Puppy Care

Below: Puppy Schedule / Tail Docking / Choosing Male or Female?
Puppy’s Schedule
NEWBORN: Puppies are born with eyes and ears closed. They have a long tail and dew claws. Smaller Breed puppies are weighed weekly and weight is recorded. New pics are posted on the Individual Puppy pages.
3 DAYS Old: All pups start sensory stimulation training at this time… Super Dog Military Training!!! Puppy’s first vet visit. Dew claws are removed and the tail is docked. If you want the tail left long on your Schnauzer, Poodle, Cockapoo or Cocker puppy you will have to notify me before the puppy is 3 days old because that is when I get them docked. Not all of the pups on our website have their tail and dew claws removed, if someone uses our stud it is their choice to dock that on the pups if they choose to do so, so ask about specific puppies. Read below for our tail docking procedure.
2 WEEKS: Eyes and ears open at this time. Their eyes are blue at this age.. This is the time to start the human bonding process. We hold the puppies daily at this point so yes, your puppy will come pre spoiled.
3 WEEKS: Puppies are wormed.  4 WEEKS: Puppies are wormed. We introduce solid food into their diets by first placing the dry food in water making a puppy mush or using a soft canned puppy food. We also introduce them to ground up raw chicken and chicken bones. At this time we start them on Nu-Vet Vitamins. They are getting more coordinated and eyes start to darken in color. Their personalities are starting to show more.
5 WEEKS: Puppies are wormed again. We start potty training the puppies between 5-7weeks old.   You can get more info on it by looking at our Potty and Obedience Training page.
6 WEEKS: This is when we completely wean the puppies between 6-7 weeks of age unless mom decides she wants to keep feeding them a while longer, in which case we still give the puppy food on the side several times a day. They can get very stressed at this time so need more human bonding time. At this age Payment in full is due on your puppy if puppy is to be shipped.
7 WEEKS: This is when we can get the ears cropped on your Giant Schnauzer puppy, So if you want a cropped ear you need to pay for your puppy in full asap so we can get that done for you. Ears can be docked up to around 14 weeks of age.
8 WEEKS: Puppy see the vet, (if being shipped). The first of 3 puppy shots is given, a five way puppy vaccine we give between 6 to 8 weeks of age, then every 3 to 4 weeks, and he/she is wormed again. Puppies can be transferred at this time unless we decide that puppy is to small to be shipped, and needs more time to grow.
10 WEEKS: Teacup Poodle Puppies:  can be weighed and then double that weight and add half a pound to determine the estimated adult weight of the puppy.
12 WEEKS: Teacup Poodle Puppy can be weighed again and double weight to get the estimated adult weight of the puppy. With Cockapoos we can double the weight at 12 – 14 wks to get an idea of adult size.
16 WEEKS: Puppies are due for their rabies vaccine. Don’t forget to start a heart worm preventative at this time. If pup is extremely tiny you may want to wait on certain stronger forms of preventives. Poodles and Designer Poos and some other breeds go through many coat changes= puppy coat: up to 8 months. Then a teenager coat: 8 months to 18 months, then a mature coat that is coarser after that. Their color can lighten or darken with age. It is always a good idea to look at the puppy’s parents’  coat changes to get a good idea of what your puppy will look like as an adult. 
