THIS IS A LOT OF INFORMATION/INSTRUCTIONS that I find useful and informative

things to have on hand for puppy coming home

 Food - I feed diamond chicken & rice healthy naturals - a good dog food with CHICKEN as the first ingredient, no corn, and no meat "meal"

 Water - may need bottled water for awhile as we have well water, and puppies may not be used to chorinated..

  warm bed - the smaller puppies cannot be on the floor.. and the teacups may need a petbedwarmer.

 toys - do not buy any toys, beds etc at a store that allows dogs IN THE STORE.. they may be contaminated..

  IF YOUR PUPPY ACTS SICK, lethargic etc please call or email immediately, if can't get in contact, see a vet, we are not vets but do have a lot of experience with diagnosing problems and issues.. some things are simply worms migrating, stress, lack of eating etc.. and simple in home things will resolve the issue and not escalate into something major.

your puppy has been vet checked usually within 48 hrs of leaving. but it is a LIVING thing and like young children /babies can be fine one minute and have a bug the next..  Failure to contact us immediately about a problem to help, voids all guarantees, AND WE ARE NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR OUT of control  vet charges-

YOUR PUPPY WILL HAVE THE FOLLOWING Vaccines & worming prior to leaving

VACCINES

5week  NEOPAR Parvo - the strongest Parvo vaccine

8week  5way- Distemper, parvovirus, adenovirus, Influenza

WILL STILL NEED (given if still here)

12wk 5way

15wk 5way

Rabies as late as possible

Worming- average every 10 days..-2wks

2weeks, 4weeks - Nemex

6weeks - Drontal

8weeks -3 days panacur

12weeks panacur

every month after - panacur

VACCINES/IMMUNITY

PLEASE ASK your vet what brand of shots they use, DO NOT give FORT DODGE brands, they have been reprimanded by the FDA for Poor quality control. MY vet says they have the cheapest vaccines but the HIGHEST rate of reaction (up to including death) IF your vet will not use another brand, find another vet..

IF YOUR vet insists they have to restart/redo  the vaccines  I've given and will give your puppy another shot within days of shipping, find another vet. Over vaccination can make your puppy ill (and run up the vet bill) as most vaccines are "modified live", meaning your puppy will get a mild case of the disease - like you getting a flu shot. But getting double the dose within a short time will overwhelm the puppys immune system and they get the disease (lab modified form) over vaccination can lead to "vaccinosis" that can cause severe temperment changes in the puppy.

http://www.paw-rescue.org/PAW/PETTIPS/DogTip_vaccination.php

http://www.doglogic.com/vaccineinfo.htm

PLEASE BE AWARE that a puppy is NOT immune until after the 15wk shot, until that time they are building their own immune system.

Please do NOT take them to DOG PARKS, or public areas with a lot of dogs.

PET STORES(that allow dogs inside) & vet clinics = Do not buy items that are  not wrapped from pet stores that allow dogs in, and if in a store or allows a lot of dogs in, take off & wash your shoes when you get home- before you walk around the house or if the puppy is home, before you handle the puppy. if a sick dog or a dog from a place with sick dogs like the shelter -  has been in the store/vet clinic and you have walked where they walked (stuff on their feet left behind on the floor is picked up by your shoes) then there is that 1 in a million (or less) chance you will take it home to your puppy.  . .

 WORMING - YOUR PUPPY WILL LIKELY NEED RE-worming when you see the vet

we worm per vet recommended schedule BUT - where the puppy is in the worming 'schedule" depends on age/day when shipped.. if we wormed the puppy a week ago, we cannot worm again just before shipping, so please have puppy wormed when you see a vet.. wormers only get the worms in the intestine, not those hatching, encysted or migrating.. and all puppies are born with worms and will pick up worms from nursing, the environment or other dogs

According to John Malone, professor of veterinary parasitology at the School of Veterinary Medicine at Louisiana State University, close to 100 percent of puppies and kittens in this country have worms, even those coming from parents that are well cared for and have been treated for worms prior to pregnancy. This occurs because the worms spread from the mother to her offspring prior to weaning. In dogs, for example, roundworms are passed to puppies while still inside the womb, and hookworms are spread via the milk. In cats, roundworms are passed to the kittens through the milk.

Part of the reason these worms spread so readily to the young is that adult dogs and cats build up a partial immunity against the worms. As Malone points out, the immunity is never complete but is enough for many of the worms to become trapped in the mother's body in an encysted or premature form. These larval forms stay suspended in the body and never make it to the intestinal tract, where they normally grow into adults. They are unaffected by typical deworming medications and are able to migrate through either the placenta or the milk.

