Crate training—The Crate is Your Friend

1. Giving pup adequate but reasonable crate time will help him/her learn to be comfortable alone—avoiding stress and potential separation anxiety when it is necessary for pup to be alone (boarding, traveling, hospitalization).
*Use the crate for sleeping at night AND during the day.
*The use of a crate keeps pup safe and out of trouble when you can’t watch him/her
*Rule of thumb for reasonable crate time (during the day) is one hour per month of age. Ie. 8 week old pup should be able to take a 2-3 hour nap in the crate during the day

2. Most 8-week old pups can sleep through the night.
*For the first few nights, consider placing pup’s crate on or next to your bed, or adjacent to another dog he/she feels comfortable with. Your pup is not used to sleeping alone. Gradually move crate to final destination as pup is feeling better.
*If pup cries in the middle of the night, take out to potty, then back to bed. NO playtime.
*If you think pup really NEEDS to go out to potty during the night, try to get up to take out just before pup wakes up.
*Remove or use different bedding from crate if pup soils on it or chews it.

3. Feed pup in his/her crate.
*This makes the crate a “good” place to be.
*Pup will quickly learn that the word “kennel” or “place” or “crate” means to go in if the word is used each time pup goes in at feeding time.
*Separates from other dogs.
*Gives more control over where pup is during and after meal-time.
*Keeps messy food confined to an area that is easily cleaned (remove bedding when feeding).

4. Pup will quickly teach humans how to open the crate door if they (the humans) respond to barking, whining or screaming in the crate by opening the door and letting pup out.
*Unless an emergency exists, WAIT (without saying anything) for pup to be quiet for 10 seconds before opening crate door.
*Any response (positive or negative ie. talking, yelling “NO BARK”, opening the crate door) to this attention-seeking behavior will reinforce the behavior, not extinguish it.
*It’s ok to be around pup’s crate (doing laundry, fixing dinner, coming and going) while pup is inside. Just because you are in the same room or in the house, does not mean pup can’t be quietly in the crate.
*Give 1 chew toy or recreational bone in crate to keep pup busy if not sleepy.

5. Puppy-proof area of house to which puppy has access. This will make your life easier. *Confine pup to safe areas with baby gates or by leashing to furniture leg to make it easier to watch.
*Use Bitter Apple or similar spray on furniture or carpet areas where pup chews.
*Provide toys or recreational bone for entertainment.
*If pup can’t be watched or confined—use the crate!

Visit your veterinarian

Make an appointment with your veterinarian as soon as possible. Be sure to take a stool sample and your pup’s health record. You will be visiting your veterinarian multiple times during the next few months. It is important to try to make these visits as positive as possible. This will set the tone for all future trips to the veterinarian.

*Don’t feed pup right before the visit.

*Take delicious treats with you to help make a positive association with the strange environment and handling.

*Offer treats continuously during handling, nail trimming, vaccination or any time pup seems stressed or uncomfortable in the office or lobby.

Enroll in puppy kindergarten

Training and socialization are critical to the development of a well-adjusted puppy. Puppy class should begin when pup is between 9 and 16 weeks of age. Consider enrolling prior to picking pup up. A high quality puppy class should include puppy play-time and positive reinforcement methods ONLY. Puppy and owners should have fun. If this is not happening, the class is not right for you.

Feeding

Feed your pup the highest quality food you can afford to purchase or have the time and ability to prepare. There are many “right” ways to feed dogs. The right food for your dog meets the following criteria:

            *It maximizes the health of your dog by providing a good hair coat, ideal body condition, firm and small stools, healthy teeth and strong bones.
            *The dog likes the food and eats readily.
            *The food is accessible and affordable for you.

The highest quality foods are made from fresh meat (and vegetable) sources and do NOT contain preservatives, non-nutritive additives, by-products, or excess grains.

When changing foods, do so gradually (over several days or more) so as not to cause GI upset. Some dogs are more sensitive to dietary change than others. Dogs that are fed a variety of foods accept changes more easily. Adding digestive enzymes (Prozyme) and a little yogurt or acidophilus powder often helps facilitate dietary changes.

Your pup has been fed the following diet:

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AM— about 4 oz. raw meat WITH bone (2-3 chicken necks, 1 chicken back (fat and tail removed), 1 chicken wing, 1 turkey wing tip or canned fish such as Jack Mackeral or salmon)

Lunch – 1/3-1/2 c high quality kibble or raw meat patty

PM— about 3-4 oz. (1/3 -1/2 cup) meat patty (Prairie, Bravo or Aunt Jeni’s)

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Meaty bones may take pup 5-15 minutes to consume depending on the type of bone. As pup’s permanent teeth come in, he/she can eat other meaty bones such as pork necks, lamb or beef ribs, turkey necks, others.

This is close to the volume of food your pup will consume as an adult. Adjustments in volume should be made to maintain ideal body condition. At 4-5 months of age, the midday feeding can be discontinued and larger AM and PM meals fed.

There are many possible variations to raw diet feeding. The key is not a well-balanced diet at every meal, but a well-balanced (and varied) diet over time (as with people).

Supplements are discretionary and optional. They can be tailored to the needs of the individual. If changing or adding supplements, do so one at a time and monitor for reactions (usually soft stools, if any).

Bones are an important component of a raw diet. They provide calcium essential to bone and teeth development and strengthen teeth and jaws by requiring chewing. Recreational bones are those that will not be ingested in one sitting. These are larger, perhaps weight-bearing bones with little meat and should always be raw. Cooking changes the character of bone, rendering it brittle, hard and more likely to splinter potentially causing GI trauma or fractured teeth. Cooked bones should never be fed. Examples of recreational bones are marrow bones, knuckle bones and large rib bones know as flat-rib bones.

Treats will be used for training and can consist of anything the pup likes and is willing to work for. The better the treat, the harder they will work. Treats should be food quality. The smaller the pieces, the more pup can consume without becoming full (and less motivated). The best treats will be easy for you to handle (not too wet) and easy for pup to consume quickly (not dry enough to requiring chewing). Some suggestions are: deli meats cut into small pieces, good quality hot dogs, cheese, beef heart-cooked and cut into small pieces and sprinkled with garlic powder (one of my favorites), high quality commercial jerky-type treats. Deli meats and hot dogs can be dried by spreading pieces on paper towels and microwaving (stirring frequently) until desired dryness.