Bringing Your Puppy Home

The day you take your puppy home begins a new phase in its life. How he develops from now on depends totally upon you. We have given them all the love, care, and affection for the first eight weeks. Today he becomes your puppy, a new member of your family and this means you become parent, companion, pack leader and most importantly, the puppy's best friend.

The most important thing to do for your puppy is to take it to your vet to verify health. Be sure to make an appointment with your vet to have your puppy checked for worms again and to have the next series of shots given at nine (9) weeks. (Take along a stool sample.) It is vital to your puppy's health for them to have these shots! Your vet will give you a schedule for the rest of the puppy shots and the adult shots. We cannot express strongly enough how important this is for your puppy. Worms are quite common but dangerous for your puppy if not treated. The shots the puppies get at this time are temporary and only protect them until the next series of shots are due. Your puppy will get stronger shots when it is 4 months old, including a rabies vaccine. To insure a healthy puppy, we recommend that you do not take the puppy out among other dogs or where other dogs have eliminated (this includes pet stores) until they have gotten their 4 month shots. We do not give our own shots. We have them done by our vet so we know the serum was kept at the proper temperature and the proper dosage was given. The shot record for your puppy will be sent home with it.

Good habits start from the beginning

Planning ahead, taking the time and energy necessary to help your pup make a smooth transition to its new home, increases the probability that his good behavior will continue to develop. The opposite is also true. High amounts of stress, careless house-training procedures, pampering and improper discipline, to name just a few potential problems, can get the relationship off to a rocky start, and lead to serious problems later. Since the puppy will be an intimate part of your life for the next ten to fifteen years, it makes sense to put serious thought and effort into these first few days.

The eighth to tenth week of age in the puppy's life is known as the "Fear/Avoidance Period." Puppies that were already confident prior to this age can suddenly become shy and cautious, making you question whether something is wrong. This is especially true when there is a new owner. Do not be alarmed. Your patience and understanding will help to comfort your puppy.

It is important not to expose a puppy to highly stressful experiences during this period. Specialists have discovered that in this period pups are especially sensitive to traumatic experiences and poor handling. This may result in long lasting emotional scars.

Socialization at this time should be done with care. Try to avoid loud noises and loud, rough people as much as possible. Puppies at this age also become hesitant about new and different objects and situations. During the preceding period (five to seven weeks of age), the puppy usually approached the unfamiliar fearlessly. Now, at eight weeks, the pup will be much more hesitant in his approaches.

A word of caution concerning your puppy's ears

Try not to pet or stroke its ears down or back until your puppy is six months old and the ears have been up for a long time. The cartilage is not strong at this point and this could hinder the ears becoming erect. The best spots for petting are behind the ears and under the chin.

Protect the puppy's hips

We recommend that you do not allow your pup to jump until it is at least six months old. You can play retrieve or Frisbee with the puppy but do it all at a low level. Do not push down hard on the puppy's rear end. The hips need to grow strong to help avoid any future hip problems.

Your puppy needs a good brand of food

Just like humans, if they eat the right food they will be healthier. Grocery store food has a lot of fillers and are not the best. Dry food is better for your puppy. We use Pro Plan Chicken and Rice, Puppy Formula, and we soak it for a couple of minutes with equal amounts of water, i.e., one cup food, one cup water. If you prefer to use another brand, remember to feed the pup the new brand gradually to keep the pup from getting diarrhea. Most of the better brand puppy foods say you do not need to supplement with vitamins because it is a total food. If you (or your vet) do decide to give vitamins, Nu-Vet Plus is a very good brand and the most popular.

Also, a puppy's stomach digests differently than ours and people food is not good for them with the exception being fresh vegetables. If you want to reward the pup, there are a large variety of puppy treats available. Your vet can probably recommend a few. Along with fresh vegetables, we use the milk bone treats because they help keep the tartar off their teeth. We purchase very small milk bones for training at Petsmart, which is approximately $1.89 for a bag that lasts quite a while.

Your pup should only eat from its own bowl. If you feed it from your table it will become a pest every time you eat. It is best to remember that a lot of things that are "cute" at three months are a pain and/or a problem when they are done every day by an adult dog.

We recommend food and water bowls heavy enough that the pup cannot push them around, usually stainless steel or ceramic. You need separate bowls for food and water. Be sure to wash them several times each week. Plastic bowls do not do as well because they can harbor bacteria and the puppies tend to chew on them so they have to be replaced fairly often. Keep in mind your pup will grow quite fast so don't start out with small bowls.

Be sure your pet has water during the day. If outside it must have water available. Be sure the container cannot be tipped over leaving your dog without water.

Jupiter FL
Phone: 561-339-7709
Email: Patricia@floridashepherds.com