Puppy Care Tips

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BLUE HEAVEN LABRADORS

PUPPY CARE TIPS

 

1.        Your puppy will be under some stress when taken to his new home, as he has just left his littermates, and familiar surroundings.  Do not expose him to too much activity for a few days until he has adjusted to the new home environment.  We suggest that you crate train your puppy.  He should be confined to a crate, large size, at night, during naps, and when you cannot supervise him.  Within about a week, your puppy will love his crate, and the security it brings him.

 

2.     Your puppy is eating ____meals per day.  Each meal will consist of____cups of_________________,

         mixed with a small amount of warm water.  We like to add a tablespoon of canned food, as this makes

         for a tasty meal, especially for finicky eaters.  We recommend large breed puppy food for year one,

         then switch to Diamond brand adult formula or Pro Plan adult.

         DO NOT overfeed your puppy, excessive weight is also a major cause of bone and joint disorders.

         Give your puppy 10 to 15 minutes to eat his meal, then pick it up until the next scheduled feeding.

         DO NOT free feed your puppy, stick to a schedule, they need a routine.  Free feeding will create a

         finicky eater, and you will not know how much food your puppy is consuming each day, or if your

         puppy is sick and off his feed.  Your puppy will eat 2-3meals per day until 4 to 6 months, then 2

         per day until 1 year.  You may then feed once per day if desired.  The amount of feed will increase

         as puppy grows, and will vary according to the size, amount of exercise, time of year, and type of

         food.  You should always be able to see a “waist” behind the rib cage, and be able to feel the ribs

         when pressing on your puppy’s sides, if not your puppy is overweight.  Do not give milk, it will

         cause diarrhea, do not give bones, as they can splinter and lodge in your puppy’s insides.  Always

         provide clean fresh water in a SMALL dish.  Do not use a large pail or bucket, as puppy can fall

         in head first, and drown, this is also true of toilets, so keep the lids down to prevent an accident,

         remember that these dogs are water dogs.

 

3.        Toys are important for your puppy, they need to have things of their own to chew, and play with.

They can consist of most pet toys in the stores, especially Kong, and other similar brands, tennis

balls , plastic soft drink bottles, etc.  Do not give golf balls, as they contain lead, and can cause

seizures.  Avoid rawhide, use pig ears, and molded chew toys instead.

 

4.        Grooming is important for your puppy, as is nail trimming, get puppy used to these things early,

and he will learn to like them.  Baths are usually only necessary when puppy gets very dirty, and

they usually love them.

 

5.        DO NOT PLAY ROUGH WITH YOUR PUPPY!!!!!!  Do not let puppy develop bad habits, such

As jumping on you, or biting on clothing etc.  You will not want a 60-85lb dog doing these things,

so don’t let him do them now.  Do not let him do anything now that you would not want him to do

when he grows up.  Obedience school is a must!!  Your puppy will only be as good as he is trained

to be.  Without proper EARLY training (start 1 week after puppy is home) your puppy can become

out of control, and getting that control when puppy is grown is not so simple.  Do not take training

lightly.  Your puppy learns from YOU, and he needs to know his place in the pack (family).  Please

        refer to the enclosed packets for more information. 

6.        Your puppy has been wormed with Heartguard wormer, as well as Pyrantel Pamoate and

        has his first set of puppy shots.  We have had his stool checked and he is parasite free.  Develop a good

working relationship with your vet, as he/she will be a very important part of your puppies care.

he/she will advise you of what additional shots, and worming your puppy will need as he grows

older.  It is important to confine your puppy to home until the entire series of puppy shots is

completed, ( approximately 16 weeks old). Because even though your puppy is vaccinated,

he can still become ill from deadly viruses.  Prevention is the key.  So no parks, walks, or any

other place where many dogs have been until the puppy shot series is complete.

 

7.        There is information on crate training in your puppy packet.  We highly recommend this to all

puppy owners, as it aids in housetraining, and gives puppy a place all his own.  Purchase a

large size crate, so puppy can use it when full grown.  Put newspaper in the front and his blanket

in the back, also shred some newspaper and place it on top of the flat papers in the front.  Before

going to bed take puppy out to potty (same spot every time), then put him in his crate for the

night, and never, never, go near the crate during the night.  He will cry about 30 to 45 minutes,

then go to sleep, then he will wake up during the night to potty, but when no one comes to

take him out, he will go in the papers, and go back to sleep.  (some never potty in their crate,

but it usually takes some time to be able to “hold it” all night)  If you normally get up at 6 a.m.,

and puppy cries at 5 a.m., let him cry till 6, and then take him out.  This will get your puppy

on your schedule, and not the other way around.  After approximately 3 nights, if you do not go

near the crate, he should sleep all night.  Take puppy out first thing in the morning, after every

meal, and after playtime and naps.  Anytime you cannot watch puppy closely, put him in his

crate.  The fewer the mishaps in the house the faster he will go to the door.  Always praise him

after going potty outside and never spank him, or rub his nose in a mistake, as he cannot identify

20 seconds after he has had an accident.  If you catch him in the act, startle him so he stops, scoop

him up, and take him out to his potty spot.  When he goes, give him lots of praise, because it is

the praise he will really learn from.

  

Please remember that these tips from our family here at Blue Heaven Labradors, are just some

guidelines we recommend from our 23 years of trial and error experience.  These are what have

worked for us, they are not set in stone, and we recommend that you always consult with your

Veterinarian on any health, care, feeding, and behavior issues.  Most importantly we hope your

puppy brings you the happiness that our dogs have for us.  Love and enjoy him/her and remember,

I am always here to answer your questions.

