Obedience

OBEDIENCE SUGGESTIONS:

Meals:

Feed a high quality diet designed for puppies. A wide variety of diets and formulations are available and your veterinarian should be your primary source of information as to the best choice for your puppy. The amount fed will vary with the type of food and the individual dog, but in general, should only be as much as the puppy can consume in 5 to 10 minutes at a given meal.
Puppies are usually fed 3 times daily when between 6 and 12 weeks old, 2 times daily when 12 weeks to 6 months old, and may be fed 1 or 2 times daily when older than 6 months. For certain large breeds of dogs, your veterinarian may recommend that several smaller meals be fed rather than 1 large meal (even when your dog becomes an adult) because an association has been suggested between the consumption of large meals and a serious medical condition called gastric dilatation/volvulus or “bloat.”

Health Exam/Vaccinations:

You will want to have your new puppy examined by a veterinarian to ensure that it has no major health problems and is started on a program of preventive care. Your puppy’s health care plan includes a series of vaccinations against distemper, parvovirus and coronavirus (gastrointestinal diseases), infectious hepatitis, and respiratory infections (adenovirus, parainfluenza, and bordetella).

Vaccination protocols are designed on the basis of your puppy’s risk of infection and may vary depending upon your puppy’s age, breed, and environmental exposures (e.g., in certain locales, vaccinations for Lyme disease and leptospirosis may be considered standard parts of the protocol). Vaccinations are usually given at 3-week intervals from 6 to 16 weeks of age. At 15 to 16 weeks of age, the puppy receives its first rabies vaccination. Puppies should be checked for intestinal parasites (usually 2 stool samples 3 weeks apart), fleas, and heartworm disease (depending on age), and appropriate treatment or preventatives administered.

Grooming:

Regular brushing, bathing, and nail care are essential. Protect your puppy’s eyes and ears when bathing, and don’t allow the puppy to become chilled after bathing. Your veterinarian may recommend that you do not bathe your puppy when it is younger than 10 to 12 weeks unless absolutely necessary (especially if your puppy is one of the smaller breeds). Once ready to groom your new puppy, call Jocelyn’s for our in-house grooming services!

Chewing

Chewing is a natural behavior that is very comforting and fun for dogs. So how can we let them indulge in this behavior without losing our possessions? The best tool to help prevent destructive chewing is to use a crate. A crate is an indoor kennel that comes in either mesh wire of hard plastic with plenty of ventilation. A crate should be used whenever you cannot supervise the dog. Dogs are den animals and by using a crate, you are creating a den for the animal. The dog feels safe and secure when in his crate.

The crate will keep the dog safe when you’re not around and will keep your home safe from destructive chewing.
You will want to give your dog appropriate chew toys, while both in and out of the crate. Nylon bones, sterilized bones, and Kongs work well. If your dog doesn’t show any interest in his toys you can try smearing a little bit of peanut butter or cheese on it to get him started. Typically, once a dog gets started, he will get the point and enjoy chewing.

Inappropriate chew toys include things like old shoes and socks, stuffed animals not designed for dogs, and children’s old toys.
Although supervision of a dog is crucial to preventing chewing, it may be helpful to use a product that you put on your furniture that tastes bad and deters chewing. Usually these are bitter apple or citrus, both of which animals find displeasing.