Preparing for Your Puppy's Arrival
Almost without exception, I am asked by those who are adopting these puppies about what kind of preparations need to be made before their puppy arrives. This is what I would say -
Pick Up These Items......
1. Pick up some dry puppy chow for your puppy. We feed Eukanuba Puppy Chow to our puppies and feel it's an excellent choice. If you choose to use another kind, you may take the small bag of puppy chow that we'll send with your puppy, and mix it in with the new puppy chow you are planning to use. This will help to transition the puppy over for the first 2-3 days.
2. We recommend that you have 3-4 cans of various varieties of canned dogfood on hand as well. We feed our small puppies soft canned food in the morning and night. Besides this, we leave the dry Eukanuba Puppy Chow out at all times along with a bowl of fresh water. On the canned, we like using Alpo, Pedigree, Iams and Purina.
3. Select some treat(s). Every puppy loves a treat. I've been asked what kinds of chews, bones, treats, etc. to purchase for the puppy. Almost any puppy likes any treat, from what I've found and what's been told me, too. So I would say, you decide. I do know that pig ears are a favorite especially since puppies like to chew and eat both! We give the little Milkbones, and little bacon-flavored chews, etc, etc, and they love it all.
4. Some toy(s). We've found that the puppies really like some small stuffed toy, like a teddy bear, to sleep against. It's possible they think it's a little companion, I don't know. They also really like toys that have little things dangling from them. For instance, a cloth toy with a thick rope hanging from one end. They'll spend hours chewing and tugging on it. They also like squeaky toys, but I've found them to like the above described types even better.
5. Possibly a bed or crate, unless you would like to use the small pet carrier that your puppy flies to you in for some weeks first. They do like the little carrier they come in typically. Some ask about whether they should get a larger one so the puppy will have room to grow. Some crates offer a divider panel so you can adjust it as your puppy grows to adulthood. It's all in how much money you want to spend. Really the simplest design is adequate. If there is a small soft blanket in their "quarters" they'll think it to be perfect.
6. A collar & leash(size small)
7. Training pads, if you're planning to go that way for housebreaking.
I would also plan to remove breakables and that which you don't want chewed on from ground level. Also be aware that puppies like electric cords.
How We Wean Our Puppies & Puppy's Food Instructions
NOTE : None of the items we feed our doggies has been on the pet food recall list!
Our puppies get all of their nourishment through nursing for the first 5 weeks or so, from mama. After that, for the next 3 weeks, they have mama, and Eukanuba Puppy Chow to eat on. By 8 weeks of age, they are on the dry puppy chow good enough that we start taking Mama away from them.
We have found that the weaning time is so hard on the puppies that we don't push to get it accomplished any sooner, nor do we try to do it in just a few days' worth of time.
At 8 weeks of age, we begin to take mama away from them for 6-8 hrs a day. An occasional puppy will begin to stress even at that age, and is comforted when they get Mama back again for the evening and all of the night hours. We do it again the next day and then the next. By the third day we think they're expecting Mama to be gone a while and then return as she has been, as they appear to quit stressing about it. They get used to Mama being gone, and so the next couple of days, we'll only put Mama in with them for maybe 4 hrs. out of the 24 hrs. If the puppies do well with that, and almost all do, we know that they can safely leave and they're ready to go out alone. You can see why it takes us to right at 9 weeks of age to do it the way we do. This is the safest plan we've come up with and we feel very comfortable that it's the gentlest way of weaning them away from Mama.
We hear from various individuals from time to time that try to berate us for keeping our puppies "too long" in their estimation. They'll say, "I want my puppy as young as possible. I want her by 5 weeks of age and at 6 weeks at oldest!" I understand that they're eager, but we are NOT interested in selling puppies too young. There are two reasons....
#1 - State law says 8 weeks of age. If we do it sooner than that, even for puppies that are extra robust and could make it fine without mama, we risk losing our state license, and having every last single dog of ours taken from us! They see it as not caring for the dogs and what they really need, and so it's actually termed animal cruelty! This reason should be enough, but the 2nd reason is even bigger to us....much bigger!
