Golden Country Kennel
Home of Beautiful Golden Retrievers
TIPS FOR RAISING YOUR NEW PUPPY
Health tips for your puppy
Keep electric cords, string, twine, or cords, and small children’s toys that they can swallow out of reach.
If you have small children, please be careful that they don’t feed the puppy food. Some foods are poisonous to dogs, like grapes, raisins, (a cluster of grapes or a half of a large box of raisins can kill an adult size dog), apricots, peaches, chocolate, Coffee, Caffeine, large quantities of onions and garlic, cocoa, avocadoes, macadamia nuts, yeast dough, Xylitol which is used as a sweetener in many products, including gum, candy, baked goods and toothpaste, large amounts of salt (keep chips and other salty things away from your puppy), almonds, alcohol and food containing alcohol, glues and adhesives, most people medicines (ask your Vet before you give your dog any human medication. Some like Pepto Bismal is okay but Tylenol could kill a cat or a puppy).
Dogs love fruit and small amounts of apples (no seeds), watermelon, cantelope and many other fruits are okay for dogs, just watch the grapes, raisins, apricots, and peaches.
Also some plants are poisonous to various degrees from an upset stomach to death.
Pesticides, insecticides, rodent poisons, and human medications can all be harmful.
If in doubt call one of these numbers:
The ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center
They are a resource for any animal poison-related emergency, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. If you think that your pet may have ingested a potentially poisonous substance, call (888) 426-4435. A $65 consultation fee may be applied to your credit card.
National Animal Poison Control Center 1-800-548-2423
If you need to speak to a veterinarian there, this service will be billed to a credit card. An alternate number is (900) 680-0000.
A veterinarian's services on this line will cost a flat fee for the first five minutes, and an additional fee per minute for each additional minute.
These charges will be billed to your phone bill. (Call them for current pricing)
Kansas State University Veterinary Teaching Hospital 1-785-532-5679
FREE 24 hours poison control hotline for pet owners and veterinarians. Be patient. the person answering the phone may have to take a few minutes to consult the vet on duty.
Look up www.PACC911.org for a complete list of all poisons. Click on
Overheating in puppies and dogs
Pets cannot tolerate high temperatures as well as people can and they rely on rapid breathing to exchange hot air for cool air. Pets' temperatures are higher than ours -- a dog can have an average temperature of 101.5 degrees Fahrenheit.
Your dog can overheat by:
Being left in a car in warm weather, even if the windows are left slightly open. Being confined outside without shade or an adequate supply of fresh water. Having a muzzle on while a pet is being groomed, and/or leaving the muzzle on while a pet is put in a drying cage.
Exercising your Puppy – While your puppy is under a year do not let them do a lot of jumping, go on long runs, run up stairs, run along side a bicycle, or wild games. This is too dangerous for soft bones, their hip joints are not finished developing. Also, do not let them get over weight, this is also hard on developing joints.
Your new puppy should not be taken to public places before it has all it's shots, which would be at 16 weeks.
Crate Training
A dog who is trained to be content in a crate can be kept safe when traveling in a car, visiting someone else’s home, or being transported in an airplane. The use of a crate is especially helpful when introducing a new puppy or dog to the household. The crate can be used to facilitate house training, and to prevent the dog or puppy from engaging in destructive or inappropriate behavior. A crate is a puppies friend and your friend if it is used properly. The crate should be used at night to put the puppy in. When you get your puppy, he will be partially crate trained and used to sleeping in a crate and should not cry at night. Some people see the crate as cruel or punishment for the puppy. The crate is not cruel for the puppy, they prefer the crate, they feel safe in it. It is also a protection for the puppy to keep them from getting in things when you are gone. In the wild, dogs would live in dens, and the crate resembles a den to them, especially the plastic crates. The wire ones can be made to resemble a den by covering them at night, which I recommend. My dogs look for a place they can get in that resembles a den, some place with a top over it. The crate should not be used to punish the puppy. If they are getting in to everything, they probably are bored and need exercise. Don’t keep them crated more than 4 hours at a time,while they are under 6 mos., without a break. They are usually not able to hold their bladder any longer. It depends on the puppy, some can’t hold it more than 2 hours and others can go longer than 4 hours. Please, do not use the crate as a dog sitter, and keep them in it most of the time. Dogs have to have exercise and companionship, especially goldens.
Chewing
A puppy most likely will chew on things until they are fully matured, which isn’t until they are two years old. So it is your job to provide things the puppy can chew on. I do not recommend rawhide. They swallow pieces whole and they can swell up in their esophagus or stomach. I do not recommend stuffed animals, they see them as prey and they usually don’t last more than 15 minutes. I give my older dogs stuffed animals after they reach two years old. But I train them to treat them gentle, and won’t let them tear them up. Hard rubber toys are good, like Kongs, rubber Holee Roller balls. Anything you can put treats in and they can only get one out occasionally. Don’t let them have any toys too small that they can swallow, you have to treat them like children. When they get older, like 1 year old, I buy the large knuckle bones, either cooked from Pet Stores, or raw ones from the butcher. That will keep them busy for hours, but they do stink and they will leave a grease stain on your carpet. The crate is a safe place to keep them from chewing on things.
Socializing and Acclimating Your Puppy to New Situations
Your puppy will come partially socialized and acclimated, but it is your job to continue his education. He needs to be around many different color people, people in uniforms, all ages of people. If you have some people in uniform in your area, such as your mail man, ask them if they will come and give your puppy treats. Just don’t let them give them a treat or pet them until the puppy is calm and relaxed, otherwise you are reinforcing the behavior you don’t want. Take your puppy with you to pet food stores and pet supply places like Pets Mart. Don’t take them to Pet Stores, you may be exposing them to diseases.
