to spoil, and always store food in airtight containers. [Edit]Removing Bad Food and Smells - Unplug your refrigerator from the wall before you begin cleaning it. Follow the power cable from the back of your fridge to the outlet where it's plugged in, and pull the plug.[1] If you leave the fridge plugged in as you clean, you'll find that your next electric bill is extremely high!
- Some newer models of refrigerator have an "off" button. If yours does, you can just turn the fridge off rather than unplugging it.
- Remove all of the food items from your fridge. Go through every storage area within your fridge—shelves, drawers, and door bins—and pull out all of the organic food items. Look closely at the food and, if anything is spoiled, rotten, or emitting a bad smell, throw it into the garbage. In most cases, bad smells in your fridge are caused by spoiled foods.[2]
- Try to start and finish the entire job within 4 hours. The USDA warns that food left out for over 4 hours may spoil or become unsafe to eat.
- Place any food you choose to keep in a cooler while you work. Depending on the amount of food you store in your fridge—and how long it takes to scrub out—unspoiled food could be sitting out for quite some time. To avoid ruining good food, place it in a cooler while you're cleaning the fridge. If you keep the lid shut, the refrigerated food will keep itself cold.[3]
- Add ice to the cooler if it will be out for over 60 minutes. This will keep the food well preserved.
- Scrub the fridge walls and floor with a mixture of baking soda and water. Dissolve 1 cup (128 g) of baking soda into of warm water. Dip an ordinary dish sponge into this mixture, lightly wring it out, and scrub out the interior of the fridge. Wash the fridge walls, ceiling, and bottom. Take the time to soak, scrub, and remove any lingering food stains.[4]
- If the mixture loses its potency or the sink fills up with food bits, throw out the batch and mix up a new one.
- Take out and wash all shelves, bins, and other removable parts. Remove all of the components of the fridge that aren't attached to the walls, including the vegetable drawers and the shelves themselves. Wash and rinse all of the parts with your baking soda mixture before thoroughly drying and reinstalling them.[5]
- Also be sure to look underneath the vegetable bins. Sometimes bits of food and old water can accumulate beneath the bins and create a foul smell.
- Clean any food scraps from the drip pan under the fridge. The drip pan is a thin plastic tray that clips into place beneath the bottom of the refrigerator. Remove the drip pan from beneath the doors, carefully pull it out and dump the contents. Then, dip your sponge into the baking soda mixture and scrub any food stains off of the drip pan before reinstalling it.[6]
- Not all refrigerator models have a drip pan. If yours doesn't, you can skip this step. Do take the time to scrub the bottom of the fridge, though.
[Edit]Using Odor-Removers - Keep an open container of baking soda on a back shelf. Baking soda has no smell itself, but it's great at absorbing and neutralizing other aromas. To get rid of odors in your fridge, open up a box of baking soda and store it on the back of the top shelf. When you notice a few unpleasant smells starting to emerge, toss that baking soda and replace it with another box.[7]
- If you fridge smells especially bad and you'd like to absorb a great deal of odor at once, pour out a full box of baking soda across a baking sheet and place leave it in the refrigerator overnight. Then discard the baking soda.
- Remove odors from your freezer with boiled apple cider vinegar. Combine apple cider vinegar and water at a 1:3 ratio. Pour the mixture into a saucepan and bring it to a boil on the stovetop. As soon as the mixture begins boiling, remove it from the heat and pour it into a heat-resistant glass or metal bowl. Place the bowl in your freezer, shut the door, and leave it for 4–6 hours. This should absorb foul smells from your freezer.[8]
- After the 4–6 hours have passed, remove the vinegar mixture and pour it down the drain.
- Once it's been boiled, apple cider vinegar absorbs unpleasant odors and replaces them with a pleasant fruity smell.
- Cover 2–3 shelves with coffee grounds if you have plenty of time. Coffee grounds can successfully absorb unpleasant odors, but they take a long time to work. If you can live without your fridge for a few days, try this method. Spread dry, fresh coffee grounds across 2–3 baking sheets. Place each sheet on a different level of your refrigerator. The smells should leave within 3–4 days.[9]
- During this time, you'll need to keep your food in a second refrigerator or in a few ice-filled coolers.