#2 - Our bigger reason......We want to be confident when our puppies go out, that they are ready in every way. It's to be a happy and healthy experience, all of the way around. Not only can it be life-threatening to the puppy to let him go too soon, but it could be extremely frustrating to have a puppy that is so ill because of not being ready to leave mama, that you have to have him hospitalized and even then you don't know that he'll recover. And then what about the hundreds of dollars if not more, that have to be spent to cover those bills? Trust me, this is not what you want. So because we believe you will be the happiest and so will the puppy, and because we are assured that he will have the health he deserves by doing it this way, 9 weeks is the plan!
In taking Mama out and putting her back in, if there are particular ones that concern us and and we think that they need Mama for another week or they may make themselves sick from being nerved up about it, we'll let you know that. We don't anticipate that hardly ever happening though, as this schedule described here is working well for us. But, yes, if there is any concern, we will let you know and you may opt to wait an additional week before you get the little puppy.
Since they will be used to eating Eukanuba Puppy Chow, we want you to know what they've been eating. You may purchase Eukanuba Puppy Chow in preparation for your new puppy's arrival at your nearest Walmart Store. Also, pick up 3-4 varieties of soft canned dogfood such as Alpo, Pedigree, & Purina. We feed our puppies some canned food in the morning and night and then leave dry Eukanuba Puppy Chow and water out for them at all times. Some of the canned foods are more flavorful than the dry, and so it's more tempting for them. We particularly like canned Alpo, and Purina as we've found them to work well, but any you think looks like it would be a selection would probably work.
If they continue to want what they think is the "good stuff" mix some of the dry food in with it, and slowly transition them over. Most puppies will not need any canned food, but it's a good idea to have a couple of cans on the shelf just in case you end up needing it. It's keeps anyhow, so it doesn't hurt to sit there for a long time.
Note - You will find a picture of the Eukanuba Puppy Chow mentioned above in our Gallery section in the album entitled "Dogfood We Feed".
For those that would care to know, we feed our adult dogs Iams. This is a very good choice, though there are many other good choices as well. We hope to add a picture soon of the Iams we feed our adult dogs, in the Gallery Section for those that would like to see what it looks like.
After the puppy arrives, we suggest leaving a bowl of dry puppy chow and a bowl of fresh water out for the puppy at all times. This way you know that he's getting all he desires. In the hundreds of puppies that we've had go out of here, I think we've only had 3 puppies that there were complaints on them not knowing when to stop as they had already had enough. So it's really unlikely that your puppy will overeat. They run it off, anyhow!
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This section is posted on our Health Guarantee Page, but This information is so critically important that it is the only information that I am placing more than once on my website. Please understand by reading below, that your puppy must be fed and watered properly after arriving at his new home with you, or it will at least become sick, and likely will even die. So PLEASE take the time to look this section over. Thank you!
Though we do not anticipate your puppy becoming very ill because of the stress of flying to his/her new home with you, we want you to realize that it can happen. If a puppy is sick from motion sickness, etc, after arriving and continues to vomit and have diarrhea it will be your responsibility to have him evaluated by your veterinarian and the proper health care administered. This is a rare situation but does happen.
Let me elaborate a little further along this line. I would say that one in ten puppies that flies has a nervous stomach even for a few hours after arriving and has to be bribed back into eating. They may be up and about, but when they see food and water, they refuse it because they are afraid that they'll just throw up again. Below you will find some feeding ideas and even a recipe and these are very important! Please look it over well!
If a puppy hasn't eaten within 6 hrs. of arriving, it is imperative that you see that he starts eating, whatever lengths you have to go to to tempt him. If he hasn't drunk water for 3 hrs. after arriving, he must start drinking water or other fluids right away. He cannot live over a day if he doesn't drink, and he can not live over a couple of days if he does not eat, so don't chance letting it go too long. If you need to call me for ideas, PLEASE do it! I have been amazed by the few people that have contacted us AFTER their puppy died of starvation or dehydration a couple of days after receiving it. They'll say something like, "She didn't want to eat or drink, so I just figured I'd give her a day. Then she didn't want to eat the next day and I noticed she was getting really weak, and so I figured she was too sick to eat, so I'd let her rest another day. This morning, I see that she's dead!" How horrible! Autopsies have confirmed our suspicions, "Puppy died of malnourishment/starvation/dehydration". I would think that it would be understood that as they don't eat, they're going to weaken and die, but I guess not everyone understands that. So, let me say, PLEASE don't allow your puppy to go without liquids or food for over a very few hours after getting him, until you insist that he eat, even if you have to use a syringe and squirt it in his mouth!