Many pet owners make the mistake of assuming that if they don't see worms, their pets must not have any. Unfortunately, this is often not the case. As parasites, intestinal worms need to stay inside the host in order to survive. So, it's an unsuccessful worm that leaves the host.  Pets become infected by swallowing roundworm eggs found in contaminated soil or feces, by eating infected rodents, birds, and certain insects, or by the mother transmitting the worms to her offspring.

one of the most common fallacies among pet owners is the assumption that their new pet has had all its preventive care completed by the time they acquire the animal. Although most veterinarians recommend that deworming of puppies and kittens begin as early as two to four weeks of age and be repeated every couple of weeks until about eight weeks of age, the process isn't over at this point. Growing pets should be checked once or twice more for worms during the next three to six months because it's so easy for them to be reinfested. And even though older animals develop a partial immunity, they are never completely protected, so an annual or semiannual check is important for them as well.

 STRESS & Coccidia & giardia

 Weaning, new home, shipping are all stresses to a puppy, this may bring out "coccidia'

and giardia, which are everywhere there have been dogs, or people that have walked & tracked where dogs were..

 see following links .. the puppy is OK when it leaves here vet checks, no diahreah or issues.. , I am doing everything possible short of confining the puppies in stainless steel cages in a "lab sealed" type room to prevent flies or any contamination, until they leave. which I did try, but puppies became very nervous - scared and neurotic .  I have also cleaned the puppy areas with so much bleach the puppie got blisters on their feet and the skin on the pads peeled off..  Until the puppies "break" out with these issues,  the medications have little effect on the encysted form, just prevent "disease" from it..

 but these stress of shipping, going to new enviornment - Your home,  etc.. either exposes (in shipping) or weakes the immune system - like you going on vacation etc - and will allow the problem to "come out", - so I include/send  the medications for these, hopefully they make it though the cargo folks, but if not or need more I can send it.. the medications are inexpensive as a preventative.

coccidia

Stress is a common cause of this disease which is why it is commonly seen in puppies that are brought into a new home

http://www.marvistavet.com/html/coccidia.html

giardia

http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?c=2+2096&aid=739

coccidia and giardia are anywhere there have been animals (dogs, cats, rodens, wildlife)
EVER -  that have left or tracked feces, even small amounts.  coccidia can withstand freezing, and most disinfectants (that won't hurt the puppy) won't destroy it. Giardia can exist in encysted form in the ground though fire.

NOTE -

VET OFFICES - must be in a carrier - do not let them walk on the floor or in the area directly outside the vet clinic.. this is generally where the "sick" dogs are asked to wait..  take off your shoes prior to coming back into your house and rinse soles & bottom of carrier with 10% bleach solution - as a precaution.. I was in the vet office when someone brought in a lethargic dog  and they refused to leave the waiting room - said their dog had flea anemia, and ignored the signs and the requests of reception staff. their puppy  tested positive for parvo.  The germs were all over the waiting area, floor, & down the hall where they carried the dog.. know a breeder that came home from the vets and took off her shoes, her puppies started chewing/carrying her shoes and 1wk later had parvo..  may be just a one in a million chance you "follow" that dog down the hall, but its a risk.

VET BILLING PRACTICES

Please note, I absolutely am blessed to have my current vet, an older, wise and been there, done that - sees 100s of animals a week, and knows that cheapest, fastest method of treatment, rather than running $100s in tests for the same result.. prevention is the best cure and understands the challenges of animal breeding and is willling to help breeders to produce the healthiest puppies possible without charging exhorbitant fees ...

 but for most vet clinics - ESPECIALLY the NATIONAL CHAINS- the vets are just out of vet school, have not seen or treated many real issues and are going only on "textbook"..  Please be aware that in the majority of vet clinics, the vet you see is PAID ON A % OF BILLED CHARGES.. and can likely only see 10 patients a day.. if they don't run up  $200-300 per client they aren't making their daily billing quota. many vets went to vet school for the income ( like human doctors, the good family doctor is hard to find)  and sadly this means they will run unnecessary tests or long shot diagnosis to incurr billing.. you don't have to have a fecal test to give the puppy a mild wormer - given the above information  - a mild wormer won't hurt the puppy so why run a test to see if you need it.. many vets act like the puppy shouldn't have worms and the breeder is  bad if they do - , as per above a puppy,  not having any worms is not possible - even my vets puppies tested positive for worms.

  As an example of "out of control vets,  some of the stresses puppy owner (and we) have endured -  please remember the puppy was vet checked by our vet for serious problems prior to shipping, ie listens to heart, checks eyes, legs, internal check etc..

