K-Jac's Kennel
 
 

Your New Puppy

Kara Crass

  

YOUR NEW PUPPY

Your new puppy should be treated like a new baby. At first they will be a little timid of their new surroundings and should be treated with patience and love. Once they become used to their new home they will become very curious and playful. This is where we enter what in children is referred to as the terrible twos.

As a playful, curious puppy becomes used to their surroundings they will begin to exhibit puppy behavior. Chewing, jumping and other bad habits should be discouraged firmly but gently. The puppy should be corrected at the time of the incident, not later. Puppies have a very short attention span and if you discipline them several minutes after the bad behavior they will associate the reprimand with whatever they are doing at the time. It is also good to remember the attention span when trying to obedience train your puppy, short sessions, several times a week, are much more productive than very long sessions.

Sometimes moving puppies into a new environment can cause stress. Make sure that your new puppy is eating and drinking well. Is playful and not droopy with his head and tail down. Sometimes, it is recommended that you should give your puppy bottled, or filtered water, depending on your water supply. Your puppy is used to well water, and sometimes a change in the water can cause a mild case of diarrhea.

Most medium to larger breed dogs are not picky eaters. Some of the smaller to toy breeds are picky and it is recommended that you mix some of the food they are used to with any new food introduced to them. At first a change in food can also cause a mild diarrhea, this should clear up after a few days. There are several good puppy foods out there. Iams brand, Eukanuba, Science Diet and Bil-Jac to name a few. Most of these should be available from your veterinarian. It is recommended that you not feed 'Ol Roy' or other discount brands. You should feed the correct feed for your size of puppy, for instance, for small to toy breeds they make a small bite or tiny chunks.

Your puppy is used to having feed and water before him at all times. It is not recommended that you restrict his food too drastically at the beginning to try and housebreak. Ease him into regular feeding times and keep an eye on him to make sure that he is not losing weight. Small to toy breeds should continue to have food and water available at all times so as not to stress them. Toy breeds do not have much body fat and when playing or stressed will burn sugar for energy which can lead to hypoglycemia, 'sugar shock'. This usually only occurs in small puppies so it is very important to make sure that they are eating as much as they want to keep their body fat up. After 6 months you should be past the time when this occurs.

Your puppy will be very curious at first and may get into things. Please make sure to puppy proof your house before a tragedy occurs. There are several every day items in your house that you might not even think of poisoning your puppy. Several types of plants are poisonous (if near the holiday season, Poinsettias are poisonous), and of course chemicals.   Chocolate is also a danger to dogs. It is not recommended that your new puppy be fed table scraps. Besides obesity, the foods are sometimes not easily digested by the puppy and can irritate their stomachs. Also watch electrical cords for chewing. Small objects can be swallowed or choked on, a puppy can choke to death just like a child. Rawhide bones are discouraged, as pieces of these can break off and cause choking or blockage of the intestine. Stuffed chew toys are preferable, just make sure to remove all strings or hard objects such as plastic eyes. If getting worn, throw away. Especially if they have squeakers or bells inside. Hard rubber toys are preferable over soft, as the soft are easily chewed on and small pieces can come off.

Your new puppy will play hard and then crash for a nap. He is going to be very playful, but he needs lots of sleep to re-energize, he will not play all of the time.

Above all, enjoy and love your new puppy!!

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