Depression/Separation Anxiety is the main reason that puppies will refuse to eat or drink after leaving their mama and litter mates, and everything they have known their short lives here with us. This is why we are keeping our puppies until 9 weeks before they go out. But there is still a very slight chance that a puppy could leave at 9 weeks and go into depression. They miss the others so much, that they can lose their will to die. If you don't insist on their eating and drinking, such a puppy literally grieves itself to death, in a matter of a day or two. If you can give them the nourishment they need for a couple of days, they'll come out of it and be fine. But if you let it go, I guarantee you that the puppy will die.
Please be responsible and see to it that your puppy has the needed nourishment and liquids. If you can't get a puppy to eat and drink by the day after you get them, take them in to see the vet, even if you have to pay weekend emergency rates. If by that day after they arrive they have yet to eat or drink, there is a 95% that they're going to have to have IVs or fluids placed under the skin, or they'll not make it. So don't gamble with it because it's almost a sure loss to you if you let it go. They're healthy, but little, and little matters! Just like you would expect a human infant to be more at risk of dying from some illness such as pneumonia, than a 10 or 12-yr-old. It's the same with a puppy. Smaller means, be even more vigilant!
I don't see why we should replace puppies that were perfectly well, but allowed to starve or thirst to death, do you?!!!!
Tips on how to get a sick or nauseas doggie eating again
....information we learned from our vet. It works!
(see Section b)
a. First of all, a puppy will need to start drinking water at least within 2-3 hrs after arriving or the puppy will get dehydrated. By another 24-48 hrs. a puppy can expire just from dehydration, so water is a must, though you can give it 2-3 hrs. Also, as long as the puppy is voiding, you know that he is not dehydrated.
b. Secondly, if you need to bribe the puppy into eating again, here are some tips. Usually this is not needful, but it's really good to keep it in mind, in case you need it. These are foods to feed a dog that needs to start eating again, whether it's a puppy or adult dog, and whether it is for a post-flight situation or even for a dog that's been very ill. These foods are pure protein and so are instant energy for the dog, and also they are somewhat bland and therefore will rest well in their tummies.
1. Their favorite is deboned, boiled chicken, with just a slight bit of broth. No need to salt it or anything. Just boil until tender and take off of the bone and pull or cut into bite size pieces. I have added just a little bit of rice sometimes, but you mainly want chicken. They love....I mean LOVE this!
2. They love cottage cheese, right out of the carton!
3. They love scrambled eggs, but not as well of the two above.
4. And for dogs too weak to eat or refusing to eat the above, use this milk mixture recipe.
Pour 1/3 cup of milk into a pint size jar, and break in one raw egg, and add 1/4 cup of sweetened condensed milk. Shake vigorously. Pour some out on a saucer. If puppy will not drink it, it is at great risk of starving to death, so at this point you have to insist. Use a syringe or eye dropper and give the puppy at least 10cc. More is better, and you don't have to worry about giving them too much. Repeat feeding every two hours. Many times after force-feeding a puppy just a couple of times, it will have regained enough strength that it's appetite will begin to return. At that time, he may lap it up, and take more and more. Let him take all he wants!
Sometimes after giving them any or all of the above, they will so love it that they will not want to return to plain puppychow. The trick there is to start adding the puppychow in with the other food, making the puppychow more and more until you get them back on the dry food. If your puppy arrives and still won't eat 6 hrs. later, I would use one of the 3 above options. A small puppy does not have a lot of weight to work with and you don't want to let them lose strength until it's a fight to bring them back up to full health.
On Letting A Puppy Cry On and On.........Also, understand that stress of any type ups the risk of a puppy dying, even if it has no illness. They're just babies! If you have a puppy that is crying and really upset about being gone from mama and his brothers and sisters, please don't leave him in a kennel for hours and let him cry alone in a room. This alone can so mess up their nervous system that they go into shock from the trauma of it, resulting in their death. If they're frightened because everything is different, and then they're placed somewhere where they have to bear it alone, it is likely to be too much. Organ failure can begin. I know it sounds soft, but it's best to not let them cry too much. That first week they're with you, they're so little and everything is different for them. It's best to hold them a lot, and even let them sleep with you if need be. Then if you want to wean him away from that after that, he at least will be used to his surroundings and won't be terrified. So please don't let your puppy cry on and on. A little is fine, but the closing a puppy in a kennel and placing the kennel in a room where you can't hear him and letting him cry all night, just doesn't get it! It will backfire!
