How do I housebreak my puppy?

Is crate training going to hurt my puppy?

What type of food do I choose and how often should I feed the puppy?

Should my puppy have loose stools?

How do I know if my puppy is sick?

My puppy sleeps all of the time-is that normal?

Is it alright to take my new puppy jogging or for “speed” walks?

Can I take my puppy to the local “dog park” or over to meet the neighbors as soon as we get home?

What is hip dysplasia?

Should I sign up the puppy for training classes?

Car sickness-is that normal?

What about grooming?

Will a flight be stressful on my puppy?

 

The most important thing to do is to get familiar with your vet and with the services in your area! Word of mouth is the best advertising-so to have a great experience with your new puppy-take advantage of the services near you. Also- if you have any questions-feel free to contact our kennel and we will help you out with training and with health issues.

 

How do I housebreak my puppy?  The easiest way to housebreak a puppy is to be consistent in the method that you are comfortable with! We recommend crate training. It is simply only allowing the puppy out of the crate when the pup is physically playing with you or eating. Otherwise-the puppy should remain in the crate to sleep as well as pass some time! As soon as the puppy wakes up in the morning or after a nap-IMMEDIATELY take the puppy outside and DO NOT come in until your puppy has finished business. It is normal for a new puppy to have 4-5 stools a day and to urinate every 2-3 hours. After a job well done-the puppy is allowed back into the house and given a treat and LOTS of praise and attention! Continue with this method as long as it takes! PATIENTLY clean up a mess and never yell.

 

Is crate training going to hurt my puppy? Absolutely NOT. Just like children-they need their own space to rest and take time to relax from family life. They may cry for awhile and sound like they are going to die-but they won’t! :) If you give in to their tantrums-you will have a noisy-fussy puppy that will grow into a noisy/talkative adult. Make sure that your pup doesn’t need to do business before you place him back in his kennel!! If you have a hard time letting the puppy work out the crying–simply play music in another room-watch a TV show-or take a short walk. This should only take several days for the puppy to adjust.

 

What type of food do I choose and how often should I feed the puppy? We have our babies on Diamond Brand Puppy food. If you don’t have that brand in your area-I would recommend Iams. There are 2 things you need to consider when you are choosing a dog food. 1) Crude protein content should be 28%-31%.  2) The first ingredient should be a meat or a meat by-product. The better quality of food that you choose-the healthier your puppy will be and will help keep vet costs at a minimum. We recommend that you allow unlimited access to food and water for the first several weeks. If you don’t keep the bowls in the puppy’s crate-make sure that every time they take a bathroom break you are taking them to their water and food. It is VERY important that your new puppy knows that you are going to meet their needs consistently. Let them eat as much as they want to! Their amount of intake will change from day to day. Try not to give your puppy too many treats-that will cause them to be chubby and they will not have room for their healthy kibble.

 

Should my puppy have loose stools? It is normal for your pups intestines to take the brunt of the stress of moving to a new environment. It is ok for your puppy to have stools the consistency of pudding. It is NOT ok for it to be 1) watery or runny or the stool is accompanied by excess mucous 2) abnormal color-yellow/green/ or contain red blood 3) abnormal color/consistency accompanied by a VERY offensive odor. If your pup is having “pudding” type stools-it should pass within 24 hours. If the stool doesn’t firm up-go ahead and have your vet take a sample and see if there is a problem brewing in his tummy.

 

How do I know if my puppy is sick? First symptoms of a sick puppy are abnormal stools as discussed above. Other symptoms are vomiting, lack of appetite, excessive water intake or lack of water intake, frequent urination without a lot of urine-(sign of a bladder infection) , distended belly (pot-bellied), joint discomfort, extreme lethargy.

 

My puppy sleeps all of the time-is that normal?  YES- a 6-8 week old puppy will sleep a lot! 20-30 minutes of playtime will wear them out for hours! That is one plus of using the crate training method—you have a guaranteed nap time! As your puppy grows-his energy level will increase and he will be ready for longer periods of playtime.

 

Is it alright to take my new puppy jogging or for “speed” walks? I would not recommend taking a puppy under 8 months of age jogging.( Or for long periods of “speed” walking.) Your puppy is growing fast and the hips/elbows and other joints shouldn’t be exposed to excessively hard activity other than general play and lazy walks. An occasional slow jog of 10 minutes or so is fine-but the daily 3 mile run is an absolute no-no! Give your puppy plenty of growing time to establish the cartilage and bone structure necessary for a healthy long life.

 

Can I take my puppy to the local “dog park” or over to meet the neighbors as soon as we get home? I would highly recommend that UNTIL YOUR PUPPY HAS ALL OF THE REQUIRED BOOSTER SHOTS to keep them away from public places! Even though your puppy has had 1 shot-that will not make them immune to some of the deadliest puppy bugs out there. The local dog park is a regular germ festival and your little fella will pick it up quickly. They also can come in contact with dogs that might not appreciate their zest for life! I would recommend to wait until they are 12-16 weeks of age.

 

What is hip dysplasia?  It is a genetic disease that causes premature arthritis and/or cartilage to deteriorate. The environment and diet also play a big role in this issue. Excessive activity and poor diet will aggravate and worsen the disease. (For example-lots of jogging, lots of stairs to climb everyday, generic puppy food.  Signs of the onset of true dysplasia are aching joints, won’t jump or run fast, limping (don’t confuse that with an injury!!) general fatigue. Symptoms typically  will appear before their first birthday and will eventually lead to having the puppy put to sleep within several years. Dysplasia isn’t the same thing as arthritis in an older dog. It is normal for an 8-10 year old dog to begin slowing down and showing the signs of aging. It isn’t normal for a young puppy to do that!!