- Once the 3–4 days have passed, dispose of the coffee grounds, wash the baking sheets, and put your food back into the fridge.
- Set 2–3 baking sheets of unscented cat litter on different shelves. Coffee grounds can leave behind a slight coffee aroma in your fridge. If you'd like to absorb foul smells without leaving your fridge smelling like coffee, opt for cat litter instead. Spread a layer of clean litter in 2–3 shallow baking sheets and place the sheets on different shelves in your fridge. Leave the fridge running and empty with only the litter inside for 2–3 days to absorb any lingering smells.[10]
- Purchase unscented cat litter at any pet store or large supermarket. Some home-improvement stores will also stock cat litter.
- Let activated charcoal absorb bad odors if other methods fail. Fill 3–4 small cloth bags with about 1 cup (130 g) of loose activated charcoal. Then place the charcoal-filled bags on different shelves in your fridge.[11] Set the refrigerator temperature to low and leave the door closed as much as possible for several days. The smells in question should go away within 3–4 days.
- Activated charcoal can be purchased from pet stores or drugstores.
- Unlike with the coffee grounds method, you can use activated charcoal while your food is still in the fridge.
[Edit]Preventing Bad Smells - Toss expired food weekly to prevent bad smells from accumulating. To prevent odors in the future, make a point to look in your fridge once a week or so and remove expired food. This preventative measure will keep foul smells from building up in the first place. It's much easier to prevent bad odors in your fridge than it is to eliminate them.
- Try looking right before you take out the trash. That way, you'll be able to get the spoiled, smelly food out of your home as soon as you've noticed it.
- Store fresh foods where they're visible so they don't spoil unnoticed. Fresh items like fruits and vegetables can easily go bad without your noticing if they're tucked away in a seldom-opened veggie drawer or the back of a bottom shelf. Prevent this by storing them in a location where you'll be able to see them daily. Then, if you notice any fresh foods starting to look a little past their prime, dispose of them immediately.[12]
- For example, keep meat at the front of the top shelf, and keep fruits and veggies on a lower shelf where they're easily visible.
- Set the temperature in your fridge between . When kept in this temperature range, food will keep without going bad. Since it's only when food spoils that it begins to smell, you'll keep your fridge smelling fresh and clean as long as the temperature remains in this range. If the temperature in your fridge rises above , bacteria will begin to grow and the food will begin to smell.[13]
- Were you to set the fridge temperature to or lower, of course, the food would freeze.
- Keep leftover food in airtight containers to prevent it from smelling. If you leave food uncovered in your fridge or leave it in, for example, a cardboard takeout box, it'll go bad quickly. The sooner food goes bad, the sooner it'll begin to stink up your fridge. By keeping leftovers in a sealed airtight container, you'll help them last longer and prevent foul smells.[14]
- As an extra measure to keep food from spoiling in your fridge, label and date leftovers when you store them. Tear off a piece of masking tape and stick it on top of the airtight container and write, for example, "February 14; chicken parmesan."
[Edit]Things You'll Need - Cooler
- Ice
- Baking soda
- Warm tap water
- Sponge
- Coffee grounds
- Cat litter
- Apple cider vinegar
- Activated charcoal
- 3–4 glass or metal bowls
- 2–3 baking sheets
- Airtight containers
- Pen
- Masking tape
- Regardless of which method(s) you choose, don't put the food back into your refrigerator until the stench has cleared.
- After cleaning the fridge, also clean the condiment bottles and containers of food before putting them back in. Sometimes bad smells can cling to them.
- If you have to leave your fridge off or unplugged for an extended period of time—e.g., if you're taking a multiple-month vacation—clean it, take all the food out, and leave the door propped open since a warm, closed fridge can start to smell bad.
- Do not use charcoal briquettes in the place of activated charcoal. The 2 forms of charcoal cannot be substituted for one another.
[Edit]Warnings - Never clean a cold glass shelf with hot water. Either allow it to come to room temperature or use lukewarm water. A sudden temperature change can shatter the glass.
- Avoid using abrasive cleaning items (e.g., steel wool) to scrub refrigerator surfaces clean. These have the potential for scratching the refrigerator surfaces.
