• When should I start training? 

Training can be started right away with lots of treats and patience. Potty training outdoors, basic sit/down/stay. "Come" or "Here" should be taught right away by giving your puppy a treat whenever they approach you after you ask them to. Make it fun to return to you.

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• What if my puppy is not eating their full meal? 

Remember, your puppy ate with siblings. Now that they are alone they need to learn to eat without distractions. Usually we recommend feeding at scheduled times. If your puppy does not finish their food, pick it up and try again at the next feeding time. Feel free to mix water, pumpkin, goats milk or yogurt into their food to entice their appetite in small doses.

  

• My puppy has loose stools, what should I do? 

Loose/soft serve stools are not uncommon the first couple days as puppies can get colitis due to stress, change of water, change of food, and even new environmental stimuli. In extreme cases they can also get a tinge of blood. Keep an eye on their poop, you can add some pumpkin, yogurt or a probiotic to their food.

 

This also may be a sign that your puppy needs to be wormed. Puppies immune systems lower when they go home due to stress, so parasites can take over much easier. Some parasites can actually go dormant until stress happens and then flare up! This is why your puppy may have normal stool the first couple days and then turn loose. Even though we treat for them, many parasites can be found in the ground everywhere and can be easily picked up any time they are outside. Adult dogs generally fight off parasites easily, so even if they have them they may not show symptoms.  If it persists longer than just a couple days or worsens to diarrhea, call your vet.

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• Why do I need to worm my puppy again if you did it already? 

Puppies immune systems lower when they go home due to stress, so parasites can take over much easier. Even though we treat for them, many parasites can be found in the ground EVERYWHERE! Keep in mind, your puppy was not locked indoors full time, and was allowed to play in the yard, and you are taking them outside. Parasites are treatable. Adult dogs generally fight off parasites easily. We recommend worming every time puppies are taken to the vet for vaccinations and utilizing a probiotic during the worming period.

  

• When should I take my puppy out to socialize?

We recommend taking your puppy out for socialization with other people and dogs AFTER they have had 3 series of their vaccinations, including a Bordetella. Puppies immune systems are not as strong as adults and they can pick up sickness literally any where, so making sure they are covered is vital.

  

• What happens if we cannot keep our dog/puppy? 

We will take them back and return at least part of your money. We raise our puppies and adore them from day one. This means we get attached to them and want the very best. We understand life happens, but we like to know where our puppies and dogs will be going, so they are not put into the wrong hands or lost to us. We prefer to find them nice homes that will keep in touch with us. 

  

• When do I fix my puppy?  

All pet only puppies will be recommended to be neutered/spayed AFTER 18 mo of age. Why? Puppies need hormones to grow correctly. In order to let this happen, puppies need the hormones they are getting while intact to grow. We would like our owners wait and give them the chance to grow before neutering or spaying them early. Please see the when should I fix my puppy page here. 

  

• How do I transition my puppy to another food?  

We recommend Inukshuk 26/16 or Lifes Abundance large breed puppy food. If you feed an all life stages (like Inukshuk), they can stay on the food, however if you feed a puppy food, then transition to an adult food around 8-12 months. Why? Proper nutrition is vital for a puppy to grow. If you decide to change diets, make sure you do at least 7-14 day transition mixing the food little by little until completely transitioned. It would not hurt to provide a probiotic during this time. 

  

• What if my dog gets lost, what does the microchip do? 

The microchip is not a tracking device, rather a chip with contact information on it in case your dog gets lost and is found by someone else. We remain a contact on our puppies microchip in case of an emergency or sticky situation. We promise to keep 100% of our dogs out of the shelter. To be able to do this, we need to be notified if they end up their by accident or on purpose. If any of our dogs ended up in a shelter we could go snag them and figure out what happened. 

  

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