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Do you adopt out puppies to pet store or puppy mills?
NO WAY!! Don't even ask!
Which 'shampoo' do you use? We use the "Hartz" 3-in-1 (shampoo, conditioner, detangler). This is easy to find at "Petco" stores. We do bathe the puppies regularly because they jump on one another after stepping in a 'deposit' that we have not yet noticed (or are busy cleaning up another mess.) Obviously babies need more cleaning up after. Once a month is more than enough, as the puppy gets older. If your baby smells, bathe him/her. But do not over-bathe any dog, because they will lose the natural luster and oils in their fur. A good brushing will suffice for most breeds, and believe me they do love a good brushing!
What brand of 'food' should I feed my new puppy? We feed our babies Diamond Puppy Chow. You will surly want to stick with this brand of food for a few weeks, at least! Any change in food is going to affect your puppies' sensitive digestive systems. Please do not change 'cold turkey'. I always include a gallon of puppy chow when the pups go to their new homes, so the families can transition them to whatever food they choose to use. This is something you will want to do very slowly. There are directions on the bag for switching foods, please follow those directions very closely. You will not like the results otherwise. Changing food will cause very loose stools, and your puppy will have a miserable stomach ache until getting used to the new brand.
Unless you are from the same area as your breeder, the water is going to be different. All water is different! This is something that is also going to affect your puppy. The changes are going to be noticeable to both you and your puppy. Do not be surprised to see loose stools for the first couple of days! Your puppy has to get used to this change. If the loose stools last longer than a few days, please call your vet and talk with him/her. You do not want your puppy to dehydrate! Also, our babies love to have water added to their food. I don't know a single canine who doesn't like gravy If your baby is not eating the food, add some water. Let the food swim in the water. Your puppy will thank you!
How Often? Try and keep their feeding schedule with your schedule! Your puppy doesn't like to eat alone anymore than you do! ALWAYS have water available for your puppy!
Amount? Start out with about a cup full per meal. Some puppies will eat it all and beg for more, and others will get full, leaving food in the bowl. That again depends on each puppy. And don't forget, there is a lot of helpful information on the bag!
What kind of 'toys' do you recommend? First of all, buy nothing with easily removed pieces. No button eyes or noses. These things are so easy to chew off and swallow! Squeaker toys are also not a good idea for the puppy!! Puppies are very tenacious and will chew on the toy until they are able to remove the squeaker! And we all know where the squeaker is going once it is removed from the toy. Not a good idea!
You really don't want to give your new baby anything smaller than a tennis ball. A tennis ball is a very nice toy for the pup. A rope that is smooth, but durable is another thing I suggest. They love to play tug-o-war!
There is one toy that is so affordable and easily replaceable, and it is also one of the most favorite things our puppies play with. A plastic soda or water bottle. We all drink soda or water from a bottle. Don't throw all those bottles away. Recycle!! Remove the plastic wrapper from the bottle, (they can't read it anyway) close the cap tightly or remove it completely and let your puppy have it. It rolls! It crunches, and it is easy to demolish. Once the bottle is completely destroyed (to your puppy's satisfaction) toss it in the garbage, and give your baby another 'new toy', believe me he/she will think it is new. As your puppy grows, increase the size of the bottle. They also love 2 liter bottles!
Collars? Another frequently asked question concerns collars and the size. I would suggest a small thin nylon collar for your puppy. We do not put collars on our puppies because they just remove them anyway, (if there is more than one puppy.) And puppies are not allowed to have a collar in a crate while flying. Your puppy will not come to you with a collar on!
The length: When you receive your baby, an 8" collar is going to be a bit big, but I would not suggest you purchase a smaller size, because your new baby is growing like a weed, and will soon outgrow the collar anyway. Do not adjust the collar too tightly! There should be at least enough room for you to insert two fingers between the puppy's neck and the collar. You should check the fit every couple of days, because as I stated above, your puppy is growing constantly until maturity.
