Puppy advice?

[Jillian Petras]

Stoltzfus Doodles Group - I need your help! It has been years since I have had a puppy and there is a strong possibility that when my husband and I visit the Stoltzfus family on Tuesday night... we will be bringing home little Blue Camo (who we've already re-named Charlie!). Any advice or suggestions for us for our first few days with our little guy?

[Holly Paterniti]

I would say to have a clock that ticks by the cage because for some reason it soothes them. Jr and Anita will most likely give you a little something from the litter for the transition, but if not then ask them.......this will help Charlie through the next few days with his new family. I am almost positive that Jr gave us some food to start off with, but we ended up buying some that day we picked up Bear.

The biggest decision was when I had to decide what type of food to feed him, which the people here helped me out ALOT!! I ended up sticking with Merritt Dog Food and Bear LOVES it...........I am not trying to tell you what to feed Charlie, but I did not realize the different grades of dog food there was :)

Anyways, I would definitely crate Charlie.........just make sure to put newspapers at the bottom of the crate. I am sorry, you probably know what to do. I can not wait to see pics of Charlie. I hoped I helped a little?

[Jillian Petras]

Yes, that does help! My biggest concern was what to feed him. Like I said, it has been YEARS since I had a little pup and I cant remember what I used. We have the crate all ready to go... I am a big fan of crate training. I feel it's so beneficial to both owner and dog.

Is Merritt dog food what the Stoltzfus family used?

[Holly Paterniti]

No, that was not what they used.......I can not remember what they used.....sorry. But you know you can start off with what they use and switch to whatever. Since we only have one dog now, I decided I would try to get the best I could for him. I can not remember where it was, but somewhere on here Adina had put in the different types of dog foods and the grades they received according to their ingredients. If you want me to, let me know and I will look it up for you and put it in here for you to look at :)

[Holly Paterniti]

Ok, Jillian I found to 2 sites I used to determine what dog food I was going to feed Bear. I liked the 2nd one better because I thought it was easier to read, but you decide which one you like. Also, it really depends on what your local pet store has.......I know Petsmart does not carry Merrick, so I go to PetSupply Plus for Bear's food. I hope this helps???

http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com/dog_food_reviews/index.php

http://www.playdogexcellent.com/DogFood.htm

For the 2nd site, you will need to scroll down and it will show you the brand of dog food and the grade it received. At the beginning it does explain how they scored each brand. Like I said I feed Bear the Merrick Wilderness Blend mostly, but have been adding some of Merrick's canned food and other flavors in with it because he seemed to get bored with it. Can you believe it? Dogs getting bored with food? Although you can not blame them, I would get bored too if I ate the same thing over and over again without any excitement :(

[Jillian Petras]

Thanks Holly! This helps a ton... I'm going to check out the websites today :)

[Kyoko]

Join Puppy Madness and Food group. If you look at the top while you are on the main page, there is a section for "Group" You can browse various groups and join them. Also if you can, take a small blanket with you. Anita will put it in with Catie - mom- for awhile to get her scent on it. It will help the puppy to feel secure once you bring him home.
Also I agree with Holly on crate. My Charlie still sleeps and her crate. I would not place a puppy bed - the cushy dog bed sold at the pet stores - in it as of yet. I bought bunch of cheap baby blanket from the thrift store and place them in the crate for awhile. So, if the puppy has an accident, it really doesn't matter. you can just change it and wash them right away.
I am wondering, though. He may be too young to be brought home.... Legally, they are not to be released until the puppy is 8 weeks old. I brought Charlie home at 6 1/2 weeks old, but I wished I waited until she was a bit older. Puppies need to learn a lot from their parents and sibling at that age and I feel as Charlie missed out on that opportunities....( I learned all of this from DK. I did not know any of these when I first brought her home )
Bringing the puppy home can be really exciting. But if you can make another trip a couple of weeks later for the pick up, I would....
Good luck !!

[Jillian Petras]

I was unsure of that, too! Charlie would be exactly 6 weeks old if we were to take him on Tuesday night (how ironic you have a Charlie, too!!!!). I asked Junior if that was too early, but he said after they are vet checked (and they will be that day) he was free to go. The last puppy I had I picked up at 12 weeks... which ended up being too late because her mother had started to reject her since she was the last of the litter to be picked up. Do you feel that picking up your Charlie at 6 1/2 weeks affected her personality or habits? I would feel more comfortable picking him up between 7 and 8 weeks old, but I dont know what our availability will be to make another trip up there. If they are not to be released "legally" until 8 weeks... I am wondering why Junior allows it?

[Adrianne Matzkin]

Hi Jullian,
A puppy learns SO much between 6-8 weeks from their mom's and siblings!! I don't understand why your breeder is allowing a pup to be taken so early but if you can wait another 2 weeks, it will be so much better for Charlie.
I also have a Charli - a girl; who came from an Amish Puppy Mill. Supposedly she was 10 weeks old when I adopted her but I really think she was closer to 8. We had a foster and my older doodle (Mickey and Samantha) so she was around other dogs but she really could have used a couple more weeks learning from her mother and siblings the rules of etiquette. She can be very rude when playing with other dogs.
Good luck with Charlie with whatever you decide to do.

Adrianne

Whenever you bring him home, feed him whatever he was eating with the breeder. Very slowly add in a little bit of the food you are changing him too. To change over completely should take you a couple of weeks. This will make sure heis tummy is tolerating the new food.

[Jillian Petras]

Thanks for the advice Adrianne! We have decided to leave Charlie with the breeder until he is at least 8 weeks. We are so excited to meet him and visit with him in a couple days... I'm sure its going to be hard to leave him there, but we know now it is for the best. :)

[s a r a h&h a r p e r]

Hi Jillian! I also sent Anita a blanket that Zach and I made, which she put in with the puppies and Catie. We got the idea from Kyoko, and it was really helpful for the first few nights. Harper took the blanket with her everywhere, and still sleeps on it in her crate every night! Along with the crate, I definitely recommend getting one of the metal crates that has a size divider. Although we didn't originally crate train Harper through the night, she has grown to love her crate and eventually started going in there on her own when she knew it was bedtime. Now, we simply ask her to kennel up, and she'll take off through the house in order to beat us there!!

Also, I would definitely research puppy/dog food. When we brought Harper home she had been eating Purina Puppy Chow...which is extremely low-quality food. We kept her on the Purina for the first week and then eventually started weaning her off...it took us a few tries to figure out what she liked the best + a good food + something that would fit into our budget, and ended up with a happy, healthy puppy with a beautiful coat! We chose Fromm...and I really believe that she eats better than we do!