Health

It is very important to keep the shots up to date. Many moons ago, I have learned it the hard way. It can be a devastating experience . But the good thing is  that it is preventable.  There are a lot of good vaccines on the market nowdays. I personally prefer “Neopar”by Neotech for the parvo shots.

The puppy comes from me usually with 2 or 3 sets of shots. It is critical to continue with the shots after you take the puppy. Also, very important, to keep the puppy away from the dogs and from areas where other dogs may have soiled the ground,  till all the puppy shots are finished. 16 weeks is when the puppy is considered to be fully vaccinated.

Nutrition 

Puppy needs to be fed 4 times a day. As the puppy gets older, you can switch to 3 times a day and then eventually twice a day. I feed my adult dogs twice a day.I do not think that once a day feeding is healthy for an adult dog. Too much time between feedings.

I use grain free, wheat free dry food. Also, very important to add can food or raw food to your dogs diet. “Nature’s Instinct” is a very good raw food. It is easily accessible. Major pet stores carry it. But there are also other good raw foods as well. I am not very familiar with the other ones though.

Potty Training

12 weeks is when the puppy gets control of his bladder or bowles. Young puppies have a very short attention span. But you can start developing very  basic  skills such as : wearing a collar, following on a leash, just very basic stuff. Treats are very helpful while doing all these activities.

I train puppies to use pee pee pads. As soon as they start to walk, I put pee pee pads in their area. Works like a charm!  I also use a pee pee pad plastic holder tray, because a lot of times pups tear up the pads and move them. But the good holder prevents it from happening.