What about 'treats'? As we mentioned before, your puppy is very sensitive to new foods! Do not feed treats to your puppy as soon as you receive him/her. This is another thing that you want to be careful with. Wait until you are sure your puppy is well adjusted to the water change! Give your puppy time to get adjusted to his/her new environment before trying new treats.
I cannot tell you the best treat! This is something your puppy will let you know, but do not start your puppy with a hard/crunchy dog treat. Start out with a soft/chewy treat. Each puppy is different! I have 5 older puppies and not a one of them has the same 'favorite' as the other. For example: If you take a group of children to the local ice cream parlor, each child is going to order a different flavor of ice cream. They each have their favorite, So does your puppy! You will eventually learn his/her favorites! Experiment, but do it slowly!
Any helpful hints about Potty Training?
YES!! I found this wonderful information on a website a while back, but for the life of me, I can't find the page now or the name of the author. I will gladly give the author the credit he/she deserves if I ever find out who wrote this. It's a really great article and I have to admit I've had excellent results with the advice. I recommend this article to anyone who asks about potty-training!
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Puppies are babies. They cry a lot, eat a lot, sleep a lot, want a lot of attention, and pee and poop a lot. This article will deal with this last delightful part of puppy-hood, the joy of puppy pee and puppy poop!
What we are going to cover is exactly how to teach your puppy to pee and poop where you want him to. Housetraining is really not a "breaking" process, it is really a "teaching" process. All teaching is more successful when done with PRAISE. How do you teach your puppy with praise when he just pooped all over the new carpet? Well, that's what I'm going to tell you.
The first thing one needs to realize when teaching a puppy is that he is just a puppy. Sometimes we forget that puppies do not do things maliciously, nor spitefully. They are not "dumb," they are just baby-puppy-dogs! Someone once said that a dog is as dumb as its owner, or as smart. Although dogs, just like people, have their own personalities and their own strengths and weaknesses, you are the teacher, and your dog will learn what you teach him (good or bad.)
Depending on the age of your puppy, he will have varying control of his bladder. Very young puppies do not have much control, and any form of excitement can trigger them to pee right then and there! So, if your puppy has an accident, always ask yourself if it was induced by excitement, or even anxiety. This will help you understand that it is your responsibility to keep a close eye on your puppy AT ALL TIMES. When your puppy reaches about 4-6 months of age, he should have pretty good control of his bladder. He should be able to "hold it" for a short period of time so that he can pee or poop outside when and where he is supposed to. Many dogs are housebroken at a younger age than this, but if you're still having trouble after 5 months of age, after consistent teaching, you should probably re-evaluate your teaching method and bring your dog to the vet to rule out any medical causes.
Here are the basics of what to do:
Keep a very open eye on your puppy. Try to figure out what his "I gotta poop!" face looks like, and keep watching for it. He'll show that face when you least expect it! If you're lucky enough to recognize his "poop face," take him outside IMMEDIATELY not in 2 minutes; that will be way too late. Immediately means RIGHT NOW! That is your daily (and sometimes nightly) job for about 2-4 months, looking for his "poop face." Usually it is not that easy to discern a "poop face" until he is already squatting on the newspaper you were reading on the floor. That is where your "teaching" comes into play: Your puppy needs to be taken outside after every change in activity. This means, take him out after he eats, after he wakes up, after he plays, after you come home, etc. When you take him out say "Do you want to go outside? Do you want to go outside?" This will eventually teach your puppy that phrase, as well as the word "outside." Once you get outside, say "GO PEE! GO PEE!" Keep repeating this until your puppy goes pee. While he is going pee say "Good Go Pee, Good Go Pee Outside!" Be careful not to be too enthusiastic at this point, you want to encourage him to keep going pee, not get him so excited that he stops mid-stream. When he's done peeing, that's when the theatrics begin. Jump up and down, clap your hands, give him happy pats on the sides, say "GOOD GO PEE! GOOD GO PEE OUTSIDE!" Your dog will see how obviously happy you are, and he will learn that peeing outside is a very good thing to do! After he pees, if you think he may have to poop, then say "GO POOP, GO POOP!" and repeat everything again. Don't worry too much about the PEE and POOP difference. You don't actually need two separate words or commands. But sometimes when your dog is older, it helps to be able to tell him "go poop" while you are pulled off to the side of the road on a car trip. Incidentally, you can choose any command word you like. Many people use "Hurry Up" instead of "Go Pee." You may feel more comfortable saying certain things more than others, just be sure to use certain words and be consistent.
