Tips for the New Puppy Owner

Crate train your puppy.  It saves the pup from punishment for chewing or wetting in the house while you are distracted or away.  It also helps the pup learn to hold their pee, as they usually won’t go where they sleep if they can possibly prevent it.  Make sure the crate is just big enough for the pup to stand and turn around.  Any bigger, and they will mess in one end and sleep in the other.  Don’t take your puppy out of the crate while it is barking or whining, you will teach it to bark and whine while in the crate.  Wait until it is quiet to take your puppy out. (This does not apply when you just get home)
Don’t put anything in the crate except news paper to absorb a mess, and a chew toy or rawhide.  They can ingest parts of blankets or towels that will block their intestines.
Puppies can hold their urine for the number of months old they are plus one.  So if your puppy is three months old, they can only hold for up to 4 hours.  You can’t expect more.

Feed at least twice a day letting them eat as much as they want for 20 minutes, including water.  Then pick up the food and water.  If you can feed three times a day, that is even better.  Make the last feeding near to 5:00 in the afternoon, and then nothing after that to help with overnight messes.

Give your puppy rawhide to chew on all the time.  That keeps them from chewing on other things.  If they do take something else in their mouth, simply take it away, say no, and give them a rawhide.

If your puppy insists on getting into your face, or licking, just rap your open palm against their nose and say “no lick”.  Not hard, just enough to get their attention.

If (when) your puppy barks you need to allow them to alert, but not to bark constantly or to the level of irritation.  Use the term “quiet” (it does not sound like any other command).  You can whack a rolled newspaper or flyswatter on something hard near them to get the point across. (never hit the puppy).

Good treats for training are the little cans of Pounce, or Solid Gold Lamb Jerkey, thePounce is small so you can feed lots of them if you need to, and the Jerkey breaks up into small bites..  Other treats I use are the chunks of Science Diet Dental dog food.  They must soak them in something, as all puppies and dogs love them, and consider it a delicacy.  Great for the dog, and easy on the pocket book.  They are too hard for young pups though.

House training is always a challenge.  These are my suggestions.  Take your pup out the minute he/she wakes up from a nap.  Be patient.  Sometimes it takes 10 or 15 minutes for them to go.  Take them to the same place in the yard each time, and use a term like “go potty” so they know what to do.  If you want, take a treat to give them when they go.  Take them out about 15 to 20 minutes after eating, also 15 to 20 minutes after they begin to play hard if they didn’t go when they woke up.  Consistency is the key.  Punishing them for going in the house is usually counterproductive, praise and treats when they are good work better.
A

ussies, especially miniature and toy aussies are very susceptible to becoming submissive.  For that reason, we try to avoid hitting them.  Try everything before you strike your dog, as once they are scared of you, it is really hard to undo the damage.

Keep your puppy on puppy food for at least the first full year.  I recommend Nutro Ultra Puppy and Nutro Ultra Adult for adult food.

Do NOT use Heartguard for your puppy.  Aussies, as well as Collies, Border Collies and other breeds have been found to occasionally be sensitive to the amount of ivermectin in Heartguard.  We recommend Interceptor or Revolution.  If your puppy requires surgery, please discuss the sensitivities of dogs with the MDR1 gene factor before treatment.  You can see more information on this on our web site.

Puppies may be neutered as soon as the testicles are available.  This will normally keep the male puppy from lifting his leg, he will squat instead.  Females may be spayed anytime after 4 months.  You do not have to wait for a first heat prior to spaying.

If you have purchased a small mini or toy, please watch for the adult teeth to come in. If the baby teeth don’t fall out when the adult come in, the vet may have to remove the baby teeth. If this isn’t done the adult teeth can come in crooked.

Feel free to call us any time for advice or commiseration.  We love to hear from our puppy families.  319-377-1441