Welcome, Guest: Register On Nairaland / LOGIN! / Trending / Recent / NewStats: 3,148,340 members, 7,800,650 topics. Date: Wednesday, 17 April 2024 at 10:44 PM |
Nairaland Forum / Nairaland / General / Pets / Bringing Your Pup Home (771 Views)
Bringing Your Pup Home by Magpies(m): 8:52am On Dec 25, 2015 |
Your puppy is going to need a room or at least a place he can
call his own, and a cage or crate will fill this bill. You are
better off getting one that is big enough for him to use as an
adult. The pup will need food and water bowls, toys to
chew on and play with, a collar and leash, a bag of a good
quality dry puppy food, and plenty of newspapers or
training pads if you are going to housetrain inside.
The car ride home
The big day arrives, and it is off to pick up the new puppy.
Coming home will start out with a car ride from the shelter or
breeder’s home. Try to keep this from being an overly
stressful experience for the pup. The main problem dogs
have with car rides usually is not what we humans refer to
as motion sickness, but simple anxiety about the vibrations,
sounds, and to a lesser degree, the movement. Many dogs
that have developed problems with car rides get nervous or
even nauseous before the engine is even started. It is
important that this first trip not be a bad experience that
regresses into a repetitious behavioral pattern.
Before you leave the kennel, try to get the pup to go to the
bathroom so there are no floods or surprises stimulated by
all the excitement of the ride. On this first trip home, we
break a cardinal rule about traveling with pets. We do not put
them in a crate for traveling. Remember, they are small and
easy to hold. Rather, we have someone other than the driver
hold the puppy in a blanket or towel and talk or in some way
try to distract him from the ride. If you have a long way to go
and need to stop for the puppy to relieve himself, do not
use a highway rest stop. At his young age, the puppy has
very little, if any, protection from common dog diseases, and
these areas can easily be contaminated with the organisms
causing these conditions.
Being with people the first day home
Leaving her mother and littermates will probably bring about
some anxiety. However, this can be greatly diminished if you
plan your schedules so that you will be home with the puppy
the first 3 to 4 days. Some authors suggest leaving the
puppy alone and give her time to herself to adjust to the
new surroundings. We disagree. In our homes, we plan for this
introductory period by keeping the puppy involved with
plenty of attention from children and other family members.
When we are not with the puppy, she is sleeping. You will be
amazed how time spent in this manner will speed up the
housebreaking process. If the children are young or are not
familiar with how to handle puppies, you should spend some
time with them during these first few days explaining
common sense rules on how to play with the puppy.
Getting a health check
One of the first things you need to do is get the puppy into
a veterinarian for an initial puppy examination. You will want
to make sure the puppy is in perfect health, free of any
congenital traits or other medical conditions. Also, find out
exactly what the breeder (or animal shelter) has done for
the puppy. In all probability, the puppy has had some puppy
vaccinations given by the breeder or shelter. She probably
has also been placed on a deworming schedule and may even
be on a heartworm preventive. Depending on the breed, the
tail may have been docked and the dewclaws removed. It is
common for all or some of these to have been done. This
helps to explain some of the initial cost of your puppy
regardless of where she was obtained. Your veterinarian will
need all of this information along with the puppy's
approximate birth date.
Feeding the puppy
What, when, and how to feed puppies becomes a major
issue on the first day. Many new owners worry that without
his mother’s milk, their pup is going to have a hard time
adjusting to his new home. Hopefully, where you acquired the
puppy will give instructions on what he has been eating. It is
a good idea to continue feeding the same type and brand of
food for at least a few days. Most people are soon
surprised how well puppies make it through this transition
because they do not understand how far along dogs are in
their development at 7 weeks of age.
We have worked with hundreds of breeders and animal
shelters. It is common practice for most of these individuals
to start feeding their puppies a commercial food at 21 days
of age. Some of the toy breeds will start 3 to 4 days later.
Even though their eyes did not open until 11 to 13 days old,
just ten days later, puppies are ready to start on something
in addition to Mom’s milk. Most breeders take dry puppy food,
soak it in warm water for thirty minutes, and then give it to
the litter when they are 21 days old. The first day, they may
only stick their noses in it and try to lick some of the liquid.
But after that, they eat and they eat very well.
After a week or so, the puppies are getting these feedings
twice or three times a day. This takes a huge burden off the
mother, especially when she has a large litter. Puppies fed
on this sort of a schedule grow rapidly and with fewer
problems.
As soon as possible, the amount of water mixed in the food
is decreased, and then finally eliminated. This depends on
how fast the teeth are coming in and is done on the
judgment and experience of the breeder. We always tell all
new puppy owners to use a dry food formulated for
puppies. Most 7 week old dogs can eat this, as it comes
from the bag, without any problem. A few, especially
members of the toy breeds, may need it moistened for one
to two additional weeks, but that is all |
Re: Bringing Your Pup Home by Magpies(m): 8:53am On Dec 25, 2015 |
Re: Bringing Your Pup Home by Magpies(m): 8:55am On Dec 25, 2015 |
For your quality puppies, Irrespective of the breed, Holla At me on whatsapp 08145796885 Delivery nationwide. |
Re: Bringing Your Pup Home by younghartz(m): 9:07am On Dec 25, 2015 |
nice write up |
Re: Bringing Your Pup Home by Magpies(m): 10:08am On Dec 25, 2015 |
younghartz:thanks Merry xmas. 1 Like |
Re: Bringing Your Pup Home by Prodeegee(m): 1:24pm On Dec 25, 2015 |
Too muddled up. Try gv spacing in long posts. |
(1) (Reply)
Top Notch Lhasa Apso Pups For Sale / Powerful Male And Female Slant Gsd For Sale / Infertility In Female Dogs- Signs, Causes And Treatment
(Go Up)
Sections: politics (1) business autos (1) jobs (1) career education (1) romance computers phones travel sports fashion health religion celebs tv-movies music-radio literature webmasters programming techmarket Links: (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7) (8) (9) (10) Nairaland - Copyright © 2005 - 2024 Oluwaseun Osewa. All rights reserved. See How To Advertise. 20 |