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First of all I want to thank you for your purchase of your new family member. If at
any time you have questions, please feel free to contact me and ask. I want you and
your new baby to be happy together for many years to come! My e-mail address
is shelly@yorkies-n-more.com. If I do not know the answer I will find out for you!
Remember that the love you give your baby will be the love you will receive from
it. Always be consistent and firm, but remember that this is a baby and things do
take time. Never hit your baby. It will only cause fear and this is not what you
want.
Let’s go over feeding. If you have to be away from your baby, feed it as
follows: first thing in the morning, first thing after arriving home, at your evening
meal time and about an hour from bed time. Their tummy’s are very tiny so they
can not eat a lot at one time. If you find your baby is lethargic, try putting a bit of
maple syrup in the feed. This will bring the blood sugar up and baby will feel
better. It wouldn’t hurt to do this for about the first 2 weeks after arriving to you so
he will get into the routine you have set for him. This will help with the stress of
moving also. For the first 3-4 months soak it’s feed in warm water to soften.
Never use milk or milk products as it will cause loose stools. Start off using about
1/4 cup dry feed and adjust it as your babies needs grow. Give your baby about 15
minutes to eat and drink and then take it away from it. If you leave feed and water
in front of it all the time, house training will be impossible! I use Iams Puppy
Original puppy feed. There are other good products on the market such as Science
Diet. Please do not use generic feeds such as Purina, Pedigree or Ol’Roy as these
are full of fillers and make your baby poop a lot more as their bodies can not use
the fillers. Your baby should be fed 3-4 times a day and then the feed and water
should be taken away. Do Not Feed People Food!!! This causes obesity, will decay
teeth, and can upset your babies tummy even as an adult.
Next chew bones. NEVER give your baby raw hide!!! It can sliver in the gut
and cause perforated bowels and they can choke on it. I use Greenie’s and Velvet
chews. I also use Floss and Chew’s on my adults as it cleans the teeth as they
chew. Chewing is all part of being a puppy. It helps them loose the baby teeth and
cut the adult teeth. The small breeds do not chew nearly as long as the large breeds
do. Also, make sure small toys, shoes, socks, or anything you do not want your
baby to chew on are put away. It is much harder to break the bad habit than it is to
prevent the habit all together. Make sure electrical cords and house plants are out
of reach. These can hurt your baby and even kill it! Small toys can also be
swallowed and kill your baby.
Where baby stays when your away and asleep. If you have to be away
from your baby put it in a carrier that is not to large for the puppy. Give it just
enough room to lay down, sit and turn around. If given to much room it will use
this space to potty in. This will make house training impossible! Also never leave
feed and water in the carrier. They will not potty where they sleep. Put your baby
in the carrier at night to sleep. I have sent a plush toy that has your babies litter
mates scent on it. Put that in with the puppy as it relieves stress and is something it
can snuggle up to that has a familiar scent to it. Putting the puppy in the carrier
also saves your mattress from having to be replaced due to accidents! If the puppy
cries, let it! Put the carrier in a room where you can not hear the cries at night and
you will all sleep better. It will not hurt a puppy to cry!
All important house training! Always remember that this is a baby. It takes
time for this tiny baby to figure out just what you expect from it. Never hit your
baby or rub their face in their accidents! This only teaches them that relieving
themselves is a bad thing and it makes you mad! If they do have a accident where
you do not want them to potty, take the puppy to the mess and show it to them. Let
them smell it and tell it that was a bad puppy. Then put puppy in the carrier in the
same room as the rest of the family for about 30 minutes. Yes, puppy will cry. Let
it. That is the idea! It will soon learn that it has to be in the carrier instead of out
playing if it potties where it not supposed to. Do Not put puppy outside! Outside is
fun and you have just told it that if it potties there it gets to go outside and play.
You have rewarded it for being bad! After baby eats, drinks, and wakes up, get it to
the place you expect it to potty. If that is outside, never leave your baby alone. It
not only will frighten it but it can be dangerous as other animals now have a
chance to eat your baby. When baby potties where you want it to, reward and
praise it like crazy! I use Goldfish crackers as a treat. They are cheap, just the right
size, they love them, and if they get stale the puppy could care less. These are also
good for teaching tricks as they would climb a telephone pole for one! If you plan
to use a litter pan, put baby in it and do not let it out until it has pottyed.
