Puppy Guide

Intro

Over the years I have made booklets for new pet owners but it is difficult to print them out plus they can easily be lost or ruined. I decided to make an online version which owners can refer to any time. Please review this information and if you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact me.

Safety Precautions

When you get your puppy you need to realize that your puppy is not fully vaccinated. A puppy is only fully vaccinated at 4-5 months of age. 

COVID has given us a whole new perspective. Canine Kennel Cough is a corona virus and is just as contagious . Although it is exciting to bring home your new puppy, you have to be safe. If you have other dogs it would be wise to have your own dogs in a 14 day quarantine prior to bringing home your new puppy. No dog parks, pet stores or walks where other unknown dogs have travelled. 

If you have driven to my home to pick up your puppy, do not stop at rest areas where other dogs have relieved themselves. Do not let you new puppy meet other people’s dogs. Do not stop at a pet store or take your puppy into a pet store until 7 days after their 2nd vaccination.  

Feeding

What to Feed Your Puppy

This seems to be an issue among the owners that don’t follow my recommendations. I typically feed puppies Iams Smart Puppy. It is not the most luxurious or complex food but the reason I feed it is because the puppies do well on it. Plus, it’s a food easily found in many stores. I do not feed large breed puppy as I find puppies can get too thin on large breed puppy foods. Feeding puppies is a lot like feeding babies. When a child starts to eat solid food, the child does not start out eating steak and asparagus. It’s too rich and complex for such a young digestive system. Rice cereal and jarred food is what children start off with, gradually working their way up to different things.  So you should start your puppy on whatever it is I have been feeding. Typically I use ; Iams Smart Puppy, Eukanuba or Pro Plan Puppy. 

My adults I feed various brands and several different proteins. The adults eat Pro Plan, Kirkland and Nature’s Domain. Most are all-life-stages foods and I never exclusively feed grain free. The foods I feed are lamb and rice, chicken and rice, turkey and potato and salmon and potato. 

There are several different options to feed however, I prefer foods that are 28-30% protein and 18-20% fat. I typically only feed puppy food until 14 weeks then move onto an adult or all-life-stages food. You will want to switch to a new food gradually over a 2 week period. 

How Much to Feed

Relying on the bag for feeding amounts isn’t reliable. A normal active puppy will probably eat 1.5-2 cups 3x per day. Most of my dogs under a year eat up to 8 cups a day. 

How Often to Feed

A young puppy that is 8-16 weeks old should eat 3x a day. My adult dogs eats 2x per day . 

Where to Feed

Keep in mind that for the last 8-9 weeks your puppy has been competing with its littermates at every meal time. You want to have your puppy to eat in a quiet place, preferably their crate, in peace. Young puppies typically scarf down their food in seconds. By having them to eat in a quiet place, alone and without interruption, they will learn to slow down. 

Typically puppies need to pee and poop not long after they eat. Let them out to relieve themselves after they are done eating and drinking. As they get older allow more time for rest after meals. Ideally any deep chested dog should rest for at least 20 minutes after eating.  

  • Don’t feed your puppy in a common area with traffic, like your kitchen
  • If you have children, make it a rule that no one bothers the puppy during meal time


Treats

Instead of buying treats that are overpriced and always getting recalled, get some human grade safe treats. Chicken hot dogs, cheese strings, dehydrate your own liver, cooked chicken breast (no spices), baby carrots. A longer lasting treat is previously frozen large soup marrow bones (never cooked).

Keep in mind when you bring your new puppy home, anything new you feed them might upset their stomach. Tiny amounts are key.

Vaccinations

The vaccination regime that I follow is:

  1. First vaccines at seven weeks 
  2. Second vaccines at 11 weeks 
  3. Third vaccinations four weeks after that
  4. Rabies vaccination at six months of age


Please don’t allow your veterinarian to tell you that your new puppy can have a vaccination two weeks after the first vaccines.

After 20 years of experience, the four week regime is what I feel is safest and best, Please follow my instructions. 

Exercise Guide

It is very important with a large breed young puppy that you are careful with forced exercise and vigorous running. Young Bloodhounds especially can be silly and clumsy. 

Here is a great guide to use for reference. AVIDOG GUIDE TO EXERCISE GUIDELINES


Potty Training

House training Bloodhound puppies is a tedious task. Bloodhound puppies grow at an astounding rate and consume large quantities of water. There will be weeks where it seems like your puppy is urinating every 20 minutes. This is completely normal. They tend to have more bladder control after four months of age. Restricting water to any dog, especially a puppy, is not advised. Puppies do not need water during bedtime which for me is 10:30 PM to 6:30 AM . The best way to potty train is to bring them directly outside whenever they wake up from a nap and also bring them outside minutes after they have had a drink. Being patient and consistent and sticking to a routine is the best way to housetrain your puppy.

Why is Crate Training Important?

There are so many reasons to crate train and there is almost no downside to having a dog that is good in a crate. Some of the benefits are:

  • Give a dog a safe place of their own 
  • Safe when you leave the home 
  • Crate trained dogs tend to be better travellers and better patients at the groomer/vet
  • Makes potty training easier as they don’t like to soil where they sleep
  • Safety from chewing or consuming objects, toys, and your belongings 

Bloodhound puppies are much like human babies; unsupervised they will get into trouble and will usually try to put everything in their mouth. It is important that puppies have constant supervision and that your house and yard are properly puppy-proofed. If you cannot keep a close eye on your puppy, it is best to put them in their crate with something to occupy them or in an area you know is safe. 

Bloodhound puppies (and adults!) are notorious for eating inappropriate objects; items such as string, stuffing, rocks, sticks and other non-edible things. For years my Bloodhounds had a wide variety of stuffed dog toys until I had one dog who decided to ingest one whole and nearly needed surgery to remove it. 

It’s important to build a trusting relationship with your dog so that if they do have something dangerous, they happily give it to you rather than gulp it down or run from you. I would suggest positive reinforcement and trading with a treat. If your dog seems to be the type of dog that wants to chew and eat their toys, you may not be able to keep stuffed toys around your dog. 

Obedience Classes

It is a requirement in all purchase contracts that you attend obedience classes with your puppy once they are vaccinated. It is not that I have doubts regarding your training abilities as a new owner. It is because obedience training in a group setting is an essential part of raising a good canine citizen. Puppies need proper socialization in a controlled and safe environment. I also suggest that any children in the household also learn to handle the puppy in an obedience class environment.  

Dog Parks

As a dog breeder, I must say I am very afraid of dog parks. For starters, the risk of viruses and diseases is very high. Second, not all dogs that go to a dog park are healthy mentally or physically. Some people have no yard for their dogs and/or do not exercise them regularly. As a result there are dogs that show up at the park full of pent up energy. This can very quickly lead to unruly, inappropriate behaviour and even aggression. 

A good alternative to a dog park is to schedule playdates in your yard with your circle of dog friends. If you don't know anyone who has a playful dog, there are doggie daycare and play groups available in most urban areas. Both are safer than putting your dog at risk with strange dogs that you don't know you can trust to be appropriate with your puppy/dog. 

Here is a good article about dog parks: Dog Parks; The Good, The Bad and the Ugly