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Following Your Puppy's Arrival
I get emails from people all of the time that are all nervous and afraid that "I might not do this puppy deal right!" I would like to urge you not to worry about it. You'll do just fine. It's kind of like what someone said to me when I was expecting our oldest child, "Don't worry, you'll somehow just know how to do as you go along." That is true, and I believe the same to be true with these little sweeties. Together, you and the puppy will learn what works best for you. I know that many read books on how to do everything for their pet, but may I suggest that every puppy is a little different and the main thing they want is your affection and time. If they have that, they'll be so happy. So, just relax and enjoy your new puppy! It's supposed to be a happy time. :o)
Keep in mind that just as you and I get jetlag and get really weary following a trip, the puppies get tired from their trip as well, whether by car or by plane. The following should give you a good idea as to what to expect. Your puppy will be eager to investigate his new "home" and to meet his new family. You'll find him to be very friendly and playful, but because of his big day, it's likely that he'll run around a little while and then just drop wherever he is and sleep for a few minutes. After grabbing a little rest, he'll be up and at it again, but he'll me a little more tired the first 24 hrs. or so. After that he'll require less sleep.
You'll also find that right after coming to you, it's likely that he'll not act interested in food until he has looked around. I would just set it out and water as well, and let him decide. What's typical is for them to ignore it for the first couple of hours or so and then to whoof it down like they're starved! There are more instructions on the page on your "Puppy's Food..." as to what I will be feeding your puppy before he comes to you. This way you'll just know how we've been doing.
Just so you'll know.........
Your puppy will come in good health to you, you can be assured of that. Here's one pesky problem though and I want to make you aware of it so you'll not be taken off guard.
Any change for the puppy causes a loose bowel problem. Sometimes this is only for a couple of times' worth and then other times it will be more like 24 hrs. before it clears up. This is to be expected and that's why it's mentioned here. Though it's frustrating to me as well, it's not uncommon for there to be a tinge of blood or just a drop or two of blood with a bowel movement. I've conversed with the vet about it until I'm sure he doesn't want to talk it with me anymore! I wish there was something that he could give me to give the puppies before they leave here that would keep that from happening, but he said that there's nothing wrong to fix and so he won't do it. In asking him where the blood comes from, he doesn't seem to be clear on that, but just that a little blood can come through when there's a lot going on in the puppy's life. If it's not understood how this works, it could appear that we are irresponsible dog breeders. We simply know nothing else we can do to keep this from happening. If you notice a little blood like I've described and your puppy is running and playing and eating well, I would suggest that you give it even 4-8 hrs. and see if it hasn't already gone away. It's related to their getting overly tired and it settles down when they rest up a bit. But for someone that doesn't know that this can happen, it could cause them to panic thinking that something is seriously wrong. Your puppy will not leave here sick, and trust me, if your puppy is sick, you'll know it. When they're truly sick, they won't play, eat, or even get up and walk around. In a case like that, of course you would want to seek medical help. I don't anticipate that though. If you would like to see more information along this subject line, look towards the lower part of the page entitled "Health Guarantee". There under the caption of things that the "Health Guarantee does not cover", you will find more information yet. Also, in reading that, it should become exceedingly clear why we don't cover it. Despite doing everything right, it's as common as a diaper rash on a human baby! Contact me if you have further questions. Thank you.
Housebreaking Your Puppy
I am asked for this information several times every week so I thought it to be a good idea to place this info on my website. I trust that you find it helpful.
Though there are many books you may read about on how to do this, it really comes down to being consistent. In doing it the same way over and over, your puppy will come to know what to expect and learn much more quickly than if one method is tried and then another.
This is what we've found to work and what others have told us has worked for their puppies. Since a puppy has to go both numbers right after eating a meal, this is a great time to work on this. It's preferrable to immediately place your puppy after he has eaten, on the area you want him to get used to going on. It may be outside on the grass or on a training pad or on newspapers. Almost immediately "it" will happen and after this has happened 3 or 4 times, the puppy begins to put it together in his mind. "Hmmm...this is where I was when I did this last time....this must be where I need to do this." With some dogs a day or so and they'll have the hang of it and others it takes longer.
