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Caring for your Puppy

General Care

Questions?

Vaccination Schedule

As always, listen to your vet for advice on any pet care.

This is general advice and NEVER to be taken literally.

Where to put your puppy:
It is best for the time being to keep your pet crated except for play time and potty time (no more than 2-3 hours at a time). You want your crate to be big enough for the animal to stand up and move around, but not large enough to provide a "potty spot". You are teaching your puppy how to "hold it" and go in appropriate places.
Put an old towel in with your pet to help keep it warm and secure. This will help with potty training a puppy and will help an adult dog adjust to a new home. This is not a punishment. A crate or kennel is like a bedroom or crib for a dog or puppy. Dogs prefer to live in dens and your crate provides that environment.
If the pet is going to be confined for an extended period of time, it would be better to find a small area where you can set up the pet with a place to lay down, potty (paper or puppy pads) and food and water.

Food:
In order to help your pet adjust to your pet food, please follow the steps listed in order to avoid stomach upset. We feed our puppies Eukanuba brand dog food. The first day you will mix 3/4 of Eukanuba brand dog food with 1/4 of the food you will feed him/her. Do this for two or three days, then adjust it to 1/2 of the Eukanuba food and 1/2 of the new food. Follow this schedule for another two or three days and then adjust to 1/4 Eukanuba food and 3/4 new food. Keep to this feeding schedule for two or three days and then you can feed your pet 100% of the food you decide to feed him/her. You can mix a spoonful of cottage cheese (for calcium) for puppies and a spoonful of quality canned dog food. If your pet shows stomach distress during this adjustment period, just allow a longer period of time before proceeding with the feeding schedule.
Very tiny puppies need a higher calorie content. (You can add a food additive like Nutri-Cal, a high calorie supplement or in mild cases you can add a greater percentage of canned food) If your tiny (teacup size) puppy at any time becomes uninterested in eating or lethargic, give them a pea size portion or Nutri Cal or honey and get them to the vet as tiny teacup puppies are susceptible to hypoglycemia (a condition in which the blood sugar gets too low).
You can feed an adult dog an adequate amount of food once or twice a day and a puppy will need to be fed three to four times a day. Do not leave the food in with your pet after the evening meal (this will aid in housebreaking)..

Water:
All animals need plenty of fresh, clean water. You can either always have water available to your pet except at night when you'll take the water up. Or you can provide their meals and water 4 times per day with a trip to the potty place afterwards. Small puppies should never go more than a few hours without food and water. Withholding food and water during the night will help avoid messes and pets needing to go outside (if that's your potty place).

Grooming:
All pets (even short haired dogs) need some grooming done. Nails need to be clipped, ears cleaned and occasional baths. Brushing: For a long-coated pet, brush daily (every other day at most) to keep the coat matt-free and easier for your groomer (if you use one) to clip your pet for you. A regular pin hair brush will work just fine. Nails: Use pet nail clippers (either type is personal preference). If your pet has white nails, just clip the white part on the end. Do not clip the pinkish area closer to the toe (this is the quick like under your own fingernails). If you do clip too close and the nail bleeds, hold your finger on it to stop the flow or put some Quik Stop or flour to act as a binding agent to stop the bleeding. If your pet has black nails, just tip the ends.
Ears: You can clean your pet's ears with a cotton ball and a little water to clean the outside of the ear. Do not go down into the ear canal.
Bathing: If you use a groomer, every six to eight weeks you will have your pet groomed. At that time the groomer will brush your pet, trim the nails, clean the ears, express the anal glands (if necessary) and bathe your pet, plus dry and then clip your pet according to your preferences. The only time you will need to bathe your pet at home is if a mess occurs. Bathing too often can harm the pet's skin as dogs are not meant to take daily baths. If you groom your animal at home, follow the same schedule as stated earlier. It's probably best to let your vet express the anal glands if they need to be done.

Potty Training your pet:
A puppy will rarely be potty trained when you receive it. Even adults sometimes are not trained for inside living. If that is the case, it is best to crate your animal except to play or potty. When you take your pet to the potty (outside or inside place), always same the same command (potty, outside, whatever your choice). The pet will associate this command with that activity. Always take your pet to potty after eating. Praise your pet when they go where they are supposed to. Give your pet a firm, gruff NO when you see them make a mess. Don't rub your pets' nose in their mess and don't scold them unless immediately after the fact. They won't remember what you're scolding them for a half hour later. Be patient. Your pet is young and/or stressed from a change.

Good manners:
Everyone needs good manners, including your pet. Nothing is more aggravating than having an animal jump all over you or visitors. Some basic commands include: Come, Heel, Sit, Stay and Down. Whatever your commands will be, use them consistently. Again be patient. Train your pet in ten or twenty minute sessions. Any longer and you both will become tired. Teach your pet to walk on a lease, you and everyone else will appreciate it. But if you get a collar for your puppy, check it every week as puppies can have growth spurts and suddenly outgrow the collar. Just remember, if you don't want your adult dog to behave a certain a way, don't allow it as a puppy. It may be fun to see your puppy fight with your slipper, but you may not be as amused when they chew up your favorite shoes.
YOU are not your puppy's chew toy. Get them something to chew on other than you. It will hurt now and it will hurt later. Their teeth are sharp. DO NOT get your pet any rawhide chews. They can chew it down to a swallowable size and then it can sit in the stomach and cause problems later. Rawhide does not digest very well in the stomach.

Finally, enjoy your pet. Dogs are wonderful, forgiving companions. They love us in spite of our flaws.