BEFORE PUPPY COMES HOME WITH YOU:
So your puppy will be coming soon and you want to know what should be done on your end to make for an easy puppy safe transition. Here are a list of things to do when you know your puppy will be coming home with you soon. 1. Make sure it is OK for you to have a pet in the home you live in if you are renting. This should be done before you even inquire about a puppy. 2. Potty Training: We recommend the Puppy Apartment method for our teacup, toy, and mini sized breeds and it works 100% of the time. Giant Puppies learn to use a Doggy door before they leave us. Look on our Potty and Obedience training page for details. 3. Your puppy will come with some NuVet Vitamin samples and you should look into ordering some before you get your puppy to make sure you have them on hand when the samples run out. Look for link below for info on Nuvet Vitamins. 4.Make a Vet appointment for your puppy just before you are scheduled to receive him/her. This is mandatory to start your health guarantee and it is a good idea to get acquainted with your puppy’s health care staff. 5. Have the puppy food,(Life’s Abundance dry puppy food), on hand before you get your puppy as well as nutrical if your puppy is a teacup or tiny toy sized puppy.  Read the Puppy Nutrition page for info on what to feed and what not to feed your puppy/dog. The Nutrition page also tells you where to buy the puppy food and vitamins we recommend. If your puppy is a Tiny Teacup it will also come with a TEACUP CARE Form that has information on the proper care of a teacup puppy. 6. Get the spot in your home that you are going to keep the puppy in ready. If using one, make sure you have your Puppy Apartment set up before your puppy comes home in the spot you want it to be in. Do not let your puppy run through your house unsupervised. It will use the restroom, or get hurt. So make sure you have the small area or crate set up with food dishes, Potty Park, and blanky ready, or Puppy Apartment set up. Food should be available 24/7 for at least the first few weeks, until your puppy is used to his new home and owners. Then you can go to 2 or 3 feedings a day. Teacup sized puppies may also need a heating pad but you will need to give the puppy room to get away from the pad if it gets to hot. Make sure heating pad’s cord is not where your puppy can get to it. K&H makes a nice puppy safe heating pad for your pet…. Don’t forget to also buy puppy safe toys for your puppy to chew on so it does not chew on your $100 shoes! 7. When getting your pup from airport: If you have a long drive home from the airport bring along food and water since your puppy will be hungry and thirsty. If your puppy is a teacup under 2pds you should bring Nutrical and soft canned food with you to the airport and make sure the puppy eats both before you head home, even if you have to syringe feed it. Don’t forget to also bring some wet ones or paper towels just in case your puppy has pottied in his/her crate.
DON’T ALLOW YOUR PUP TO POTTY OR EVEN WALK ON THE GROUND AT THE AIRPORT OR ANYWHERE ELSE OTHER DOGS HAVE GONE POTTY UNTIL ALL SHOTS ARE COMPLETE! 8. Puppy proof your house! below is general info on how to puppy proof your home for a puppy: Puppies are like babies: they want to explore every corner of your house, and they want to put everything into their mouths. Below is a photo sent from a past buyer, and shows a good setup for any age or size of dog. You can use a puppy exercise pen. You put a bed and a potty area in it for your puppy. Then keep making it bigger until the puppy has full run of your house. If puppy/dog has an accident you start over again with a tiny area such as just the Puppy Apartment again.
FIRST VET VISIT CHECK LIST:
  1. Take pup to vet within 3 business days minus weekends and holidays. Have fecal checked for all types of parasites such as giardia, worms, coccidiosis, etc… If any found at that first vet visit we will send you a $30 check to help pay for wormer as stated in our HEALTH GUARANTEE so best to have it checked at first vet visit. Keep in mind additional wormings are needed for young puppies which will continually pick up parasites everywhere they go because of their tender age. PLEASE READ THE PARASITE PAGE OF OUR WEBSITE UNDER BREED INFORMATION TAB.
  2. If pup comes to you with meds then take them to the vet visit so your vet can see what pup is taking. Also take your shot record so vet can see what shots and wormings pup has had up to that date. Your vet will go over when it is time for the next puppy shot. You need to wait 2 weeks after you receive your puppy before any vaccines are given. Puppy is already stressed with a move so no need to stress his system further with vaccines that can wait a few weeks. When you do give a vaccine you should watch that pup is eating enough and if not syringe feed your puppy for a few days.
  3. Talk to your vet about starting pup on a heartworm and intestinal parasite monthly wormer that your pet should take for the rest of it’s life.
  4. No Leptospirosis vaccine should be given until puppy is at least 6 months old. It can have harsh side effects and can even kill a more fragile pup. Our health guarantee does not cover side effects from vaccines so be careful of what you decide to give your puppy.
