Caring for Your New Poodle Puppy
Vet Appointment
Your puppy will be up to date on vaccinations and wormed. Your vet will continue a vaccination schedule, which you must follow and keep up with. Puppies get a series of vaccinations just like children go through immunizations. It is typically one booster shot per month until they are about 16 weeks of age. All pups are born with round worms so we worm them often. They should not have any worms by the time they go home but it is always a good idea to take a fresh stool sample to your vet to have it checked for protozoa’s and parasites just in case.
Vet Appointment
Your puppy will be up to date on vaccinations and wormed. Your vet will continue a vaccination schedule, which you must follow and keep up with. Puppies get a series of vaccinations just like children go through immunizations. It is typically one booster shot per month until they are about 16 weeks of age. All pups are born with round worms so we worm them often. They should not have any worms by the time they go home but it is always a good idea to take a fresh stool sample to your vet to have it checked for protozoa’s and parasites just in case.
Coccidiosis (aka Coccidia)
We also want all of our customers to be well aware of the signs of stress in a puppy. Lots of puppies can stress out from the move. Think about it, new sounds, new smells, new voices, new faces and absolutely everything is different. This can cause a little puppy to become very scared. Even though you shower your puppy with attention and love, he or she can still become stressed from the changes. The first sign of stress is a loose stool. First it can get loose, then mucousy or even a tint of pink may appear in it (blood). Not to worry, it is very curable! This is what is diagnosed as Coccidiosis (aka Coccidia). I have done lots of research on this and the best way I can describe it is as follows. Coccidia is a protozoa that is dormant like in the intestines. It is commonly referred to as a parasite but it is indeed a protozoa. Not that it matters, they are treated pretty much the same. When a puppy gets upset, this protozoa can become active and irritate the intestinal lining which thus causes the loose stool, mucous and blood. If ignored, it can be very serious and fatal. If you know what to watch for, you can catch it and treat it right away.
Most vets prescribe an oral antibiotic called Albon. Albon is a sweet tasting oral antibiotic that is given once a day for about 10 days. It is remarkable how quickly it takes affect. Within 24 hours usually you will see a big change. Now remember this is if you are keeping watch on your puppy and looking for signs. If ignored, a puppy will get diarrhea and it only goes down hill from there. Worse case would be not only the diarrhea but also vomiting and eventually becoming lethargic and dehydrated. The smaller the puppy, the quicker you can lose them. Although this may be very scary to you, we have never lost a puppy to coccidia. We have only seen it show up in pups at two times. The first time is when they are being weaned from the mom if it happens too quickly and the other is when they move to their new home. I have read that it can come on in a matter of only seven hours! The way we try to prevent this is by sending a bottle of Albon home with your puppy when he or she leaves if we believe there is a high chance of them getting it. My vet thinks it is a good idea to just use the Albon as a preventative as well as a treatment. If you have any questions at all on this subject, please ask!
We also want all of our customers to be well aware of the signs of stress in a puppy. Lots of puppies can stress out from the move. Think about it, new sounds, new smells, new voices, new faces and absolutely everything is different. This can cause a little puppy to become very scared. Even though you shower your puppy with attention and love, he or she can still become stressed from the changes. The first sign of stress is a loose stool. First it can get loose, then mucousy or even a tint of pink may appear in it (blood). Not to worry, it is very curable! This is what is diagnosed as Coccidiosis (aka Coccidia). I have done lots of research on this and the best way I can describe it is as follows. Coccidia is a protozoa that is dormant like in the intestines. It is commonly referred to as a parasite but it is indeed a protozoa. Not that it matters, they are treated pretty much the same. When a puppy gets upset, this protozoa can become active and irritate the intestinal lining which thus causes the loose stool, mucous and blood. If ignored, it can be very serious and fatal. If you know what to watch for, you can catch it and treat it right away.
Most vets prescribe an oral antibiotic called Albon. Albon is a sweet tasting oral antibiotic that is given once a day for about 10 days. It is remarkable how quickly it takes affect. Within 24 hours usually you will see a big change. Now remember this is if you are keeping watch on your puppy and looking for signs. If ignored, a puppy will get diarrhea and it only goes down hill from there. Worse case would be not only the diarrhea but also vomiting and eventually becoming lethargic and dehydrated. The smaller the puppy, the quicker you can lose them. Although this may be very scary to you, we have never lost a puppy to coccidia. We have only seen it show up in pups at two times. The first time is when they are being weaned from the mom if it happens too quickly and the other is when they move to their new home. I have read that it can come on in a matter of only seven hours! The way we try to prevent this is by sending a bottle of Albon home with your puppy when he or she leaves if we believe there is a high chance of them getting it. My vet thinks it is a good idea to just use the Albon as a preventative as well as a treatment. If you have any questions at all on this subject, please ask!
