Caring for your puppy

Toys for the puppy to chew (avoid thin plastic which is easily bitten into pieces, then ingested and can become lodged in the intestine - at least requires surgery for removal, life threatening at worst, if not detected early.) Strong rubber toys are best (e.g Kong) - quite and safe. Your pet shop will have a good supply of puppy toys suitable.

You will need to restrict your puppy's movements to rooms in the house which are 'puppy friendly'. This means rooms that have hard floor surfaces that are easily wiped, furniture this is not 'precious' and where fires (if any) are puppy-proof (a fire guard will not be sufficient.)

Avoid places which have steps/stairs. This is vitally important for large breed puppies, as rushing up and down steps, or falling down them can damage a puppy for life. Damage incurred at a very early age may not reveal itself until much later.

Puppies are invariably greedy and definitely inquisitive. They can also stretch up high and reach things supposedly tucked safely away. This can be particularly dangerous in the kitchen by the cooker, kettle/coffee pot and where medicines and tablets are often kept. It is a good idea to have a crate for use in the house when cooking and meal times occur. It is also a way of enforcing the 'exercise, feed and rest' routine.

What to feed your puppy

Feeding should NEVER take place after exercise. This is to avoid the likelihood of tortion (bloat or twisted gut) occurring. This is more likely to occur with deep chested breeds, but can affect any breed. Symptoms are often difficult to distinguish from normal behaviour, but failure to detect early can result in fatality.

A puppy should never be thin i.e. the ribs and backbone prominent, and the pin bones on the hand quarters easily detectable when you run your hand along the spine to the tail. If your puppy suffers from diarrhoea it can be very debilitating in a very short time. If it continues seek veterinary advice a.s.a.p. If you feed a complete puppy food, do not mix this with another complete food, as either one brand can does it work properly. This can affect your puppies growth and can well being.

Feeding Guidelines
8-12 Weeks	4 time a day
12-24 Weeks	3 times a day
From 6 months onwards twice a day

Toilet Training

You will best be advised to establish a good pattern of toilet training immediately. A puppy will very often wee with excitement, so you will have little accidents every now and then. The use of a cage can be invaluable and certainly can make toilet training easier. The puppy will spend the night in the cage and when you let it out in the morning you pop it outside immediately and have the opportunity to praise it. It's a good idea to associate the action with a word e.g. 'Good, wee-wee' or be quick. If you use the same word every time, the puppy will soon associate the word with the act and you can use this i.e. 'Go wee-wee!' when you put the puppy outside.

Every time you see the puppy go to the door, put it out and suggest it has a 'wee'.

Praise the puppy every time it goes. This can be the rule throughout its life, it will save you a lot of time over the years.

Conversely, when the puppy doesn't make it to the door, try and ignore the fact, annoying as it may be. If a big thing is made of accidents, a puppy can develop confusion and empty in hidden places. Like babies, a puppy will need to empty soon after eating. So develop a routine of feeding, then going outside to empty. Try to go out with the puppy each time in the early stages so that you can PRAISE. From then on, always praise the puppy/dog when ever you see it emptying in the correct place.

Whenever you take the puppy out for a walk, always have a few 'poor' bags in your pocket. This way you won't be in a position of conveying to the puppy that it has emptied in the wrong place outside.

Playtime

Play is so important. It serves two vital aspects of development - one physical, the other mental. Playing with your puppy creates a bond between you, this bond will develop the respect of the dog for you and will firmly establish you as the pack leader. The puppy has to learn to be subservient to you, in a nice way, not in a dominant/bullying way.

This can be achieved by rolling the puppy over on its back and rubbing its tummy - regularly. When playing with the puppy, be careful not to get involved in play fighting; this confuses the dog about its status in the pack.

If you want the puppy to retrieve (many dogs can do this from 8 weeks old), then you must praise it for anything it brings to you, no matter how precious! Scolding a puppy in the early stages can be associated adversely with an activity from that point on.

It is a natural thing to throw sticks for a dog, but be careful that it is not pointed so as to stick in the ground and become dangerous for a puppy, or a dog for that matter, to race up to. There are many suitable toys that can be safely thrown, available in good pet shops.

Early Training

No matter how experienced a handler you may be, your puppy has to experience a lot of things in a very short time. It is going to mature into a well balanced dog far more successfully if you invest in its future now by enrolling in a Puppy Socialisation class. Your local vets, libraries etc. should have information for your nearest classes. Even if you have several dogs at home already, your puppy still needs to learn how to approach and behave around strange dogs. This will in turn encourage you to take it out to lots of different places with confidence.

A soft collar and lead is best to start teaching walking to heel, and sits.

Good Health Practice

Fleas and worms go hand in hand. If your puppy has fleas you need to treat the puppy, the puppy's bedding and the flooring where the puppy goes. Your vet will advise, and supply you with the remedy.

Puppies need to be treated for round worms initially then at frequent intervals thereafter. Again your vet will advise you.

Puppies also need to be vaccinated to provide immunity against potentially fatal diseases. Your vet will advise you on a course of treatment. An early visit to the vet is always a good idea. The sooner the Puppy gets used to the veterinary centre, and being handled by the staff the better for all.

Spaying/Castration

Bitches need to be spayed to avoid unnecessary litters. It is quite safe to have this done, it is not necessary for the puppy to have a litter first. Speak to your vet.

Dogs can be neutered around 6 months of age. If a dog is castrated there are many benefits, less likely to wee indoors to mark his territory, and far less likely to wander far a field looking a a bitch in season, getting involved in fights, and worse still - a traffic accident.