When you bring Pet home

Starter Kit before you bring home Puppy

Take this list with you to check off the essentials you’ll need for your puppy’s first big day home.

Dog Food	Give him a great start on life! Choose PET FOOD PUPPY range food to have ready for him when he arrives. Specially formulated with concentrated nutrition
ID Tags	A must-have item for your puppy, his identification tags should be firmly attached to his collar. Remember to include your current address and phone number, as well as his name. It’s also a good idea to include a separate tag with your veterinarian’s name and phone number. You may even want to consider microchipping as an added identification measure.
Collar	Choose a nylon or soft leather collar; collars that expand with your dog are also suitable.
Leash	Some owners prefer short leashes, some long – having both in the house is a good idea. If you’re just going out for a little walk, take the short one, if it’s a long walk or you’re heading over to the park, a longer leash gives your puppy more slack to stretch his legs – and he may not pull as much, either. Remember to limit the exposure of your puppy to other puppies and dog parks until he’s received his vaccinations.
Food & Water Bowls	You’ll need a set of bowls to feed your puppy delicious and nutritious PET FOOD puppy food. To keep your puppy’s feeding area neat and safe: Try the “non-tip” variety of bowl, or put a plastic, non-slip mat underneath his bowls. This will help him eat more easily without getting his ears and nose in his food and will save you on clean-up time. Stainless steel bowls are also recommended as they’re easier to clean; if you have kids, stainless steel bowls are more durable and won’t break if dropped like ceramic ones. To keep your puppy’s feeding area hygienic:  Clean both his food and water bowls every day, if possible.  Remember to re-fill your puppy’s bowl with fresh water regularly too; puppies need to stay hydrated to be healthy.  If you’re serving your dog wet puppy food, ensure that it’s kept refrigerated and your puppy eats it within 15-20 minutes; if he doesn’t finish all of his food, discard it and put down fresh food for his next meal.
Toys and Chews	Puppies love to chew. Generally, they chew to entertain themselves, because they’re teething or if they’re a little bored and want to expend some energy. Choosing toys and chews that are the right size, shape and texture for their growing teeth, mouth and jaws is important for healthy physical development; ask your vet for suggestions on which ones are best for your breed of dog.
Stain Removers and Deodorizers	 Because your puppy can (and will) have accidents as he becomes house-trained, it’s a good idea to pick up some stain removers and enzymatic deodorizers.The reason for removing accident stains goes beyond making sure your carpet still looks nice; if the area isn’t completely cleaned, your dog will continue to smell his personal scent, and keep returning to the area to do it again. Remember, your dog has a superior sense of smell, so even if you can’t smell traces of urine, he can. If a ‘wet’ accident has just happened, soak up as much of the urine as possible with a combination of newspaper and paper towels. If you’re able to remove the fresh urine before it dries, it will be easier to remove the odor. Repeat this process until the area is barely damp. Next, rinse the area thoroughly with clean, cool water. Again, you’ll need to remove as much of the water as possible by blotting with paper towels and newspapers. A wet vacuum is also very helpful. Apply the deodorizer once the area is completely cleaned. For washable items, launder them as usual and add a box of baking soda or a cup of vinegar and leave out to air dry.
Shampoo, Brush and Comb, and Toothbrush/Paste	Because puppies have sensitive skin, talk to your vet about a shampoo that’s pH balanced just for him. Brushes and combs are custom-made for different breeds and lengths of hair; again, it’s important to select the ones that help his coat stay healthy and tangle-free.Brushing your puppy’s teeth (using a dog toothbrush and toothpaste) can be a challenge at first, but if you introduce it while he’s young, not only will he adjust to the process (and even enjoy the taste of the toothpaste!) brushing regularly can keep his teeth clean and strong for years to come. Ask your vet how often is often enough.
Puppy Crate	Your puppy needs to feel like an accepted member of the family, and having his own home within your home will help him feel secure and comfortable.First, choose a quiet area of the house where your puppy can sleep without being disturbed whenever he’s tired; a quiet corner of the kitchen or family room is ideal. You may want to partition off an area around his bed for a few days to create a little “den” where he can feel secure and be out of harm’s way.Try not to spend too much on an expensive bed he’s likely to chew; because you still need to line his bed with something soft and warm (and he needs something to snuggle with) choose an old blanket instead.

 

When you bring your puppy home

Changing homes and leaving his mother is stressful for a puppy. It could cause an upset stomach. If this happens, take him off solid food for two meals, and just give him small quantities of water to drink. Then, gradually introduce boiled rice and scrambled eggs over 24 hours, before you reintroduce his normal puppy food again. If, however, the diarrhea or vomiting continues for more than 24 hours, or becomes more severe, phone your vet.

