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Important Dates in the First 24 Months

Immediately: Protect your puppy from disease/parasites Please keep your puppy safe until it has received all its vaccinations recommended by your vet which will be at 14-16 weeks old. Exposure to the public before all vaccines have been given could lead to death/serious disease. This includes any places that are public like a gas station grass area, park, public sidewalks or pet store. If your pup needs to go potty on the way home use a puppy pee pad do NOT set the up on the ground. Do not take your pup shopping for toys etc. even though that sounds fun.

 

Within 24 hours: Register for a free month of coverage through Trupanion this is great for any emergencies that could pop up as your pup adjusts to your home & finds things to nibble on. My code for this litter is: BR1GL82421. They have two ways of activating (both only take about 5 minutes): - Call in to their sales team, available 24/7: 855.266.2156 or enroll through their website: https://trupanion.com/enrollments/certificate

I do not get any benefits through this enrollment families are welcome to use any insurance company they choose. I highly recommend starting your puppies on insurance regardless of the brand as soon as they go home before any "pre-existing" conditions can develop.

 

Within 24 hours: Set up a vet exam: It is so important to establish care with a provider & begin a health care routine including vaccines, deworming, heartworm preventative, flea preventative, dental care & heart worm testing. I recommend vet exams as needed to get your puppy its first vaccine rounds completed & then routine checkups at least 2x annually.

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6 months: Rabies shot & register pup with your local county. Do not give a rabies vaccine before 5 months old at the soonest.

 

Between 16 - 24 months: Puppies should be spayed or/neutered. PLEASE DO NOT DO THIS EARLIER. Unfortunately, some still recommend early spay/neuters because accidental litter prevention is their biggest priority (something you can control if responsible) or at times new research is not taken into account as early spays have just been the way it has been done for years. Waiting to do this procedure is for the safety of your pups’ bone & joint development/health. They need their hormones too develop properly. Early spay/neuters have been shown by research by many vet specialists to cause hip dysplasia, as well as incontinence. I always recommend doing your own research on procedures for your pet before discussing them with your vet so you can go over the pros & cons with them. Here is a good article on it: https://caninesports.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/CSP-Gonadectomy-Rethinking.pdf 

 

Crate Training

Get a puppy area set up in an area of your house that is not carpeted. This will be a safe & secure smaller area either using a play pen fence or using baby gates to partition off a small room. This will be where your pup stays if you are not able to directly supervise it. Put its crate with the door open in one corner full of some snuggly blankets & toys to make it a positive space. In the rest of the space set up some toys & a pee pad in-case of accidents.

The goal with crate training is to view their crate as a safe, comfortable den rather than a cage. Covering the crate with a blanket can help it be cozier. Start with 5-minute positive sessions using treats and toys and gradually increase crate time to match your puppy’s age in months plus one (e.g., 3-month-old = 3-4 hours max). Feed them their meals inside the crate, use high-value treats, and ignore whining unless it signals a bathroom emergency. Make sure your puppy has had time to go potty after eating or drinking before putting them in their crate. If they have had time to go potty before crating & it has been under an hour since they went potty, this is likely attention-seeking behavior—ignore it completely. Don’t make eye contact, speak, or approach the crate. The moment they pause for 10+ seconds, mark that quiet moment with calm praise. Wait for them to have a quiet moment before letting them out of their crate. Take them directly outside for a bathroom break when letting them out. At first, you may want to carry the puppy outside if they seem prone to peeing immediately. For a more in-depth guide to crate training here is a link: Crate Training a Puppy

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Potty Training

Decide on a potty-training system (I recommend bells on the door) & make sure you or another family member will have time to work with the pup until it has learned your routine & what is expected of him. Make sure everyone in the household is taught the same routine so you don’t confuse the puppy. Your puppy is not fully potty trained when it goes home: I START puppies on potty training & work to teach them the concept of going potty in a specific place - transitioning that concept to your specific home will take some time & patience. I never want people to think that a young dog will be 100% trained when it goes home, as a puppy parent be prepared to put time & training into a new puppy/dog.

Until you have established where the pup is supposed to potty you will need to take him out every 30 minutes to an hr. especially right after meals or drinking. Once they have learned the routine & are not having accidents inside you can lengthen the time between potty breaks. I highly recommend hanging bells on your doorknobs during potty training. Have the puppy touch the bell with its nose or paw & click (or use a voice command such as “Yes!”) & re-ward with a treat. Then take the pup out the door. Use a phrase such as “go potty” when your pup starts going potty immediately say "Yes" or click & treat to positively reinforce the behavior.

Do not expect your puppy to make it through the whole night you will need to take it out at  least once in the night until it is older & has had time to become accustomed to your home. Click for More Resources for Potty Training

 

Exercise

Your puppy should not jump up or down from places higher than its shoulder (this includes most cars, beds & couches- make a habit of picking up the dog to place it off higher surfaces), taken on long rough hikes or made to jog/run unnaturally (as in running on a leash) until at least eighteen months of age. A puppy running due to its own prompting while loose in the yard is one thing but running on leash at a young age is not advised. Keep an eye on slippery floors that make it hard to keep their balance: adding rugs especially in doorways, trimming hair & nails on paws can help. 

Exersise guidelines as your puppy grows:

• 2–3 months: Short, gentle play sessions. No structured walks longer than a few minutes.

• 4–5 months: Controlled walks and play. 10–20 minutes per session

• 6–9 months: Moderate walks, basic training, continue to avoid high-impact activity

• 10–12 months: Walks, all training & swimming are great choices. no running on leash until 18+ months.

• 18-24 months all adult dog exercise is safe but avoid jumping from high levels regardless of age. Swimming in particular is extremely beneficial to all dogs.  

As a puppy your dog's bones are actively growing, and their growth plates—the soft areas of cartilage near the ends of long bones—don’t fully harden until between 18 and 24 months. Until those plates close, your puppy is vulnerable. Repeated stress on them can cause deformities or early-onset joint issues.

 

Nutrition

When it comes to nutrition, please do DO NOT FEED GRAIN FREE or a food high in peas, lentils or potatoes: it can cause DCM (Dilated Cardio Myopathy) especially in large breeds. I have talked to my Veterinary Cardiologist at length about this and avoiding these ingredients is something that she emphasizes so I take it seriously.

 

For my puppies I feed Diamond Naturals Large Breed Lamb and Rice & for my adults I feed the large breed adult formula version of it. My dogs have done excellent on it! It is corn and wheat free which I prefer BUT has healthy grains like brown rice and barley. Pasture raised lamb is the first ingredient. It has excellent additions like chia seeds, quinoa, pumpkin & kelp. It has added probiotics for a healthy gut and omegas. DHA for brain development and added Taurine for a healthy heart. The large breed adult also has Glucosamine & Chondrotine help with joint health. 

Diamond naturals is a AAFCO approved food.  You can get Diamond Naturals at Tractor Supply, Coastal, delivered to your door with free shipping with Amazon Prime, chewy & at most small feed stores but it isn’t at Petco or PetSmart.

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If your dog ends up having long term sensitivity's the safest “allergy friendly” food I recommend is “Purina Pro Plan Adult Sensitive Skin and Stomach Salmon and Rice” it is approved for all life stages including puppies. Do not feed the “puppy” version of this food as it has peas in its ingredients. 

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