Hiccups, and industrial strength toys.....

[mightyrebel]

I have two questions here...One, I know I've read that 'hiccups' are 'normal' for a pup...but is there still nothing I can do to help mine when he gets them? He gets REALLY violent hiccups, where his whole little body lurches off the ground, and he comes to me when it starts and stands next to me, looking up at me, and pawing my arm, leg, etc. like, "Help, Dad! Make it stop!" I don't guess it's killing him, but I feel bad when he does this and I can't think of anything to help. He eats so fast he gets them sometimes, but othertimes it's just in the middle of the night, for no apparent reason. What causes these 'night-fits' of hiccuping? Is there anything I can do to stop, or better yet prevent, them from happening? The other question I have is...Rebel loves 'squeaky toys'...rubber hot dogs, rubber bones, rubber animals, etc., that he can carry around in his mouth squeezing, and making noise with. The problem is that I've already bought him 4-5 of them, and none of them last over 2 days!!! Within 2 days he's 'punctured' them, and they no longer make noise for him. He just walks around like a moron squeezing it while it does nothing but make airy sounds as the air goes in and out...but no squeeks. Needless to say, he finds this frustrating. And so do I. Surely, at 4 months, he's not so powerful in the jaws that there isn't a squeeky made he can't destroy, right? I know some would find this annoying anyway, and a blessing when they 'broke', but I think it's hysterical when he walks around 'squeezing his squeekies', and I want him to have some. What are some more durable 'noisemakers' that a pup like a Rott can play with and not destroy, even at this teething stage, etc.? Any suggestions on some noisemakers that will hold up to him would be greatly appreciated by him, I'm sure. Thanks a lot. MightyRebel :) :p

[ June 15, 2001: Message edited by: mightyrebel ]

[NewRescueMom]

Hello MightyRebel
My 5 month old also got the hiccups alot too! I never knew what to do for him either!
I also gave my Dozer a Kong to play with and the Hercules. I would place treats in the Kong and he would work on that for almost an hour - great mental stimulation for them! Boy do I miss him - just a side note I had to put him down Wed nite!
Good luck and enjoy all the time you have with him! It truly is worth it - I miss the companionship and my walking buddy!

[German Vanegas]

Black rubber Kong toys are the best. Dyno bone, Ultra Kong ball, Dental Kong ball, etc., etc.

[petpeav]

Hello MightyRebel,
I do not have an answer to the hiccup problem. I have the same trouble with my dogs killing the squeaky. Try a KONG-he will love it. You can stick peanut butter or treats in it and he will spend a lot of time working at getting them out. I also like Cookie Ship, it looks like a flying saucer and has holes for milkbones to go in. Chewman, the fleece covered gingerbread guy toy, has maintained his squeaker for the longest running around my house. DONT get the Giggly Wiggly-it has a squeaker that is Zinc, I believe, and there are apparently cases of dogs getting the squeaker out and ingesting it and it has caused Zinc toxicity which resulted in death.

[mightyrebel]

Well, that sounds pretty unanimous! I guess a 'KONG' it is! I guess I'llf ind one at the local pet store, or even a Wal-Mart maybe? And by the way, NewRescueMom...I really am sorry you had to put Dozer down. Truthfully, that's one of my biggest fears owning one of these larger dogs. They seem to have so much higher a 'fatality rate' due to genetic and other causes of disease, etc. It almost seems like EVRY person I know that has owned multiple large breed dogs has ended up having to put one, or even a few, down at some point. I guess I've been lucky so far. Never had one go before 13-14. I hope you find a pup/rescue dog to help fill the void. Sincerely, MightyRebel :( ;)

[Holli]

the nylabone dinosaurs hold up extremely well. they were misleading, i didn't think they would hold up, but they have. also ok flavors of edible nylabones seem to last for a while. peanut and bacon are gone in a half hour, but fruit or turkey last a week or 2. buy in bulk ;) good luck :)

[pandora's daddy]

On, the beloved Puppy-Ups. There isn't really anything you can do when your pup is having a hiccup fit. This just means that he is growing. Pandora still gets them once in a while at 15 months. They will become less frequent with time. As far as squeaky toys go, I haven't found one that will stand up to my 2 girls yet. Although, when we first got Pandora, we got her a little hedgehog looking squeaker from a grocery store of all places that lasted 6 months. When she finally destroyed it, we got another one, which she destroyed in 3 minutes. I believe that was the last squeaky toy he got her. Anothe great toy we've found is the large tennis ball. This ball is about 12 inches in diameter. Much too big to get their jaws around. Pandora likes to pick it up by the fuzz and swing it into Sedona's face. They don't get to play with it too often because we only have one. Although, if we had 2, I bet they would still fight over only one.

[southerncomfort]

KONG also has "kong on a rope" Zeus loves it.

[mightyrebel]

Isn't the 'Kong on a Rope' the same thing as a 'Water Kong'? I got one regular Kong, and the other (if I'm recalling this right.) said, "Water Kong' on the package, and that's the one I got that has the rope on it. I assumed the rope was what made it a 'Water Kong', so they could grab it more easily in the water, etc. Or, is there yet another Kong lurking out there called 'Kong on a Rope' that I haven't seen yet? Just curious, because I could really stand to get one more of each, since they're both never happy unless they have both. (Then again, it probably won't matter. Really, I think they always just want what the other one has, regardless.) Sincerely, MightyRebel :p ;)

[livertw]

Daisy has pretty well outgrown the hiccups. She's 9 months old now, but they really used to shake her little body. She had hiccups yesterday, but they only lasted a minute or so, and they didn't seem to bother her at all. Human babies hiccup a lot and then outgrow it.

Daisy loves her huge black Kong. She flings it around in the kitchen to break loose the "log jam" of goodies stuffed inside. I use kibble, milkbones, raw carrot slices. I don't use peanut butter because of the greasy mess. Bam bam bam crunch bam bam crunch. She would play with it all day if I would keep it stuffed. I have reduced her meals to practically nothing so she can eat the treats that are packed into her Kong and not become a "Blimpweiler". Great toy.

I moved a chair yesterday and found a pacifier-shaped squeak toy that Daisy had when she was teething about 6 months ago. (I'm really a great housekeeper, huh?) I hesitated to give it to her because her 9-month-old jaws are much more powerful than her little 3-month-old teething mouth. However all she does is carry it around and occasionally make it squeak. It is hilarious to see "MegaMouth" at 80 pounds walking around with the yellow pacifier in the front of her mouth with the rubber ring hanging down below her chin. :D

[southerncomfort]

I seem to recall seeing a different item (water kong) that floated...I don't think our kong on a rope will float. Zeus sure does have fun slinging it around the back yard though. ;)