New Puppy Care

Taking care of a puppy can be a very exciting and stressful experience all at once.  Some say that a new puppy is almost as demanding as a new baby.  The following is being provided as a list of helpful hints and is in no way meant to be a strict guide for raising your puppy.  If you have other hints that you have found to be helpful, let us know (click here) and we’ll give you credit on our site!

With that said, here are helpful hints on ensuring a wonderful time with your new companion. 

1. Don’t feed your puppy from the table unless you want it to sit there every time you eat.    
2. Puppies may wake up as many as five times a night.  Remember, you just separated a puppy from its litter.  The food, warmth and surroundings are completely different. 
3. Don’t ever feed your puppy chocolate, onions, raisins or grapes.  Besides choking on the grapes, these foods can be very harmful to any dog.  When you see dog treats that are chocolate flavored, it’s not from the cacao that is used for human chocolate.
4. Don’t leave your shoes within reach.  Most dogs are chewers and love the smell of their owners.  Some will even chew on socks or other underwear.
5. Don’t scold your puppy if any amount of time has passed after an accident.  Your puppy isn’t going to know why you’re angry. 
6. Do have a consistent routine.  This will make your puppy grow to become a very calm dog.  A routine helps with potty training and sleep patterns. 
7. Do pick a breed after researching its behavior.  If you live in a small apartment, you wouldn’t buy a St. Bernard or a Mastiff.  Keep in mind that most dogs require daily exercise, even if they are very small in size. 
8. Do check on your breed’s health and caring needs as some dogs needs a lot of grooming or cleaning. 
9. Do make sure the puppy’s sleeping area is as least partially enclosed.  Some people use a blanket over a cage.  Also, it might help if the puppy’s bed is in the corner and curls up around the edges.  One of our new puppies didn’t have a bed in time, so we used our laundry basket for a short time.  We left old clothes in it and the puppy loved it. 
10. Do allow your puppy to smell your worn clothes.  It needs to know what you smell like, especially in the beginning.  As quirky as it sounds, this is comforting for your new puppy.  You can put an old shirt or sock in your puppy’s bed for this.  Make sure it’s something you can live without, just in case your puppy chews it up.
11. Do check the label on your puppy’s treats.  Some treats can add too many calories to your puppy’s diet.  These days there are many tasty, but good for your puppy, treats out there.  One trick is to give a piece of puppy food for a treat.  Dog’s respond to you giving them attention, not necessarily the flavor of what you’re giving them.