03/08/2022
AMARANTE PUPPY LETTER:
Congratulations on your new arrival! As I know you will be far too excited to take in a word of what I say the day of collection, I am writing everything down.
Feeding
Your puppy is being fed four meals per day at approximately: 7.30am, 12.30pm, 5.30pm & 10.30pm. I have been feeding them Skinner’s Field & Trial Puppy, duck & rice and they have done really well on it. There are other good brands but do your research and check it out. Nutrition is particularly important with a large breed dog for bone and joint health, especially in his or her growing stage. I will measure out the approximate quantity for each meal, in other words one quarter of his or her daily intake. Obviously this will need to be increased as they get older and gradually decrease the number of feeds to two per day... never go to less than this because of the risk of bloat. I have been adding a little water, which releases the flavour of the biscuits and again helps guard against bloat. I do this for my adults too. I also add a little meat, meat juice, sardines or about a dessert spoon of good quality wet food. Pick up what they leave almost immediately so you are in charge of when they eat and they’ll very soon learn if they don’t eat it, it goes. For behavioural reasons never allow them to graze. To avoid food guarding, occasionally put a little meat in with your hand while they are eating then they associate a hand giving rather than taking away. For the same reasons never take their food away from them. That said none of these puppies are nasty around food. Always provide fresh water. Do not give milk. Keep treats to a minimum and avoid Bonios, hide chews and cheaper brand ‘treats’. If you have children, or Grandchildren, involve them in the feeding so the puppy learns his or her place in your pack from the start. I will give you some of the food they are used to so you can gradually change to the brand of your choice.
Worming
They were wormed with a 3 day course of Panacur at 2 weeks and again at 6 weeks old. Please tell your vet this when you discuss the puppies future worm program. I would recommend for them to be wormed again at 10 weeks old although take your vet’s advice on this.
Vaccinations
Allow your puppy a couple of days to settle then take him or her to the vet for their first vaccination. The injection itself doesn’t hurt the puppy so stay relaxed yourself so a visit to the vet doesn’t become a problem. Your vet will advice the time scale of going to public places but normally the guide is a week after the 2nd vaccination and a little longer before risking a very heavily dog populated area. I have socialised your puppy with other dogs. It is a very good idea for you to continue with this socialisation of meeting other vaccinated dogs. Just make sure the dog hasn’t had a recent nasal spray kennel cough vaccine as this is a live vaccine that sheds. I personally don’t give my gang this vaccine. I also strongly advise you to do your own research on the Lepto 4 vaccine and ask your vet to use Lepto 2. If they can’t, I would go to a different vet!
Grooming
The ‘oodle’ of your doodle might require a little maintenance. Their ears might need plucking and their bottoms will need to be kept trimmed. It is also a good idea to have the fur on his or her toes clipped in the grass seed season and keep an eye out for mats between the paw pads. Keep handling their feet, between their toes, ears, eyes etc as frequently as you can in the early stages so there’s no problem when they are older. If your puppy has a more poodley coat then they will need frequent trips to the groomers or alternatively buy some clippers and do it yourself. I recommend either Oster or Andis. I use the Andis two speed with number 10 blades for feet and 7F or 5F for the body.
Training
We’ve started the basics like not getting attention when they jump up, recall by calling ‘pup pup pup’, clapping our hands or blowing a whistle at meal times. Play biting and mouthing are always a problem reported back when puppies leave us. The poodle in the breed is smart, very smart. Don’t use a distraction to stop the biting, for example when they’re mouthing giving them a toy to bite instead. They will soon learn that if they bite, you start playing with a toy… so they’ll do it more for the attention. The mother dog would put her mouth around her puppy’s mouth, please don’t try this at home 😂 but use your hand with a very firm ‘no’ does work too. I would recommend you don’t allow rough play or tug of war games with you or anyone while they are in the mouthing stage as this will encourage it. . If you have any problems ring me. Don’t be afraid to ask me for help. Any situation or noise, which might be frightening, is best ignored and treated as ‘situation normal’. If you even feel: ‘there there don’t worry’ that will come across to the puppy that there is danger. We have played them the CD of noises so they are used to the sound of guns, thunder, fireworks etc so make sure no one reacts in any way, especially during the dreaded firework season. When it is time to start walking your puppy on a lead I recommend the gundog nylon slip leads (for our large breeds) so they can’t slip their collar or a normal collar and lead. Please do not use extendable leads for many reasons, one is that the puppy learns to go where he or she wants and you follow, so who is the leader here. I am also not a fan of harnesses for walking as they are designed for the dog to push in to and pull you along, think sled dogs and horse and cart. They also position the dog to stand in front of you so they lead you, so that’s not going to end well when you ask for recall as they don’t see you as the leader. Many brands of well known and popular harnesses are very restrictive too which causes musculoskeletal problems. Halters are a good idea for times you want or need total control in a dangerous setting, like walking along a busy road, but do handle them carefully. Having spoken to a dog chiropractor the halter type walking aids that pull the head to one side can cause injury to the neck. Training a dog respect and loose lead walking is of course the best way. If you have problems when you get to this stage please ring or come and see me as I can help. Tricks such as ‘sit’ and ‘paw’ are fun but the most important thing to teach your puppy is recall. I use a whistle as they can pick up any stress or anxiety in our voices. Don’t overdo it or they will be like children, become deaf to our nagging. But when you do blow that whistle follow it through. The main thing to remember is most problems associated with doodles are things to get attention so ignoring is the best way to deal with most issues. If you are introducing your puppy as a second dog to the family I can’t stress enough to let them sort their pecking order out themselves, in other words don’t interfere, especially at the beginning. It is very easy to over fuss and spoil your puppy in those early days but in doing this you will have a demanding puppy who thinks their place is on a pedestal with a title to their name, eh Lord Dennis 😉 Yes they are cute, cuddly and lovable, but they need to know they are a dog, not god.
Exercise
Don’t overdo things while they are still growing however they must have enough off lead exercise to avoid problems with behaviour and relieve stress. Let them off lead as soon as possible when in the insecure stage as I promise they will come back to you, and reward this. Ball throwing is not a good idea as the sprinting, twists and turns are the worst kind of exercise for growing joints.
Toilet Training
As you all know they have been trained from a very early age by keeping the sleep area clean and fresh and they have two huge litter trays here. They now prefer to go outside but obviously that’s not possible all through the night so I recommend having puppy pads down near the doorway. Always praise good behaviour but don’t punish bad or you will have a dog who is afraid to go to the toilet in front of you. This litter are particularly good in this department so praising them may confuse the issue as they already know what is expected. Take them out when they wake up and straight after meals, you will soon learn the signs. I don’t agree with using a crate with a closed door to train one of our puppies as they have been brought up to not soil their sleeping area. The exception to this would be a crate by your bed at night when you are next to them if they ask to go out. That said if they do ask don’t give them any attention, not even a ‘good dog’. Put them straight back into the crate when finished and get back into bed. Attention at this time will mean the next night you will find that little whine to go out will be earlier. If you have a happy and relaxed puppy you shouldn’t have any problems like chewing and barking etc.
Settling in
My advice is to try to copy what we have here... a soft bed, puppy pad near the door and a stair gate to keep him or her out of certain areas. Make sure all electric cables are out of the way or blocked. Have fun and ring me if you have any questions, however silly you might think they are. My mobile is 079 7479 6289 and will be switched on 24/7 for the first few weeks in case you need advice. I am here to help for life. And last of all, please keep in touch!