Once your puppy has settled in, you’ll likely want to change his diet to Pet food Puppy. Make sure you replace the original food with the new Pet food Puppy food gradually, over a period of three to five days.

Weaning Puppies

The puppies will continue to suckle from the bitch until they are removed from the bitch at approximately 6 weeks of age. If the puppies are motherless or the bitch rejects the puppies, then it is your responsibility as the owner to raise the puppies. You will need to use a bitch milk substitute diet (available from your vet). Cows and goats milk are not suitable milk substitute, and a milk similar to that of the dogs must be used. Bottle feeding kits can be purchased from your vet or pet shop. It is important to use a teat size that is not too large or too small for the puppies, as this may cause problems during the feeding.

Puppies under 1 week of age need to be fed every 3 hours, and after this every 4-6 hours. By 3 weeks of age, the puppies can start to lap the milk substitute. The bitch would normally clean around the anus of the puppies to stimulate them to defaecate and to keep the area clean. A similar effect can be achieved by stimulating the area with a moist tissue or cotton wool, which will need to be performed if the puppies are orphaned.

For the first 4 weeks of the puppy’s life, the puppies cannot regulate their body temperature, and need to be kept in a temperature-controlled environment. They need to be kept warm but not too hot. Heat sources that you can use are heating lamps, or hot water bottles and heating pads, (the latter two both covered in blankets so that the heat source is not too hot). It is important to monitor the puppies so that they do not get too hot, and until they are 10 days old, they will have problems crawling away from the heat source if they do get too hot.

Weaning is the term used to describe the change over from one food to another, and for young puppies this is from the mother’s milk to solid foods. For the first few weeks of the puppy’s lives, they will feed just from the mother’s milk (the bitch). At approximately 2-3 weeks of age, the puppies can start to eat a puppy food.

The puppy food that you use should be palatable and highly nutritious. For the initial part of weaning, warm water can be added to the Pet food Puppy or weaning food to make it quite sloppy and possible for the puppies to lap. If there is a reluctant puppy, you may need to tempt the puppy by putting food on it’s lips and on the end of it’s nose. Warm (not boiling) milk or water can be added to the dry food to soften it for the puppy if necessary. Until the puppies are 8 weeks of age they should be offered puppy food ad lib (as much as they can eat) then from 8 weeks the feeding guides can be followed on the Pet food puppy labels. The puppies will need to continue on a growth food (either puppy small breed puppy or large breed puppy) until they reach adulthood. The point at which the puppy reaches adult weight will depend of the breed of the puppy.

If at any point you are concerned about the health of the puppies or the bitch contact your veterinary practice for advice.

Puppies Sleeping At Night

If your puppy is very young or you have not had him for very long, then it’s fairly normal to expect him to be restless at night. It takes time for a puppy to adjust to a new environment and to the fact that he’s no longer surrounded by his littermates and mum.

Whether he’s a new resident in your house or you’ve had him for some time, there are some things which you can do to help him settle. Make sure that he has a comfortable bed which is placed away from draughty areas. You may find that placing a covered warm water bottle in the bed will help him as this will feel like snuggling up to his mum. If he has not been away from his mum for long (and if possible), then you could take a blanket or towel to his mum’s house and ask the owners if they will put it in her bed for a couple of days before collecting it again. The smell of his mum on the blanket would then be a comfort for him. You could also try putting a soft toy in his bed at night time, again so that he has something to snuggle up to (ensure that the puppy cannot destroy or eat the toy ). Your puppy may be feeling separation anxiety from you as well as from mum. Leaving a radio on playing quietly overnight or a soft light on may also make him feel more settled. You could try putting a jumper or something else that smells of you in his bed too.

There are other reasons why he may be restless. Is he fully toilet trained yet? Is he perhaps crying because he wants to go to the loo? Is he crying because he’s been to the 100 on the floor and knows he’s not supposed to? Is he hungry? Ideally, take him out on the lead as often as possible to go to the toilet, stay with him until he goes and then praise him when he does. Make sure that he’s given the opportunity to go out last thing at night. There are two schools of thought regarding whether or not you should get up in the night to him. If you decide you are going to get up, then you must show him that it’s for a reason, not just for attention. If you get up, then you should take him outside, if he goes to the 100, then praise him and put him straight back to bed and leave him again. If he doesn’t go, then put him back to bed and leave him, it’s important not to give him any attention if he doesn’t go to the 100. The other school of thought suggests that this method is “making a rod for your own back”!! You need to weigh up the pros and cons of each method and decide what’s right for you and your pup.