• What care did my puppy receive before I picked it up?
  • At 3 and 5 weeks, the puppies are wormed with Nemex-2. This is the same worming medicine that most vets use and it’s very puppy palatable. Worms can cross the placental barrier and even though the pups haven’t been exposed to worms in the kennel, they may have received them “enutero” from their mom. Or they can get them nursing. You can pick up a small bottle of Nemex-2 at most pet stores or Wal-Mart and save yourself worming costs at the vet. You should be worming your pup every two weeks until they are 12 weeks old and after that as needed. By the way, tapeworms are not affected by Nemex-2. Puppies get them by ingesting a flea, another very strong reason for keeping your dog on flea control. At 4 weeks, they get an inoculation for Distemper and Parvovirus. These are not required, but I prefer the added protection because there are coyotes and other disease laden creatures around here. These are the only two shots that can be given at 4 weeks and these two diseases are deadly for pups. At 6 weeks they get the normal “5-shot” puppy shot. There are two pathogens that also affect puppies that there aren’t 100% effective vaccines for. Both manifest in the puppy in the same way - as progressively more runny stools that eventually may show a bloody tinge or spots. The first and most common is Coccidia. About 60% of adult dogs have coccidia and it may be present, but not show up in the pups. They might not have any symptoms until they are under stress (moving to a new home is highly stressful for pups). Vets are used to treating coccidia in pups and it is an easy treatment regimen. Giardia is a more serious problem. It’s the same pathogen that hikers get from drinking contaminated water. It’s not normally tested for, but the coyotes in this area do carry it. Birds will transfer the organism to puddles while they’re having a bath. Occasionally one of my dogs will pick it up, and then the whole kennel gets treated. My pups will be tested for it about one week before they are ready to go to their new homes (this is a recent program for me due to one litter being infected and causing a lot of distress for me and the new owners). If it is positive, there is enough time to treat for it. My vet tells me Metronidazole is the only effective treatment for giardia. There are others, but I haven’t been successful with them in my kennel. I use Metronidazole. Regardless, my health guarantee covers the meds to treat both of these. This is good for 2-3 weeks only. The pups will show symptoms within 2 weeks of moving away from here due to the stress of a new environment. A longer incubation period probably means they picked it up somewhere else.

• What health care can I anticipate giving the pup?
  • On the front page of the puppy packet is a list of contact information and projected dates for all inoculations. There will be two more puppy shots and, at 4 months, they get a rabies shot and possibly one for leptospirosis (Lepto). Kepto has shown up in Washington during the last couple of years. You should check with your vet as to whether or not you need to inoculate for it. The shot can cause an allergic reaction, but it’s necessary if you have Lepto in the area (and the drug companies have switched to a less toxic formula). Lepto is spread by contact with rodent urine. If you live in a mosquito area, you will also need to treat for heartworm. We don’t have it here on Whidbey, but it is in other areas. After the pup is 8 weeks old, you can also give them a monthly flea control like Advantage. If you have ticks in your area, you might want to use one that is good for ticks and fleas. You’re also going to want to become a “poop officianado.” Gross, but necessary. Watching a pup’s stools is the quickest way to determine if anything is making them sick. The intestinal tract is the primary point of attack for many disease organisms. Lethargy or change in behavior are equally important indicators.

• Overall Costs
  • Vets can charge different rates, some will charge according to what their market will bear. Some will even suggest costly and unnecessary procedures. Try and find a vet that your friends are happy with. My vet usually charges $40 for a health check, another vet I have used in an emergency charges at least twice as much – for EVERYTHING!  Shots are usually $15-20 dollars each, but if you’re comfortable giving a shot, you can get puppy shots at your local feed store for $5-10 each, depending on whether you get the pre-packaged kit or the vials and a syringe. Worming is usually somewhere around $10, but you can buy a bottle of Nemex-2 at Wal-Mart for about $16 and it will last you well past the point where the puppy’s immune system is mature enough to only worm when you see an outbreak (you should worm every 2 weeks until at least 12 weeks of age). By my count, you’re going to have at least three vet visits to get them through the first 4 months of inoculations. If your puppy gets sick with something, you’re going to have even more. You’ll also have annual booster shots and rabies will need to be given again at the 1 year anniversary of the first rabies shot. After that, it’s every three years. Your town will probably require that you license your dog. Here, it costs $30 for a year. On top of basic health care, you’ll have bills for things like bedding, a crate, perhaps a kennel, fencing if you don’t already have a fenced yard, toys, food, and many, many other things. Owning a puppy is not a fiscal walk in the park. Please be sure your finances are up to handling ALL of the expenses and that you’re willing to do so.
• I’ve found that I am unable to care for my dog. I’ve tried to sell him or find a new home, but am contemplating taking him to a shelter.
  • I expect anyone who gets to a point like this to bring their dog back to me for proper placement. I found one of my dogs in the shelter that was scheduled for euthanasia because its owners had let its ears get so badly infected, nothing could feasibly be done. Even though I argued with the staff that I was willing to take care of the dog, it was still put down. I don’t ever want to go through those feelings again. If you can’t take care of a dog, don’t get one. If you have one of my dogs, and find you can’t take care of it, bring it back to me. If I am able to resell the dog, I will refund you that amount minus what it cost me to do so. However, if I must give the dog to a new family (with no refund for you), that is far preferable to ending up at a shelter.

