You have finally brought home your new bundle of fur.....now what!? Here are some helpful hints to help you along the way:
SAFETY
Make sure your house is puppy proof.
*all wires carefully put out of reach and outlets covered
*have an area sectioned off with a doggy gate or pen until your pup is potty trained
*put away any small items that your pup could choke on
*make certain houseplants or outside plantings are not poisonous
MEETING THE FAMILY
*supervise all children. Puppies wiggle and can be easily dropped or stepped on or choked
*carefully introduce other pets with close monitoring
FEEDING
*generally puppies come to their new home around 9 weeks. My pups are fed freeze-dried raw lamb (reconstituted with water), raw chicken, eggs (slightly scrambled), fish and Origen kibble. I usually feed 1/4 cup kibble in the morning, then another of the aforementioned foods for lunch and then raw meat or chicken or fish or eggs again at dinner.
When puppy is 6 months old you can go to feeding twice a day.
*We use freeze dried raw treats for training
I saw this on Leerburg Kennel's Website and thought it was very helpful:
From www.leerburg.com
This is how I feed my pups here at Leerburg Kennels. If you are serious about healthy puppies you will get your pups on an all-natural diet. Get the little book that we sell titled Natural Nutrition For Dogs and Cats and memorize it.
Feed your puppy two or three times daily, depending on what works best for your schedule. We strongly recommend a raw all-natural diet. Our pups are weaned and raised on an all natural raw diet that we prepare here ourselves. For more information on feeding a raw diet please visit our Q&A on Feeding a Raw Diet.
If you wish to feed a commercial puppy food, use a premium, all-natural kibble such as Wellness, Innova, or Chicken Soup for the Puppy Lovers Soul. Follow the instructions on the package for the feeding amounts.
Avoid all grains, this includes dog biscuits and kibbled dog food. Grain is not necessary for dogs and can cause or aggravate many skin and joint problems.
All meat and bones should be fed raw. NEVER EVER feed your dog or puppy cooked bones!!!!!
Vegetables can be fed raw or lightly steamed. If fed raw they must be grated or pulverized in a juicer or food processor.
A Leerburg Pup Being Raised By Ed Frawley
When feeding a raw diet, growing pups need 5-10% of their body weight in food daily, as opposed to adult dogs that should consume 2-3% of their body weight daily. This depends on activity and how the dog looks. You should be able to see a hint of ribs. Do not let your puppy get too fat!! Either cut back portions or trim skin and fat from the meat you are feeding.
Here is a sample menu for your puppy—for this menu we will use a 20 pound puppy as the model.
Breakfast
½ to 1 Pound of meaty bones (chicken necks, chicken backs, wings, pork neck bones)
1 tsp. Kelp/Alfalfa mix
Lunch
4 oz. Ground or chunk muscle meat (hamburger, ground turkey, chicken hearts and gizzards, beef heart, venison, elk, rabbit, etc.).
Dinner
4 oz. Ground or chunk meat (can use canned salmon or mackerel instead)
2 Tbls. Veggies (kale, spinach, carrots, squash, green beans, sweetpotatoes, celery)
The key to this diet is to rotate ingredients for variety. Add an egg with or without the shell 4-5 days a week. You can also add yogurt (plain) or cottage cheese a couple times a week and 3-4 oz. Chicken, beef, pork liver, or kidneys several days a week. Balance the diet over a period of time. Don’t worry if each and every meal is not exact.
If you choose to do both kibble and raw, we recommend feeding raw for one meal and kibble at a separate meal
POTTY TRAINING
*puppies need to go potty after napping, eating, playing and upon being let out of their crate
*the less accidents they have in your home, the faster and more permanently will they be trained NOT to potty inside
NEW EXPERIENCES
*up until four to five months of age, puppies are very adaptable and curious about new experiences, so try to give them as many positive experiences in the car, visiting new people and animals, going for walks, and exploring the world outsied
NATURAL REARING
Tucker at 4 months
