The Ultimate Puppy Guide
For a happy, healthy, loved companion. 

PUPPY TIPS
A few simple rules will help make training easier and help you dog learn the rules of the house. - Be firm and gentle, but do not punish.
- Be consistent; all family members should have the dog follow the same rules.
- Have your dog earn attention and other rewards by being calm and quiet.
- Follow through with each command, and only give each command once.
- Never hit or strike your dog for disobeying.
- Always reward good behavior with plenty of praise, patting, or with a small kibble of food.

PLAYING
Dogs require daily exercise and regular playtimes. Play is important contact between you and your new pet. It helps develop her social skills, provides exercise and strengthens the bond between the two of you. Play also provides a constructive release for your puppy’s pent-up energy. Interact with your puppy by playing catch, scent games, hiding a treat for them to find, retrieving, taking a walk in a safe environment, until fully vaccinated…avoid parks. Provide variety in toys and games to keep things interesting.

HANDLING YOUR PUPPY
Throughout her life, you will need to handle your puppy to groom her, trim her nails, check for any problems, and perhaps give medication. These will be easier if you get her used to Being handled on a regular basis. When your puppy is calm, gently run your hands over her body and feet while talking softly to her. Look into her ears and perhaps even open her mouth. Reward her with praise, petting, and tiny food tidbits.

Puppies must be taught the basics:
- Be firm and gentle, but do not punish.
-Teach your puppy to respond to her name and come when called. It is vital that you are able to command your dog’s attention and summon her immediately if she starts doing something she shouldn’t.
- Use her name often and make “Here!” the first spoken command your dog learns, always followed by praise. In this way, she will learn to associate positive experiences with this command.
- Always supervise your puppy when she is outdoors.
- While outside, your puppy or dog should be contained in a fenced area or walked on a leash.
- It’s not a good idea to tie your puppy or adult dog outside. No matter how carefully you watch him, there is always the possibility that he could break loose or be bothered and unable to escape.

CANINE PROBLEM BEHAVIORS CRYING AND WHINING
Dogs love human companionship. Although being left alone is sometimes necessary, it can be stressful--especially for a young dog. A puppy may not be sure when you are going to return. Your puppy or young dog needs reassurance and lots of reinforcement.
- You may want to start teaching him to stay alone by letting him spend short periods of time in his crate while you are at home, taking him in the car on cooler days, leaving him for short periods of time in his crate. Road trips are the best for crate training and potty training. Praise him when he is quiet.
- Try not to make a big production out of leaving or returning to avoid reinforcement of any possible feelings of anxiety.
- Provide safe toys as a distraction from loneliness. You might also leave a radio playing softly in another room so that he hears voices and feels secure.

CHEWING
Puppy chewing is usually due to teething, lack of appropriate outlets for exercise, or stress. Giving a puppy ice cubes can help relieve sore gums, and plenty of safe chew toys will provide appropriate outlets for chewing. When you catch your puppy in the act of chewing something off limits, bring this inappropriate behavior to your puppy’s attention by saying, “No Bite” or “Leave It” and redirecting his attention to chewing a safe toy. Praise him when he chews the toy by saying a in happy voice, “Good Boy!” Avoid bully sticks, rawhide, brittle bones, anything that can break off or stuffing/parts that can be swallowed.

WHY PUPPIES NEED SPECIAL NUTRITION
Keeping your dog in ideal body condition, and providing 100 percent complete and balanced, high quality nutrition is key to helping him live a happy, healthy life. Your puppy has been started on Hill’s Science Diet Small Bites Puppy. Her first year your puppy needs the best possible nutrition to help build strong bones and teeth, promote proper development of body functions, build strong muscles, good vision, and a thick, luscious coat. Your puppy will do best on food that is specially formulated for growth. The caloric requirements of puppies gradually decrease over time and varies by breed or size. Many breeds complete growth and development in approximately one year. Consult your veterinarian about what type of nutrition is most appropriate for your dog at any particular life stage. We try to avoid corn, wheat, and soy. Avoid grain free diets, and too many additives and dyes. Real meat should be the first ingredient of your dog’s food. A comparable brand of food is Kirkland puppy food.

WHEN TO SWITCH TO ADULT FOOD
The general rule is to switch your puppy to adult food when she has finished growing-usually around her first birthday.

KEEPING YOUR PUPPY SAFE
Puppies are lively, curious, and they teethe. This can lead them into serious trouble unless you take preventative measures. It’s practically impossible to completely puppy-proof your home against accidents; but for your puppy’s safety, here are some suggestions:
- Confine your puppy to a safe area inside and keep doors and windows closed.
- Keep your puppy off balconies, upper porches, and high decks.
- Securely store hazardous items such as cleaning supplies, paint, mothballs, insect and rodent poisons, and antifreeze.
- Remove poisonous houseplants or place them in hanging baskets out of your puppy’s reach.
- Keep toilet seats down. Toilet bowl cleansers are harmful if swallowed.
- Unplug, remove, or cover any electrical cords in your puppy’s confinement area.
- Keep small sewing supplies and hardware items, such as buttons, needles, string, nails, aluminum can tab, or other sharp objects out of puppy’s reach.
- Keep plastic bags away from your puppy. Remove any plastic retainer rings from pop or water bottles before allowing your puppy to play with them. The plastic ring can come off and get lodged int your puppy’s throat or in their intestine.
- Puppies love to chew on and eat worn underwear because it has your scent. Make sure your laundry is picked up and your puppy doesn’t have access to the laundry basket. Swallowed cloth can block the intestine resulting in emergency surgery and possible death.

