The little puppy has now come home. The little life will be your companion and responsibility. The puppy is like a small infant who has to be molded and brought up in the right way. The only difference here is that the puppy doesn’t understand the human language and thus with a lot of patience and care needs to be taught the right from wrong.
The puppy needs to be firstly given a couple of puppy shots by a vet. The vet will also provide syrups to add to calcium to its food intake. This needs to be given at least till the puppy is a year old. In case of big canines, strong bones are a must to balance out its body weight. So these medicines in the form of syrup need to be either mixed with milk or the puppy food. Also it is extremely important for the puppy to get its timely nutrition adequately. This will help the puppy to develop into a strong and healthy dog in the future.
The first few weeks just let the puppy ease up and get accustomed to the house and the family members. This is a subtle way of saying that the puppy will pee and poop in places it wishes to do so. This can be a little tiring and makes you even want to second guess as to why you had to take up an additional role when you’re already finding it difficult to deal with your life crisis. But trust me, it’s worth it!
It’s a gradual procedure to potty train your puppy. Use the cloth that you wipe the pee with and keep it in the toilet or terrace where the puppy could pee in the house. Once it gets the smell from the cloth the dog will make sure that it has its pee spot intact. Similarly with the pooping part but however it takes longer for them to get accustomed to pooping in one place. Every time you see them going round and round in a particular stop it is a sign they are about to poop. Instead of scrubbing the floor and picking up the poop, you can put a newspaper when it crouches to poop. It’s not advisable to take puppies to gardens at least till they are six months old as they may contract diseases quickly due to their low immunity system. Try taking them for walks below your building at times that suit your schedule. And make sure you put a mouth guard for your puppy. The puppies are usually tempted to eat rubbish and you don’t want them falling ill. Make sure you stick to the similar time everyday and eventually it becomes a habit.
The feeding habits also may vary in the initial few weeks. The puppy may feel lonely a couple of days and may just stick to drinking water. But don’t fret or eat your heart out in the bargain at such incidences. Its quiet normal to do so! Eventually the food intake begins. The vet usually suggests the food to be given to the puppy. The puppy foods are suggested because they are wholesome and give the puppy an all round development. Also foods like boiled eggs, curd rice and milk can also be a part of the routine diet
Training them is another work you have to do in the first few months. Especially because they are teething and have a tendency to rip apart your beautiful furniture and expensive stilettos. The trick of training them is by using firm but affirmative orders and also a little treat never hurts anybody! They usually understand signs better than words, so make sure you use the same word for the action you expect your puppy to do. Its not difficult but you do need to invest some great amount of time and make sure you repeat the drill of using words every day.
When your puppy is chewing on something, use your words and be firm. Say a ‘No’ firm so that the puppy understands from your tone that whatever they are doing isn’t acceptable. If they don’t understand initially stop them from doing it by saying a firm ‘No’. Making them learn tricks like sit, stand, shake hands or paw needs a little bit of treat. Although bribing is a bad thing but it works like a charm and puppies do get motivated. It is important that you acknowledge every little accomplishment and effort put in by the puppy by rubbing his neck or forehead and calling them a good puppy!
The puppies have a lot of irritation when they undergo teething so make sure you have adequate chewable toys for it to nibble upon. Chew sticks are also pretty good although they may take a whole week to chew on it. A more natural substitute would be the tender coconut shell. They enjoy chewing on something so huge and juicy. It also keeps them active and keeps their focus off the home appliances and furniture.
The puppy takes a few weeks to get accustomed to their new surroundings. However, they are fast learners and the willingness to train them would help them learn ever faster. Everybody has a different home environment with a puppy with a different nature. At the end its all a matter of learning through trial and error. I don’t believe in professional trainers because they use some pretty strenuous methods to teach the puppies. Also they are expensive and the puppies become used to the trainers giving commands. So when you try to do the exact same thing as the trainer, you will be surprised to find a little less enthusiasm in doing the tricks.
The more time you spend with your puppy, more is the growth of the bond that you both will share. Its really surprising the things you will also learn in the process of nurturing this little bundle of joy who has nothing but unconditional love to offer. And the world could definitely use some love!