General Health Training Toys and Treats
Your puppies health and happiness are the most important factors to me. These are just some basic guidelines for you to follow. NOTHING takes the place of the relationship between you and YOUR OWN VET. I am here to help but your vet has the final say in any decisions reguarding your puppy!
First lets look at the signs that you should be aware of that NEED IMMEDIATE MEDICAL ATTENTION:
1. A fever of 103.5 or more (Use a puppy thermometer & ALWAYS keep it on hand in the house!)
2. Bloody, runny, or watery stools (dehydration can happen in less than an hour with severe runs).
3. Not eating or drinking.
4. Lethargic
5. Throwing up
6. Worms visible in stools
These are all symptoms NOT TO BE IGNORED. If you cannot "afford" a vet then you cannot "afford" a dog .. PERIOD. Never "wait and see" if your puppy will get better!!! Small breeds MUST be attended to by a vet as soon as symptoms arise. Failure to do so can result in DEATH.
Housebreaking
If your puppy is not properly housebroken you will never be happy with him/her. Buy the book Housebreaking For Dummies. Read it. Realize that housebreaking is a group effort and everyone in the home needs to be on the same page (educated on puppy behavior and when to take the puppy out). Never leave the puppy alone to wander around. If you don't have your eyes on the puppy put it in it's crate. Take the puppy out at least every hour. IMMEDIATELY after naps. Be consistant! Housebreaking does not happen overnight. Your puppy can take up to six months to housebreak! Realize that if the puppy eliminates indoors 99.9% of the time it's the OWNERS FAULT. Don't fuss or use a paper on the puppy.
Vaccinations
Every puppy that leaves here has a shot record. Puppies need to have boosters every three weeks until they are sixteen weeks old. These vaccines are NOT a "choice" they are an absolute MUST. Rabies must be given according to your states laws. If your puppy is more than twelve weeks old it will have a rabies before leaving.
There are also "optional" vaccines that I do not give before a puppy leaves here such as:
Bordatella, Corona, Lymes, ect. Please discuss this with your vet and take his/her recomended course of action.
Parasites
Worms and stomach bacterias such as Coccidia and Giardia are BAD NEWS. Extremely easy to treat but they MUST be treated. Not every vet performs a fecal at every puppy checkup. ASK YOUR VET FOR A FECAL at ALL of your puppies check up visits. There are hooks, rounds, whips and they are again, easy to treat but MUST be treated. Signs of worms are a skinny puppy or a puppy with a pot belly. Ask your vet to give your puppy a tapeworm pill at it's FIRST VISIT even if there are NO SIGNS. We are a flea free enviroment but I still feel like this is neccesary.
Coccida and Giardia
These are difficult things to predict with a puppy that is being shipped. Puppies can have a completely NEGATIVE stool check before shipment and either of these can raise their ugly heads after shipment or moving a puppy to a new home. In the South, particuarly, we have a problem with Coccidia since we have no real freezing weather. All of our puppies go through a manditory ten day treatment but you must be aware of the symptoms and have your puppy treated IMMEDIATELY if you see:
1. Runny stool
2. Bloody Stool
3. Stools with Mucus in them
Like worms treating this is EASY and cost effective too (not expensive). Leaving it untreated is sure to cause DEATH. So...be aware of these symptoms and take your puppy to the vet at the first signs. Almost all dogs have Coccidia but their immune system fends it off and they shed it naturally. The stress of moving a puppy can make it "flare up" and take over their little tummies. This is why it is SO IMPORTANT to
Watch your puppies stools for the first two months it's home! Do NOT fail to see a stool EVERY SINGLE DAY!!!
DIET
This is a HUGE factor in your puppies future and day to day living. We feed Eukanuba Puppy Small Breed now. We tried all the rest and stuck with the best. Science Diet is the only other acceptable form of feed. Your puppy will need this for the first year of it's life. Your puppy needs NOTHING ELSE in it's diet!
We do give our own dogs treats, usually American Whole Sliced Cheese (Kraft!). Small amounts but they love it! I like oatmeal and peanut butter based treats and have recipes for these if you'd like them just email me!
What goes in and what goes out are ALL important at this age. Sometimes they need to be coaxed to eat but if they will NOT eat they must go to the vets. If your puppy refuses to eat here are a few things you can try, but remember, your ultimate goal is for your puppy to eat DRY FOOD with no additives. Always work towards this goal!