Get your puppy around children. Take them to parks, walk them on sidewalks where there is traffic. If they should get frightened at anything, don’t baby them or you will reinforce their fear.
Feeding Your Puppy
A Golden Retriever that is overfed or fed a high protein, high calorie diet is more apt to have hip dysplasia. .A pup must be kept in trim weight, especially avoiding obesity. The best way to tell if your dog is in good shape is to run your hand across his side from front to back, if you can feel the ribs but not too noticeably, your dog is probably just right. If you can’t feel the ribs, he needs to lose some weight. Another factor that may increase the incidence of hip dysplasia is rapid growth in a puppy during the ages from three to ten months. Don’t over feed your puppy, a Golden usually will always act hungry, so don’t go by that. At 4 months switch to high quality adult food, maximum of 25% protein if pup is strong & heavy, again, to control growth speed.
When you bring your puppy home, he should be fed a minimum of 3 meals a day, preferably 4, until they are 6 months old. Feed the 6 to 12 month old puppy 2 times a day. At 1 year old you may feed once a day. Take the amount on the bag for your puppy’s weight, and divide it by the number of times you will be feeding per day, and that’s how much you should give your puppy at each feeding.
I strongly recommend feeding a non-commercial brand of dog food. No corn, or wheat please in your dog food, or preservatives. They are common allergens and can cause hot spots and ear infections, etc. in goldens. Speaking of ear infections. Check your puppy and dogs ears occasionally for dark brown in ears, a sign of either ear infection or ear mites.
Provide clean, fresh water daily for your puppy/dog.
Training
One of the most important things to know as a dog owner is that your puppy/dog is just that; he is a dog. He is not a child, and he is not human. This may sound strange, but many people treat their dog like a child. Don’t treat your dog like a person, it confuses them because their needs are different than humans. A dog needs exercise first, obedience second and affection last. (Please see Cesar Millan's website CesarsWay.com for more information on raising a puppy.) A dog thinks in terms of a pack. And to every pack there is a pack leader. You and your family must become that pack leader to your dog. If you don’t, they will have to, not by choice but because there is no other pack leader. The whole family, from the oldest to the youngest in your household needs to be viewed as pack leader. If you force your puppy/dog to be pack leader, you will not have a well-adjusted, happy dog. A pack leader is always calm and in charge. A pack leader always goes through a door first, and always eats and drinks first, always is calm and patient. Your goal is to have a calm submissive dog, but in order for them to be calm and submissive you must be calm and in charge. Always make sure your dog is calm before letting them go outside, before you give them permission to eat, before you pet them or before you give them a treat. Otherwise you are reinforcing behavior you don’t want. When feeding your puppy, teach him to sit and be calm until you release him to eat. Don’t let your dog jump on you or others, by allowing your dog to jump on you means they are not seeing you as pack leader, it is showing they do not have respect for you. All humans, even small children, should be seen as a pack leader and the dog should be the follower. A well-behaved companion canine is a joy.
You should always keep your puppy or dog on a leash in public. When you walk your dog, you should always be in front. A pack leader always goes first. The puppy or dog should be at your side, not way behind or out front.
Learn more how to raise a well behaved puppy by watching the Dog Whisperer with Cesar Millan on the National Geographic Channel. He is on a lot but new episodes are on Friday nights. See http://video.tvguide.com/Dog+Whisperer/How+to+Raise+the+Perfect+Dog, also see http://www.cesarsway.com/ He has all kinds of DVD’s from his program. If you are facing chewing problems, he has something on that, house breaking, etc. He also has an online coaching session (for a fee). There is one on puppies, housebreaking, exercise, etc.
Hyperactivity If your dog is hyperactive, it means he is not getting enough exercise. A golden requires quite a bit of exercise, at least one hour of structured exercise a day, not just running in your back yard, or running once a week at the dog park. By structured I mean taking them for walks on a leash or 1 hour on a tread mill. Dogs can be trained to use a tread mill relatively easy. Once they get over the initial fear of a new thing, they will get right on it. Watch the “Dog Whisperer” on how to train your dog to use a tread mill.
Fleas and Ticks
Daily inspections of your dog for fleas and ticks during the warm seasons are important. Use a flea comb to find and remove fleas. There are several new methods of flea and tick control. I prefer all natural products.
Heartworm
This parasite lives in the heart and is passed from dog to dog by mosquitoes. Heartworm infections can be fatal. Your dog should have a blood test for heartworm every spring—this is crucial for detecting infections from the previous year. A once-a-month pill given during mosquito season will protect your dog. If you travel south with your pet during the winter, your dog should be on the preventive medicine during the trip. In some warmer regions, veterinarians recommend preventive heartworm medication throughout the year.
Spaying and Neutering
Females should be spayed—the removal of the ovaries and uterus—and males neutered—removal of the testicles—by six months of age. Spaying before maturity significantly reduces the risk of breast cancer, a common and frequently fatal disease of older female dogs. Spaying also eliminates the risk of an infected uterus called Pyometra, a very serious problem in older females that requires surgery and intensive medical care. Neutering males prevents testicular and prostate diseases, some hernias and certain types of aggression, also by neutering at an early age, your male will not pea on everything to leave his scent.
