Supply List:
Eukanuba Puppy Small Breed OR Eagle Brand Puppy (Please ask varies by puppy)
Canned Puppy Food Chicken/Rice&Oatmeal Formula
Nutrical
Feed & Water Dishes ( I prefer stainless or two sided plastic)
Sweater & Blanket (tiny puppies must stay WARM)
Playpen (to keep puppy from being underfoot & out of danger)
Bed
Toys (Kong, tennis balls, puppy comes with one toy)
Crate (shipped puppies come with crate)
ALSO: See our "Health, Training, Toys & Treats Page"
Two Books: "New Puppies For Dummies" & "Housebreaking For Dummies"
Feeding Your Puppy:
*Just like with Human babies one of the first signs that there might be a problem with your puppy is NOT EATING. It is up to you to make sure that your new baby eats several times a day.
*We keep food and clean water available to our puppies AT ALL TIMES.
*Puppies will not eat in a loud or disruptive enviroment so make sure your baby has a safe and quiet enviroment to eat in.
*Never allow your puppy to eat a catfood or out of another adult dogs dish. With the tiny puppies I even go as far as to count peices. If they eat it all I just add more but I have an idea of what they eat.
* We feed Eukanuba Puppy Small Breed EXCLUSIVELY.
* Do NOT change your puppies food. Eukanuba is time tested and the BEST AVAILABLE!
* Changing your puppies food can cause runny water stools & EVEN DEHYDRATION & DEATH!
* One of your most important jobs as a new puppy owner is to make absolutely sure that your puppy eats and drinks & supervision of your puppies stools!
* A runny or watery stool means an IMMEDIATE TRIP TO THE VET! TINY PUPPIES CANNOT SURVIVE VERY LONG WITH LOOSE STOOLS! Your vet can quickly and accurately assertain the reason for the loose stools and give medication accordingly.
What to do when your puppy won't eat:
On occasion a puppy will stop eating or slow down due to the stress of a flight/move. The purebred Maltese seems to do this a lot and sometimes the Maltipoo will too. The first day that your puppy arrives at home one sign that it's happy and healthy is that it will EAT. If your puppy hasn't eaten within 5 hours of coming home you can try to coax them to eat by doing the following:
1. The first thing I will do is to add hot water to a small amount of food (enough to cover it) and allow it to sit for 3 minutes after mixing it up. The food will soften and sometimes this alone will encourage a puppy to eat.
2. In dire circumstances I will add a small amount of canned food TO THE DRY. We use Nutro Puppy Chicken, Rice & Oatmeal formula. Small dogs do not do well on canned food so use this sparingly and get your puppy back on dry as soon as possible.
3. In emergencies, as a last ditch effort, I will boil skinless white chicken or turkey breast. I will chop it into tiny bits and feed it by hand. Remember that hypoglycemia is caused by low blood sugar and chicken has NO SUGAR so don't forget your NUTRICAL!
4. With some puppies who won't eat I will start them on Yogurt. Plain or Vanilla Yoplait. I will give one syringe full every four hours. This will help settle their stomachs.
Every home with a tiny puppy needs Nutrical!
My general rule of thumb is this:
1. 3 times a day for puppies under two pounds
2 . times a day for puppies between two and three pounds
3. 1 time a day for puppies over three pounds
4. Give a bit after really hard play sessions.
Hypoglycemia
& how to Recognize and Treat It:
What Is Hypoglycemia?
Hypoglycemia means your puppy has low glucose (blood sugar). It is common in tiny puppies as they can easily use up what little reserves they have. It's common enough to cause deaths if left untreated. Any good breeder will inform a prospective puppy owner about Hypoglycemia & Nutrical!
How do I recognize it?
Your puppy will be lethargic, staggering, acting drunk & can even go into a coma and be unresponsive!
If you notice the symptoms immediately give Nutrical. In most cases it works within minutes. Your puppy STILL NEEDS TO SEE A VET, even if it gets better, as your vet needs to know about the problem. Chihuahua's and Maltese and Yorkies usually expereince hypoglycemia at some point while they are puppies!
How do I treat it?
Give a 1/2" strip of Nutrical immediately & head for the vet. If the puppy is unconcious rub the Nutrical on it's gums & head for the vet!
Nutrical
Hypoglycemia
& how to Recognize and Treat It:
Preparing Your Home For the Puppy:
This one is basically common sense. Your home needs to be puppy proofed just as you would baby proof. Walk around at the puppies eye level and remove anything it can chew up and choke on, fall into or off of, remove poisons such as plants or cleaners or mousetraps or bait, and check electrical cords.
