Puppy Home Guide

• Stay consistent with your words when addressing your puppy

• Never let your puppy play bite, close the puppies mouth with your hand and say no biting

• Fresh water every day, NEVER let your dogs drink from puddles, river or lakes!!!

• If you have county/city water, use bottled or filtered from your refrigerator. My puppies are raised on well water so county water has lots of chlorine not to mention contaminates.

• Feed your puppy twice a day always use water with their food. At the beginning soak just a few mins. Start out with 1 1/2 cups each feeding then increase after 10 days through a one week period to 1 3/4 twice a day. Continue for a couple weeks and increase again to 2 cups twice a day. When they are about 16 wks increase to 2 ½ cups twice a day. Over 6-9 months of age  then you should be at 3 cups twice a day.

• German Shepherds NEED to grow slow. They will go through a very slender stage. DO not increase food because they look skinny to you. They WILL NOT fill out. They will only grow quicker and this is the worst you can do. By growing to fast you will create bone pains causing your dog to limp. There are vets that will tell you your puppy is to skinny, or people will tell you this also, do not listen. If your vet doesn’t understand the stages of German Shepherds, they’ll convince you to either increase or change to their food. Do not change their food if their potty is firm.

• Understanding the Bloat. Do research on this horrific condition!!!!! Large breeds can be susceptible to the bloat and here are the major contributors to this condition. Not as a puppy, it's when they are closer to full grown 9-12 months of age

• NO Exercising, running or major playing on a FULL STOMACH Any activities on an empty stomach

• Once you feed your dog they are to settle down for at least 4-6 hours. They can go out to the bath room or small walks but that’s it.

• Access to water at all times. When a puppy not at night time until better trained. Consuming a lot of water at once can cause gas in the stomach and cause the bloat. Not as a puppy but as they get older.

• Potting training your puppy:

• No playing with your puppy until they potty, praise them then play

• The second they wake up take the puppy out

• After they eat take your puppy out

• After they drink water, out they go

• Always praise your puppy when they’ve gone potty outside

• If they make a mistake inside never put their nose in it, firm voice not in the house and pick your puppy up and take them out. If they do potty more outside, then praise them 

• Nothing to drink after their last time out for the night 

•  NEVER take you puppy/dog into any pet store, dog parks because there are many viruses

• Do not take your puppy anywhere near other animals until the 3rd  vaccination of distemper shots is given.

• The first distemper is given at 7weeks by me, then every 3rd week another is given. If you go over 4 weeks then you HAVE to start the series over. That’s why I recommend every 3rd week