  5. If vet finds anything wrong with the puppy you should call me asap. While still at vet office and before any meds or procedures are given. Some are not needed or there might be a cheaper fix for the problem. I can help you save money with my years of experience.
  6. If your puppy is very tiny you should explain to the vet you will be syringe feeding the puppy, and go over the Teacup Care form, (which is the 3rd page of the health guarantee), with your vet. Watch food intake on any size pup and syringe feed even a bigger pup if they are not eating enough. Go over full Health Guarantee with your vet and have them keep a copy in their file.
  7. Please look on front of your pup’s shot record to see if your puppy is micro-chipped. If your puppy is micro-chipped you need to register the chip at: www.microchipregistrationcenter.com with your contact info. Chip is blank until you do so.

K

Poisonous household items: Make sure all poisonous household items are securely stored out of the puppy’s reach. Place all household cleaners, insecticides, fertilizers, mothballs, antifreeze, insect poisons, rat poisons and other items in cabinets or on high shelves. Remember, as your new puppy grows, he will be able to explore higher places and be tempted to jump up on shelves.Check your plants. Many plants in and around your house can be harmful to your pup. Did you know that the pits of apricots and peaches, as well as spinach and tomato vines, can make your puppy sick and, in large dosages, can even be fatal?  For a complete list of plants that are dangerous to dogs, consult your veterinarian.Take a Puppy’s-Eye View. Get down on all fours and look around. Are there any dangling electric cords, loose nails, plastic bags or other tempting objects that will be in puppy’s reach? If there are, be sure to put them away immediately. Keep your toilet lid down. Puppies are often tempted to play in toilet bowl water. This can be a hard habit to break and toilet cleanser may be harmful if swallowed. A tiny puppy may drown or get hypothermia if it is some how able to get into your toilet bowl. Some Additional Tips: Never leave your puppy unsupervised inside or outside, and keep him off balconies, upper porches and high decks where he can slip through openings and fall.Keep your puppy in a confined area only allowing him to run through the house on short supervised play sessions, after he has pottied in his potty spot.Unplug, remove or cover any electrical cords in your puppy’s confinement area. It is also a good idea to cover electrical outlets, when they are not in use.Keep buttons, string, sewing needles, pins and other sharp objects out of your puppy’s reach.Tying ribbons around your puppy’s neck could choke him if the ribbon gets caught on a fence or other object.A good rule to follow is that anything that is not safe for small children is not safe for pets. 
AFTER YOU HAVE PUPPY HOME. YAY!!! Now that you have your baby home all the fun starts!!!Don’t forget your vet visit, and remember to bring your puppy’s health certificate, health guarantee, and shot record with you to the vet. Please contact me if you can not find the shot record when you receive your puppy. You also need to register your puppy with the registry papers that are sent along with him/her if he is register-able. Most registries have an additional fee if you wait until your puppy is over a year old, so it is best to register them immediately so you do not forget. Remember to keep your new puppy away from other dogs and even the dog park until it has fully finished the vaccine regiment and is a good size to fend off any illnesses if he contracts one from another dog. Make sure to start your puppy on a heart-worm preventive. Please remember to keep food and water available to your puppy 24/7 for at least a few weeks for teacups and a few days for small to larger pups until he/she is use to your home and then you can go to 3 times a day until 3 to 6 months old and then 2 times a day from then on… If your puppy is under 2 pds we recommend giving the puppy Nutrical several times a day and if your puppy comes with the NUTRICAL you agree to give it to your puppy as directed.  I know it is tempting but please do not feed your dog table scraps. Remember to look over the list of poisonous plants and the list for poisonous foods as well. Your new puppy will be very excited to be in a new place so make sure you allow them time to rest and nap between playing sessions and if your puppy is very small make sure they are also eating well so they do not get to hypoglycemic. Don’t forget to give your puppy his/her NuVet Vitamins daily. Keep him/her in an enclosed area with his/her Potty Park, Puppy Apartment, or if a larger pup, access to outside to potty, until he/she is fully potty trained in your home. I’m sure you are still being bombarded by puppy kisses so I will let you go to play with your new baby. Call me anytime 24/7 if you have any questions or concerns about your puppy. PLEASE VISIT THE PUPPY TRAINING PAGE FOR TRAINING ADVICE!!If you have any questions CALL ANYTIME! 
