New Dogs & Puppies Welcome Packet
Congratulations on purchasing or adopting your new dog or puppy! I'm including my house training schedule, essentials checklist, meal routine, and troubleshooting tips here for you. Enjoy! Feel free to ask me any questions at our next session.
HOUSE TRAINING
Let's say you get up at 7am. Let your puppy out of their crate to potty first thing. Don't just let them out and trust them, supervise and reward when they go for the first week or so until they get the hang of it. You'll want to let them out every hour you're home and able to supervise just because, or confine them in a play pen or crate if not. You'll also want to let them out after playing, getting a drink, eating a meal, or taking a nap. NEVER PUNISH A PUPPY FOR HAVING AN ACCIDENT. This will only make them want to hide from you to do their business. Always take your puppy out right before you go to bed. Puppies could theoretically sleep all 8 hours without needing to go out within the first week of being home if they came home no younger than 8 weeks old. A puppy can only hold it for a maximum of about 3 hours during the active daytime. The general rule of thumb is: they can hold it for 1 hour per month old, +1 more hour. An 8 week old puppy is 2 months old, so they could hold it for up to 3 hours. You'll want to provide a pee pad or potty patch for them to use in their play pen attached to their crate if you're going to be gone longer than that. Please use Susan Garrett's Crate Games to help your new puppy acclimate to their play pen and crate.
SOCIALIZATION
Puppies should NOT be on the ground in public spaces (neighborhoods, parks, daycare, pet stores, etc.) until they are 16 weeks old and have had all their shots. The ONLY exception to this is puppy class. Puppies MAY be carried in public places and doted on for socialization purposes, usually only a couple times a week. Here's a socialization checklist by the brilliant Dr. Sophia Yin. The socialization window closes when puppies are 16-18 weeks old. Whatever impressions they have of the world, good or bad, will be with them for life during this highly impressionable period. Go for QUALITY over QUANTITY. Exposure is NOT good socialization! The puppy needs to genuinely ENJOY the interaction for it to count as good socialization. Adult dogs may need remedial socialization if they didn't have adequate experiences as baby puppies or if their genetics predispose them to being fearful or aggressive.
WALKING
Puppies and dogs 4 months and older should be walked EVERYDAY. Even if you have the best yard, nothing is better than the opportunity to sniff and explore for a dog! Go on a routine walk and an adventure walk if you have time. The length of the walk should be about 30 minutes for puppies and up to 1 hour or more for adults. Potty walks DO NOT count. This is structured bonding and exploration time. We will go over walking tools and manners in our session. Do NOT run your puppy on hard surfaces, nor allow them to repeatedly jump, until their growth plates have closed between 10-24 months old, depending on size and breed. A cheap nylon harness with a ring in the front will suffice while your puppy grows. The leash should be 4-6', no retractables! I love over-the-shoulder euro leashes.
CARE
All dogs and puppies should be wearing a tag collar 24/7. This may be removed when they're in their crate, but that's it. Otherwise, I NEVER recommend puppies wear collars for walking. Adult dogs should only wear 1" width collars or wider for walking, nothing too thin as it can collapse the trachea and cause stress enzymes to be released. Nails should be trimmed weekly to biweekly. Puppies can use our toenail clippers, but adult dogs need a dremmel or standard dog clippers. Make sure it's heavy duty to get a clean slice. Cheaper clippers will definitely struggle with larger, and especially black nails. Baths should be given monthly at maximum. I almost never bathe my dogs. But I do brush them regularly, some breeds need it a few times a day like poodles or doodles of any kind, and some can do with a good brush every few days. Dogs like huskies that blow their coat a couple times a year at change of seasons really need a forced air dryer (not a hair dryer!) to get all the under coat blown out. Breeds with hair instead of fur (poodles, portuguese water dogs, shih tzu, maltese, etc.) really need groomers as their hair never stops growing. Please DO NOT shave your dog, even in the summer! They have proven that dog coats both insulate from the cold AND heat! Shaving them in the summer actually exposes them to sunburn and causes an overall increase in body temperature. It's also bad for their coat.
FINDING A VET
I always want to make sure the vets have been trained in fear free practices, the staff is friendly and capable, the facility is clean and roomy enough for dogs to coexist, and the vets do a thorough exam and take the time to answer my questions. Yelp reviews are a great start. I highly recommend microchipping your dog or puppy if they aren't already. You can have it done before the spay/neuter, just provide the vet with a jar of meat-flavored baby food for them to lick while they get the shot. Works like a charm, many don't even notice. I actually recommend all early vet visits be full of extra fabulous treat-giving.
