Puppy Instructions

First of all I want to thank you for your purchase of your new family member. If at any time you have questions, please feel free to contact me and ask. I want you and your new baby to be happy together for many years to come! My e-mail address is info@shellysyorkiecentral.com. If I do not know the answer I will find out for you!

Remember that the love you give your baby will be the love you will receive from it. Always be consistent and firm, but remember that this is a baby and things do take time. Never hit your baby. It will only cause fear and this is not what you want. 

Lets go over feeding. If you have to be away from your baby, feed it as follows: first thing in the morning, first thing after arriving home, at your evening meal time and about an hour from bed time. Their tummys are very tiny so they can not eat a lot at one time. If you find your baby is lethargic, try putting a bit of maple syrup in the feed. This will bring the blood sugar up and baby will feel better. It wouldnt hurt to do this for about the first 2 weeks after arriving to you so he will get into the routine you have set for him. This will help with the stress of moving also. For the first 3-4 months soak its feed in warm water to soften. Never use milk or milk products as it will cause loose stools. Start off using about 1/4 cup dry feed and adjust it as your babies needs grow. Give your baby about 15 minutes to eat and drink and then take it away from it. If you leave feed and water in front of it all the time, house training will be impossible! I use Iams Puppy Original puppy feed. There are other good products on the market such as Science Diet. Please do not use generic feeds such as Purina, Pedigree or OlRoy as these are full of fillers and make your baby poop a lot more as their bodies can not use the fillers. Your baby should be fed 3-4 times a day and then the feed and water should be taken away. Do Not Feed People Food!!! This causes obesity, will decay teeth, and can upset your babies tummy even as an adult.

Next chew bones. NEVER give your baby raw hide!!! It can sliver in the gut and cause perforated bowels and they can choke on it. I use Greenies and Velvet chews. I also use Floss and Chews on my adults as it cleans the teeth as they chew. Chewing is all part of being a puppy. It helps them loose the baby teeth and cut the adult teeth. The small breeds do not chew nearly as long as the large breeds do. Also, make sure small toys, shoes, socks, or anything you do not want your baby to chew on are put away. It is much harder to break the bad habit than it is to prevent the habit all together. Make sure electrical cords and house plants are out of reach. These can hurt your baby and even kill it! Small toys can also be swallowed and kill your baby.

Where baby stays when your away and asleep. If you have to be away from your baby put it in a carrier that is not to large for the puppy. Give it just enough room to lay down, sit and turn around. If given to much room it will use this space to potty in. This will make house training impossible! Also never leave feed and water in the carrier. They will not potty where they sleep. Put your baby in the carrier at night to sleep. I have sent a plush toy that has your babies litter mates scent on it. Put that in with the puppy as it relieves stress and is something it can snuggle up to that has a familiar scent to it. Putting the puppy in the carrier also saves your mattress from having to be replaced due to accidents! If the puppy cries, let it! Put the carrier in a room where you can not hear the cries at night and you will all sleep better. It will not hurt a puppy to cry!

All important house training! Always remember that this is a baby. It takes time for this tiny baby to figure out just what you expect from it. Never hit your baby or rub their face in their accidents! This only teaches them that relieving themselves is a bad thing and it makes you mad! If they do have a accident where you do not want them to potty, take the puppy to the mess and show it to them. Let them smell it and tell it that was a bad puppy. Then put puppy in the carrier in the same room as the rest of the family for about 30 minutes. Yes, puppy will cry. Let it. That is the idea! It will soon learn that it has to be in the carrier instead of out playing if it potties where it not supposed to. Do Not put puppy outside! Outside is fun and you have just told it that if it potties there it gets to go outside and play. You have rewarded it for being bad! After baby eats, drinks, and wakes up, get it to the place you expect it to potty. If that is outside, never leave your baby alone. It not only will frighten it but it can be dangerous as other animals now have a chance to eat your baby. When baby potties where you want it to, reward and praise it like crazy! I use Goldfish crackers as a treat. They are cheap, just the right size, they love them, and if they get stale the puppy could care less. These are also good for teaching tricks as they would climb a telephone pole for one! If you plan to use a litter pan, put baby in it and do not let it out until it has pottyed. Then use praise and Goldfish. If you find a poop on the floor, put it in the spot you want baby to potty and the scent will draw it to that spot. If there is a spot it keeps going back to that is not acceptable, go get a piece of plastic floor runner. Cut the runner about twice as big as the spot and turn it upside down and place it on that spot. It has spikes on the bottom and will hurt babies tiny feet. Ouch!! Baby wont go there again!!
 

