PUPPY CARE

You have just received a bright, new addition to your family, a CLUBMEAD Labrador puppy. Here are a few pointers to help you care for your puppy and begin to teach him proper manners.  

     Your puppy has had his first set of vaccinations and a health exam given by our vet. Please consult your veterinarian for his advise on a vaccination program. We recommend that the pup have at least two boosters and a Rabies vaccine. You should also have the Bordetella vaccination done if you will be kenneling your dog.  

     Your puppy is currently on a diet of Iam’s Puppy Food. He is being fed dry kernels and should not have water or canned food added. Fresh drinking water should be available. There are two choices for feeding schedules. The first is to free feed, making food available at all times. A puppy will not over eat and you can follow this method until 4 to 5 months of age. At that time set out his ration (4-6 cups depending on the size of the pup) and once it’s gone don’t refill until the next day. This method tends to keep the dog from becoming one that chokes his food back in a gulp. The second method is to give regular meals. At this time the puppy will require 3 meals per day early am, mid afternoon and evening. Give the puppy about 20 minutes to eat as much as he wants. Make sure to increase the amount as he grows. By 4 months you can cut back to 2 meals a day until about 8 months at which time once a day is fine. 

You can keep your puppy on the Iam’s Puppy Food until about 4 months. At this age the bones of the puppy really grow. In order to help prevent bone and joint problems it is important that this growth period take it’s time. We recommend that you switch his diet to Iam’s Large Breed Puppy Food. The puppy  will still attain his full size but it will give the rest of him a chance to keep up. Once your puppy has reached his full height at about 10 months you can start feeding a complete adult diet. It is extremely important that you do not allow your puppy to become overweight. 

House training and crate training go hand in hand. Your puppy should learn to sleep in his crate and this means both at night and for naps during the day. Make sure the puppy has done all of his business before bedtime. He should be able to sleep through most of the night. If he wakes at 1AM you should probably leave him, if he messes it can always be cleaned up in the morning. If he starts crying at 5AM you should take this call seriously and take the puppy outside. If you start getting up at 1AM it will become a habit for the pup. The pup will probably cry for a while the first few nights but be patient and plug your ears. We found the best thing was to cover the crate with a blanket so he feels more secure. It will get better, honestly. Puppies do not want to mess in their bed so if you start with a large crate it is best to block off part of it so they can’t mess in one end and sleep in the other. When you put the puppy outside to the bathroom you MUST go outside with him. The first reason is in order to praise the pup when he goes, the second is that if he’s out by himself he’ll just want back in with you. Instead of doing his business outside he’ll be at the door crying and when you let him in he’ll remember that he had to go and have an accident.  

After his initial trip outside the puppy will want to eat and play. Another trip outside would be appropriate about every 20 to 30 minutes during this awake period (which is not long at this age). You will soon learn the signals of a puppy that needs to go and it won’t need to be so often. When the puppy starts to get drowsy put him back in the crate for a nap and start the process all over. At this point is seems like a lot of work but it will be worth it and it’s a lot easier than the old paper method. You will notice that the puppy will go into his crate himself when he’s sleepy before too long. 

DO NOT PLAY TUG OF WAR. This is the worst game ever invented to play with a dog. It teaches the animal to struggle against you and that there must be a winner. Labs love to retrieve so play fetch games. A training bumper, tennis ball or rope toy are best. Teach your pup to give instead of trying to pull it away. If he doesn’t want to bring it back try running away or hiding but DO NOT chase him. If you start to chase it becomes a game and teaching the pup to COME becomes impossible. 

We recommend that between 10 and 12 weeks you have the puppy wear his nylon collar and drag a 6 foot leash wherever he goes. This way when you call him and he turns to scoot the other way you can stomp on the leash and get him back to you. By doing this exercise at this age you will teach the pup respect and the beginnings of coming when he’s called. You can not do this exercise at a later age because they quickly figure out when the leash is on. You will never be able to have the same effect with this lesson as you will now. Be sure to take the leash off when the pup is in the crate or when the pup is not being supervised.  

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Page last updated on: February 16, 2005
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