  New vet diagnosed heart murmor - was just vet checked by our vet and didn't have one- but their vet recommended EKGS' and other tests that ran several $1000 which the vet said were 'inconclusive, bring the puppy back in a couple weeks for another test.. ", finally pet owner went to specialist and PUPPY DIDN"T HAVE A HEART MURMUR.. was just the normal puppy heart sounds..  other vet had just run a huge bill and scared the poor person (and us and made my vet question his hearing) for NO REASON BUT $$$.. guess he needed to pay for his new EKG.

  person took healthy happy QUIET puppy to vet for well puppy check  - NO TEMP, not lethargic no problems reported by owner - but vet THOUGHT the puppy was too quiet - they had picked this puppy as we said he was "quiet", but vet gave it IV flluids and antibiodics and ran $100s in tests - without consulting the owner, , no diagnosis except a quiet healthy puppy but mega $ bill.. for nothing.

  Person took puppy to National chain vet clinic for regular puppy shot.  Clinic claimed that since our shots were not given by a vet - they would need to redo ALL shots.  THen gave owner list of recommended shots to be given THAT day which were 5 separate shots for /including giardia, leptosporis, corona, and another the owner couldn't make out.  Shots would have exceeded $150 not incuding vet exam. And if they had given the 3 lb puppy all of these shots at one time it would have likely caused a serious to Fatal reaction. which really would have run up the vet bill. luckily buyer called me, and went to another vet = who confirmed that this many shots could have caused a serious to fatal reaction.

  Person picked up puppy - had had well puppy check the day before. Took it to national chain vet clinic "b" where the vet said they "heard" the puppy cough (can make anything cough/gag by pressing on its vocal cords) and said it "might" be coming down with Rhino (puppy cold) - no temperature,  but offered them a $1000 insurance plan as a preventative as a cold in this small a puppy could cost a lot more in the future. .. I told them to meet me at my vets (same town) and PUPPY was perfectly FINE.

  Persons vet diagnosed puppy had  "pacific liver fluke" - very expensive treatment, I ran to my vet frightened that somehow something weird had gotten into my puppies - my vet laughed and said there was about as much chance of my puppies having this "fluke" as them being run over by a semi truck on the 30th floor of a downtown building.. so people took puppy to state college vet school - and SURPRISE - no "fluke" and were told to get this "Fluke" a dog/puppy has to eat a raw fresh liver of a pacific salmon just caught that was infected with this fluke.. but since the puppy came from the "pacific nw"  the vet guessed?

Please note most of the time you will get a vet that will do what is most expensive./extensive first, bascially ask yourself, if the $5 wormer won't hurt the puppy why run a $50 test to determine if the $5 wormer should be given?..  since all puppies will have worms then the $50 was just for billing.. 90% of vets will do what they can to "scare" the pet buyer into more proceedures/tests $$$ and not offer the least cost/fastest and usually easiest method of care.

BECAUSE OF THE EXCESSIVE BILLING of many  Vets we cannot be responsible for vet costs after puppy leaves, call me & I can save you $100s in unnecessary "tests" ..

Socializaiton

 .  we do our best to socialize the puppy but do not have children - nor can we rent any.  From past experience/replies from buyers, the puppies are happy to have their own person and are very smart.

SIZE

In a recent article in the journal Science, researchers report the discovery of a genetic sequence that they believe is responsible for determining the size of a dog.

By studying the genetic differences between small and large breeds, researchers found that smaller breeds had a mutation in the sequence next to a gene known as IGF1. The hormone regulated by the IGF1 gene helps determine growth rates of mammals. The mutation found in smaller dogs like Chihuahuas prevents them from growing to be the size of Great Danes.

The study was comprehensive, investigating thousands of dogs comprising more than 140 breeds. Those involved in the study hope that this discovery will lead to advances in cancer treatment, which seeks to control or reverse unrestrained cell growth, as well as many of the nearly 300 diseases that canines and humans have in common.

 

PUPPY TRAINING

We just attended two courses including Carmelo Battaglia Ph.d. "breeding a better dog" though genetics, nutrition and environment.     We will be incorporating his techniques, including Early Neurological Stimulation to enhance the temperment, intelligence & trainability of our puppies.

Please watch the "dog whisperer" Ceasar Milan on National geographic channel - regarding dog "pack' behavior and training techniques        .. the dog is NOT a replacement for a baby.. and "Its me or the dog" on Animal planet regarding training techniques.

SOME HELPFUL Information I found on the internet]

 THE following if your puppy is "submissive peeing" -   it is NORMAL and YOUR reaction can make it better or WORSE.

http://www.preciouspets.org/newsletters/articles/submissive-urination.htm

Crate training

http://www.preciouspets.org/newsletters/articles/crate-training.htm

DOG BARKING

http://www.preciouspets.org/articles/stop-dog-barking.htm

USING THE DOGS NAME

http://www.preciouspets.org/articles/using-dogs-name.htm