• Two bowls big enough for a fully grown dog, ceramic are good as they do not slip. • Temporary puppy collar and lead (they will grow out of it), soft and light but strong eenough to hold the puppy. The collar should be a full collar, not a cchoke chain or a hhalf choke. A 6ft lead is eventually recommended for training. The best are soft, wwebbed leads not chains, which are heavy and hurt your hands. • Kong is a perfect indestructible toy to throw or stuff with food. This is very good ddistraction when puppy is left alone, as will occupy the first 30 mins when they are most aactive. • Bed: Beware!! Your puppy will probably chew the bed so do not spend a fortune until hhe has grown out of the chewing phase. Items impregnated with your scent are a good iiiidea but the puppy will not be able to decipher between the holey old jumper you gave hhim and your favourite cashmere sweater so be careful. This especially applies to old sslippers! • Food: We recommend Hills Science Diet. For more information on feeding your puppy click here • Identity disc: It is a legal requirement for your dog to wear an identity disc bearing the oowner's name, address and contact phone number. Identity microchips are also rrrecommended, but they do not satisfy the legal requirement. • Brush / comb : The type of brush or comb will depend on the breed of dog. But even sshort hair dogs benefit from a daily groom. It is a perfect opportunity to build the bond bbetween owner and dog and it stimulates circulation in the skin. We recommend Zoom gGroom brushes. For more information on puppy care click here Luckily it is natural instinct that a dog will not soil its bed area, unless it has been raised in appalling circumstances. However, puppies are not aware that the rest of the house should also be treated as a huge bed, which is the ultimate aim of housetraining. The optimal way to achieve successful housetraining is by simple clear instructions to minimise the risk of mistakes. Once a mistake has been made a habit may quickly develop and is harder to extinguish. So, prevention is definitely better than cure! As a rough guideline an eight week old puppy will need to urinate every 75 mins, a 12 week old every 90 mins and an 18 week old every 2 hours. Puppies also tend to need to wee within about 30 seconds from waking and poo a couple of minutes later. The puppy's behaviour will also provide some vital cues such as sniffing, circling, whining, disinterest in play or food just before it eliminates. So using these guidelines and studying the puppy's behaviour we should be able to gauge when the puppy needs to be taken outside. 1. 121 training. To prevent mistakes, you will need to watch your puppy constantly! Never leave unsupervised when awake and try not punish mistakes. As soon as he wakes or exhibits any of the aforementioned behaviours, take him straight outside. Stay with him outside. When he eliminates reward him with an extra special treat (e.g. 3 liver treats) then go for a walk or play time. The action of eliminating is actually self-rewarding so it is the fact that he has eliminated in the right place that you are rewarding. The reward must be immediate to establish the association. If your puppy does have an accident in the house ensure it is cleaned thoroughly. Dogs have much more sensitive noses than we do, and use of an enzymatic cleaner will remove any residual traces of the smell; significantly reducing the chance that the puppy will think this is a toilet! This method is only usually successful if you have nothing else to do all day except watch and play with the puppy, or if you have a particularly well-adjusted the pup. If you have children getting them involved is a great idea, especially if you can set a timer to ensure the pup is taken out regularly. 2. Training Pads. Confine the pup to a room and cover the floor with training pads or newspaper. Gradually decrease the area covered by the pads until left with just 1. When the pup is reliably eliminating on the pad take a soiled pad to the substrate you eventually want the pup to use e.g. grass or concrete. The smell will soak into the new substrate and act as an odour cue for the pup. Remember to reward the pup every time it uses the new substrate. When he is eliminating reliably in the correct place the pads can be removed. This method involves training the puppy twice. There is also a danger that the smell will impregnate the underlying substrate in the house e.g. lino, carpet, which will act as a future cue for the pup. 3. The Puppy Den This method involves organising a confined area (a corner of a room, an old playpen or a collapsible dog kennel). Inside your puppy will need a bed, bowls, toys and a litter tray. Whenever the pup cannot be watched vigilantly he needs to be placed in the den. The best way to ask the pup to go inside is to place his favourite toy or food inside the den with the puppy watching and shut the door with him on the outside. It will be the most desirable place in the world to the pup, so after about 30 secs let him go inside. Always make sure he has a bit of food, or a treat, water, and a toy to play with. The idea behind the litter tray is to provide an area for the puppy to eliminate in case you are unavailable to let him out every hour. In the litter tray should be placed a sample of the substrate you eventually wish him to use, e.g. concrete or grass. Ideally the pup should be taken outside every hour or when he wakes and stay with him as described before. If he does not eliminate outside it is a good idea to place him back in the den for 30 mins then run him back outside and wait until he goes. This will prevent him from coming in from the garden and peeing on your floor! THE DEN IS NOT A PUNISHMENT! It should never be used if the puppy has been naughty as a form of isolation. The pup will probably only need to use the den for a couple of weeks until he has learnt the art of where to wee and poo. Often the puppies begin to regard it as a safe haven from noisy adults and relentless children, so it should be perceived as a positive area rather than a prison. It is also ideal for use at night to avoid the problem of each time the pup barks he gets your attention, even at 3am! You know he is safe and has everything he needs so the barking can be ignored. The pup should also not be left in the den for extensive periods of time. Ian Dunbar, one of the top behaviourists, recommends this method. Housetraining can be a stressful time at the start of your relationship with your new puppy. These months are great fun and should be enjoyed by all. Continually clearing up puddles and piles can so easily be avoided. Puppies like to chew but they must learn early on that human hands, skin and clothes are off limits. When a puppy is playing with his littermates whenever he bites another puppy to hard the pup will yelp, stop playing and move away. From this behaviour the puppy