I'm asked a lot as to how quickly one can expect to have this taught to their puppy. It really depends on the puppy and also the age has a lot to do with it. We've found that in starting with a 8 wk. old puppy, it will most likely be a couple of weeks before he will understand completely. But then there are rare cases where the puppy seems to know how it's done almost without being taught. Usually, when we have a 12 wk. old puppy go out, the people will tell us that literally in 12-24 hrs. they seem to understand the method. Obviously, the difference in maturity at these ages is quite substantial.
You'll learn that when your puppy starts running excitedly and whimpering, he is probably trying to tell you to let him out, or to help him get to where he needs to be. We see them doing this even at 6 and 7 weeks while they're still here, but that's not a guarantee that all puppies will do it at that young of an age.
Until you have the puppy trained pretty well, you may desire to leave your puppy in his crate if you have to leave the house. We've found that even very young puppies try not to have to "go" in their kennel as they hate the smell. If you are going to be gone for some hrs. and don't want to keep him in such a small space, an option is to section off a small area like 6'x6' with boxes, or something like that. A child's playpen is an excellent choice, too. You can place the puppy's kennel in there with the door open and newspapers on the floor outside the kennel. This will help to minimize the mess. I trust this has been helpful.
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Please Read Before Placing Deposit!!
On the Practical Side - These are REAL Puppies!!
We've been put in an uncomfortable position more than once because those that took a puppy decided that they were not as ready to take on a puppy as they had thought themselves to be. It makes it very awkward for us and hard for us to know what our obligations are when certain complaints come in. For instance, it would be common for a puppy to cry the first night that he is away from his littermates and his mama, especially if he is expected to stay in a crate by himself. I can understand that not everyone would feel like they could just let the puppy climb into bed with them as the puppy desires. But though we do not want the puppy to ever whine for you, this is real life! Also, a complaint that is very common is a loose stool problem. The problem is that almost anything can cause that, clear down to something as simple as the change in their drinking water from our house to yours. We understand that things like this are frustrating, but we can not control every possible irritation that could come up. We've even taken puppies back and that is hard especially if the puppy is then older and it's harder to find another home for him. Though beagles are easily trained with housebreaking, etc, and they adjust to their new homes very quickly, we want you to realize that there are likely to be small things like this that would require you to have a little patience. One would not expect to have a human baby and be guaranteed no challenges whatsoever in the adjustments to having a baby, etc, etc. Even with the best of care, a baby could have colic and cry during the night hours, even with mommy by his side. One can not be guaranteed that their human baby will never have an ear infection, and always be the happy, smiling baby, who has never known a diaper rash or the discomfort of teething. And then what if we find it frustrating with some of the details in the "package deal", can we just send the baby back? Or who would we blame for the fact that a baby may be a fussy baby? Though we feel it's much simpler to care for a puppy, still there will be some adjustments for anyone that would take on a puppy. There will be some surprises, some unanticipated messes and inconveniences, guaranteed! We don't find them to be many, nor serious, but for someone that can not stop for a moment to tend such a situation and that has no patience or understanding in dealing with such cases that will arise, we would like to say this in the kindest way possible. Please....if you want the puppy only to make you happy and you can not give any time or effort to the puppy, please don't adopt one of our puppies. It's just a huge frustration to you, to the poor little puppy and to us as well. We want everyone to be perfectly happy with any puppy that goes out from us, but we realize that we can't control everything about the sweet little dears and if they're lonely that first night, they're going to cry! It's just the way it is. If at this point you can't readjust anything about your lifestyle, then maybe it would be better to adopt at a later time. We just ask that you seriously consider if you want a sweet little puppy and are willing for minor adjustments. If not, we would so appreciate your realizing that. As it is, we have an ongoing waiting list for our puppies as we never have enough puppies to fill all of the requests for those that are ready to adopt puppies. So for those that will find the experience to be frustrating or worse yet, even angering, please don't put yourself or the puppy in an undesirable position. We appreciate your understanding in what we've had to say here. Thank you.
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