Advise page 2021

 

        CARE.

 

                  What you need to know about basic care is all here, so do have a good read, and contact me if in doubt or if not clear on anything.

 

 Collection and FOOD.

Most people like to know what to do from the very start, so here goes, if you are meeting me to pick up your pup, bring either a crate or a person to hold the pup, driving with a wriggling pup in your lap is no safe way to drive. 

If going to meet a Dogmover or to the airport  take some water and maybe a little food, and an old towel, do not let a pup loose unless on a collar and lead, a very small collar and light lead is all you will need, if you do not take these do NOT let pup loose.

Pups are usually hungry although some pups will not eat a lot while stressed from the move, others will eat well, whichever they do it is normal, feed a bland food as close to what the pup is used to as you can, if you are going to change diet do that later and over a period of about a week.

Our usual feed these days is grain and preservative  free kibble, we use STOCKMAN AND PADDOCK,  STAY LOYAL or BLACK HAWK, but if you cannot get them try getting,  CANIDAE, or WELLNESS CORE PUPPY FORMULA, or other grain and preservative free AUSTRALIAN made kibble, ADULT IS FINE, and get some tinned Pedigree Puppy which is also used here.

Keep to this diet until pup settles in, then if you want to add fresh meat do so over time, a little more each day, do not change diet all at once. No ADDED preservative on a table does NOT mean NO preservatives.

Never buy pups fresh food from pet shops or that pre packaged pup food from super markets, it is usually full of preservatives no matter how fresh they say it is.

Preservatives have caused all sorts of ailments from bad skin and fits to death in dogs so be careful. Buy only human grade food unless it is kibble, then buy only grain free and Australian made.

Imported kibble may have been been irradiated prior to travel and is no good for pups, not even weevils will eat it. No matter how good it might have been, if it is imported leave it on the shelf.

if changing to fresh food we recommend a quick boil or steam for all meat, poultry or fish, just  enough to kill any parasites it may have on it, no need to fully cook it.

Add a few vegetables green ones are best, those can be grated or steamed lightly and mashed through. 

Other good things are the ocassional addition of yoghurt, honey, egg, fish or coconut oil, do not over do it. 

Cows milk is not good for dogs as some cannot handle the lactose in it and it will upset their tummy.

your pup does NOT need milk

As long as you keep in mind that dogs were never meant to eat a lot of grain, and most of the cheaper, and even some expensive kibbles are grain based, with grain being the main ingredient, steer well clear of those foods and also be careful not to get food with preservative in it and your dog will do much better.

Settling in

First nights at home can be stressful for all concerned, personally I go against all professional advise and sleep with the pup, but I get up through the night and toilet puppy so we have no accidents in the bed, we have no puppy tears either !

Next best thing is to crate the puppy in a safe place, and maybe where you will still get some sleep in spite of puppy crying, or right beside you at bed height may still keep him happy.

There are many articles on the net about crate training, look some of these up if you are new to puppy ownership and intend to crate your pup at night or while not with him.

Some pups just walk right in and take over, others are not so sure, how you handle this first contact can affect how your dog turns out, if he is happy to interact and be cuddled right off, that is fine, but if he is uncertain and wants space, leave him alone to sort out his new area, just be about, but not intrusive and stop kids from insisting on approaching, if he finds a quiet spot and hides, leave him alone, he will venture out when ready, have food there but do NOT keep poking it under his nose if he refuses it.

All pups are different and those who are not forced into contact with what to them with their small knowledge of this, all of a sudden, huge  world full of strange beings, will do far better with levels of confidence later on if they are not terrified by forced intimacy right from the start, be calm and more or less let them think you are ignoring them, they will come to you in their own good time, do not fuss or worry just keep calm and matter of fact.

Worms and other parasites.

Your vet is going to want to know this so take note:

We worm pups about 2 days before they leave us. They are also given a coccidiostat and extra Drontal over preceding days to ensure no giardia is present. ( We seldom see the latter parasites here, this is done as a precaution, as both coccidia and giardia and very common in pups, both are as easily treated as are worms, and both can multiply quickly when a pup is stressed by the move to a new home, so we think it best to be sure all parsites which may cause trouble are nil or at minimal levels. 

Worm your pup  again in two weeks ( From delivery ) do this until pup is 4 months of age then go to three monthly and keep doing your dog every three months. Use only DRONTAL wormer for pups, later you may change to others now and then as using the same old chemicals all the time can lead to a level of immunity in some parasites.

Blood in Faeces.

If you see just a few drops, this is probably nothing, since we worm pups just prior to leaving us, it is most likely from any worms they had just letting go as they die, this causes some spotting. 

