Picking Up the Puppy
Go straight home. Do not take the puppy to visit friends, relatives or neighbors
en route. Do not allow visitors to the house for several days. Lock away all
other household pets, particularly adult dogs. The puppy will be going through a
traumatic experience. It has never been away from its mother, littermates, prior
owner, or its house. Keep the confusion and distraction to a minimum. The first
few days are crucial to a puppy's emotional stability and can have a strong
bearing on how it behaves in your family. Puppy-proof your entire home before you come
to pick up the puppy. It only takes a brief moment for tragedy to strike. Do not
place your puppy up on a sofa, bed, or chair. Dislocated or broken bones may
result from even very low falls to the floor.
Purchase a leash and a collar in advance. They are not needed for the ride home
but once there, they are essential items for any outside excursions. Bring three
towels when you come to pick up the puppy. Keep one dampened in a plastic bag
for any accidents during the car ride home. The puppy should be snuggled all the
way home, offering reassurance all day and for the next few days. The air
conditioner in the car should be kept as low as possible and windows should
remain up.
Bring one or two empty gallon jugs when you pick up the puppy. I will fill them
with water from my home to which the puppy has grown accustomed. Put the water
in the puppy's dish upon arrival at your home. Immediately refill the water jug
with water from your own tap. After several days of this the puppy will be
entirely weaned onto your own local tap water. Do not assume that your
tap water is the same. Puppy's systems are very sensitive at this time and will
show you the folly of your way by voiding their upset stomachs onto your floor.
Waiting At Home
Already you should have purchased the following items and set up the house to
ensure that your puppy is well cared for right from the start:
- Leash and collar
- Food and water dishes
- Blanket and/or basket for sleeping
- Training crate
- Dog food
- Canned dog food (for those that refuse to eat)
- Several stuffed toys (semi-replacements for its lost littermates)
- Puppy gate (if it is desired to confine the puppy to certain areas)
- Lots of newspapers (no colored print)
Bring the puppy into the house and place it in a semi-darkened and quiet
room. Stay with the puppy. One or two people is plenty. Allow the puppy to roam
and explore its new surroundings. Show it its food and water dishes, allowing it
to drink as much as it wants. Kids will want to play and lavish attention on the
puppy. They should be discouraged from doing so during the initial hours. There
will be plenty of days and years of that ahead. Explain to them the frightened
state of the puppy and the need to maintain a quiet and peaceful environment at
first. Continually reassure the puppy but do not "overdo it". The puppy may or
may not go to the bathroom soon after its arrival. Each puppy will be different
but it is something to be aware of. A small radio turned low will help the puppy
feel comforted when it is left alone. If your puppy cries when left alone, do
not respond to him unless it is an obvious emergency. Cries for attention should
be ignored. It will only encourage him to cry when he wants attention and this
is an awfully hard habit to break.
Diet
The puppy should be fed "Kroger Brand" for the first several weeks. I WILL BE SENDING YOU HOME WITH A GALLON SIZE BAG OF DOG FOOD. Your
puppy has been fed this since it first started eating solids and any change in
diet will surely bring on severe cases of diarrhea. If, after two or three
weeks, you wish to switch to another brand of puppy food, you can start mixing
it in to the Kroger Brand diet in ever-increasing proportions, until the
Kroger Brand is eliminated. I, however, would recommend keeping the
puppy on this brand until it is an adult. It is not expensive but is one of, if
not the best, popular brands on the market.
Problems
- Diarrhea - generally caused by environmental change (normally water
or food supplies). Ensure that the puppy is on the "home" supply. High levels
of stress also may induce an upset stomach. If it persists past two days, see
your veterinarian immediately.
- Coughs - the puppy is susceptible to coughs because of changes in
its environment. The changes cause stress which in turn, lowers your puppy's
resistance to colds.
- Worms - ALL PUPPIES HAVE WORMS. They get the worms from the mothers milk. That does not mean the mother has worms. Your puppy should be wormed and repeat wormings are a
must, in order to kill any remaining or newly introduced live worms. Remember,
you cannot kill the eggs, only the hatched live worm. This is why you must
continue the wormings. I worm at 2, 4, and 6 weeks then the puppy should be wormed by your veterinarian at his/her recommended scheduling.
- Fleas - I treat all of my ADULT dogs with Advantix. Unfortunatly puppies cannot be started on that till they are much older. A good washing with Dawn for a first bath will remove all fleas and eggs, and is gentler on their skin than most flea and tick shampoos on the market. If you want me to give the puppy it's first bath before picking up your puppy I will be glad to do so. I will need at least a 2 hour notice.
- Vaccination Protocols and Schedule-
6 to 7 weeks of age: Give first combination vaccine. (Distemper, Hepatitis, Parvovirus, Parainfluenza, Coronavirus)
9 weeks of age: Give second combination vaccine.
12 weeks of age: Give the third combination injection and possibly a LYME Vaccine inoculation. Generally a LYME vaccine is then repeated two weeks later, then once a year.
16 weeks of age: Give the last combination vaccine.
12 to 16 weeks of age: Rabies vaccine is given. (Local and State laws apply regarding Rabies vaccine since this can be a human disease, too. Your veterinarian will tell you the proper time intervals for booster vaccines for Rabies.)
Special considerations: Many veterinarians believe some breeds such as Rottweilers and Dobermans should have at least two Parvo vaccines with the last one being given at 20 weeks of age.
Do's and Dont's
- Do not expose your puppy to "outside" animals until its immunity is fully
up and running (at about 16 weeks).
- Don't bathe him until he is four or five months old, unless he is entirely
filthy. Puppy's skin is very sensitive and dries out quite easily. One good
bathing with Dawn after arriving home, should be enough for weeks.
- Do not pick the puppy up by the scruff of the neck.
- Do not allow children to roughhouse or maul the puppy. You wouldn't let
the neighborhood kids do so with your six-week old baby. Puppies aren't any
different.
- Don't forget to get rabies shots as required by law.
- Don't let the puppy near stairs until he has entirely mastered them under
strict supervision.
- Do keep the puppy well confined during the first several weeks home. A
puppy that gets loose may wander away and forget, or not know, where home is.
- Do housebreak and train your dog with kindness and attention to detail.
- Do give your puppy all the love and attention you can possibly spare. He
is going to need it and will return it to you, with interest.
Tips for New Pet Owners:
Dawn dishwashing soap removes fleas and their eggs. Hint: Since puppies fur
is so thick it might take more than one bath to remove all the eggs or use a
fine tooth comb during first washing.
Gold Bond Powder heals skin conditions, including hot spots and rashes.
FOR ADULT DOGS ONLY:
Baby asprin once a day (Bayer tablets) prevents heartworm eggs from hatching.