11/25/2025
When you bring home a puppy, the world suddenly becomes very generous with advice. Friends, neighbors, Facebook groups, trainers, groomers, even people you meet once at the pet store—everyone has something to say.
I want to gently remind you that the people who truly know your puppy—and what they specifically need are going to be - you, your veterinarian, and your breeder. Each of us brings a unique role and expertise, and together we form the team whose sole interest is to raise a healthy, well-adjusted dog. While breeder and veterinary advice may differ at times, it should never become “us versus them.” Instead, think of it as a collaboration, with clear lanes of responsibility.✨
✨Your veterinarian is your essential partner for all health assessments and medical treatment. If your puppy is unwell, your first call should always be to your vet—no questions asked. At your puppy’s initial visit, it’s standard for veterinary staff to offer guidance on training, socializing, feeding, and raising your puppy. This advice is always given with good intentions, but it’s not tailored to your puppy, your breed, or the foundation we’ve already laid down before your puppy ever came home.
⭐️💫When it comes to feeding, training, housebreaking, socialization, spay/neuter timing, and preventative care, your breeder’s program should be your compass. Your veterinarian has tremendous medical knowledge and experience across multiple species and countless breeds—but they may never have raised a single puppy of their own, let alone a puppy from your breed or from the same genetic lines.
🌟Your breeder, on the other hand, has likely whelped and raised more puppies of one breed in five or ten years than most people will own in their entire lifetime. That depth of experience allows breeders to gather real-world data—seeing how puppies from their lines grow, develop, mature, age, and respond to different training styles, socialization approaches, feeding routines, medications, and preventatives.
⭐️✨How you raise a Poodle puppy, a Labrador puppy, or a Great Pyrenees puppy will be very different. Their breed-specific and individual needs vary tremendously.
When in doubt, remember why you chose to get your puppy from an ethical breeder - their dedication to the breed, dedication to raising their puppies well, experience and expertise with the breed 🙂
Your breeder should be there for you no matter what, but it maybe harder to help if you go down the path that differs from the system your breeder recommends. ~ Moonrise Poodles