                                                POTTY TRAINING: THE 7 C’s
Along with teaching your puppy or new dog his name, and how to “come” when called, another important lesson is housetraining. Your puppy or new dog should be vaccinated before you begin to teach him to use an outdoor area away from home for eliminating. Consistency is key when it comes to housetraining. Potty training is as much about training the human as it is about training the puppy.
CONSISTENT FEEDING You must be consistent with both food and water and time of feeding. By feeding your dog at the same time each day, you can train his digestive system to become more predictable. He will need to eliminate shortly after each meal (usually within 20 to 30 minutes).
CONSISTENT SUPERVISION Your dog may also need to eliminate when he wakes in the morning and after naps, after he finishes playing, after he drinks water, and just before bedtime. Use the same door each time your take your dog outside so he will associate it with going outside to eliminate. We have had great success with using potty bells. (This is a string of bells that hangs down from the doorknob that your dog can learn to hit them with her nose to alert you they need to go out.) As you take your puppy out the door, ring the bells so she begins to associate ringing the bells with going outside to eliminate. These are very intelligent dogs and they will catch on quickly.
CONSISTENT SPOT FOR ELIMINATION Take your dog outside to the same spot each time. Initially, we like to carry them out, so they don’t mistakenly go along the way. When she has finished, bring her inside immediately. Do not extend this period to an outdoor play session, or your dog will become confused about the purpose of the visit (when they are first being potty trained for the first couple of weeks).
CONSISTENT “SAFE PLACE” Be sure to teach your dog immediately that his crate is his safe place, where she sleeps and naps. You can place a few safe, hard rubber or nylon chew toys in the crate, but not food or water. After she is housetrained, you can place a towel or washable bedding to lie on. Always give your dog an opportunity to eliminate prior to crating her, and immediately after taking her out of the crate.
CONSISTENT PRAISE AND ENCOURAGEMENT Encourage her by using words such as “potty time” or “hurry” so that she will associate these words with relieving herself. Reward her with calm praise; perhaps a piece of kibble and say “good dog” when she has finished. CONSISTENT SCHEDULE The first thing each morning, take your dog from her crate outside to her elimination spot. Dogs respect their sleeping quarters and will not soil their crate if they are taken out at regular intervals and not made to remain confined longer than their bladder or bowel. A puppy’s bowel and bladder control are not yet fully developed. A rule of thumb: add one to her age in months (for a maximum of 8 hours) to equal the number of hours she can be confined comfortably. For example, a 2-month-old puppy should not be confined for more than three hours.
CONSISTENT PARAMETERS During housetraining when your dog is out of his confined area, she should not be allowed to have the run of the house unless you are right there to watch her. When you are away, leave her in her crate or confine her to one room that is puppy proofed and can easily be cleaned-kitchen, laundry room, bathroom. Remember that a puppy should not be confined to her crate for long periods of time, as her bowel and bladder control are not yet fully developed. A rule of thumb: add one to his age in months (for a maximum of 8 hours) to equal the number of hours he can be confined comfortably.

                           PUPPY PROOFING & ADDITIONAL SAFETY MEASURES
Common plants poisonous to dogs: Amaryllis, Azalea, Bleeding Heart, Caladium, Clematis, Daffodil, Daphne, Dieffenbachia, English Ivy, Foxglove, Holly, Iris, Ivy (most types), Mistletoe, Morning Glory, Narcissus, Oleander, Philodendron (all), Poinsettia, Potato, Rhododendron Rubber Plant, Tobacco, Tulip, Yew

Foods that may be dangerous to dogs if ingested: Alcoholic beverages, Apple Seeds, Apricot Pits, Avocados, Cherry Pits, Macadamia nuts, Grapes, Garlic, Hops (used in home brewing), Candy-esp chocolate is toxic to dogs, cats, and ferrets and any candy sweetened with Xylitol, Coffee- grounds, beans, and chocolate covered expresso beans, Yeast dough, Gum (can cause blockages and sugar-free may contain toxic sweetener Xylitol), Moldy foods, Mushrooms, Mustard seeds, Onions, Onion Powder, Peach Pits, Raisins, Rhubarb leaves, Salt, Walnuts, Potato plant leaves & stems, Tea (contains caffeine), Tomato leaves & stems