Grooming Your New Pet: For info on how to clean your pets ears, cut nails, bathe, and trim his/her coat please visit our GROOMING PAGE 
Tail Docking: AS OF 8/06/10 Tail Docking Procedure.All our tail docking is done by my vet’s or my docking experts hand. We glue and stitch it shut to help it heal quickly and the puppies have much less pain when it is stitched. All that do our docking do have past medical experience and I do not advice inexperienced persons to stitch… I personally do not like tail docking even though I do do it for our dogs. I feel it is a necessary evil. There are two reasons I dock the tails of all our dogs: First for our Poodles and Cockers, I feel why offer quality dogs if they do not meet the standards of their breed… And that is a big reason I dock the tails of our Poodles, Giant Schnauzers, and Cocker Spanials. Cockapoos are a little different. I cut the tail of those because they are a very small breed dog and their tail can be easily slammed in your door without you even noticing it because of their tiny size. Some of our Cockapoos are very small and if that were to happen to a dog it may need to be anesthetized to remove the damaged tail and small breed dogs not weighing much are at higher risk of death if anesthesia is overdosed accidentally during surgery, because of their tiny size, and yes it does happen more often than you think… Giant Schnoodles are big puppies but again have risk of death with surgery. Many people want the tail short and so will elect to get it done when the puppy is several months old and the same anesthesia risk and usually you can not find a vet that would do that on a older pup anyways… In larger breeds the long heavy tail can knock over small children, lamps, and elderly and the infirm, it can also be a hazard for wheel chairs or farm equipment. Some breeders that like a long tail will say they have to have a long tail for swimming which is just not true at all. Our dogs love the water and will swim for hours and can use the short tail we leave intact as a rutter just as easily as a long tail.  If you want your puppy’s tail left long I will gladly do it but you must let me know before the puppy is 3 days old. I can also take a deposit for a future puppy and leave it’s tail long for you if you like. Many of the puppies on our site have long tails because the owner of the bitch used our stud and decided to leave a long tail on their puppies. So you will need to ask about individual puppies. Only all my PERSONAL puppies from my own females will definitely have their tails cut and sometimes others elect to do it as well…  I would like to say that tail docking is not something I endorse but it is a necessary procedure if you are sticking to breed standards and for the other reasons I listed above. The only thing I can do is make sure I do it with the best most painless method and have the experience to make sure it is done correctly. Tails are usually docked on 2-7 day old puppies, without either general or local anesthesia. We usually do it right at day 3. When the procedure is done the tail is first dipped in alcohol, and then clamped a short distance from the body, and the portion of the tail outside the clamp is cut away. Many breeders dock their pups themselves using a method that has been proven to be far more painful – “banding,” or tying off the tail. This stops the blood supply, which results in dry gangrene. The dead portion of the tail usually falls off about three days later. This can be likened to slamming your finger in a car door – and leaving it there. We first clean and disinfect it with alcohol, pinch it with a clamp to stop the blood and cut it with the scalpel and then stitch and glue it shut to close it completely up. I also cut the dew claws at the same time. The whole procedure only takes 2 minutes from start to finish. Puppies undergoing any method of tail-docking squeal and cry, yet advocates assert that the newborn’s nervous system is unable to feel the pain. They point out that puppies immediately crawl to their mothers to nurse. But don’t all hurt or frightened children immediately cry for their mommy? Moreover, research indicates that suckling causes the release of endorphins, the body’s natural pain relievers, which may be a more realistic way to view the puppies’ desire to nurse. Docking advocates ignore the fact that a newborn puppy simply is not capable of a wide range of responses. It is very difficult to accurately assess the degree of pain a newborn is experiencing. In my experience puppies cry for a minute and then whine under their breath for a few hours after that, then they are fine by the end of the day. So they are in some pain for a few hours and I think like a new born human baby they forget the pain by the next day…To stick close to the AKC standard I have to dock the tail of the Poodle, Giant Schnauzer, and Cocker Spanials and I advice everyone to write to the AKC to ask them to change their standards for this breed so it is no longer necessary. Again if you want the tail left long and natural you can let me know before the litter is born or up to 3 days old and I will gladly leave it long for you… So in conclusion: All my personal puppies get their tail docked at 3 days old unless you notify me before that time to leave it long…Call about individual puppies because on occasion I will have a litter with long tails available.   Call to discuss if you like. Thanks, Kristina 816-682-0265 or 816-293-5155 (LEFT) Cockapoo with long tail. Not one of ours but shows the long tail well. (RIGHT) Cockapoo with short tail. One of our past puppies with a docked tail.