learns to inhibit his bite. By mimicking this behaviour we can elicit a similar response in the puppy. Play should be resumed within about a minute so the pup is rewarded for stopping the unwanted behaviour. Unfortunately, some puppies are relentless biters and need more encouragement to stop. If your puppy bites, stops then immediately starts again try leaving the room for 30 secs then return with a toy to chew and resume playing. The length of isolation can be increased to a couple of minutes if necessary. With these puppies it is advisable to avoid rough and tumble games. Your puppy should have learnt by 20 weeks of age that it is unacceptable to place his teeth on human flesh. Some pups also like to bite ankles and hang off clothes. An ankle biter may be due to this being the only real part of a person that he sees on a daily basis. Try getting down to his level a bit more often. With a puppy that likes clothes stop this behaviour right from the start and give him an alternative to chew. If this is a particular trait of your pup avoid giving him old clothes in his bed to snuggle in to. Avoid any punishment e.g. shouting, smacking as this may cause an aggressive response from the puppy, or any games which will increase the likelihood of the puppy biting! A pup cannot possibly know that in certain circumstances he can bite you but must never bite the kids! Be persistent: play biting may stop but start creeping back if not continually reinforced. Introduce the puppy to his collar and lead as soon as you get him home, well before he can start going outside. It will help to avoid the embarrassing puppy antics in public! At home, put the collar on the pup, give him a treat and take it straight off. Repeat over the next few days so puppy learns to associate the collar with nice things. When he is used to the collar attach the lead and let it drag on the floor. Eventually, pick the lead up but avoid putting any tension on the lead. Never leave the puppy unsupervised with a trailing lead. By the time the puppy can go for his first walk he will be so used to the collar and lead he can then concentrate on all the other things in the outside world. Your puppy should already be used to being handled by the breeder and this positive experience should be repeated daily. Gently look in your puppies ears, eyes and mouth then run your hands down his legs and pick up all 4 feet and his tail. This is a great bonding experience for you and your puppy but it will also help the pup to feel more relaxed during vet visits or at the grooming parlour. The most important period for your puppy to meet lots of people and other animals (especially other dogs) is between 3 and 12 weeks of age. However, the process begins at birth and continues throughout your dog's entire life. The breeder should begin this process by allowing men, women and children to visit the pups regularly. (A pup raised by a single lady who has never met a man until he is 14 weeks old will be naturally wary of men and more likely to develop a fear reaction). Once puppy is brought home continue the process by inviting round all your friends and their children. Allow them to pick puppy up, play with him and give him treats. Your puppy should also continue meeting other dogs. Although there is a slight risk until he has had his second vaccination at 10 weeks of age, allowing him to mix with vaccinated dogs in your garden will reduce the chance that your pup will develop antisocial behaviours towards other dogs. From 11 weeks, he can start going out and mixing with lots of other dogs. Try not to be too protective, allow him to interact with dogs in the park and he will probably learn a few lessons on etiquette! Although your puppy cannot walk around outside safely until a week after he has completed his course of vaccinations, he can be carried around outside. It is important to introduce your puppy to all sorts of stimuli that he will be expected to cope with throughout his life in a domestic environment. These should therefore include; cars, buses, trains, tubes, airplanes, fireworks, motorbikes; and in the home; hairdryers, hoovers, washing machines, hats and glasses, helmets, the television etc. The list is endless! Puppy needs to have a positive experience to avoid developing fear reactions in the future. So if he appears fearful, remove him from the stimulus but avoid comforting him as this reinforces that there was something to be scared of. Then re-introduce the stimulus at a lower intensity e.g. look at traffic through the window. Village Vet runs a comprehensive puppy package, which gives your puppy the perfect introduction to life. Our puppy package includes complimentary health checks, full vaccination, worming and flea treatments, and all of the information and advice that you might need on having the most fun and enjoyment with your new pet. Our puppy package includes everything listed below, so ring up your nearest Village Vet and book an appointment now. Start Village Vet folder (advice on diet, vaccinations, worming, flea control, neutering, microchipping, insurance, behaviour, dental care)
First puppy vaccine
First Stronghold application (flea prevention) For more information about fleas click here Milbemax tablet (for worming) For more about worming click here Hill's puppy pack
Second puppy vaccine
Reiterate advice on insurance and identichip
Free monthly check (we do this at 12 weeks as Stronghold is due)
Apply Stronghold
Milbemax tablet
Puppy Behaviour, training, treats and rewards - Pro Reward. Zoom Groom, Kongs and Diet. Free monthly check
Apply Stronghold
Puppy training. Pro Reward. Pet Passport. Microchip. Free monthly check
Apply Stronghold
Puppy training. Diet. Pet Passport. Final free monthly check
Apply Stronghold
Milbemax tablet
Book in for neutering
For more information on vaccinating your dog click here Neutering involves removing the reproductive organs; testicles in the male (castration) and ovaries and uterus in the female (spaying). We strongly recommend neutering at 6 months of age. There are several reasons why you should neuter your dog. Bitches have changes in behaviour associated with their ovarian cycles and quite often show considerable discomfort. They also suffer from increased risk of disease such as mammary cancers and potentially fatal infection of the uterus. We recommend spaying your bitch at 6 months of age - it is not necessary for the first season/heat to have occurred. Male dogs want to lead and protect the pack. In the home this can lead to socially unacceptable behaviour such as mounting, dominance and aggression. By castrating the male dog we remove the source of these behaviours - testosterone. Castration will not change the personality of your pet, it will simply settle down his male characteristics. Castration will also help prevent diseases of the prostate gland and certain cancers. For more information on neutering click here