Congratulations on the purchase of your new puppy!
Here is some information that
you may or may not already now and I hope that this is beneficial to
you.
First...Get a good quality food for you new puppy. I use and highly recommend Purina Pro Plan Select puppy formula. This brand of food doesn't have high levels of corn, soy, artificial coloring or sugars. Pro Plan Select is made from real Turkey and Barley. I have been using this brand of puppy food for almost a year now and it is the best I have found for the money. I have used Royal Canin, Canadae, Iams, Science Diet, Natures Recipe, Eukanuba, other Purina products, Pedigree products, Ol' Roy products, Bil Jac, and Blue Buffalo. In my experience with these products- Purina Pro Plan Select (Turkey and Barley puppy formula) is a brand that all my puppies eat the best with least amount of problems. These problems include dry skin, ph levels in the puppies tears which is one of the causes of " tear stains ", itchy skin and mushy stools. I no longer have tear stains on my puppies since I have switched to the Select formula. I did do a 6 month experiment with Royal Canin and Pro Plan Select and found that with Pro Plan Select I had NO tear stains and the puppies that ate Royal Canin had staining. So this is why I use and recommend Purina Pro Plan Select puppy formula.
Purina Pro Plan Select can only be bought
from some veterinarian office, high end pet supply store chains...such
as "PetSmart" or "PetCo".
Pro Plan® Selects®
Select Ingredients for a Real Difference.
Purina® Pro Plan® Selects® brand dog food is made with natural ingredients, plus essential vitamins and minerals. Read the package and you'll see ingredients you know, like turkey, oat meal, barley, egg, sun dried tomatoes and sweet potatoes. But there may also be ingredients you're not as familiar with, and each and every one of those is in this product for a reason, too.
SELECT IN WHAT WE USE
- REAL TURKEY is the #1 Ingredient.
- Rich in antioxidants, including those from SUN-DRIED TOMATOES, BLUEBERRY POMACE and SWEET POTATOES.
- Made with natural, WHOLESOME GRAINS SUCH AS OAT MEAL to promote digestive health.
- REAL EGG provides a high quality protein source.
- Rich in OMEGA–3 FATTY ACIDS, including DHA and EPA.
- Easily absorbed, ORGANIC MINERAL SOURCES of zinc, manganese and copper for overall health.
Second...We use a 32 oz. water bottle for all of our puppies. I have found this to be a wonderful idea, since puppies enjoy playing, stepping in, getting debris in the water, spilling the water and not to mention the insects that get into their water and those insects can carry all kinds of " stuff " . I just hang it on the side of their exercise play pen or wire crate (with pull out pan) and they seem to know off the bat where to go for water and no mess, bugs or contamination. It also keeps out flies and gnats. Very clean method.
Third...I only crate train the older
puppies. I do not use a crate until the pups are at least 8 to 12 weeks
of age - depending on size and breed. Since puppies really can't
control their bladder and bowl movements until somewhere around this
age. I use a exercise play pen (you can purchase one online or at a pet
supply store). This method works wonderfully with all breeds of puppies.
This method gives the puppies a jump start at house training, paper
training, or litter box training. It teaches them boundaries, where to
potty, where their food and water is and where their bed is. Also, the
puppies are much happier and get plenty of exercise.
Fourth...If you are bringing
home a new puppy. Be sure to let the puppy get plenty of food, water and
most importantly REST. Puppy's go through so much stress when they are
introduced to their new home with new people and new smells. It is best
to let puppy's take it slow and become acquainted with you and
everything before taking them to visit family and going outside.
Examples of unsatisfactory behavior...chewing on anything other than what belongs to the puppy, biting any part of a persons body (playfully or otherwise - this is not acceptable), clothing, shoes, furniture and so on. Find some sort of correction that works for your puppy. All puppies are different in the way they learn, just like children.
1. Make sure the puppy has access to fresh food/water at all times. At least until the puppy is older.
2. Don't let the puppy over exert herself/himself. Limit playtime to around 30 - 45 minutes for teacups and about 45 minutes for normal sized puppy's.
3. Don't over pamper. Puppies can become very spoiled very quickly and are not easy to break from being whinny and demanding for attention. Once the pup is spoiled to that point, you can easily end up with a pup that could develop "separation anxiety" problems.
4. I recommend and use an exercise play pen instead of a crate for house training a teacup, due to the fact that they are so small and can't control their bladder and bowels for very long periods of time yet. Once they are bigger, they can be crate trained more easily.
5. Don't carry the puppy around much. Carrying the puppy to much could make the puppy start stressing, cause anxiety problems and cause soreness.
6. Please don't let children carry the puppy around or place them on furniture. Accidents happen!!!
7. Don't leave puppy unattended while playing in the house. Accidents happen! Just like with children, they also must be watched.
8. Don't take your new puppy to other peoples homes or to pet stores. This stressing the puppy and he/she could pick up sicknesses from these places. Wait until the puppy is bigger, older and has all of his/her vaccinations completely finished.
9. Make sure that all household plants are put up out of puppy's reach. Some house plants are deadly to puppy's. You can research this online.
Food:
I use and highly recommend PURINA PRO PLAN SELECT puppy formula (purchase at some veterinarian office, and high end pet supply chains such as PetSmart or PetCo). This is the Turkey and Barley variety. Again, never restrict any puppy from his/her food or water. Put them on a schedule once they are about 5 months old or so.
We are also feeding Pet Botanics Lamb and Brown Rice formula (smells like Slim Jims) or Professor Connor's Deli Fresh- Turkey, Vegetable, Rice variety (smells like bologna). These are foods that can only be purchased at PetSmart or Petco and are in a roll (wrapped similar to sausage). Both are excellent for very small puppies as a supplement type food and too make sure that the puppy is getting enough food daily to maintain a healthy weight.
Vitamins:
Please purchase a tube of Nutri-Cal or Nutri-Stat from your veterinarian or from PetSmart / PetCo. Just as a precaution if puppy would come down sick this will help get him/her threw until the pup can be seen my a vet.
Bathing:
No more than once every 7 to 10 days is sufficient. Use a waterless shampoo between bathes.