Toys to Avoid If your dog can fit a toy in its mouth, the toy is too small and could be unsafe. Avoid sponge toys or items with squeakers, whistles, or other attached parts that your dog could chew off and swallow. Avoid Bully Sticks and Rawhide, they can break off and cause bowel blockage or expand in the stomach. Keep your dog away from children’s toys made of rubber, wool, sponge, or polyurethane. Swallowing any of these materials could cause digestive problems. Don’t let your dog play with old shoes or clothes. This makes all of your clothing and shoes fair game.
Pet Insurance As you can see above, there are many things that can be dangerous and cause injury to your beloved pet. That is why we highly recommend Pet Insurance. Though it seems expensive, it can pay off quickly. One afterhours or weekend Pet ER visit will cost you the equivalent of several years of pet insurance premiums. I speak from experience with a well housetrained, eight-year-old dog who had NEVER gotten into anything in our pantry. One Saturday night he decided to help himself to two bags of chocolate chips, a bag of brown sugar and three packages of yeast. They were able to save him, but that was a very expensive overnight pet emergency room visit. Many pet insurances also cover the costs of routine care. Microchipping I encourage you to have your puppy microchipped as soon as possible. This helps to protect your pup and get them reunited with you in case they are ever separated from you. I also recommend a scannable byte tag that sends you a notification of their location when the tag is scanned. These now come in neoprene sleeves that fit onto your dog’s collar so you don’t have noisy or potentially dangerous dangling tags if they were to get caught on anything. When you get your puppy microchipped, please also send me a copy of their microchip number for the AKC litter paperwork.

                                   HOW TO NOT OVER-EXERCISE YOUR PUPPY
When we first get a dog, most of us dream of long rambling walks with our new companion – and there is no doubt that exploring the countryside or local parks together is a real joy of dog ownership. In our enthusiasm to “get out there” however, we can sometimes forget that our new puppy is only a baby, and like any baby, their physical abilities are limited. This means that we can cause lasting damage by over-exercising or expecting too much in the early months of life. Until a dog reaches sexual maturity-which is different in each breed- their bones are still growing. The growth plates within the bones, which allow them to lengthen as the dog gets larger, stay soft for a surprisingly long time. This is why over-exercising your pup might make them vulnerable to injury. Injuries at this time may not heal properly and can cause lasting problems for the dog. In addition to the soft growth plates, the rest of the puppy’s bones are softer and so can break more easily. It’s not just the bones that are developing either-these are held together with muscles, tendons, and ligaments that are working hard to support the puppy’s growing bones and joints; and they can also be vulnerable to injury cause from over- exercising or from the wrong kid of exercise or play.

Puppy Exercise and Puppy Walking Guidelines
Knowing all this, it’s easy to panic and become overprotective, but with a few guidelines you cand make sure you get it right! First of all, remember that exercise is necessary because this is how they increase their bone density -which means strong bones and a decrease in the potential for injury as an adult.
How long should you walk a puppy? Always start your puppy out with a neoprene or mesh harness with both a front and a back clip. A harness directs the force of their pull across their body and protects their fragile and growing neck muscles and bones. When it comes to continuous puppy walking a good rule of thumb is that puppies should have no more than 5 minutes of exercise for each month of age, two times a day. So, a five-month- old puppy would have no more than 25 minutes walking twice a day. Even then, puppy walking should be very relaxed with lots of time to sniff, explore, and investigate their environment around them. Puppies are growing their brains as much as their bodies and this early exploration of the world around them is vital to their development. If at any point the puppy flops down, seems reluctant to walk, or looks tired, listen to them and act accordingly. Despite seeming to have endless energy, puppies are good at self-limiting their own exercise, and so making sure your puppy has plenty of opportunity to run around and play under their own steam is important. If you watch puppies at this age, you’ll see they run around madly for a few minutes and them flop down to rest or sleep. This isn’t just about their bodies, however. Puppies do not have the cardiovascular system for endurance either so these short bursts of energy are all they can manage as they are building stamina for the future.
Puppy Play This self-directed play should form the majority of your puppy’s exercise in their first year along with early puppy training, brain games, and interaction with you. When you are playing with your puppy, however, keep it low-key. Make sure any tug games are very gentle and never pull the toy upwards or sharply to the sides (as necks ad backs are as delicate as legs). Avoid any twists and turns if you are throwing toys- and absolutely no jumping until your vet says it is OK (this includes on and off furniture).
Puppy Exercise Toys Interactive toys ae perfect for puppy exercise as not only do they exercise their bodies; they also exercise their brains. Everything from studded Kongs to creating treasure hunts and sniff trails in the garden where your puppy can use their nose and natural instinct to explore and find dried food or other treats are great fun for puppies and help grow the bond between you two.
- While the amount of puppy exercise they can do is limited, don’t forget their brains are like a sponge and so this is a great time to focus on your puppy’s training- a good puppy class will help and also advise you on what is appropriate for your pup.
- These early months are ones where you are building your relationship with your puppy, teaching them that their new world is safe and that you are fun to be with. This is where bonds are made through games, play, snuggles, and gentle handling.

Please feel free to contact us with any questions!
Sincerely,
Montana Treasure Pups - Donna Loomis
406-498-6731
[email protected]