Puppy Care – Helping your Puppy Feel more Comfortable

Getting a new puppy is a very exciting thing, especially for families that have kids. They would want to see the puppy and play with it all day. Although puppies may be naturally full of energy and curious, some puppies have a hard time adjusting to their new environment. This could affect how they sleep and eat and may cause permanent damage to their growth, making them prone to genetic diseases like DM in dogs in the future. It’s best to help it adjust as easily and as fast as it can. Below are some tips to help your puppy feel more at home faster.

Get the house ready

Before you bring the puppy home, you have to make sure that the house is cleaned and well arranged. The puppy should be given its own space, so get it a mat or even a dog bed where it can rest and sleep. If there are rooms in the house that you don’t want the puppy to go, then place a child fence at the door.

Let it explore

Once the puppy arrives at the house, let it wander around and know its new environment a little better. It might mark its territory so get ready to clean it up and lay down some newspapers. It will be important to toilet train the puppy a few days after taking it home.

House rules

It’s important that you establish house rules as early as the first few days. Your puppy needs to know where it can eat, where it should sleep, which rooms he or she is not allowed in, just to name a few. If your puppy misbehaves, it’s best to take it to a small holding pen, and place it there for a few minutes as a form of punishment.

Treats

Give your puppy a treat each time it does something good, such as going to the bathroom outside or not biting on the table legs. Positive reinforcement and prizes are the best ways of encouraging good behavior in puppies. Give your puppy treats that have vitamins and minerals added to them. This helps keep them in good shape, grow at the right pace and avoid illnesses like DM in dogs when they grow up.

Let it play

Let your puppy play. Let it run around the house as this allows it to familiarize itself with other people and animals that are living with you. If you have kids, let them spend time playing together.

Puppy Care – 8 Vitamins your Pup Needs

Although many of us just buy a random bag of dog food for our dog, it’s actually important that they get a specific blend or formula, especially if they are still puppies. If puppies do not get the right amount of vitamins and minerals, they are more prone to develop illnesses such as DM in dogs and heart problems. Below is a short list of the different types of vitamins your puppy needs to develop a strong and healthy body.

Vitamin A

This is to ensure that the dog’s eyesight stays in top shape. It also helps build a healthy immune system. It’s important however to never overdose your dog on vitamin A since it’s fat soluble and sticks to the dog’s body fats.

Vitamin D

This vitamin is needed for strong muscles and bones. As with vitamin A, it’s a fat soluble vitamin so you should not overdose your dog with it.

Vitamin B

Your dg will need different types of vitamin Bs. Thiamin or vitamin B1 for high carbohydrate metabolism and energy. B6 is needed for a healthy immune, blood, and nervous system. The right amount of B6 also helps prevent DM in dogs. B6 deficiency can cause muscle twitching, weight loss and anemia. Lastly, B12, riboflavin and niacin is needed to help the dog prevent low levels of white blood cells and low appetite.

Calcium
Calcium is needed for strong teeth and bones. The right amount of calcium also helps normal blood coagulation and a strong nervous system. Lack of calcium will cause skeletal abnormalities.
Copper

This might sound unusual, but it’s also very important for proper bone, cell, and tissue formation. It also helps their fur color stay at its best.

Iron

Red blood cells need iron to work properly. These cells transport oxygen all over the body, and if the dog does not get enough of this substance, they become weak and lethargic.

Iodine

Iodine is needed for proper metabolism and thyroid function. Symptoms of Iodine deficiency would include thyroid gland enlargement, dry and sparse fur, and sudden weight gain.

Zinc
Dogs need this to maintain healthy skin and hair. Not having enough zinc can cause skin lesion, vomiting and low weight gain.

The best way to make sure your dog gets enough of the right vitamins and minerals is to get dog food that is appropriate for its age. You can also give it food supplements.

Puppy Care – Setting the Right Diet

One of the most frequently asked questions dog owners ask their veterinarians is what to feed to their puppies. Puppies, like human babies, required a more complex diet in order for them to grow well. They are still growing and need more than the usual combination and amount of nutrients to develop normally. Giving them the right diet will also help prevent them from developing any genetic illnesses such as degenerative myelopathy. Below are a few common food choices that dog owners give to their puppies and their pros and cons.

Table Scraps

Many people give their puppy table scraps thinking that they are enough to give them the nutrients they need. It’s also a very cheap way to feet you pets—you basically cook for yourself and your dog.  However, table scraps are not enough for a growing puppy. Scraps still lack the nutrients they need to develop strong muscles and bones.  If you are planning to give your puppy table scraps, you will need to give it food supplements to make up for the lacking vitamins and minerals.

Meat

Meat is also another common thing that dog owners give to their pets. Some vets have also recommended giving dogs meat because of its high protein content. A down side when it comes to serving meat to puppies everyday is that the protein content of meat can be too much for their kidneys. Also, you have to prepare and cook the meat properly to prevent the puppy from getting food poisoning. It can also be a bit expensive over time if you go with an all-meat diet.

Dog Food

This is the best type of food to give to dogs, no matter how old they are. High quality dog food contains all the right nutrients, vitamins and minerals specifically formulated for growing puppies. There are even dog food brands that offer a specific blend for puppy size and breeds. Dog food becomes very cheap if you buy it in sacks of bulks and its available everywhere. However, care must be taken when switching dog food, since puppies have sensitive stomachs and may react negatively when introduced to a new brand. A good way to stop this is to integrate the new dog food slowly into their diet so that their system can get used to it.

Since puppies are still developing, it is a good idea to give them supplements to make sure they are getting enough nutrients. Another thing to be careful about is their diet. Puppies grow very fast, and you have to make sure you do not over feed them. Over weight dogs are more prone to illnesses like cardio vascular problems, degenerative myelopathy, hip dysplasia and bone disease.

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