To Crate Train or Not To Crate Train...THAT IS THE QUESTION!

When picking out a puppy, we seldom consider the effort involved in crate training to get them effectively house trained. Getting a pet is really more of an emotional decision than rational though.

Thoughts of simply having a companion around all the time and someone to keep you company on those long walks may have started you down the road to animal ownership. Still, crate training was not the first thing on your mind but more the many reasons that animals make our lives so much better. Keep in mind that if you really want a companion animal, you need to train them so they know where to go to the bathroom.

Be aware that there are some people out there that think crate training is wrong. They do this out of ignorance and don't truly understand the nature of dogs and canines in general. These animals need a leader and are very social.

Crate Training is not Harsh or Callous toward the dog. and is also not... Pet Storage until you want to play with them again nor is it kenneling.

Unless you plan to keep your pet outside for the rest of their lives, it's necessary that house breaking begin almost immediately to limit the chance of puppy accidents in the house. While puppy accidents are not a big deal while the excitement of a new pet is happening, it gets old and frustrating if it continues long term. It's better to safely confine your dog and use effective potty training methods than to end up with an unruly animal that cannot be trusted to keep your home urine and poop free.

It's at this point where many dog owners run into problems. This is especially true of owners whose dog has grown up without any house training. You want to limit the chance of your dog relieving himself in your home. It only takes about 5 seconds for a dog to find an acceptable place, squat and you end up with a mess. So if you cannot keep watch 100% of the time, your pet needs to be confined. This idea forms the basis for successful potty training.

They are fast bathroom animals and only need a few seconds to seek out a place and go. Accidents in the house are caused by inattentive pet owners who aren't paying enough attention when your pet is out of his crate. Some owners wrongly assume that FIDO spends his time thinking of ways to get even with them and that's why they urinate on the rug.

So start crate training a dog off right regardless of your dogs age. Get your pet accustomed to being in the crate whenever they're in the house but not being watched. This attention can be signaled by the use of a lightweight leash. Your pet will learn that she is either on the leash or outside. Adding leash time actually can make it easier to teach other behaviors later.

Control in owning a pet is actually extremely important in having the enjoyment of a well behaved dog. It's simply not an option to allow the pup to have the run of your home and defecate anywhere they please because you are unwilling to use good housebreaking practices. If you aren't willing to adequately train your puppy, please don't get one!

Crate training a dog is a very important time in owning a puppy as it determines the difference between a life with a fantastic companion or a time of constant frustrations and anger toward your best friend. Take the time necessary to learn how to effectively complete housebreaking so your puppy can enjoy a life of being close with you no matter where your travels my lead. The time of teaching and training your puppy should be fun for both you and him. Take the time to learn the right way and you will be rewarded with a wonderful and reliable companion for a lifetime.

PUPPY CARE TIPS from "Lakeland Acres"
Be Prepared:  before you bring your new puppy home, consider what you will need.  Here are some suggestions:  Crate, not too big but not too little;  a lightweight harness and leash which should only be placed on your puppy while in your presence; shampoo designed for puppies (perhaps your particular breed)  comb/brush; food/water dishes which will be short enough for your puppy to adequately eat and drink from; bottled water since water differs from one part of the country to the other; exercise pen  provides a safe place for your puppy to play safely; toys that are durable and cannot be chewed apart; doggie toothbrush and toothpaste to maintain a healthy smile.

 
Recommended Puppy Food:    Your puppy will come with a packet of food that he/she has been on, but any good puppy food that you and your vet chooses will work great as long as you gradually introduce him/her by adding some of the packet you receive with the puppy to the feed you have chosen. 

WE ALWAYS KEEP ON HAND SOME FORM OF MICROBIOTIC to help stimulate the immune system and keep your puppy's health in tip-top shape, such as:  Benebac or FasTrack (by Conklin - www. conklin.com)  

NOTE:  your puppy should always have feed and water set before him.  With the smaller breeds, once a day offer a soft food like Pedigrees canned Puppy, Chicken Soup for Puppies by Diamond or a high quality of food source formulated for the high energy and nutritional need of your new puppy.