Hypoglycemia
If you are in the market for a Teacup or Tiny puppy, you may have read already about the risks of hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) in the smaller puppies. First of all there has to be a reason for a puppy’s blood sugar level to drop. A happy, healthy puppy is not going to just get low blood sugar for no reason! It can be brought on by poor diet or an illness. First and far most important, they must be eating well. If a puppy refuses to eat because they are still adjusting, we recommend feeding them pretty much whatever they will eat! I have found that puppies will eat their dry kibble much easier if there is something moist mixed in with it. Try adding cottage cheese or yogurt, some canned puppy food or baby food chicken out of the jar along with some corn syrup. This is much more enticing than just a bowl of dry puppy food. You can even add this syrup to you puppy’s drinking water as a constant source of sugar. You can even put a little warm water or pedialite over their food. Some people will boil chicken for a puppy or brown some ground beef and add rice to it. This is great for a puppy and they love it! There are many different things you can make up for a puppy but these are what I know have worked in the past.
Typically a puppy is scared when they get home, not for long but they may not want to eat on the first evening. Don’t be alarmed. This is very common and by the next day they eat like they are starving and everything is back to normal. If your puppy is pretty small, we send a tube of Nutra Cal home with the pup. This is a vitamin supplement that the main ingredient in it is corn syrup. This is what saves a lot of puppies that stand a chance of getting hypoglycemic. It can be given every two hours if needed but typically not but maybe 4 times a day. When the puppy is eating well and into his/her routine, Nutra Cal can be given once a day as a vitamin supplement. Some people have used corn syrup when there is nothing else available and their puppy is very weak (becoming hypoglycemic). If your puppy seems to be acting normal one minute, running and playing and then all of a sudden they are so tired they cannot lift their head, this is a sure sign of hypoglycemia. If ignored, the puppy will become almost lifeless, have seizures and lose conscience. This would be near death and nothing to be ignored. A puppy can die very quickly if not treated. The best thing to do is get some corn syrup down them quickly (pancake syrup …something very sweet) and rush the puppy to your vet. After giving them the sugar, they should respond within 30 minutes. They can almost return to normal but you need to find out what the cause is.
Some extremely tiny teacups need to be watched constantly because they have to eat often and get lots of TLC or they can stress and die. A very small dog is not a good idea to own if you and your family are gone a lot and have busy schedules. A teacup needs a human around and should not be left alone for more than a few hours at a time. A larger teacup is not as fragile but they do still require lots of TLC. If you like the little dogs but cannot afford the big price, check out maybe a Tiny Toy or Toy size. They are still lovely little lap dogs that can travel well and be great companions.
If you are in the market for a Teacup or Tiny puppy, you may have read already about the risks of hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) in the smaller puppies. First of all there has to be a reason for a puppy’s blood sugar level to drop. A happy, healthy puppy is not going to just get low blood sugar for no reason! It can be brought on by poor diet or an illness. First and far most important, they must be eating well. If a puppy refuses to eat because they are still adjusting, we recommend feeding them pretty much whatever they will eat! I have found that puppies will eat their dry kibble much easier if there is something moist mixed in with it. Try adding cottage cheese or yogurt, some canned puppy food or baby food chicken out of the jar along with some corn syrup. This is much more enticing than just a bowl of dry puppy food. You can even add this syrup to you puppy’s drinking water as a constant source of sugar. You can even put a little warm water or pedialite over their food. Some people will boil chicken for a puppy or brown some ground beef and add rice to it. This is great for a puppy and they love it! There are many different things you can make up for a puppy but these are what I know have worked in the past.