If your pup also has loose bowel motions, plus blood, yet seems happy and is eating and playing, this is usually just nerves due to the big changes in his life, a change in diet, ( Feeding dry food based on cereal grains will cause voluminous loose stools ) or the worming he got before leaving us ect. it should settle in a day or two.

If it does not settle, CONTACT me, do not panic, in spite of all our efforts on rare occasions pups have either picked up  more parasites, or perhaps the things shed after treatment and kick off again, worms, coccidia, and giardia are very common in all states and both in the water table (giardia) or are spread by other animals, even birds or lizards can carry parasites and drop eggs or cysts in gardens, parks, footpaths or backyards so never think a pup with their habits of mouthing absolutely everything is safe.

It is not a matter of cleanliness, these things are endemic in all household pets, a USA study done some years ago found giardia in 70% of pets ! 

In adult dogs most parasites do not cause any symptoms so owners are not aware of them, but in pups, if left untreated they will cause symptoms as listed above, and must be treated. I do suspect that many of the dogs people think have sensitive tummies are actually prone to outbreaks Giardia and or Coccidia, try giving your dog a dose of a wormer such as Drontal or any other which contains FEBANTEL to kill Giardia, and you will need to get a Coccidiostat from your vet to kill any coccidia, keep some on hand, see loose stools with or without blood in them, when food has not changed, try a few doses of the two together, more than 9 times out of ten, problem will be solved.

Start heartworm prevention  at three months,  ordinary wormers do not prevent heartworms, so  either monthly treatment, or see what your vet has to offer here.

Vaccinations.

 We do at least the first vaccination, most often we do the first two, for those whose puppy is to travel I will scan and email a copy of the vet certificate, for those who are to meet me and pick their puppy up I will have it with me. Due to most posted certificates not reaching owners before thew next shot is due, and some never reaching them, I will no longer be posting them, your vet will need to know what your pup has had, so email it to them or print out the scanned copy for your records

 

Do not neglect to get ongoing vaccinations and at least your first yearly booster, after that we recomend a titre test be done yearly to see if and when the dog needs vaccinating again.

We give C 3 s only, I do not believe in giving a young puppy too many live virus vaccines at once, and don’t over vaccinate older dogs either.

 

Do not lose your vet certificate, you need it to get the discount many councils give to register desexed dogs, in the left hand bottom corner you will see a small box which our vet will have signed and dated, this is proof of desexing, your micro chip number is on the back of your certificate, you will also need that to register him with your council.

 

MICRO CHIPS..........PLEASE READ

With recent changes to QLD laws regarding breeders, we now can change details over online, you will be sent a certificate via email,  after delivery, you cannot change ownership details until the pup is yours. Make sure you give me a correct email address so that AAR can email your certificate.

GENERAL CARE

Your puppy does not need a lot of grooming their short coats need little more than an ocasional bath, use a mild shampoo, we use baby shampoo and not too often, frequent shampooing will remove the dogs own oils which he needs to keep his skin healthy, brush if you wish but it really is not needed, wipe over with a damp cloth if he gets grubby from playing outside or even a wash using just plain water is ok.

Ears need a clean now and then but do not go poking ear buds down into them, just a moist cloth is fine or you can buy special ear cleaner from pet barn or vet.

Eyes, now on these breeds eyes can be a problem due to the fact that they tend to sit in a shallower socket than the long nosed breeds, one of our followers on Face Book advised that her dogs opthamologist had advised her that 90 percent of the opthemologists clients would not need to see her had they simply put moisturising eye drops in their dogs eyes twice a day ! 

So I pass this on for what it is worth, given that the breed is one known to suffer from dry eye I think it is well worth your consideration.

You can get moisturising eye drops from your chemist, they are not terribly expensive and the human ones used for our dry eyes are quite good for dogs eyes too.

Nails need the ocassional clip, be careful not to clip back past the quick, you can see where it starts, just look closely.

Skin, If you start to see any sign of patchy, itchy skin get onto this right away, often it is nothing much, but often it can be an outbreak of Demodex mites, you cannot see these little mites with the naked eye, dogs always have these mites but usually the dogs own immune system keeps their population at such a low level that they have no effect on the coat, however if the immune system is lowered through any sort of stress or even at puberty, you may see them causing an itch and hair loss, if this does not resolve on its own in a matter of weeks (as often it does)  you need to get proper veterinary treatment, so do not neglect skin problems, some dogs also develop allergy problems, and it also pays to look up on the net which household plants or weeds may be in your environment that are known to be poisonous to dogs. Some plants and weeds will cause rashes or worse. Mozzie or midge bites will also cause itching.

