It will be helpful to have these items ready at home before the day you pick him up. These are only basic recommendations based on our experience. All of the items above can be purchased at Petsmart, Petco, and/or Walmart. Walmart is less expensive, so go there first and get what you can, then for the rest of the items you can go to Petco or Petsmart or order online if needed. If you do not have a Petsmart or Petco near you, you can order online through either store. www.ryanspet.com and www.petedge.com have awesome deals and very inexpensive quality toys compared to Petsmart.
The First Night Home:
The puppy is used to sleeping with several brothers and sisters, so for him to feel lonely and cry the first couple of nights is normal. When you are ready for bed, place newspaper to the back of your crate and a small blanket to the front and set the crate on a sturdy chair or stool that is level with your bed. You can also include a small amount of food and water. When the puppy cries out, simply rollover and place your finger through the wire door, touching his nose. Don't sweet talk him, tell him 'no' in a soft voice and leave your finger there until he stops crying. The only thing you tell him when he cries out is softly and quietly, but firmly 'no', you already have your finger there for reassurance. Whatever you do....do not take him out of the crate unless you need to change his newspaper or wee-wee pad. If you need to change it, do it quickly and without any talking to or playing with the puppy. By the 3rd night, you should be able to take the crate off of the stool and place it inside of the wire playpen which should already be set up and the puppy should be in this playpen during the day, on a linoleum/hard floor surface. Leave the crate door open. Now you can take the newspaper out of the crate and line the playpen with it. The puppy will be very happy that he is able to come in and out of the crate at night as well as during the day.
Potty Training:
Urine on the printed newspaper can sometimes cause a red colored appearance that is often mistaken for blood in the urine. Do not be alarmed if you see a reddish tint to the urine if you are using PRINTED newspaper, it is just red dye from an advertisement in one of the layers directly under the red coloration.
Potty training is accomplished in 2 separate steps. The first step is training your puppy to go on newspaper, which is already done for you by the time you pick up your puppy. It is a good idea to wait until your puppy is atleast 7-8 months old before you allow him to sleep in your bed through the night. The reason for this is that it is physically difficult for a puppy younger than 7-8 months to wait more than 2-4 hours to go potty, as their bladders are not able to expand beyond a certain extent. The older the puppy gets, the more fluid the bladder can hold. You will want to set up the playpen on a linoleum or tile floor. When you are away from home, or not able to watch the puppy properly while you are at home, the puppy needs to be in the wire playpen with his crate. If you are worried about the grout in your tile floor you can buy a cheap scrap of linoleum from Lowe's or Home Depot that is or can be cut to approximately 5X5 and place the playpen on top of the linoleum.The crate has now become his bed, so place a nice comfortable blanket in it and leave the door open for him to come and go from his bed into the area of the playpen. Place the newspaper furthest away from his crate and food. The first time he wee-wee's it probably won't be on the newspaper, so take a paper towel (without any cleaner) and blot it up, now take the same paper towel and blot it onto the newspaper, now he will pick up the scent on the newspaper instead of the floor. Now use floor cleaner and go over where he went on the floor. The next time he goes it should be on the Newspaper. DO NOT SCOLD THE PUPPY! Just keep repeating the steps above when he goes on the floor until he gets it right himself.
Step two of potty training involves taking the puppy outside to relieve himself. This is done ONLY AFTER the third set of shots is given, about 6 weeks after coming home. Leave newspaper in the playpen during this process. Your puppy will make the switch on his own, without scolding or correcting. All you need to do is begin taking him for short walks on a leash, or if you have a FENCED backyard, you can allow him to go outside on his own. If you let him into your backyard, you will need to walk with him outside until he feels comfortable exiting the home on his own. Never allow your puppy outside in an unsecured area (without a puppy proof fence). You will need to make any fence repairs BEFORE you even take him out the first time. Make sure there are no spaces for him to crawl under or loose boards he could push through. Also, swimming pools are deadly lures for puppies, they cannot be left alone in a yard with a pool until the puppy is about a year old and can swim and exit the pool without help.Okay, now when you begin this step, you will need to be consistent from this point forward in the times you take him outside. For example, always take the puppy out first thing when you wake up...before coffee, before breakfast, etc. You want to try and catch him before he wakes up. Then take him out about every 3 hours. He will continue to use his newspaper in the playpen, but that is okay, remember...he will make the change on his own. If you work during the day, that is fine, just take him out first thing in the morning and then when you get home. Never leave him outside all day until he is about a year old, if then. After you have taken him out when you arrive home from work, take him out every three hours until bed. Your puppy will not be completely going outside only until he is about 5-7 months old. You will see a difference in how much less he is using the newspaper every week.