Then use praise and Goldfish. If you find a poop on the floor, put it in the spot you
want baby to potty and the scent will draw it to that spot. If there is a spot it keeps
going back to that is not acceptable, go get a piece of plastic floor runner. Cut the
runner about twice as big as the spot and turn it upside down and place it on that
spot. It has spikes on the bottom and will hurt babies tiny feet. Ouch!! Baby won’t
go there again!!
Shot’s and worming. Your baby does not have an immune system of it’s own
until it is about 16 weeks old. It has been protected by Mom’s immunities thru her
milk. Your baby will have had it’s first baby shot and a kennel cough shot by the
time it reaches you. There is an index card in all the paperwork in the package on
top of it’s carrier. That card is for your vet. Take it with you on your first vet visit
so they know just what baby has had and will need in th future. Make an
appointment as soon as you can to see the vet. This is very important!!! Your baby
will need a Parvo shot every three weeks until it is about 14-16 weeks old. Parvo is
in the ground. Puppies sniff everything, eat anything, and get into everything and
can pick this up. If they do and it is not protected by the shot, your baby will
become very ill very fast and can die in a hurry!!! You can even carry it in on your
shoes and expose baby to it even if it has not been outside. At 14-16 weeks your
baby can have the adult shot’s and will be done for a year.
When it comes to worming, I recommend Frontline Topspot or Revolution. Both
are a topical you put on the skin between the shoulder blades once a month. This
guards against fleas, ticks, lice, worms, and even ear mites. This can be purchased
on line at PetMed.com and PetRX.com. It can also be purchased at your vet’s
office. Your baby will have had it’s first dose by the time it reaches you. After all,
who wants those critters in their house? Not me!!!!!! Please do not use the cheap
stuff you can get over the counter!!!! It can make baby sick and even kill it!!!!
Grooming and bathing. I always use baby shampoo and my own conditioner.
There are several good products on the market but I like baby shampoo as it is
gentle on the skin, it is cheap, and will not hurt babies eyes. I use conditioner as
your baby may have dry skin and the coat is so fine that it may get mat’s in it. Be
very careful with the blow dryer as human blow dryers get very hot and can burn
tender skin. Just hold it away from the puppy when drying. Remember, if it is to
hot for your hand, it is to hot for your puppy. Try to brush your baby daily. It is not
only a bonding process, it also makes it easier for the groomer when baby makes
that first visit. After all, Mom groomed baby everyday and baby loved her very
much. If at first baby fights you, make it hold still for some brushing. In time it
will get used to it and accept is a part of your loving and it is very relaxing for both
of you.
Spaying and Neutering. This is very important as it makes a much healthier
pet. A little male can be neutered as soon as 6 weeks. I can get this done before
your baby ships to you or you can have it done shortly after you get him.
Neutering your baby does away with testicular cancer and the hormones that will
make your baby run away if a female is near and in heat. It also does away with the
need to mount friends and family or anything else that hold s still long enough for
him to do so. I recommend this be done at a very early age so the hormones have
not kicked in yet. Females have to wait a bit longer as you have to go into the gut
to spay her. Please do this as soon as your vet will do it, usually about 6 months. It
will get rid of the cancer’s in her reproductive organs and any threat of mammary(
breast) cancer’s. He first heat will be about 6-12 months and she will bleed. This is
very messy on your furniture and in your home. She may be able to get pregnant
for 28 days of the heat and you will have to keep a very close eye on her as she
will go off to find a male and the males will come to her for miles around to breed
her. Remember, a pregnancy could kill her and raising a litter of puppies is not as
easy as most people think it is! Another thing about mounting. Even after the baby
has been “fixed” it may mount. This is not sexual behavior but the puppy is trying
to determine what their social status is within it’s “pack” (family). It is important to
not tolerate this behavior. Always scold baby for this, sometimes swatting with a
rolled newspaper is the best trick to punish for this behavior.
If there is anything I left out ask me! There are no stupid questions! If you don’t
know, ask!!!!Just love your baby for both you and me! I also love to receive
pictures and updates on my babies after they have left me. Please drop me a line
now and again and let me know how things are going. Have fun with your new
family member and best friend! They will never tell your secrets and always love
you even if you come home empty handed!
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