Typically a puppy is scared when they get home, not for long but they may not want to eat on the first evening. Don’t be alarmed. This is very common and by the next day they eat like they are starving and everything is back to normal. If your puppy is pretty small, we send a tube of Nutra Cal home with the pup. This is a vitamin supplement that the main ingredient in it is corn syrup. This is what saves a lot of puppies that stand a chance of getting hypoglycemic. It can be given every two hours if needed but typically not but maybe 4 times a day. When the puppy is eating well and into his/her routine, Nutra Cal can be given once a day as a vitamin supplement. Some people have used corn syrup when there is nothing else available and their puppy is very weak (becoming hypoglycemic). If your puppy seems to be acting normal one minute, running and playing and then all of a sudden they are so tired they cannot lift their head, this is a sure sign of hypoglycemia. If ignored, the puppy will become almost lifeless, have seizures and lose conscience. This would be near death and nothing to be ignored. A puppy can die very quickly if not treated. The best thing to do is get some corn syrup down them quickly (pancake syrup …something very sweet) and rush the puppy to your vet. After giving them the sugar, they should respond within 30 minutes. They can almost return to normal but you need to find out what the cause is.
Some extremely tiny teacups need to be watched constantly because they have to eat often and get lots of TLC or they can stress and die. A very small dog is not a good idea to own if you and your family are gone a lot and have busy schedules. A teacup needs a human around and should not be left alone for more than a few hours at a time. A larger teacup is not as fragile but they do still require lots of TLC. If you like the little dogs but cannot afford the big price, check out maybe a Tiny Toy or Toy size. They are still lovely little lap dogs that can travel well and be great companions.
Training
There are options to choose from when it comes to training your new puppy. One option is to crate train. Another option is to train the puppy to go potty on a piddle pad (aka wee wee pad or puppy training pad) or on newspaper. The last option that has become pretty popular now is litter box training. Here are some useful links on the different types of training:
There are options to choose from when it comes to training your new puppy. One option is to crate train. Another option is to train the puppy to go potty on a piddle pad (aka wee wee pad or puppy training pad) or on newspaper. The last option that has become pretty popular now is litter box training. Here are some useful links on the different types of training:
- http://www.tonypassera.com/thedogsite/www//new/article.php?article=11
- http://www.barkbytes.com/training/crate.htm
- http://www.bichon.org/crate.htm
- http://www.dvah.com/crate.htm
Dos and Don'ts
- No matter what way you choose to train your poodle puppy, be sure to always praise the pup and give him/her a treat when the job is well done. Using a stern, lower voice is enough scolding to a small breed dog. Please do not harm your puppy in any way when getting frustrated in training. Remember, they are only going to learn if you are consistent in teaching them. So many people give up or do not try hard enough to properly train a dog. A poodle is one of the most intelligent breeds out there and they are not difficult to train if the trainer is consistent.
- Puppies sleep a lot so make sure you have an area designated just for puppy. A blanket, towel or doggy bed in the corner of a room will work just fine. If you are crate training your puppy, the crate is a safe place for the puppy to nap. Once the crate training is finished, you can always remove the door from the crate and that will remain the puppy’s safe spot to rest. Dogs like small confined spaces like this. Make sure your crate is not too big (just enough room for them to lay down and turn around).
- Children should be supervised when playing with puppies. If a puppy is mistreated, it could change that puppy’s personality for the rest of his or her life! Make sure that the puppy is never left unattended with children you are unsure about. Some children are very respectful of animals and as we all know, some are never taught to be respectful.
- Never leave a puppy unattended on furniture. A poodle puppy can think he is very brave at times and may try to jump. To avoid any broken bones or worse, be sure to make a house rule of never leaving your puppy on the sofa or bed. Stairs are something that a poodle can learn to go up and down, as they get older. Even a teacup can run up and down stairs if they put their mind to it. I have some very small teacups that run up and down the stairs safely and quickly. However, I also have some full size Toy Poodles that are scared to death of a flight of stairs. It is all in what you expose them to and what they feel safe doing.
- As most of us know, Toy Poodles are very popular dogs. Never leave your puppy unattended to outdoors. I have actually had a customer report that their dog was stolen from their yard! Don’t take any chances; keep a watchful eye on your poodle no matter what his/her age is. Also be careful of large birds. Eagles, Hawks and Owls are large enough to swoop down and grab a puppy. That is a horrible thought but it has happened!
- Lastly, do not take your puppy anywhere in the public that an ill animal could have been until they are fully vaccinated. This usually means at least 16 weeks of age. Once they have all of their vaccinations in them, they are usually immune to the diseases. Public parks, pet stores that allow you to bring your pets in and vet clinics are the main places to be careful of. Of course you have to take your puppy to the vet clinic for vaccinations. However, do not put him/her down on the floor. Make sure the office is clean and the tables are cleaned with a disinfectant that tills viruses. You can never be too safe!
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