[Edit]Related wikiHows [Edit]References [Edit]Quick Summary |
| How to Clear Your Sinuses and Ears Posted: 23 Jan 2020 08:00 AM PST Your sinuses and ears are connected by way of your Eustachian tubes. So, if they get clogged or inflamed, then you can feel awful pressure and congestion in both of them at the same time. Fortunately, there are things you can do to try to clear your sinuses and ears. You can work to decongest your sinuses by drinking plenty of water, using medication, and moisturizing your sinuses. You can also help them drain on their own by avoiding temperature fluctuations, pressure changes, and substances like caffeine and alcohol, which can make your symptoms worse. If your symptoms get worse or don't improve after more than a week, see your doctor. [Edit]Decongesting Your Sinuses - Drink at least 8 glasses of water a day to thin mucus. Staying hydrated will allow your body to be better able to expel any mucus that's built up in your sinuses and ears. To help clear them, drink an glass of water every hour or so to keep your membranes lubricated and any mucus thin.[1]
- Thin mucus will drain from your sinuses and ears easier.
- For the best results, warm up the water in a kettle and drink it while it's comfortably hot. To enhance the flavor and add extra decongesting power, mix in a little ginger, honey, and cinnamon.
- Place a warm, damp cloth on your face to loosen any mucus. Soak a washcloth in warm water and wring it out. Then, lay it over your face and nose and leave it on for 5 minutes, or until the cloth gets cold. The heat will warm your sinuses and loosen the mucus, making it easier to clear them.[2]
- Make sure the water is hot, but not so hot that you can burn your skin.
- You can repeat this process as many times as you want to help relieve sinus pressure.
- You can also loosen your mucus by steaming your sinuses. Boil some water in a pot and set it on a level surface, then position yourself over the pot and drape a towel over your head. Carefully lift the lid of the pot to let the steam out under the towel so you can breathe it in.
- Blow your nose to clear out your sinuses and relieve pressure. If the mucus in your sinuses is thin enough to be expelled, blow your nose gently into a napkin or tissue paper. Removing the mucus from your sinuses will relieve pressure and congestion in your sinuses and your ears.[3]
- For difficult congestion, block 1 nostril and blow through the other so you can clear them.
- Take an oral decongestant to drain and clear your sinuses. Over-the-counter decongestants can both thin out any mucus present in your sinuses as well as lubricate your membranes so it's easier for the mucus to drain. Follow the recommended dose listed on the packaging of the decongestant.[4]
- You can find decongestants at your local pharmacy.
- For serious congestion, call your doctor and ask if they can prescribe a prescription-strength decongestant.
- Don't take a decongestant for longer than 3 days unless your doctor advises you otherwise. Using a decongestant for too long can end up making your congestion worse.
- Be cautious about using oral decongestants if you have high blood pressure, closed angle glaucoma, or an overactive thyroid gland. If you have one of these conditions, stick to using Mucinex unless your doctor advises otherwise.
- Try a mucolytic medication to loosen your mucus. Mucolytics, such as Mucinex, work by loosening up the fluid in your nose and ears, making it easier to drain. If you're an adult, you can take 600 mg of Mucinex with a full glass of water twice a day.
- Always talk to a pediatrician before giving mucolytics to a child.
- Use a nasal saline spray to help decongest your sinuses. A saline spray will moisten and lubricate your sinuses, which will help you clear them out. Clearing your sinuses will reduce pressure in your ears and help any fluid trapped there drain more easily.[5]
- Use 1-2 drops of saline nasal spray in each nostril every 2 hours. You can use a saline spray as long as you like, and you can also use it preventatively.
- If saline spray isn't enough to relieve your congestion, you can use it in combination with a spray containing decongestant medication, such as Afrin. You may not need any additional oral decongestants.
- If you're using a medicated spray, read the packaging to make sure you can use it if you've already taken decongestant medication. Use the decongestant spray as directed on the packaging and don't use it for more than 3 consecutive days so your sinuses can start to regulate themselves after you clear them.
- You can find nasal sprays, such as saline sprays or medicated sprays, at your local pharmacy.
