Some Tips For Choosing And Caring For A Puppy

2024 Author: Gavin MacAdam | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:38

For various reasons, people decide to get a dog. But if all the pros and cons are weighed, the breed and parents are chosen, then it remains to decide on the one who will become a real friend. How to choose a suitable pet from several and what should you pay attention to?

If the family has middle-aged children and the dog is taken at their insistent request, then it is recommended to take a large breed puppy (for example, schnauzer, large poodle, etc.). For a large noisy family, it is better to purchase terriers. But, perhaps, it should be admitted that everyone has their own taste and their own opinion on this issue. Some people like the poodle, while others prefer the more belligerent ones - a boxer or a bulldog. The main thing is to realize that by getting a dog, a person takes on a lot of care and responsibility. And without love for a puppy, it will no longer be possible to raise a good dog.

Shedding nuances

It is often believed that short-haired dogs are comfortable and easy to care for. But after all, they are quite sensitive to cold, and when molting, their hairs are difficult to clean from pieces of furniture and clothing. Wire-haired breeds shed an order of magnitude less often, for example, poodles do not have any problems with this at all. Short-haired ones need trimming, while those with coarse or long hair have to regularly brush and trim their hair (and not just cut, but do fashionable hairstyles).

Secret tricks of choice

To choose a good puppy from a large litter, such generally accepted techniques are widely used: carefully throw a bunch of keys next to the puppies. The cowardly puppy will run away, to the side, and the bolder puppy, on the contrary, will carefully approach and sniff to find out what is so interesting that fell near him. Or another technique: gently reach out to the puppy. A fearful one is unlikely to work, but a bold and active one will gladly.

Someone prefers to choose puppies by body size. But a big kid does not mean that he is the best. It is possible that he will be lazier and more trusting. The generally accepted rule is to choose the animal that you really liked and sunk into the soul. Such love at first sight will help to win him over and make friends for life. By the way, female puppies, as the dog handlers say, are more affectionate and easier to train.

It is also important to know when the puppy was weaned from the mother. It is generally accepted that large-breed puppies are removed from mothers at 4-6 weeks, and from mothers of small breeds - more often up to 2, 5 months. Weaning babies earlier than 1, 5 months is not recommended.

First pet care

A newborn puppy needs special care: after all, he was born weak, blind, toothless and deaf. If no sound is heard from him when stroking, it means that something is wrong with his breathing. And it happens from twisting or pressing on the body of the umbilical cord during a difficult birth. You should not be afraid of this phenomenon: experts advise shaking the baby, supporting the head in order to free his respiratory tract from the birth fluid. After carefully and vigorously, but without fanaticism, rub the puppy's back with a towel.

If these measures do not help, then they resort to this method: cold water is poured onto the back of the puppy's head, thereby stimulating the respiratory center of the newborn's brain. Sometimes it is necessary for this to be injected subcutaneously from 0.5 to 3.0 mg of lobeline. The sudden death of the entire litter occurs with a number of infections. Most often, the birth of a puppy in normal conditions does not cause additional worries for the owner of the dog - she can handle it herself.

Bad habit

The first months the puppy is not a gentleman in any way, and there is nowhere to go: he recovers often and everywhere, since he still cannot regulate his natural needs, in addition, the muscles of the intestines and urinary organs are poorly developed, there is no understanding, reflex reinforcing skills and habits to deliberately abstain. Here you have to endure 3-4 months, gradually teaching the puppy good manners. With a cute habit of making puddles in full view of the guests, dumbfounded by surprise, he will part more often by 5-6 months of life. And it is irrevocable.

Water procedures

Here's another concern - washing your puppy. Can I wash it and how often? Some owners categorically state that the dog should not be washed, as the growth of the coat is disturbed, it becomes brittle and begins to fall out. This is an unreasonable alarm, since the dog must regularly receive water treatments, but, of course, you cannot abuse detergents that degrease the coat.

Usually, from 2 months of age, puppies are washed every 10 days in summer, and once every three weeks in winter. Adult dogs are washed every month in summer, and in winter - after 5-6 weeks. The water temperature is 32-35 ° С. Use bath, glycerin, petroleum jelly soap. Special soap (for example, green, tar, etc.) is used only for skin parasites. You should not rub the coat with soap, but put it in gauze and wash the dog with soapy foam, which is then thoroughly washed off.