Feeding Your Puppy:
I recommend feeding your new puppy Beneful "healthy Growth for Puppies", along with Pedigree 'chopped beef' flavor canned food or Cesars "beef in meaty juices" all mixed together, you can also add a tablespoon of Velveeta "shreds". You can start the puppy out with 1/2 of a cup of dry food mixed with a couple tablespoons of Pedigree wet food or Cesars wet food, Cesars is their favorite over the Pedigree. I usually mix fresh batches twice a day, morning and night. Always make sure your puppy has this mixture available to eat. If you see that the batch you made in the morning is not lasting through to the evening, increase the amount so that there is always a little left over. When the puppy reaches 6 months you can begin feeding in the morning and at night, and not leaving the food out at all times. When using a fresh can of food you can store the unused portion of the can in the fridge for up to 3 days, just cover with tin foil. Puppies like warm or room temperature food, so when taking from a refrigerated can, you need to warm it in the microwave before mixing.
Health:
Always make sure your puppy is current on his vaccinations throughout his lifetime. Also, make sure he begins monthly heartworm preventative at 3 months of age. If you wish to give your puppy a daily vitamin...NuVet Plus waffers are great. If ever your puppy is not his normal self, immediately take him to the vet. In other words, if he has loose stools without his diet being changed. Or, if he just doesn't seem right to you, do not hesitate to take him to the vet. Better to be safe than sorry. Dogs are not like people, when a dog is obviously not acting it's usual self, SOMETHING IS WRONG.
This is a picture of the playpen I recommend. It is two feet tall and makes a 4' X 4' square. You will be able to use this for the dogs lifetime. You can purchase it online at www.ryanspet.com or www.petedge.com and possibly they might be selling it at Petco or Petsmart by now. It is called "It's A Breeze 2"
I use unprinted newspaper for potty training.It keeps your puppy's hair from becoming stained with the newspaper ink, (and your hands). Unprinted newspaper is much harder for the puppies to tear up than wee wee pads and is available at moving supply stores, packaging supply stores, also at places like Mail Boxes Etc. You will need the precut 24" X 36" sheets. We pay $42.50 for 50 lbs!
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Your New Puppy from Maranda Farms will be going home with the following items:
*** Free 10 day supply of NuVet Vitamins! I have done quite a bit of research on pet foods and pet vitamins and have found NuVet Vitamins to give excellent results in keeping puppies and adult dogs immune system to it's highest levels, without being too expensive. Also, I have found that it maintains healthy skin and a beautiful coat! I strongly recommend continuing NuVet Vitamins with your puppy after he goes home with you. If you would like to order your own full 30 day supply to have on hand after using all of the samples your puppy will be sent home with, CLICK HERE, or call NuVet at 800-474-7044, they will ask you for your ORDER CODE-#58105
*** Free sample of Beneful "Healthy Growth for Puppies"! (available at Walmart).I feed all of my dogs and puppies Beneful Brand puppy food. I have lots of taste testers here at Maranda Farms and the Beneful is ALL of the dogs favorite! If you compare the ingredient labels from several dog foods, (which can be done on the www.petsmart.com web site), you will find that the ingredients are listed in order of amount. Always make sure that real meat is the #1 ingredient. Most dogs will like chicken flavor best, so 'chicken' should always be the 1st ingredient, not 'chicken by-product', 'chicken meal', or 'yellow corn', etc.
*** American Kennel Club (AKC) Registration Application.
*** 60 days of free Pet Healthcare Insurance! This is a special offer from the American Kennel Club (AKC). Which is who your puppy is registered with. All you need to do is send off the registration application that goes home with your puppy. The puppy will be insured beginning on the day he/she is registered by AKC....so don't delay! Send your AKC application (provided by me the day your puppy goes home) in right away!
*** 2 Year Health Guarantee against all life threatening genetic defects!
*** 1st set of shots!
*** Tails docked & dewclaws removed (at 3 days old)!
*** A full professional groom, including bath and puppy haircut!
*** 24 hour availability for advise or questions to us...just call or email, I love to hear from you!
Please do not take your puppy outside, to Petco, Petsmart, walks around the neighborhood, or around other animals who have access to these places until the 3rd booster shot is given by your vet!!!.Parvo & Distemper kill puppies...it is airborne!!! Your puppy should remain IN YOUR HOME until then, no where else.
BIGGEST DANGERS FOR PUPPIES:
Falling in swimming pools and drowning
Parvo/distemper from being taken outside before the 3rd booster shot
Drinking from bird baths, Koi Ponds, any kind of unclean stagnant type water can cause serious toxin levels to build up resulting in death
Hypoglycemia-low blood sugar from lack of eating. ALWAYS monitor your puppy's food intake for the first 4 months of life and keep food available at all times.
Pneumonia- from bathing a puppy and not blow drying him/her.