Choosing Male Or Female? Which will make a better pet, male or female? The only difference is a male lifts his leg and a female squats. There are so many misconceptions about males and females. In my experience a male that has been neutered before he learns to mark in the house will never mark. Not all males even lift their leg to pee, and not all want to mark territory either. I have had several that have always squatted to pee just like a female. Do only males leave their yard?Some people think only males leave the yard and run off. Why do people think this? Because if a male is NOT neutered and smells a female in heat he will go look for her. Notice all the ifs in this statement? Neuter the male, problem solved. Female do also run. It depends on the dog and the training.Do only males mark their territory and hump?Many people believe that female dogs make better pets…female preference seems to be ingrained in these people. Most calls for pet dogs have people wanting a ‘sweet girl’. They don’t think females display alpha behaviors like ‘marking’ and/or ‘humping’. They believe that they are more docile and attentive and do not participate in fighting over dominance. Well, They don’t call them a bitch for nothing. The female is the dominant dog in the pack and can and will show that dominance by humping and marking. If you just simply fix your dog, a male and female almost act exactly alike. They will be healthier happier and more puppy like if you fix them. My teacup Poodle Penny is the dominant dog in my house and daily puts the other bigger dogs in their place. She also has a habit of humping stuffed animals, this behavior would most likely be stopped if I were to get her fixed. For males like I have already stated, if they are neutered before they learn to mark in the house they will never mark. Are females more motherly?No, again it depends on the individual dog. Females are motherly to their pups when they are nursing. When a female is done nursing her puppies are just other dogs in the pack to her. Females are the pack leaders and are more dominant over males. Which are easier to house train?No difference again. House training depends on you. The more often you take your dog outside the quicker he will catch on to house-training. We pre train your puppy to use one of these methods, the Puppy Apartment with potty pads, or doggy door, all methods work very well.  A small dog should not be let outside unsupervised because of predators, and other dangers so it is best o have a indoor method if your puppy is a small breed until it is a adult. For information on house breaking your visit the Training page.. Once a dog is spayed or neutered you will see NO difference in sexes. I recommend waiting until the puppy is 1 year old before neutering/spaying because the puppy will need those hormones to grow to the correct size. Neutering/Spaying to early can make the puppy taller and thinner than if un neutered/spayed. Female puppies will become sexually active around 8 months of age so you will have to watch them closely around other dogs until they are fixed. The absolute earliest we recommend spaying or neutering is 6 mths old for small breeds and 9mths for large breeds.  spay-or-neuter Spay or Neuter your pet: That right there will prevent sooo much! They will not mark their territory, no heats and no surprise puppies. Not to mention the health benefits of spaying and neutering. This is just some friendly advice & really is the best thing for your dog if you do not wish to breed it, of coarse the final decision is up to you as a pet owner. I do not require it to be done but I do highly recommend it.