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The one thing about your dog's water drinking habits you need to watch closely: Roxy's training continues

Our girl, Roxy, is growing up so fast!

CLEVELAND — Roxy, our Wags 4 Warriors puppy, is now 17 weeks old and just had her latest visit to the veterinarian.

On Monday, Roxy and her handler, Kayla DeLorenzo, traveled to Apple Hill Animal Hospital in Broadview Heights. As we’ve seen firsthand, the Labrador Retriever pup is growing at a rapid pace. Roxy has gained almost six pounds in just over a month, now hitting the 27.7 mark on the scale.

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Dr. Lydia Rust is Roxy’s vet. She examined her from head to toe. “Good girl. Belly is nice and soft. Good girl.”

The vet visit brought up an important tip for anyone raising a puppy. While you want pups to stay hydrated and have access to fresh, clean drinking water, you will want to monitor their intake.

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“So you definitely want to monitor them when they are drinking their water,” DeLorenzo says. “You shouldn’t leave it out and let them have as much as they want, when they want it.”

That’s because puppies, not unlike human babies, haven’t yet developed self-control.  They can drink too much, too fast.  Too often it leads them to throw up.

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“Yeah, they get excited with the water and they just keep drinking and drinking and drinking. And they just don’t know when to stop.”

And by monitoring that water a little more closely, you will be ready to spot those not-always-obvious potty cues.

If you have puppy raising questions, or have a animal story you’d like to see us cover, send an e0mail to Roxy’s mailbag. The address is 3LovesPets@wkyc.com.

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