[OvisMum]

Our first puppy coming home when he is 10 weeks old advice on food & training needed

Hi!

We're getting our first puppy ever home in 4 weeks. He's a Schnauzer, lovely guy. But of course, I'd say so.

We need advise on crate training - we want him to be independent and therefore plan to keep the crate in the living room of our one bed apartment. But some websites advise us to keep him with us in the room. Can we move the crate back and forth?

Also, we live in the UK - I know there are plenty of options for puppy food, but what should we be looking out for to ensure he gets all the nutrition he needs and are there any specific brands that rise above and beyond their marketing and actually work the best for our puppy?

 

[naturalfeddogs]

I don't live in the UK, so I can't advise on food there.

I have always used crates for house training. Our dogs sleep in our bedroom with us, so I put the crate in there. The only time they were ever in the crate was during the night, and if we weren't home. First thing in the morning, and as soon as we get home we let the puppy out and give a command like "let's go out"! And go straight to the door and out to potty. The rest of the time, we just kept a close eye on them and let them out about twenty minutes after eating, and anytime they seem like they are needing to go. The crate is basically for house breaking, and preventing the puppy from tearing stuff up. I would pick a spot, and just leave it there rather than move it around. It'll help with keeping a daily routine.

 

[Chas]

There are some great stickies in the housetraining forum that can help.

Training wise my biggest piece of advice is take it easy, no mater what you read every dog is different and there is no one way to train. Also remember to take time out for yourself, puppies are great but they can be overwhelming.

 

[Dawnben]

Orijen is a great food for a growing puppy. Lots of good protein no junk fillers.
Puppy | Orijen

 

[OvisMum]

Orijen is a great food for a growing puppy. Lots of good protein no junk fillers.
Puppy | Orijen

I have seen that in the market. Thank you for letting me know. How about puppy treats?

 

[OvisMum]

There are some great stickies in the housetraining forum that can help.

Training wise my biggest piece of advice is take it easy, no mater what you read every dog is different and there is no one way to train. Also remember to take time out for yourself, puppies are great but they can be overwhelming.

I shall remember that, thank you! =)

 

[OvisMum]

Thanks for the advice, NaturalFedDogs. As far as his health and upkeep goes, what should I be sure to do?
I hear they need to be dewormed very frequently.
Also for their diet it's obvious that chocolate is a big no no. But I also read that raspberries and raisins are harmful as well?

 

[naturalfeddogs]

Before deworming, have a fecal done by your vet to see if there are any worms to deworm for. That way, you deworm for exactly what is needed. You may not have to deworm a lot, it really just depends on what a fecal shows at yearly vet visits.

Raisons, grapes and onions are no nos.

 

[Dawnben]

I have seen that in the market. Thank you for letting me know. How about puppy treats?

I like to keep it simple. Real meat or something like this. There is to much junk in some treats.
PureBites® Freeze Dried Products For Dogs | Purebites.com

 

[Kyllobernese]

You should feed the puppy the same food it has been raised on for the first little while, then if you want to change, do it gradually or you are going to have a puppy with an upset stomach.

 

[OvisMum]

Yes, we are getting his current dad to give us a week's food so that we can wean him off it if necessary.

 

[OvisMum]

That is a good point, thank you!

 

[Pantalanomin]

I suggest Royal Canin, and for treats cheese or meat.

 

[Aspen726]

@OvisMum

Royal Canin is a 2 star dog food. I don't recommend it.

Check out dogfoodadvisor.com - it's not the 'bible' of dog food but it's a good starting point. I feed Wellness CORE (I fed the puppy version when she was a pup) and I've been happy with it. I wish there were more flavor options. That's my biggest complaint.

Other brands that I would recommend are:

Earthborn
Fromm
Taste of the Wild

Things I would stay away from:

Anything that can be bought in a grocery store
Blue Buffalo (too many recalls for my liking)

Regarding treats:

Personally, when they're puppies, I would stick to limited ingredient puppy treats because they likely won't cause tummy aches and they're soft. I try to save the cheese and hot dogs for when we're training something that's either hard or she doesn't like because they're not terribly healthy.
I use baby carrots as treats as well but I cut them up small.
When she was a puppy, I used to feed more "just because" treats but now she basically only gets them when we're training.

ETA: Food and treats are a personal opinion for the most part. Do some research. Learn what you're comfortable feeding and go from there. If you feed 1 Pupperoni, your dog isn't going to die but you wouldn't want to use that everyday. My aunt buys my dog treats from the dollar store every Christmas. To be polite, I always give her 1 treat while we're there. My dog never eats it because she's used to eating a better quality food/treat.

 

[naturalfeddogs]

I agree with Aspen, Royal Canin is a very low quality food. If I was going to feed kibble, I would go with Taste Of The Wild. It's affordable, and a really good one to rotate with each new bag with a different protein. The ingredients are far superior to the ones in Royal Canin.

 

[Pantalanomin]

Wow, thanks for mentioning taste of the wild. it looks a lot better. I'm going to try it.