DIET
I used to be a huge proponent of grain-free foods, but recent studies have shown that the legumes used instead of grains have been linked to DCM (dilated cardiomyopathy), especially in golden retrievers but also in many other breeds. I feed Simply Nourish lamb & oatmeal and Nature's Logic duck & salmon kibbles. Nature's Logic is the only grain-free food I've found without lots of legumes in it. Puppies under 6 months should be fed 3x per day, and adult dogs 2x per day. Leave the food down for 5 minutes. If they don't finish it all, pick up the bowl and replenish as needed for dinner time. DO NOT FREE FEED. We want food to be rewarding, which isn't possible if it's a plentiful resource. Water should ALWAYS be available and the bowl needs to allow the water to be fairly deep. Dogs make ladles out of their tongues to drink. Save treats for training outside, and use kibble at home if you can. Meal time is a perfect way to set aside time for training! I really appreciate a lot of the philosophy behind Nothing In Life Is Free (NILIF) when done in moderation.
TROUBLESHOOTING
New dogs and puppies are experiencing a severe form of culture shock. Every time you leave, you're gone forever. Every time you come back, it's a miracle. You don't speak puppy. They don't speak human. No puppy or dog is born preprogrammed with commands or housetraining. It's a puppy's first time away from their littermates and parents. Separation anxiety is totally normal. Please practice "dummy leaves" where you leave the house and literally return immediately. Also get ready to leave, but then don't. Do this every hour or more and it will help TREMENDOUSLY in several aspects of your life with your dog. When your dog no longer seems to mind when you return, you're all set. Always treat for when you really do have to leave, NEVER when you return. Be boring and calm so your puppy doesn't have an accident and your dog doesn't think their world revolves around you and they can't function without you.
Never punish a growl. Growling is beautiful communication of discomfort. Losing this communication means you're more likely to get bitten out of the blue. Make a note that "Fido growled when I sat next to him on the couch." We can work on this together! Resource guarding (food, people, places, things) is genetic, but there are management strategies that can make it almost imperceptible.
Jumping up, stealing food, and destroying household items are all totally normal dog behaviors. Destruction is ALWAYS from mental boredom -- more training! Jumping up is due to excitement to see you -- again, be boring when you arrive, but we can work on sit to greet. Stealing food is just poor management. Dogs can be excellent scavengers, leave them no opportunity to practice and you won't have this issue. Also no table scraps, as this leads to begging.
Finally, please allow your dog 3 weeks to learn your routine, and 3 months to really start to get comfy. The initial getting to know you phase will have lots of transitions and good or bad behaviors may emerge. This is a typical part of the emotional unfreezing process. This is why rescues with foster homes are better than shelters, and puppies from responsible breeders are the best bet for getting what you want. Dogs in shelters are often very shut down and may seem calmer or easier than they are, or they're actually so full of pent up energy and frustration they look worse than they are at first. If you have any questions, feel free to email me!
Let's say you get up at 7am. Let your puppy out of their crate to potty first thing. Don't just let them out and trust them, supervise and reward when they go for the first week or so until they get the hang of it. You'll want to let them out every hour you're home and able to supervise just because, or confine them in a play pen or crate if not. You'll also want to let them out after playing, getting a drink, eating a meal, or taking a nap. NEVER PUNISH A PUPPY FOR HAVING AN ACCIDENT. This will only make them want to hide from you to do their business. Always take your puppy out right before you go to bed. Puppies could theoretically sleep all 8 hours without needing to go out within the first week of being home if they came home no younger than 8 weeks old. A puppy can only hold it for a maximum of about 3 hours during the active daytime. The general rule of thumb is: they can hold it for 1 hour per month old, +1 more hour. An 8 week old puppy is 2 months old, so they could hold it for up to 3 hours. You'll want to provide a pee pad or potty patch for them to use in their play pen attached to their crate if you're going to be gone longer than that. Please use Susan Garrett's Crate Games to help your new puppy acclimate to their play pen and crate.
SOCIALIZATION
Puppies should NOT be on the ground in public spaces (neighborhoods, parks, daycare, pet stores, etc.) until they are 16 weeks old and have had all their shots. The ONLY exception to this is puppy class. Puppies MAY be carried in public places and doted on for socialization purposes, usually only a couple times a week. Here's a socialization checklist by the brilliant Dr. Sophia Yin. The socialization window closes when puppies are 16-18 weeks old. Whatever impressions they have of the world, good or bad, will be with them for life during this highly impressionable period. Go for QUALITY over QUANTITY. Exposure is NOT good socialization! The puppy needs to genuinely ENJOY the interaction for it to count as good socialization. Adult dogs may need remedial socialization if they didn't have adequate experiences as baby puppies or if their genetics predispose them to being fearful or aggressive.
WALKING
Puppies and dogs 4 months and older should be walked EVERYDAY. Even if you have the best yard, nothing is better than the opportunity to sniff and explore for a dog! Go on a routine walk and an adventure walk if you have time. The length of the walk should be about 30 minutes for puppies and up to 1 hour or more for adults. Potty walks DO NOT count. This is structured bonding and exploration time. We will go over walking tools and manners in our session. Do NOT run your puppy on hard surfaces, nor allow them to repeatedly jump, until their growth plates have closed between 10-24 months old, depending on size and breed. A cheap nylon harness with a ring in the front will suffice while your puppy grows. The leash should be 4-6', no retractables! I love over-the-shoulder euro leashes.