Hypoglycemia: low blood sugar, is a disorder that occurs mainly in small breed puppies and is often caused by stress and can occur without warning.  It might appear after the puppy has become exhausted from playing, or misses a meal, chills or has a digestive upset.  These upsets place an added strain on its energy levels and bring on the symptoms of lethargic, collapse or even what appear to be seizures.  It is a real threat to these little guys, so watch for your puppy becoming too tired or droopy.  The first signs of listlessness or depression are usually followed by muscular weakness, tremors and later convulsions, coma and even death.  The puppy may appear depressed or may be weak, wobbly and jerky, or found to be in a comatose state.  If your puppy has any symptoms that even appear to be those of hypoglycemia, you must act fast.  If the puppy is awake, give it Karo syrup or Nutrical by mouth.  You should see improvements within 30 minutes.  If no improvements appear,  you must get them to a veterinarian.  If the puppy is unconscious, it should be taken at once.

To prevent Hypoglycemia follow this advice:  allow only 20 minutes or less of play at one time, followed by a good rest.  Do not allow the puppy to overtire.  Supervise the interactions between the puppy and children.  Keep your puppy warm, a nice heating pad on low is great to keep it from becoming chilled.   Your puppy needs to eat at least every 6-8 hours, more often if it is small.    One new Puppy Owner has found that their tiny puppy loved Little Cesar gourmet puppy food.   Freshly cooked chicken along with a plain yogurt or small curd cottage cheese is also a helpful food to keep them eating.    Ask your vet for a/d (prescription formula with high protein by Science Diet)   . Give a small amount of Nutrical or Karo syrup each morning and night for the first couple of days to prevent the low blood sugar that can come with the excitement and stress of going to a new home.

  
   
I found a *Meatball Recipe* which is wonderful for any puppy -- keeps them healthy and adds to their overall well-being and lustrious coat.  See recipe below.

 MEATBALLS                                
2# lean hamburger               
2 eggs               
2 cups oatmeal                
1/4 cup molasses
 1/4 cup wheat germ oil                
Pinch of garlic

Mix together and form into meatballs.  Bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes.  You can bag and freeze them and use them as you need them.  These are excellent when you have a finicky or picky eater -- a rehabilitating puppy -- or to add a little weight back on.  They'll bring a SMILE to your puppy's face and add luster to its beautiful coat.

SPECIAL CARE INFORMATION FOR TEACUP & TINY TOYS 
In addition to the addition information supplied, we would like to address some special instructions for tiny teacup and toy puppies.    Always consider your puppy as a newborn baby, as it will need all the love, care and attention that you would give a newborn baby.   Here are some helpful suggestions:

A. Don't leave your baby unattended for extended lengths of time, until your baby has totally acclimated himself/herself to its new home:  Long periods of time left alone in a new, strange environment may cause anxiety and additional stress.  You will want to be with your baby as much as possible in the first few weeks. 
One new puppy owner received her tiny baby (who was all happy and joyful) until the new owner went to work the next morning.  When she got home that evening after being away from    her baby for over 8 hours, the new baby had crashed and was in a hypoglycemia state.   New babies must have mother or father's undevoted attention until they are comfortable in their new home.

B. Prepare a comfortable WARM place for puppy to consider its own home.   You may want to invest in a heat pad; set it on LOW; and make sure puppy cannot get to the cord.   You may only need a little additional warmth for several days.   Nice warm bed and blankets are a nice addition so they can be cozy.   

C. Always have food and water for your puppy available at anytime.   For the first week or so, make sure your puppy gets whatever he/she wants to eat.   There may be a time period where your puppy will not want to eat at all, but don't let this happen.   If need be, spoon feed your puppy every couple of hours some a/d (a prescription soft food with high protein by Science Diet) and some yogurt (plain with live cultures).   Then gently pursuade puppy to eat some cooked chicken, or the "meatballs" or anything that he/she finds to be encouraged to eat.  Chicken Soup for Puppies in a canned form or Pedigree for Puppies seems to be one of their favorites.  We've also tried little Caesars tiny meals, and some of the other tiny canned foods.   There will come a time when puppy will begin to eat more and more of his/her hard kibble, but for a period of time you need to "baby" your puppy.     Always make sure your puppy is eating about every 4 hours during the day and then follow up with Nutrical.  

D. Nutrical will also encourage your puppy's appetite.   Make sure you are using your Nutrical:  a.m., noon, p.m. and before bedtime.   If need be, increase your supplement to more times during the day if puppy is not eating or drinking well.    Again,  we recommend that you also have a good Microbiotic for your puppy to help stimulate and boost its immune system, such as:  Benebac or FasTrack (by Conklin - www.conklin.com) 

E. Water -- make sure it is bottled for the 1st 2 weeks and then gradually wean your puppy off the bottled water onto the water you have in your home.   Water can be a definite detriment to your puppy's system when changing from one water source to the next.

