NEW FAMILY ADDITIONS - FOUR LEGGED FUR BABIES

Woof! Woof! to all our local fur baby families from the Buddy’s Bites Team - Kerri, Matt, Mikayla, Bailey, Oakey & our newest family member Buddy.

Since our last article we have a new four-legged fur baby in our house and store!

Talk about re-education (for the adults), late night toilet trips, keeping things above ground height, out of reach of little paws and jaws.

So! In this edition we thought it fitting to share some simple tips and insights from our experience on introducing a new puppy into your family.

Well behaved dogs do not happen by accident. Time, patience, and love needs to be invested in your four- legged family member. So where to start?

1. Socialisation
2. Toilet Training
3. Feeding & Nutrition
4. Grooming
5. Positive Training
6. Bite-inhibition
7. Crate Training

Puppies undergo developmental changes at rapid rates. Critical socialisation begins around 4 weeks and ends somewhere between 14 & 16 weeks.

Short walks are a great during this period. Always use positive reassurance and reward behaviour with small healthy treats. We are so lucky to have some great walking trials around Littlehampton and the surrounding area.

It is important that you limit your puppy from exposure to dog parks and walking trials with a high volume of dogs until your pup has had their vaccinations. We recommend you discuss with your vet on when it is safe.

Mental exercise and stimulation are the key part of development. Introduce different toys suitable for your four-legged friend. Snuffle mats and LickiMats are both good tools to distract, redirect behaviour and channel anxiety.

Toilet training requires persistence, consistency, positivity, and a plan. Choose the spot. A grassed or lawn area. Remember this spot will become the go to place for your pup. Use cue words i.e. toilet. using short words and the same words are the best way to train. Use healthy small treats as reassurance to maintain a positive experience for your puppy.

Your pup needs to become accustomed to new sounds around the house and in your yard sooner rather than later. Loud noises like lawn mowers, hair dryers, vacuum cleaners etc. We suggest you give them the opportunity to sniff and experience the sounds with positive reactions.

New experiences like grooming should be introduced from around 8 weeks, do not over bath your baby as it is not good for their skin. Use suitable combs/brushes for your puppy’s coat. Ensure you use puppy products that are accredited. We prefur all natural. There are several great grooming salons in the area.

Training should be done in small burses of 5 to 8 mins. Touch, sit, drop and recall are the basic starters.

We highly recommend from our experience you and your puppy attend Puppy School. Mount Barker Veterinary Clinic and Nairne Vet both run classes, great way to start socialisation outside of the home.

Recommendation is to enrol from around 9 weeks of age, first vaccinations are required. These classes are usually 4 lessons, once a week for 4 weeks.

Our biggest tips of having a new puppy, is it should be fun, it takes time and dedication.

There is a-lot of information available, you can research just about any topic on the internet. Your local pet stores can also recommend and assist to help.

The Buddy’s Bites Team are only too happy to help you with any enquiries on dog & cat products & quality fresh preservative free pet food and healthy Australian treats.