Puppy Care:

Health Care Schedule:
Your puppy had his/her dew claws removed and is microchipped between the shoulder blades ( Feels like a grain of rice under the skin ) at 3 days old.  Regular de-worming was done at 2,4 & 6 weeks old. Your puppy also recieved it's first vaccination at 6 weeks old. Please contact your vet for your puppies continued health care schedule.

Puppy Feeding Times:
Feed your puppy his/her food moistened with hot water at least 3 times a day, as much as can be eaten in 20-30 minutes. Allow Puppies to eat as much as they want during thier feeding times. At the age of 5 months you can switch to feeding twice a day. It is not recommended that they be fed only once a day.

Potty Training:
When training your puppy, you have to remember that they will always eliminate soon after a meal or drink of water. As puppies they have small bladders and are not trained to wait until a designated time to eliminate, atleast not yet. : )  If you are on a feeding schedule, take the puppy to the designated potty area after feeding or after a drink and say to the puppy "Go Potty" or whatever term you are comfortable with using each time they go potty. It is best to reward them with treats when they eliminate in the designated potty area. They will soon learn that eliminating in the designated area has a bountiful reward.

Crate Training:
It is good for your puppy or adult dog to be crate trained. ( Please note that it is much harder to crate train an adult dog than a puppy.) With a puppy you have an opportunity to allow him/her to become comfortable with a crate, this is key during the developmental stages. As many dog owners will tell you, trying to corral a wild stallion may prove easier than crate training an unwilling adult dog. Crate training your dog can keep them out of trouble when you are away, and it also proves benificial in the potty training process. Dogs do not want to soil thier sleeping area and will learn to wait until they are out to go potty. The crate should be big enough for the puppy to lie down, sit up, stretch out and stand up.  Please note that a puppy can hold their potty for about one hour for each month of age, plus one hour.  This is intended to be a guide to assist in the crate training process. Below is a short example.

Ex.  3 month old puppy. crate time= 4 hours

Puppies can be crated for longer than the example above, but you can expect to have a few potty accidents. Is it not better to have a few potty accidents in the crate vs leaving your puppy unattatended only to come home and find that your puppy has eaten something that could cost you much more than your time.  Over the years we have heard many stories about half eaten products that are not rated for consumption for dogs, resulting in expensive surgeries and vet examinations. These are all less than desirable results.