If you have children and want a tiny puppy please realize that you will have to closely supervise the puppy and the kids until the puppy is at least six months old (and longer if it's a teacup). Puppies have a "fright or flight" reaction with kids. If kids are allowed to chase the puppy, the puppies natural instinct will be to turn and snap. TEACH YOUR CHILDREN TO SIT ON THE FLOOR AND ALLOW THE PUPPY TO COME TO THEM! The puppy will be safer on the floor and the puppy will come to them. Puppies love children. Children have to be TAUGHT TO UNDERSTAND that the puppy can DIE if dropped, tripped or stepped on, jumped on, or fed the wrong foods. It can be done but it takes a well behaved child and a LOT of supervision by parents. If you are looking for a puppy and you have children under 10 BUY A LARGER PUPPY. TEACUPS ARE NOT SAFE FOR YOUNGER CHILDREN. THEY ARE SIMPLY TOO FRAGILE. ONLY IRRESPONSIBLE BREEDERS SELL TEACUPS TO HOUSEHOLDS WITH CHILDREN!!!!!
Puppies & Children!
Human "NO-NO" List:
* Do NOT drag your puppy all over the place when you first get it home. Puppies need to stay warm & feel safe and secure in a quiet enviroment in order to feel comfortable enough to eat and drink. This is a mistake a LOT of people make. It's extremely dangerous. Chilling a puppy, letting it go to long wihtout eating, stressing it from handling it too much can cause it to miss a meal and become dehydrated or hypoglycemic! Stay at home the first month! There will be PLENTY OF TIME TO SHOW YOUR NEW BABY OFF AFTER IT'S ADJUSTED TO YOUR HOME & THROUGH WITH PUPPY VACCINATIONS!
* Do not allow your puppy to get on the floor at the vets, pet store, or anywhere there may have been an unvaccinated dog! Dog parks, puppy classes, ect. are dangerous until your puppy is fully vaccinated!
* Do not allow food to sit out too long.
* Wash food and water dishes DAILY! You will need TWO sets in order to keep food and water available at all times!
* DO NOT, under ANY circumstances leave a puppy in the hands of ANYONE UNDER 15 YEARS OF AGE. I place these babies with ADULTS and expect the adults to supervise the care and safety of their puppy.
* Puppies can DIE from dropping, tripping, & being allowed to fall from chairs, countertops, beds, ect. This is a VERY REAL DANGER!
*Never feed your puppy table scraps. Fat or grease can cause death in small dogs!
Human "NO-NO" List:
When you pick your puppy up at the airport:
Bring a blanket and some baby wipes.
Your puppy may have eliminated in it's crate. If so do not fuss at the puppy. Puppies from eight to twelve weeks are still not fully in control of their bladder & bowels.
Use the baby wipes and clean the puppy up, wrap it in it's towel, and keep it calm and collected until you get home.
Make sure you bring your billing number and a photo ID to pick up your puppy.
Have everything BEFORE picking the puppy up! Don't stop at a pet store with the puppy on the way home.
Get your puppy home and let it explore in a calm enviroment.
Feed and water your puppy immediately when you get home.
Keep your puppy warm!
Your health certificate & the puppies shot record will be attached to the crate in a folder along with your signed copy of our contract.
Your puppies crate liner and dishes are WASHABLE. The faux sheepskin liner has the puppies scent of HOME on it so be sure to give it to the puppy as a comfort factor.
What to expect with Health and your Vet & your new puppy:
Puppies are examined and deemed healthy before sale. This does NOT mean that they will never have a problem as ANYTIME a puppy is moved from one home to another there is a certain amount of stress involved. When a puppy becomes stressed it's immune system can be lowered allowing several problems to crop up. You need to be aware of these problems and what to watch for! If you are not prepared for vet bills do NOT BUY A PUPPY! We keep our puppies clean and extremely well taken care of but this doesn't mean that every puppies transition into a new home will be completely problem free! This is just a normal part of owning a living breathing pet!
1. Parasites (everything from basic puppy worms like roundworms to ear mites) can flare up very quickly when a puppy is stressed. A negative fecal can be positive in 24 hours! We send puppies home with medication to prevent Coccidia flare ups (read our health, training, toys & treats page to learn about his parasite). In most cases this will allow puppies to be moved with no loose stools but on occasion a puppy will need a second dose of Albon before it's stools are solid. We advise that every puppy have a tapeworm pill at twelve weeks even if fecals are negative!
2. Kennel Cough:
During the summer months (and sometimes even in the winter!) Kennel Cough is spread extremely quickly between dogs. Our puppies are isolated from other animals other than our own adult dogs. We do, however, take our puppies to the vet several times before shipment and the Vet's office is the PERFECT conductor for Kennel Cough. I will NOT ship a puppy that has any active signs of this problem but it doesn't mean that you will never have to deal with it since the vaccine for this isn't safe to give to puppies under 12 weeks! Puppies are exposed to other dogs both at the vet and at the airport. I've had ONE case of kennel cough in 26 years. I would prefer, though, that people understand how common and how contagious this problem is. Kennel cough is completely curable but some puppies/dogs must undergo a round of antibiotics to avoid letting it cause other problems. A dry hacking cough can indicate Kennel Cough. Please also understand that the vaccine we give for it can actually cause a light case of it and often does!
3. Ear Mites/Infections:
Ear mites, too, are extremely contagious & can flare up after shipping (where no mites were visable before!). Ear infections can happen too as puppies are bathed several times before shipment & moisture is the ears enemy. Just keep an eye out on ear canals during your dogs life.
Please understand: