The real dog days (of summer)

– Posted on May 8, 2017Posted in: Advice, Blogs, Lifestyle

Clara Brodeur
Entertainment Editor

Ihave a puppy, a German shepherd and lab mix named Bear. More of an overgrown puppy who still doesn’t understand the meaning of “no”, “stop” and “that is bad”. As a result, he has effectively eaten a good portion of the dining room floor in the house we are currently renting. He also has fleas, because of the warmer weather. All of this caused me to try three new things.
The first, stick-on floor tiles. The ones I got were less than a dollar per square foot at Lowe’s. The actual process of re-tiling the dining room was terrible. Four plus hours of labor (pulling up the old linoleum and sanding it down to an even surface) and four people later, we were done with the exception of a very small area where we did not buy enough tiles.
It looks a lot better than the old floor. Out of the 130 or so tiles that we bought, only about 3-4 of them had been damaged prior to us using them. They stick pretty well to the floor, tilesthere are a few parts where the floor was uneven and the corners are sticking up. Overall, I would do this again. It is a cheaper alternative to putting down real tiles and even has a five year warranty. Plus, if a piece peels up, just put another one down.
The second one was a generic version of a flea pill (about $25 at Walmart), because he hates baths and any kind of spray. It was really effective. You could tell a few hours after he ate it that the fleas hated it. I would recommend spraying the house with the carpet stuff they sell next to it in the stores, otherwise it would be kind of pointless and the fleas will be right back.
The third item that I tried was a “behavioral correction spray”, for about $13 also at Walmart. I got it because Bear is over a year old and still likes to jump on people, nip at their hands and eat basically anything that he can reach.
I would say this product works a little. The first time we used it (he was biting someone’s hand), the noise is what bothered him the most, I think. That worked well into the next day, he was a calm dog. After that, he slowly started getting used to it and it began working less and less each time. This works best in addition to whatever you do to correct your dog’s behavior. Summer is almost here, but hopefully the dog days aren’t too bad.