CARE
All dogs and puppies should be wearing a tag collar 24/7. This may be removed when they're in their crate, but that's it. Otherwise, I NEVER recommend puppies wear collars for walking. Adult dogs should only wear 1" width collars or wider for walking, nothing too thin as it can collapse the trachea and cause stress enzymes to be released. Nails should be trimmed weekly to biweekly. Puppies can use our toenail clippers, but adult dogs need a dremmel or standard dog clippers. Make sure it's heavy duty to get a clean slice. Cheaper clippers will definitely struggle with larger, and especially black nails. Baths should be given monthly at maximum. I almost never bathe my dogs. But I do brush them regularly, some breeds need it a few times a day like poodles or doodles of any kind, and some can do with a good brush every few days. Dogs like huskies that blow their coat a couple times a year at change of seasons really need a forced air dryer (not a hair dryer!) to get all the under coat blown out. Breeds with hair instead of fur (poodles, portuguese water dogs, shih tzu, maltese, etc.) really need groomers as their hair never stops growing. Please DO NOT shave your dog, even in the summer! They have proven that dog coats both insulate from the cold AND heat! Shaving them in the summer actually exposes them to sunburn and causes an overall increase in body temperature. It's also bad for their coat.
FINDING A VET
I always want to make sure the vets have been trained in fear free practices, the staff is friendly and capable, the facility is clean and roomy enough for dogs to coexist, and the vets do a thorough exam and take the time to answer my questions. Yelp reviews are a great start. I highly recommend microchipping your dog or puppy if they aren't already. You can have it done before the spay/neuter, just provide the vet with a jar of meat-flavored baby food for them to lick while they get the shot. Works like a charm, many don't even notice. I actually recommend all early vet visits be full of extra fabulous treat-giving.
DIET
I used to be a huge proponent of grain-free foods, but recent studies have shown that the legumes used instead of grains have been linked to DCM (dilated cardiomyopathy), especially in golden retrievers but also in many other breeds. I feed Simply Nourish lamb & oatmeal and Nature's Logic duck & salmon kibbles. Nature's Logic is the only grain-free food I've found without lots of legumes in it. Puppies under 6 months should be fed 3x per day, and adult dogs 2x per day. Leave the food down for 5 minutes. If they don't finish it all, pick up the bowl and replenish as needed for dinner time. DO NOT FREE FEED. We want food to be rewarding, which isn't possible if it's a plentiful resource. Water should ALWAYS be available and the bowl needs to allow the water to be fairly deep. Dogs make ladles out of their tongues to drink. Save treats for training outside, and use kibble at home if you can. Meal time is a perfect way to set aside time for training! I really appreciate a lot of the philosophy behind Nothing In Life Is Free (NILIF) when done in moderation.
TROUBLESHOOTING
New dogs and puppies are experiencing a severe form of culture shock. Every time you leave, you're gone forever. Every time you come back, it's a miracle. You don't speak puppy. They don't speak human. No puppy or dog is born preprogrammed with commands or housetraining. It's a puppy's first time away from their littermates and parents. Separation anxiety is totally normal. Please practice "dummy leaves" where you leave the house and literally return immediately. Also get ready to leave, but then don't. Do this every hour or more and it will help TREMENDOUSLY in several aspects of your life with your dog. When your dog no longer seems to mind when you return, you're all set. Always treat for when you really do have to leave, NEVER when you return. Be boring and calm so your puppy doesn't have an accident and your dog doesn't think their world revolves around you and they can't function without you.
Never punish a growl. Growling is beautiful communication of discomfort. Losing this communication means you're more likely to get bitten out of the blue. Make a note that "Fido growled when I sat next to him on the couch." We can work on this together! Resource guarding (food, people, places, things) is genetic, but there are management strategies that can make it almost imperceptible.
Jumping up, stealing food, and destroying household items are all totally normal dog behaviors. Destruction is ALWAYS from mental boredom -- more training! Jumping up is due to excitement to see you -- again, be boring when you arrive, but we can work on sit to greet. Stealing food is just poor management. Dogs can be excellent scavengers, leave them no opportunity to practice and you won't have this issue. Also no table scraps, as this leads to begging.
Finally, please allow your dog 3 weeks to learn your routine, and 3 months to really start to get comfy. The initial getting to know you phase will have lots of transitions and good or bad behaviors may emerge. This is a typical part of the emotional unfreezing process. This is why rescues with foster homes are better than shelters, and puppies from responsible breeders are the best bet for getting what you want. Dogs in shelters are often very shut down and may seem calmer or easier than they are, or they're actually so full of pent up energy and frustration they look worse than they are at first. If you have any questions, feel free to email me!