Taking care of new puppies!

A puppy will become a new family member, and they will be completely dependent on you to meet all of their essential needs in order for them to be happy, fit and healthy.  This will include good nutrition, veterinary care, socialisation, training and regular exercise.  If raised in the right way, a new puppy will make a wonderful companion, but you have to put the time and effort in. Puppies are without a doubt some of the most adorable things on the planet. Parenting a new puppy, however, is no walk in the park. Here’s a guide to help you care for the new addition to the family.

When the time comes to finally bring your new puppy home for the first time, you can pretty much count on three things: unbridled joy, cleaning up your puppy’s accidents, and a major lifestyle adjustment. As you’ll soon learn, a growing puppy needs much more than a food bowl and a doghouse to thrive. And while it may be a lot of work initially, it’s well worth the effort. Establishing good and healthy habits in those first few sleep-deprived weeks will lay the foundation for many dog-years of happiness for you and your puppy.

Essentials 
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. The bills are starting to add up!

The big day arrives, and it is off to pick up the puppy. Many people worry that this is a traumatic event for the puppy, but it probably is not as bad as you might think. Coming home will start out with a car ride from the shelter or breeder’s home. Try to keep this from being a terrifying 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. We never recommend these facilities for pets of any age, but if you must use them, wait until your puppy has completed his vaccination series.

Being with people the first day home
Leaving her mother and littermates will probably bring about some form of separation anxiety. However, this can be greatly diminished if you plan your schedules so that you are with the puppy constantly for 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 through every one of her waking moments. When we are not with the puppy, she is eating, sleeping, or going to the bathroom. 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 pup.