Caring For Your Puppy

Important Information for your Designer Dog

1.  Preventing Illness

Besides generally being “in touch” with your Dalmatian, there are regimented measures you can take to help prevent illness.   Food items that you should NEVER give your dog:

• Chocolate, Tea, Coffee
• Alcoholic Beverages and nicotine products
• Grapes, Raisins or Macadamia nuts
• Bones from fish, poultry or other meats
• Raw eggs, onions, or garlic

Apart from this you should avoid giving sugar (such as candy) to your dog. And salt or salty foods should not be given to your dog – even in small amounts as snacks.

It is essential to feed your dog the right foods to keep him healthy and to avoid complex health issues. Due to improper nutrition, dogs can suffer from vomiting, belching, loose stools, gassiness and stomach ache after meals. More severe problems include changes in heart rate, electrolyte imbalances, seizures, poisoning, and death. In order to give your dog a long, happy, and healthy life, you need to be conscientious about what you feed him.

• Always administer prescribed medications to your pet as directed by your veterinarian.  Since there are some diseases that are almost always fatal, the best approach is prevention.
• Always take your pet to see your veterinarian at least once a year for a check-up.
• Get in the habit of regularly checking your puppy for fleas, ticks, or skin conditions.  return to top

2.  Day-To-Day Care of Your Puppy

Bringing a puppy into your home is exciting for everyone but remember your puppy is suddenly in an environment it does not know. Give him some time to adjust to his new home. Here are some things you can do to help your puppy feel comfortable and safe:

• Teach children not to be rough with puppy; no pulling ears, whiskers, or tail.
• Act calm, not rowdy, around puppy. 
• Provide a warm, soft bed and crate in a cozy out-of-the-way place
• Give puppy a soft, indestructible toy or two.  return to top

3.  Puppy Proof Your Home

You'll soon see that a curious puppy will explore anything and everything it can reach. It does not know which things are puppy-safe, so puppy-proof your home by doing these important things:

• Keep electrical cords out of chewing reach
• Keep household & garden chemicals locked away from puppy
• Keep garbage cans/bags secure from puppy
• Check around vehicles before moving them
• Keep ALL medications out of reach
• Keep pens, pencils, markers, crayons, and paints put up and out of reach
• Keep floors picked up; remember that anything on the floor is "fair game"  return to top

4.  Traveling With Puppy in a Car

• Drive puppy around in the car to get him used to the sounds and movements accociated with riding in the car
• Put puppy in a special doggy seat belt or traveling crate
• Put puppy in the back. If a car pulls out in front of you and you have a 20-mile per hour impact, the air bag will kill your dog even when he is an adult. An airbag is designed to stop a 180-pound person, not a 60-pound dog. Keeping the dog in back will also help avoid distractions while you are driving.
• Never put a leash on puppy then tie the leash to something to secure it because your puppy may be choked if the car stops suddenly
• Never leave your pet alone in the car for more than a few minutes
• Never leave your pet alone in a car on a hot day for any amount of time  return to top

5.  Socialization

Like people, your puppy needs to learn how to act around others and in places outside his home. Help build his confidence by introducing him to people right away. Watch him carefully so you can offer safety and reassurance if he seems frightened, but over time, he will learn to be with other people and display appropriate behavior. Introduce puppy to all of the sights, environments and situations you can. Drive puppy around in the car or visit the local dogs-allowed pet store. Introduce puppy to birds and cats and squirrels (carefully). Go hiking or to a park where there are lots of people. These things and anything else you can think of will help puppy feel comfortable in social settings and keep him from acting inappropriately because he is afraid (aggressive or out of control, for example).  return to top

6.  Disciplining Your Puppy

You should start disciplining your puppy right away. Use firm “No!” and lots of praise to differentiate between things you want him to do and things you don’t. Two things that puppies do by nature are bite when they play, and chew. Bite and chew, bite and chew. When these occur, tell puppy “No” emphatically and give him something he is allowed to chew, like a toy. Reward the behavior you like by praising him for chewing the toy.

Enroll your puppy in puppy kindergarten and then follow up with basic obedience. Statistics show that well-trained dogs are far less likely to be given up for adoption by their owners. Check out the trainer carefully. A Dalmatian does best with motivational training that relies on praise, treats, and toys. Dalmatians resent harsh training methods and may react negatively.   return to top

7.  Potty Training

You should start potty training right away. You may want to seek out the help of a trainer to assist in potty training, but with consistency and repetition, you can do it yourself. Start by committing to take puppy outside as soon as he wakes up, before and after every meal, after a round of play, and at least once during the night. Always take him to the same spot so he starts to associate “going potty” with this spot.

While inside, if you see puppy looking distracted, walking in circles, sniffing the ground or squatting, get him – he is about to go potty! Pick him up, take him to the “potty spot” and tell him to “go potty or “go outside,” using the same phrase every time. Always praise puppy each time he goes potty outside. Again, reward the behavior you like with praise.
If puppy goes potty inside and you catch him in the act, tell him “no” emphatically then take him outside to the “potty spot” and give him the “potty phrase.” You may have heard or been advised to rub puppy’s nose in the potty when he goes inside. This is bad advice. Never rub puppy’s nose in the potty, this can associate a negativity with something that is only “nature” and cause other more dangerous behavior. It is unsanitary and there are better praise-based methods for training puppy.  If you don’t catch puppy in the act of going inside, do not scold him. Too much time has passed for puppy to understand what he has done wrong. Just clean up the mess and wait for the next opportunity to teach.

As you can see, repetition and consistency are the keys to successful training. If you are persistent, within a few weeks, puppy will ask to go outside when he as to potty.  return to top

8.  Miscellaneous Basic Puppy Tips

1. Immediately have an ID tag made for your puppy in case he wanders from home. Some people prefer to microchip.
2. A collar should be introduced as soon as possible.  You should be able to fit two fingers under the collar when it's on. Check the fit often because puppies grow quickly.
3. Be sure your Dalmatian's shots are always up to date and that he has a county or city license.
4. Spay or neuter your puppy at about six months of age. In addition to being foolproof birth control, spaying and neutering have health benefits.
5. Be sure your dog is on heartworm preventive year round
6. Have your dog's nails trimmed at least every other week.
7. Learn to brush your dog's teeth and do so several times a week.
8. Feeding dishes: Stainless steel is easiest to keep clean and doesn't break. Remember to clean your dog's feeding dishes daily to prevent bacteria from collecting
9. Take the time to housebreak your puppy correctly. Buy a crate for housebreaking and for providing your Dalmatian with a place it feels safe in when you are not able to supervise it.
10. Always provide proper safety your puppy by providing a securely fenced yard. Never allow your dog to run at large in the neighborhood.
11. Always walk your puppy on lead.
12. Socialize your new puppy with a variety of people of all ages, sizes, and ethnic backgrounds.
13. Socialize your new puppy with a variety of other dogs.
14. Make your Dalmatian a part of the family.
15. Carefully supervise young children when they are playing with the puppy. Rough handling can damage a puppy physically and mentally.
16. Do not play games like tug-of-war that encourage growling or nipping.
17. Never allow your dog to eliminate on someone else's property.
18. Read some books on puppy training.
19. Never leave your dog out at night.
20. Pick up dog droppings in your yard frequently.
21. If you have a problem, contact us or your veterinarian immediately.    return to top