Puppy Care
Thinking about buying a Puppy?
When deciding to buy a Puppy, it is easy
to to forget about how much much care they need. The average dog
will live for up to 10 years or maybe longer. You will need to
provide it with lots of companionship and provide regular meals
and water. All dogs will need regular exercise and taking for
walks 2 to 3 times per day, even in the middle of winter!
Bringing the Puppy home
When first bringing your puppy home,
remember that it will be a very stressful time for the puppy,
especially if this is the first time away from its mother and
family. You should give it time to adjust to the new
surroundings in your home.
Make sure that the puppy knows where its bed, food and water
bowls are. The puppies bed should be a refuge to retreat to if
things become too stressful. It needs to be warm, dry,
comfortable and draught free. You can use either a strong
cardboard box or a dog bed/basket. Make sure the bed has a warm
blanket to keep the puppy nice and warm.
Most puppies have a habit of crying at night time, especially
during the first week in a new home. The warmer you can make its
bed, the more comfortable it will feel.
Its advisable to take your puppy to the vets during the first
week you bring it home to get it checked out. The vet will be
able to arrange its vaccinations if it hasn't already had them.
Introducing other pets and children
If you already have pets in your home, it
is probably best to let your new puppy explore its new
surroundings first, before introducing it to your other pets.
When you do introduce your puppy, do it gradually and make sure
you are there to watch.
Be careful when introducing or leaving the puppy with children.
Make sure the children don't treat the puppy like a toy, instead
let the puppy explore your children and don't let them pick it up
too much. Teach your children to respect the dog.
Feeding
When you first take a puppy home it is
important to feed it on the same food it has been used to. A
sudden change of diet combined with the stress of adapting to a
new home can cause stomach upsets and diarrhoea. If you want to
change the diet, do so gradually by mixing it with the puppies
usual food.
Taking out for walks
You should try to get your puppy used to
walking with a lead when it is still very young. Your best to
use a non-choking collar, and put it on the puppy for a few
minutes each day so that it can get used to it.
Toilet Training
It is important to show the puppy where you would
like it to ´go potty´. It is useful in the first few days to
place newspaper by the door to the garden. Most breeders have
already trained the puppy to use newspaper so it makes sense to
continue with this for a few days or weeks according to the
puppy. Puppies usually ´go potty ‘when they wake up or have
just eaten. If your puppy is circling that is a good sign he
needs to go out. Carefully lift him to the place in the garden
and say the words ´go potty´, they soon learn this is the call
word and you can use this in the future. Never scold the puppy,
this is negative training, and will make him associate anger
with going potty and you may find him going behind your sofa. An
untrained puppy is the fault of the owner not the puppy. There
are good puppy training books available or call in a
professional to help.
Socialisation
It is VERY important to socialise your puppy from an early age.
He should be introduced in a calm manner to people, objects,
sounds and experiences. Taking him out for a ride in the car on
short trips helps him get used to the motion and movement of the
car and it will be a pleasant experience when he grows up. A
small travel box is useful for such trips to keep him safe. A
travel box is also useful in the house for times when guests
arrive and you would like to place the puppy out of harm’s way.
Never use the travel box as a form of punishment, this should
always be a safe place for puppy to sleep and relax.
Training Classes are a very useful way to socialize the puppy,
but do go along first without him/her to take a look at the
trainers and how they handle the dogs. How they monitor the
control of all the dogs in the class, because this could have
the very opposite of what you are hoping for.
Children should be introduced with care to dogs, for both the
safety of the dogs and the child. Never ever leave a child along
with a dog, no matter how well behaved you think either the dog
or the child is. It doesn’t matter if it has been a family
member for years and has never shown any signs of aggression, it
is foolish to take the risk. And never leave a baby unattended
in a room with a dog, a small cry from the baby can have a
disastrous effect or a soil nappy smell.
+34 902 301 002
info@pedigreepuppiesforsale.com
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