• Chewing - My puppy is really cute when he/she is playing, but sometimes those needle teeth really hurt. What do I do to get him/her to stop nipping at me?
  • This is something that needs to be addressed right away. I start before the puppies even go out the door. A vet told me this trick. When a puppy is chewing too hard ( remember they use their mouths to play and get tactile feedback), you don't want to be too harsh. Just take a bit of their lip and pull it down over a tooth and push up until the puppy gives a little yelp. He/she very quickly learns that chewing too hard hurts THEM! It's an immediate and easy feedback to adjust their behavior. Another puppy in the litter would get up and leave and an older dog would probably snarl, and possible bite, at the puppy to "adjust" their behavior. A bigger and much more dangerous problem happens to a lot of dogs as they get older and want to assume a position in the "pack" (better known as your family). You might see them getting snappy or growling at you. What they're trying to do is set dominance. If you let them get away with that behavior, they assume they have a superior position in the "pack" and can boss you around. As an adult, this can be painful. To a child, this can be dangerous. The dog needs to know absolutely that everyone in the family comes before he does in the hierarchy of the family pack. Who wants a dog that you can't trust.

• So how do I handle this problem?

  • An older dog that is challenged in a pack would roll a younger dog on their back and bite at their face or their throat. The younger dog would submit, maybe pee and cringe, begging forgiveness. All of these things demonstrate to a more dominant dog that they know their place in the pack. As a human, you certainly don't want to go around biting a dog, but you can elicit the feelings. The first thing you want to do is wait until the puppy nips or growls at you (you don't want to correct him for something he hasn't just done because he won't connect the act to the correction). Immediately, roll him on his back, hold him down by the throat ( with your elbow between his back legs), get right in his face and growl at him. It doesn't matter what you say, so long as the tone of your voice is in a bass range, or as low as you can get it, (just like when a dog growls, it's in a very low register). The puppy will wriggle and try to get up, maybe whine. Hold them in that inferior position until they relax, then slowly let them up. If the pup jumps right up and acts as if it's a game, roll them over and repeat it immediately. You are looking for the dog to submit to you. Once they do, you rarely have to repeat this. If you are a parent, it becomes particularly important that you watch for this behavior when your children are playing with the puppy, you will have to be the one to reinforce the proper behavior. Children rarely can do this correctly and may even hurt the puppy.
• What commands are most important?
  • Come, Sit (so you can get them to stay still when they want to run and play), Stay (almost an impossibility for a cocker), Fetch, Go Pee, Stop (whatever it is they are doing), Off (get off of me, that or them), and, “Do you want to go outside?” Lie down, respond to a Whistle, walk on a leash properly, go to where you point, etc. are all nice too, but the first set will allow you to keep your dog safe in an emergency.
• Potty Training - what is the best way to potty train a puppy?.

  • Rule of thumb - a puppies bladder needs to be emptied every {age in months + 2} hours. So a 6 week puppy (1.5 mos) can go up to 3.5 hours before they're going to be forced to go pee. I always back that off half an hour. The absolute quickest way to potty train a puppy is using "crate training." Puppies almost always pee or poop after a nap, after eating, or if it's been a while since the last time they've gone. They will also squat right in the middle of playing, so it's important if you're going to play with them, to first take them outside to go pee, after they wake up and after they eat. Taking a pup to their pee spot is not a matter of leaving them out there and letting them come in later. You have to be there to watch them and praise them profusely. This might take a while the first few times. Dogs think like this, "it's much nicer, warmer and I'm familiar with it indoors; therefore, I will wait until my person gets tired of waiting and goes inside - THEN I will pee and poop!" It might help to take some soiled papers out to where you want them to do their business. Give them a command word, like "go pee" or "do your business" and praise them while they are actually peeing or pooping. Eventually, they will associate the word with the deed and life will become much easier. Every 3.5 hours means through the night too, particularly, if they are sleeping in their kennel. I don't like getting up in the middle of the night with multiple puppies, so I leave a spot outside of the kennel for them to get out and go pee. It's not such a large area that they can go where ever. It's only a little space directly outside of their crate and then they go back inside to sleep. This method extends the time it takes to potty train, but it's easier on my circadium rythms. Watch for a sign your puppy is about to pee or poop. A sure sign is sniffing and circling. The old "scoop and run" response is best at that stage. Scolding a puppy for a natural act while they're still learning only makes them hide the act. Each dog is a little different, some dogs will whine at the door (lucky owners), some will scratch at the door (still lucky, but you might need to paint more often), others will just come up and look at you and you have to interpret. Some look at you and then start wandering around the house for a space you can't see them (unlucky owners). It's up to you to watch your dog and figure out what they're trying to say (this also is the way most professional trainers work - find something an animal is doing naturally, and then reinforce the behavior).

