Infomation

Your puppy is home now what do I do!? I have lots of information that can help you! Remember I am always here to help. Never be afraid to call or text me, we are just as devoted to this puppy as you are.

When we meet I will give you a ton of info.  If your like me you will just be so excited, about getting your new puppy you may forget what all I have said. That's why I thought this would be such a great Idea! 

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Let's start with food

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We use Black Diamond Sensitive Skin and Coat Ocean Fish Meal & Oat Recipe all life stages for puppy food. I order this from chewy.com or I can get it from any Pet Store, feed store, or Farm & Home Store (Orschlen, Tractor supply, Theisen's, Pet Smart, ect...) you can click on the link above to purchases. If you buy from Chewy and do auto-ship they will save back food for auto-ship customers when there is a shortage, so you will always get it in your auto-shipment.  Huge perk! Above are the feeding instructions on the back of the bag.

We start offering food to the puppies at 3-4 weeks old, or when the mom starts spending less time with them.

First, we do a mix of powdered puppy food and goat milk then transition to just dry food by 6 weeks.

While your puppy is at our house it will be free fed which means we will always have food available to it. They are growing and I never want one to maybe not get enough food. So, we keep their bowl always full. You will not want to do this while potty training it would be best when they are fully potty trained.  

*When your puppy comes home it is perfectly fine to switch foods if you would like. please just do it slowly by mixing the new food in a little bit at a time. Switching dog foods to quickly can cause severe stomach upset along with diarrhea.* 

​Your puppy will have to potty 15-25 minutes after it eats guaranteed! Its like clock work so be on your toes!

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Crate Training

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We always recommend using a crate, it gives your puppy a safe space to be able to get away from its new big scary world. 

Your puppy is still just a newborn he/she is just 8 weeks old when they come home. It's going to be a little rough at first adjusting but, it will help if use these tips.

Puppy's, like a newborn need lots of sleep they are still growing. They need to be in the kennel/crate more than out. If they are out, they need to be supervised, or they will sneak away and have an accident. I always recommend that you have kennel time. If you use the crate during the day, it will help with going to bed at night. I recommend using a snuggle puppy. It makes a pulsing heartbeat, and you can add heat packs to it, so your puppy doesn't feel alone at night. If you keep your puppies kennel in your bedroom that also helps, not only to hear the puppy when it needs to potty but for it not to feel abandoned in its new environment. You can also put a light blanket over the kennel just to make him/her feel more comfortable and safer.

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Potty training

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We start potty training at 2 weeks when puppies eyes start to open. We first use puppy pad, and the puppies just know what to do they will crawl right off their bed and right over on the pad and potty! It's absolutely amazing how they just know not to potty where they sleep. As they get bigger, we give them more room between the bed and the pad. at about 3.5 weeks we add in a potty box with the pad and alpha pellets. The puppies will be 100% litter trained by 6 weeks. The alpha pellets smell the same as grass and it makes an easy transition when they go home. We do send a baggie of them home with each puppy. You put them in your yard where you want the puppy to potty, it's a familiar smell it should let them know this where to go.

 

Like I said above you puppy is a newborn and will need lots of sleep. Puppy's play hard and pass out for an hour or two and then back up and play hard and then back out again. What I have found that works the best is as soon as your puppy wakes up you pick them up, out of the crate and pack them out to the space you have selected for them to potty outside at.   Remember for every week old your puppy is, is how far they can walk in feet before they squat to potty. So, 8 weeks 8 feet and they will squat, 10 weeks 10 feet and so on... As they get older and trained that will change. But this is why it makes it easier to put them where you want them, and as an adult this is still where they will want to go.

 

If your puppy doesn't potty put them back in the kennel and come back in a few minutes and try again. If he/she goes then reward with play 20-30 minutes and then back in the kennel they will want to sleep again trust me. As soon as your puppy wakes up it will always need to go straight outside.

 

When you are outside with your puppy don't play with them at potty time. Potty time is never play time or at 3 in the morning you will have a puppy that just wants to play, and not potty. I do not talk to my puppy when we are on a mission to potty, I just give the command potty and that's it. When he/she is done and went potty make a big deal have a treat or a favorite toy ready as a reward. But in the middle of the night I just do a simple treat say good job, and that's it. We go right back to bed no play time just so they know this is different than the day we need sleep.