 

DESEXING SCARS

 

One thing that worries some new owners is the lump which forms on the tummy scar that desexing leaves in females, this is a very small wound, usually only two stitches which I will most likely have taken out prior to delivery, ( some pups may have internal dissolvable ones, others not )  if I have not taken them out and they are not the dissolvable ones, just use pointy nail scissors to do it a few days after delivery, lift up the stitch by the knot, insert point of scizzors in there and cut stitch only on one side of the knot so you can then easily pull the stitch out still holding the knot.

 

The lump that forms under the tummy scar on female pups is totally normal, it will be about the size of a small cherry tomato and hard to touch, it will disapear as puppy grows and is no problem.

Male pups do not have this lump.

Risk factors for hip dysplasia

1. Genetics - once we believed that genetics were the only cause of hip issues - how wrong we were. Half a century of xraying hips and excluding unsound individuals and we are only a little bit further advanced in the eradication of this terrible condition. Genetic factors are only the tip of the iceberg. While some dogs are more predisposed to the factors that contribute to hip damage all pups are born with perfect hips.

2. Whelping box surface - the beautiful, flat, easy to clean surfaces in whelping areas that are pleasing to the eye are also damaging to developing joints. The way pups move on these surfaces forces the joint into a position of extension and adduction, causing damage to the round ligament which can lead to damage to the developing bones. The best surface for whelping pups (for hip development) is a hole in the dirt.  We use either deep straw litter or fresh and frequently changed loam bought in from a loam quarry and put into the hutch new born pups are to live in until they are old enough to be put outdoors for a lot of the day, they do  still come indoors in bad weather and do spend some time on flat, hard floors, but this is kept to a minimum. The only time they are on pretty rugs is for a photo shoot, pretty rugs for newborns are slippery, bunch up and absolutely not good for them. 

 

3. Weight - while pups should never look malnourished pups who are too fat too early or grow too fast are risking hip damage. Too much pressure on growing joints will cause problems. 

4. Desexing - desexing can contribute to to joint damage as it does cause growth plates to close later, so appropriate play into maturity is a MUST. Desexed dogs are often much heavier than their entire counterparts and often lack the muscle mass, especially in males, this can and should be managed by you. 

We find that in small breeds bone problems seldom ever arise if pups are reared  appropriately 

5. Diet - it is vital that dogs are fed properly at all stages of life. It is tough not to feed them a little extra, or give them little treats. All treats need to be taken into account when you are filling their food bowl. Don't carefully measure their meals and add another scoop for good luck! They may give you pleading looks but it is for their own good!!

6. Body condition - like people, dogs should be in fit lean condition to keep in optimum health. You should be able to see a defined waist and the last two ribs should be visible. We have become so used to looking at overweight pets it's sometimes difficult to work out what healthy condition looks like. Remember every 1 kg over ideal adds 6 times more pressure to the joints.

 

7. Surfaces - now this can be a tough one. Concrete, tiles, lino and stairs are tough on joints. There are no magic solutions. Mats on floors can help, as can discouraging young dogs from walking up and down stairs, no playing or running inside or restricting access where possible but concentrate on the things you can change rather than remodel the house!

8. Exercise - pups need exercise but be careful not to over do it! Also think about the surfaces you are walking on - beach and bush are ideal, as is swimming. I'm working on an age appropriate exercise chart which should be helpful. 

  

9. Games - games that involve fast stopping and turning should be avoided for the first few years. Chasing balls, sticks and laser dots at anything but a slow, gentle pace (and those of you with these fellas know that is rarely possible, but keep boisterous play to self directed by the pup do NOT throw things or encourage it to go too far, and risk damage to joints. 

10. Pulling on a lead is also very bad for your puppy's joints, training can eliminate this behaviour and make walks so much nicer too, so do take time train puppy not to pull

CRATES.

A crate can be a safe den for your pup if used correctly, never use it in a way that causes him to think of it as a place of punishment.

 

If used to help with house training, remember he cannot hold on for too long until mature, so be sure to take him out every couple of hours, he will cry to get out if he wants to go, he may just cry to get out at first as well, ignore that, as long as he has been outside just prior to being crated.

 

Make sure that if you buy one of those fold down  crates most often seen in pet shops that you secure ALL sides and corners with zip ties as dogs have been known to choke to death by getting their heads stuck in the sides when trying to push out. 

Always use both latches to close the door as well.

If made safe they are ok to use. 

 

TRAINING.

 I will send a link to a free training video, Please, Please Please go and join Pats Training site, we used to pay and include these online lessons for our buyers, these days it is free, Thanks guys ! Uncontrollable dogs are no fun and it’s often the reason behind dogs being re homed, some are easier than others, but all benefit from basic training.