If your puppy doesn't pee in 20 minutes, then say "Are you READY?" Of course, he won't know what you're talking about yet, but you are teaching him phrases that will be most helpful in the future. When you come in the house, either confine your pup to his blocked off area or crate OR watch him like a hawk for about 10 or 15 minutes, then take him out again, repeating the process. You need to learn your puppy's preferences. Does he pee and poop in the morning, but just pee after naps? Does he pee at 3 a.m., but doesn't poop until 7 a.m.? The more familiar you become with your pup's habits, the better able you are to teach him.
Now, if that's all there was to it, you wouldn't be reading this would you?
The hard part comes when your puppy has an "accident." Accidents happen for two reasons:
1. You didn't put your puppy in a confined area where he wouldn't pee or poop.
2. You didn't watch your puppy when you were supposed to be supervising him.
Notice that neither one of the reasons are your puppy's fault.
Since neither one of these reasons are your puppy's fault, there is no need to ever scold your puppy. Remember, always teach with PRAISE! If your puppy is peeing in his blocked-off area or crate, it probably means that the area is too big. If the puppy has room to pee in one corner, and play in the other corner, he probably will. If you can't scold your puppy, then what are you supposed to do? Try scolding yourself, and see if that makes you more eager to watch your puppy better next time (probably not). Instead, praise yourself for not scolding your puppy, and get on with the job of teaching!
In order to teach your puppy not to pee (or poop) in the house, you must catch him in the act. When you catch him in the act of peeing, or squatting to pee, yell "HEY!" and/or push (not hit) his butt. The goal is not to hurt or scold the puppy. The goal is to get him to stop peeing mid-stream by surprising the heck out of him! Next, say "OUTSIDE! OUTSIDE!" in an enthusiastic voice (not a scolding voice). If your puppy is really young, pick him up and carry him IMMEDIATELY outside. As he gets a little older, you can run with him to the door (or his doggie door) and then go outside with him. When you get outside, do the "go pee" routine again. If he doesn't pee, take him inside and WATCH HIM, then take him out again in another 10 - 15 minutes. (Yes, teaching is work!) However, if you feel your pup emptied himself inside the house and he no longer has to pee, you can skip the second trip outside, but be careful, don't assume too much!
Puppies usually learn faster when you spend more time with them. The less time you have, the less time you can teach, and the longer it will take them to learn. Puppies are also individuals and individuals are different. Some puppies learn fairly quickly (a few weeks), others take a few months. Just remember to praise!
So, you thought your puppy was housebroken, but came home to a puddle on the floor. First, you may have been gone too long. Puppies can't be expected to "hold it" for eight long hours. If you have a fenced yard, consider getting a doggie door. Okay, okay, so you have a doggie door, but there is still a puddle in the middle of the floor! DO NOT SCOLD your puppy. He is so happy to see you come home, don't scold him for being happy to see you. Also, don't rub his nose in it (yuck!) - it doesn't do any good. Instead, place him in a confined area where he can't see you clean it up. This is probably the hardest part of all of housetraining! But just do it. Use straight vinegar to take away the odor, some baking powder or borax wouldn't hurt either. Now ask yourself, were you gone longer than you usually are? This would have made your puppy over-anxious, and made it very easy to pee on the spot. The best thing to do in this case is to make the confined area smaller again.
We wish each of you the best of luck!
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