• Why is it when I greet my puppy, she pees on my feet and looks like I am going to hit her. I've never ever hit her. What is going on here?
  • Your puppy is exhibiting submissive behavior. She knows you are the alpha dog and she's trying to show you how much she appreciates your spending some time with her. A vet tech once called this, "happy peeing." Certainly not something you want your puppy to do in the house or on your shoes! Females tend to do this more often than males - think it's because their plumbing isn't as complicated. There are a couple things you can do. The first is greet them outside, rather than in the house - not very practical if you work. If you Kennel train, you can immediately take them outside to "their" spot and greet them there.
  • The other thing I would suggest is getting down low to greet your animal and scratching their chest, not patting their head. The chest scratch is less intimidating than the head pat.
• Pet Health - What should I do if my puppy is not his spunky self and doing a lot of sleeping.
  • Sleeping is a must for young pups - but it's different than being lethargic. If your puppy isn't interested in playing when awake, something is probably wrong.  Watch the stools.  That's usually your first indicator something is wrong.
• Eating habits - How come my puppy seems to be eating me out of house and home one day, then won't eat for a day or two?
  • Just like children your puppy will have spurts in eating, you should discuss the eating habits with your vet. If your puppy is eating more or a large amount of food without gaining any weight there could be an intestinal parasite. Consult your vet.
• Finding a vet - How do I find a good vet.
  • Finding the perfect vet is like finding your own health care provider. You want your vet to be very informed on your breed as well with the general animal care. They should make an effort to get along with your vet ask your friends and neighbors who they use.  Call up your local vets and ask for their price on inoculations, and worming and neutering.  How much does and office visit cost? are they affiliated with an animal hospital? if there office looks more like Petsmart than a doctor's office, they might be interested in selling you something you really don't need.
• Why do some vets say give a shot every 2 weeks and others say every 3 weeks? Why isn’t Kennel cough given regularly?
  • The puppies get antibodies for a lot of diseases from their mother’s milk during the first three days when their guts are permeable enough to let the large antibodies through to their own system. After 3 days, their gut “tightens up” and mom’s antibodies can’t get through anymore – that’s the reason why it’s so important to get newborns breastfed (I bet it’s true for people too). These antibodies break down somewhere around 6-12 weeks. By giving a series of shots, you’re trying to find the “window” when mom’s antibodies have broken down. I suppose you could have their blood tested regularly, but that’s far more expensive than giving a series of shots. In the meantime, if mom’s antibodies are still working, they surround and destroy the active ingredients in the puppy shot, that’s why a vet can recommend shorter times in between pups (this would be particularly important if you already have a dog who might be unwittingly exposing the pup to diseases he is immune to). Kennel cough is most often found in places where lots of dogs congregate, that’s why if you have to board a dog, they require that it be given a kennel cough dose at least 3 days before boarding. It is drops that are put into the pup’s nose.
• What is Leptospirosis and why am I hearing about it now? Why isn’t it a normal puppy shot?
  • Lepto, for short, is a nasty bacteria carried in rat or other rodent urines. It can kill your dog if not treated. In the last year, there have been a half dozen or so cases in Washington, it hasn’t been seen for a long time. You need to check with your vet and find out if any cases have been found in your area. This is not a shot you want to give unless it’s necessary. If a dog is going to have an allergic reaction, this is the shot that will cause one. It’s very distressing to see a dog or a puppy with their face all swollen up. It can also go into anaphalactic shock, which is life threatening. Because the shot can cause problems, it isn’t given before a puppy is at least 4 months old.

• Do puppies like people food?
  • Puppies will beg for people food, but like junk food, it's not good for them. Some foods are even deadly to a puppies. Chocolate is a big no no for dogs. I feed ONLY dry puppy chow. It is good for their teeth, helps reduce plaque, and keeps them from becoming a picky eater.  Even as adults, the only time I supplement their food is when there's a medical reason for it: allergies, pregnancy, lactation or problems.
• Should puppies be given pigs ears or raw hide to help with their chewing?
  • Puppies should not be given raw-hide bones at a young age. The raw-hide swells in the stomach after it is ingested which causes medical problems.

For more information regarding puppy care, you can consult the following websites:

Iams Puppy Care

AKC :Responsible Dog Owner advise