- Wash out your sinuses with a neti pot. A neti pot is a small, spouted pot that you can use to rinse your nasal passages with saline solution. To use the pot, stand over your sink and tilt your head at a 45° angle. Then, pour half of the saline into your upper nostril while breathing through your mouth. Repeat the process with the other nostril, then gently blow your nose to clear out the water and mucus.[6]
- You may find it more comfortable to use warm water with the neti pot. The water should be around body temperature ().
- Put a medicated rub on your chest to soothe your sinuses. A medicated chest rub, such as Vicks VapoRub, can soothe your irritated nasal passages and help you breathe a little easier. Use the rub according to the directions on the package.
- Don't use VapoRub or any other medication containing camphor on a child under 2 years old. To use the rub safely on children over 2 and adults, only apply it to the chest and neck, and never to the face or around the nostrils.[7]
- Take a hot shower to flush your sinuses and ears. The steam and heat from the shower will work to loosen mucus in your sinuses and will help drain your ears to clear them. You'll also feel much better after cleaning yourself and expelling any loose mucus and fluid.[8]
- Use hot water to create more steam in the shower, but don't make it so hot that you burn yourself.
- Place a humidifier in the room with you to keep from drying out. If your sinuses and ears are blocked or clogged up, dry air can make them even worse by drying out the mucus so it's hard. Use a humidifier to add moisture to the air, which will help to keep your sinuses and ears lubricated and moist to help clear out any gunk in them.[9]
- Place the humidifier somewhere higher up like on a dresser or on top of a shelf so it can evenly distribute moisture throughout the room.
[Edit]Staying Comfortable - Avoid major temperature changes. Going out into super hot or really cold weather can make your sinuses and ears worse and more difficult to clear. If you've got clogged sinuses and ears, stay in a consistent environment, such as your home or office, so they're better able to clear themselves out. If you do have to go outside, make sure you're dressed comfortably for the weather so you don't overheat or catch a cold chill.[10]
- Don't go for a run outside if it's too hot to try to sweat it out. The fluctuation can make your symptoms worse.
- Avoid cold-weather activities, which can harden any fluids in your sinuses and ears.
- Don't drink coffee or alcohol if your sinuses and ears are clogged. Caffeine and alcohol both affect your body's circulation. Changes in your blood flow and heart rate can put added strain on your blood vessels, which can affect both your sinuses and your ears.[11]
- Avoid your morning cup of joe until your sinuses and ears are clear.
- Drinking alcohol may make you feel slightly better in the short term, but your sinus and ear pressure will only get worse if you add the effects of a hangover on top of them.
- Limit your dairy intake if it makes your symptoms worse. Dairy products, such as milk, yogurt, and cheese, can cause your phlegm to feel thicker and more irritating. If you have a dairy allergy, it can also trigger symptoms such as a runny or stuffy nose and post-nasal drip. Avoid drinking milk or eating dairy if it seems to aggravate your congested sinuses and ears.[12]
- Try dairy alternatives, such as soy or almond milk, if dairy makes you congested.
- Eat chicken soup or bone broth to clear your congestion. Chicken soup won't cure a cold, but it really can help you feel better. Warm chicken soup or bone broth not only helps clear congestion, but can also reduce inflammation and soothe irritation in your nasal passages. Try a little soothing chicken soup, chicken broth, or bone broth to reduce your congestion.[13]
- Ingredients like garlic, onions, and ginger can both enhance the flavor of the soup and give your immune system a boost.
- Stand up slowly to avoid getting dizzy. Pressure in your sinuses and inner ear can affect your balance and coordination. If you've got congestion or pressure in your sinuses and ears, don't stand up too fast or you could feel dizzy and potentially fall or faint.[14]
- Move in increments if you're getting out of a bed or chair. Sit upright, use your hands to help lift yourself, and then rise slowly so you don't get dizzy.
- Keep your head held upright to help with drainage. Bending forward or holding your head down can make pressure in your sinuses and ears worse. It can also inhibit the natural drainage that your sinuses and ears do on their own. To help clear your sinuses and ears faster, sit upright as best as you can.[15]
- Try to sleep with your head elevated as well.
[Edit]Warnings - If your symptoms don't go away after more than a week, see your doctor for treatment.
[Edit]References |
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