 

Sincerely,

Dori Lenaeus, Blue Heaven Labradors

   

 

 

BLUE HEAVEN LABRADORS

PUPPY CARE TIPS

  

1.        Your puppy will be under some stress when taken to his new home, as he has just left his littermates, and familiar surroundings.  Do not expose him to too much activity for a few days until he has adjusted to the new home environment.  We suggest that you crate train your puppy.  He should be confined to a crate, large size, at night, during naps, and when you cannot supervise him.  Within about a week, your puppy will love his crate, and the security it brings him.

 

2.     Your puppy is eating ____meals per day.  Each meal will consist of____cups of_________________,

         mixed with a small amount of warm water.  We like to add a tablespoon of canned food, as this makes

         for a tasty meal, especially for finicky eaters.  We recommend large breed puppy food for year one,

         then switch to Diamond brand adult formula or Pro Plan adult.  With this feeding program, we

         have had great success with our puppies. 

         DO NOT overfeed your puppy, excessive weight is a  major cause of bone and joint disorders.

         Give your puppy 10 to 15 minutes to eat his meal, then pick it up until the next scheduled feeding.

         DO NOT free feed your puppy, stick to a schedule, they need a routine.  Free feeding will create a

         finicky eater, and you will not know how much food your puppy is consuming each day, or if your

         puppy is sick and off his feed.  Your puppy will eat 2-3meals per day until 4 to 6 months, then 2

         per day until 1 year.  You may then feed once per day if desired.  The amount of feed will increase

         as puppy grows, and will vary according to the size, amount of exercise, time of year, and type of

         food.  You should always be able to see a “waist” behind the rib cage, and be able to feel the ribs

         when pressing on your puppy’s sides, if not your puppy is overweight.  Do not give milk, it will

         cause diarrhea, do not give bones, as they can splinter and lodge in your puppy’s insides.  Always

         provide clean fresh water in a SMALL dish.  Do not use a large pail or bucket, as puppy can fall

         in head first, and drown, this is also true of toilets, so keep the lids down to prevent an accident,

         remember that these dogs are water dogs.

 

3.        Toys are important for your puppy, they need to have things of their own to chew, and play with.

They can consist of most pet toys in the stores, especially Kong, and other similar brands, tennis

balls , plastic soft drink bottles, etc.  Do not give golf balls, as they contain lead, and can cause

seizures.  Avoid rawhide, use pig ears, and molded chew toys instead.

 

4.        Grooming is important for your puppy, as is nail trimming, get puppy used to these things early,

and he will learn to like them.  Baths are usually only necessary when puppy gets very dirty, and

they usually love them.

 

5.        DO NOT PLAY ROUGH WITH YOUR PUPPY!!!!!!  Do not let puppy develop bad habits, such

As jumping on you, or biting on clothing etc.  You will not want a 60-85lb dog doing these things,

so don’t let him do them now.  Do not let him do anything now that you would not want him to do

when he grows up.  Obedience school is a must!!  Your puppy will only be as good as he is trained

to be.  Without proper EARLY training (start 1 week after puppy is home) your puppy can become

out of control, and getting that control when puppy is grown is not so simple.  Do not take training

lightly.  Your puppy learns from YOU, and he needs to know his place in the pack (family).  Please

refer to the enclosed packets for more information.  

6.        Your puppy has been wormed with Heartguard wormer, as well as Pyrantel Pamoate and has his first set of puppy shots.  We have had his stool checked and he is parasite free.  Develop a good

working relationship with your vet, as he/she will be a very important part of your puppies care.

he/she will advise you of what additional shots, and worming your puppy will need as he grows

older.  It is important to confine your puppy to home until the entire series of puppy shots is

completed, ( approximately 16 weeks old). Because even though your puppy is vaccinated,

he can still become ill from deadly viruses.  Prevention is the key.  So no parks, walks, or any

other place where many dogs have been until the puppy shot series is complete.

 

7.        There is information on crate training in your puppy packet.  We highly recommend this to all

puppy owners, as it aids in housetraining, and gives puppy a place all his own.  Purchase a

large size crate, so puppy can use it when full grown.  Put newspaper in the front and his blanket

in the back, also shred some newspaper and place it on top of the flat papers in the front.  Before

going to bed take puppy out to potty (same spot every time), then put him in his crate for the

night, and never, never, go near the crate during the night.  He will cry about 30 to 45 minutes,

then go to sleep, then he will wake up during the night to potty, but when no one comes to

take him out, he will go in the papers, and go back to sleep.  (some never potty in their crate,

but it usually takes some time to be able to “hold it” all night)  If you normally get up at 6 a.m.,

and puppy cries at 5 a.m., let him cry till 6, and then take him out.  This will get your puppy

on your schedule, and not the other way around.  After approximately 3 nights, if you do not go

near the crate, he should sleep all night.  Take puppy out first thing in the morning, after every

meal, and after playtime and naps.  Anytime you cannot watch puppy closely, put him in his

crate.  The fewer the mishaps in the house the faster he will go to the door.  Always praise him

after going potty outside and never spank him, or rub his nose in a mistake, as he cannot identify

20 seconds after he has had an accident.  If you catch him in the act, startle him so he stops, scoop

him up, and take him out to his potty spot.  When he goes, give him lots of praise, because it is

the praise he will really learn from.  

Please remember that these tips from our family here at Blue Heaven Labradors, are just some

guidelines we recommend from our 23 years of trial and error experience.  These are what have

worked for us, they are not set in stone, and we recommend that you always consult with your

Veterinarian on any health, care, feeding, and behavior issues.  Most importantly we hope your

puppy brings you the happiness that our dogs have for us.  Love and enjoy him/her and remember,

I am always here to answer your questions.

 

Sincerely,

Dori Lenaeus, Blue Heaven Labradors