Shots and worming. Your baby does not have an immune system of its own until it is about 16 weeks old. It has been protected by Moms immunities thru her milk. Your baby will have had its first baby shot and a kennel cough shot by the time it reaches you. There is an index card in all the paperwork in the package on top of its carrier. That card is for your vet. Take it with you on your first vet visit so they know just what baby has had and will need in th future. Make an appointment as soon as you can to see the vet. This is very important!!! Your baby will need a Parvo shot every three weeks until it is about 14-16 weeks old. Parvo is in the ground. Puppies sniff everything, eat anything, and get into everything and can pick this up. If they do and it is not protected by the shot, your baby will become very ill very fast and can die in a hurry!!! You can even carry it in on your shoes and expose baby to it even if it has not been outside. At 14-16 weeks your baby can have the adult shots and will be done for a year. When it comes to worming, I recommend Frontline Topspot or Revolution. Both are a topical you put on the skin between the shoulder blades once a month. This guards against fleas, ticks, lice, worms, and even ear mites. This can be purchased on line at PetMed.com and PetRX.com. It can also be purchased at your vets office. Your baby will have had it’s first dose by the time it reaches you. After all, who wants those critters in their house? Not me!!!!!! Please do not use the cheap stuff you can get over the counter!!!! It can make baby sick and even kill it!!!!

Spaying and Neutering. This is very important as it makes a much healthier pet. A little male can be neutered as soon as 6 weeks. I can get this done before your baby ships to you or you can have it done shortly after you get him. Neutering your baby does away with testicular cancer and the hormones that will make your baby run away if a female is near and in heat. It also does away with the need to mount friends and family or anything else that hold s still long enough for him to do so. I recommend this be done at a very early age so the hormones have not kicked in yet. Females have to wait a bit longer as you have to go into the gut to spay her. Please do this as soon as your vet will do it, usually about 6 months. It will get rid of the cancer in her reproductive organs and any threat of mammary( breast) cancer. He first heat will be about 6-12 months and she will bleed. This is very messy on your furniture and in your home. She may be able to get pregnant for 28 days of the heat and you will have to keep a very close eye on her as she will go off to find a male and the males will come to her for miles around to breed her. Remember, a pregnancy could kill her and raising a litter of puppies is not as easy as most people think it is! Another thing about mounting. Even after the baby has been fixed it may mount. This is not sexual behavior but the puppy is trying to determine what their social status is within its pack (family). It is important to not tolerate this behavior. Always scold baby for this, sometimes swatting with a rolled newspaper is the best trick to punish for this behavior. If there is anything I left out ask me! There are no stupid questions! If you dont know, ask!!!!Just love your baby for both you and me! I also love to receive pictures and updates on my babies after they have left me. Please drop me a line now and again and let me know how things are going. Have fun with your new family member and best friend! They will never tell your secrets and always love you even if you come home empty handed!

Grooming and bathing. I always use baby shampoo and my own conditioner. There are several good products on the market but I like baby shampoo as it is gentle on the skin, it is cheap, and will not hurt babies eyes. I use conditioner as your baby may have dry skin and the coat is so fine that it may get matts in it. Be very careful with the blow dryer as human blow dryers get very hot and can burn tender skin. Just hold it away from the puppy when drying. Remember, if it is to hot for your hand, it is to hot for your puppy. Try to brush your baby daily. It is not only a bonding process, it also makes it easier for the groomer when baby makes that first visit. After all, Mom groomed baby everyday and baby loved her very much. If at first baby fights you, make it hold still for some brushing. In time it will get used to it and accept is a part of your loving and it is very relaxing for both of you.