How To Take Care Of Your New Puppy

Puppies and humans are not that different. They food, water, a shelter, their own reasonable space in the shelter, a dog bed and some chew toys. Except for the last one, I think all need those too.

Before getting your puppy, make sure you ask the breeder what kind of food has been fed. Just like you wouldn't want to move to India (if you are not Indian) and suddenly all your food are Indian food, you puppy wouldn't want to feed on a meal not familiar to it. If your puppy is accustomed to eating fresh meat, it will take sometimes before it will feed on dog food. Which, by the way, you should NOT feed to your dog. See my lens on best natural dog food and how to make them to learn more. The trick to changing you puppy's meal is to space it out over some time. Try a mixture of its preferred meal and the meal you want to change to. In the beginning, it maybe 10% new and 90% old. If your puppy was stray, then there is no need to worry about this.

The water you puppy drink is just as important as the food it eats. Get a gallon or so and do the same as its food if your puppy is from another country or states.

Remember that your puppy is a baby. Let it play and let it sleep in its quiet space.

Training your new puppy benefits you just as much as it benefits your puppy. Therefore start training your puppy as soon as it reaches it's new home. See my lens on training you dog.

Remember that because you puppy is a baby, it will probably poo anywhere it happens to be standing... just like your baby is. It requires patience to wait for it to mature. Learn how to potty train your dog in my "train your dog" lens.

Chewing can also be a real problem. I lost a $200 shoes to my puppy's chewing.

If you have trouble training your puppy, you send it to obedience class training often called "kindergarten".

It doesn't matter where you got your puppy from, you HAVE to visit you local veterinarian for immunization. One visit, however is not enough. Once the puppy is old enough, about 4 months, it's required by law for it to be administered the DHLP-P vaccination, which requires 3 doses over a period of 4 weeks and a Rabies immunization shot.

At home, make sure you introduce your new family member to other pets you in your home. Introduce slowly, it is not uncommon for bigger dogs to hurt the puppy because it wants to be "the leader of the pack".

And of course, make sure you supervise you puppy like you would an infant. Common sense would tell you not to leave your puppy near wires, choking objects, poison like pesticides. A puppy's toy should be much bigger than its mouth to prevent choking.

If you are going to leave it alone for the whole day, you might to "crate train" your puppy, which I will explain below.

It is common for you puppy to cry in the middle of the night when it is new to your home. Depending on your puppy, there are many ways you remedy the situation. Some use a blanket, hot water bottle, stuffed toys or ticking clock.

However, if your baby cries excessively, what would you do? Do the same to your puppy.

Before your puppy is immunized, do not take it outside to meet strange dogs and other people. Let it socialize only to dogs you trust. It can be your other pets you know has been immunized or dogs of people you trusts.

Once your puppy is immunized, be sure to take it out for a walk and some socialization.

Your puppy need attention and love. If you can't give that, don't get one. Talk, whisper and stroke it. Carry it up and hug it. It is and always will be loyal to you.

Note that you have your family, friends and associates. Your puppy only have you.

Crate training is essential if you need to leave your puppy for a prolonged period of time. Do not over use though.

Crating is a technique of using a crate to supervise and prevent access of the house to the puppy.

It can take weeks before your puppy master it. As usual, patience.

Introduce your puppy to the crate with the necessary stuff he needs in there. Stuff like water, food, a towel to sleep on and a shewing toy. Never sold your puppy when accidents occur, it will become afraid of you.

Once your puppy is comfortable in the crate for short period of time, you can start leaving it in the crate while you are gone. Before leaving, leave it in the crate for about 10 mins just to make sure. Do not leave for too long.

When you arrive home, leave your puppy in the crate for a little while more before taking it out. This is so your puppy does not associate crating = you left home. Do not reward your puppy when you get home and keep your arrival low key.