Tips for new CedarFrost puppy owners:
1) Watch your puppy for white gums… if they are under stress they can become hypoglycemic which is very dangerous! Keep either honey or Nutri-cal on hand and put some in the puppy’s mouth if the gums are white. Check again in 10 minutes… if the gums are not pink yet, give it more.
2) I like to keep dry food out all of the time until puppies are about 4 months old. I use “Advanced Pet Diets Select Choice Chicken Meal & Rice Formula Puppy Food” for the dry fed food until they are about 4 months old because the bite size is nice and small. After 4 months old, I use Natural Balance Sweet Potato and Fish Formula for the dry portion of meals. Puppies should be fed 3 times a day… dry food mid day or out all the time… the following mixture in am and pm til 4 months old: Start with Natural Balance Sweet Potato and Fish Formula, add warm water and enough Pedigree puppy food to make a nice gravy… let set for 10 minutes and stir then feed. After 4 months of age I just feet the Natural Balance three times a day dry. It is important to feed dry food because it keeps the teeth healthy.
3) I suggest enrolling in a puppy class and then after that an obedience class. These classes will not only help socialize your dog but also makes for a wonderful bonding time for you and your puppy. If you are planning to show, make sure that when you teach the sit and the down and the stand part of obedience class that you really teach the “stand” well so your dog does not sit in the show ring. I can not stress enough how much of a benefit these classes are for your dog in becoming a happy, healthy, well adjusted family member.
4) Take your puppy with you every chance you get… the socialization is great!
5) For grooming instructions go to www.cedarfrost.com and click on the appropriate grooming tab to the left of the page. I use an Oster Finisher/Trimmer to groom my dogs and it works great. It is only about $59 and can be purchased online at www.petedge.com along with many other great supplies.
6) Check out my links page at cedarfrost.com as I am always adding new links for great places to buy clothes etc. Belly bands and panties are nice for when you visit someone’s house or a motel before your puppy is completely trustworthy potty training-wise. I have a friend that makes them to fit… I like to tell her to only make them 2 ½ to 3 inches wide and they fit an overnight kotex pad for quick and easy changing. Her website is on my links page but it is Bonnie-wear.com.
7) Call or email me anytime with any questions you might have. My email address is deb@cedarfrost.com and my phone # is 307-682-8340. If you get my machine just leave a message and I will call right back… I often don’t get to the phone before it goes to voice mail when I am working with the dogs.
8) Ear taping is very important in making the puppies ears stand properly. The puppies will scratch at their ears until they get used to it and also when you take it off… it just feels different to them but BE DILIGENT… you want their ears to be pretty. Also during teething they can drop a bit. If it is just a little drooping, you can put one piece of tape on front and back just to add support until they stand better. To start, use the brace method that I teach you. The kind of tape that you use is very important… it is silk tape and the brand is Kendall by Curasilk. For stability I use pipe insulation cut to the proper size and backwrapped barbershop style with the sticky part of the tape out so it adheres to the inside of the ear. I shave the ears until they are standing well… then I let them grow out and become beautiful. During teething your puppy's ears may droop again... just tape them up again until they stand. It is VERY important not to get the tape too tight when wrapping the ears... if the circulation is cut off, you can lose an ear. Ears can remain taped for 5 to 7 days at a time then they must be changed... often your puppy will have the tape off sooner than that...just redo. Be diligent in taping... it is the only way to get beautiful ears. Your puppies ears may be standing when you recieve it but chances are you will need to tape again.
9) Well…. Now just love and spoil your baby!
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