1. If I have a puppy that is being finiky I will add warm water to their food and let it sit for two minutes. Stir it well.
2. If the warm water doesn't work, follow step one and add a teaspoonfull of Science Diet Mix It (comes in a can at most vets...keep this on hand!).
3. If step one and two fail I will offer the puppy a small amount of Science Diet ID slightly warmed.
4. If all else fails I will boil white chicken breast, skinless, and offer it. If you are feeding chicken do NOT FORGET to give your NUTRICAL as it has the glucose needed (chicken has NO sugar/glucose & puppy will become hypoglycemic)
If your puppy is not wanting to eat it needs to see a vet immediately if none of these steps work!
Mental Health
This is a subject often overlooked! Your puppy needs to develop to it's fullest extent. It cannot do that without proper socialization and without being properly housebroken. Two books you will absolutely need are:
Housebreaking For Dummies
New Puppies For Dummies
Buy these and they will be a constant resource for your questions on almost any type of training or problems that might arise.
Socialization is key! Puppy classes, taking them on car rides (watch the heat!!!), to the park, pet stores, ect. is great for this (only when puppies are THROUGH with puppy vaccines at sixteen weeks!!!). Remember basic courtesy and pick up after your dog and please teach your puppy manners from day one. No one wants to be clawed, chewed on, or slobbered on!
PUT YOUR PUPPY ON A LEASH and walk it at least fifteen minutes a day! Even if it's in the house! Start this EARLY and keep it up for the REST OF YOUR PUPPIES LIFE!!!
READING
Any of the "for dummies" dog related books are great. Educate yourself!!! This will help you so much! Find a good training program and stick with it! Remember that being consistent is the KEY to training so READ to find out what program to use and then IMPLEMENT IT!
How to take your new puppy to the vet!
Ok...the vet's office is NOT the place to linger or hang out. It's not the place to let everyone hold your baby. It is not the place, ever, to put your baby on the floor!
THE VETS OFFICE IS WHERE SICK DOGS GO TO. IT MAY BE CLEAN BUT IT'S STILL CHOCK FULL OF COOTIES! DO NOT BE ASHAMED TO CARRY A CAN OF LYSOL AND TO SPRAY YOUR SHOES ON LEAVING AND YOUR TABLE BEFORE SITTING YOUR PUPPY ON A CLEAN WHITE TOWEL THAT YOU BROUGHT FROM HOME THAT CAN BE PUT IN A BAG AND BLEACHED UPON LEAVING THE VETS!!! Ask your vet to wash his/her hands before touching your baby! Do not let a tech "whisk your puppy to the back".
Ok? Was that strong enough? No?
THE VETS OFFICE IS WHERE ALL THE BAD BAD COOTIES ARE! KEEP YOUR BABY SAFE!
Toys and Treats
I am big on "what works for me". You may find things you like but always keep safety and healthy first and foremost when buying treats and toys.
The KONG toys are GREAT. I buy the puppy Kongs and use peanut butter or IAMS puppy biscuits in them! NOT TOO MUCH PB!
My own dogs LOVE the Taco Bell dogs that Taco Bell gave away as a promo years back. We take off the eyes and nose and sew them shut. Worth it as a toy? YES! All of our dogs just treasure these little talking toys. If they tear open sew them shut or throw them away! Be safe!
We give American Whole cheese as a treat and I also give whole wheat "bread balls" made by wadding up breand and rolling it into small balls. Can be a bit sticky so watch for choking. In fact always supervise treats and toys! We cannot be careful enough as the toys aren't really regulated like they should be by a safety commision.
Nutrical
What can I say about Nutrical other than it's a lifesaver with tiny puppies. If your puppy is under 3lbs it probably needs Nutrical at least once a day. Once a day for three lbs. Twice a day for two pounds. Three times a day for 1lbs. This is my general rule of thumb. All of my adult dogs, no matter what size, get a 1" strip a day.
Nutrical looks like a tube of toothpaste and comes out like toothpaste. For tiny puppies a 1/4" strip is plenty at one time.
Training
This I'll leave up the professionals. Taking your puppy to at least one puppy training class is required. It's that important! They just need all the training they can get. The more training the happier and more well behaved the dog is. There are so many clean fun family sports to get into with dogs! Try one or try them all! Obedience, therapy, agility, rallyball, flyball, herding, tracking, reading therapy, all of these are so rewarding!