F. Play time and Rest time:   Make sure you spend lots of quality time with your baby.   Play should be limited to 10-15 minutes.   A worn out puppy will quickly crash with hypoglycemia as it has exhausted its energy supply.   Make sure you allow your puppy to have plenty of rest.  Babies usually eat and sleep during the first 3 months of life -- your puppy is no different.  It will require plenty of food/water and plenty of rest.

G. Hypoglycemia (also see info to right)-- should your puppy show signs of hypoglycemia: lethargic, loss of appetite, droopy,  tail tucked,  drooling,  limp,  seizure fits.   Apply some Karo syrup to the gums, wait for puppy to respond and if able, lick the Nutrical.   Give several Nutrical dabs until puppy is regaining a normal composure.   If the puppy is in a drooling, limp or seizure state, you should get the puppy to the vet.  However, if the puppy is eating, drinking and you are following the above recommendations, your puppy should not ever end up in this state.   

H. If the puppy needs veterinarian attention, please make sure you find a small animal doctor.  We would hope you can find one that has a length of experience with tiny teacup puppies.  There are many veterinarians who do not know the first thing about these tiny tiny puppies.   I have had some vets suggest that if a puppy cannot eat the hard kibble, it is not a healthy dog.  UNTRUE.   These tiny ones are a whole new situation unlike a Cocker Spaniel, Collie, Lab....puppies.     We have been raising puppies a long time, as well as gaining information from fellow professional breeders who have dealt with toys for many more years than us.   Our instructions for you and your baby, have been researched and practiced for many years.  One thing is you should have your vet check for coccidiosis.  Your puppy will more than likely break with coccidiosis under hypoglycemia conditions.   The trip, new environment, new people, new home, new everything can cause coccidiosis to break in your puppy.   We treat the puppies before they leave with a special formula of Albon and Metronidazole in hopes that the puppy will not experience any healthy issues, but with our tiny tiny ones it may happen anyway.   We suggest your vet use Albon as a treatment for at least 7 - 10 days.  We would suggest that your puppy not remain at the vet's office unless absolutely necessary, because you are introducing your new baby into another new environment, new people, new everything again which adds even more stress to your puppy.   Ask your vet what you can do to stabilize the puppy and if your vet will show you what procedures to follow to help your puppy regain its health.    If your baby can be with you, this will be the best solution.    As a new mother, you need to make sure that you consider the proper decisions to alleviate any unwarranted stress as possible.   If the vet feels that IVs are necessary, please have them consider SQ method if possible, which would be less stressful.   You and your vet will need to make the decisions together.     If you puppy is left in the care of the veterinarian and his/her staff, find out if someone will be caring for the baby personally;  if food will be spoon-fed to your baby should it not want to eat; visit the location where your baby will be cared for (is it a warm, cozy comfortable place?)   Do everything possible to insure your baby gets as good as care as if you were there.   Please have your veterinarian and staff feed your puppy a/d along with yogurt if possible; also a good microbiotic such as Benebac or FastTrack is a MUST.   This will help your puppy regain its strength and vitality much quicker and keep the digestive system running smoothly.   

I. PLEASE EMAIL ME OR CALL ME IF A SITUATION ARISES.   I will do my best to follow through with all the help I can provide to help you and your veterianarian care for your new baby.   

We want you to seriously consider the choice of one of our tiny teacups or toys.   They may only weigh 1/2 to 1 # at 8 weeks of age.  We will usually keep them longer than the 8 weeks, when most puppies are ready to go to new homes.   Please be patient with waiting for your puppy.    Our veterinarian will help us make decisions on the appropriate times that the tiny teacups or toys are ready to travel to their new homes.   We will do our very best to make sure that your puppy is sound and in good health to survive its trip and reconditioning to its new home.   However,  should your baby experience some of the above problems,  it will be necessary for you and your veterinarian to work closely together  through the issues of hypoglycemia.    We have found that transporting a baby back to us is not the appropriate means to pursue as it only adds extreme stress to an already stressed puppy.   NOT GOOD!! 

THESE  PREMIUM TINY TEACUPS AND TINY TOYS ARE EXTREMELY CUTE, LOVABLE AND A PERFECT POCKET-PUPPIES -- BUT PLEASE MAKE SURE YOU ARE READY TO TAKE CARE OF ONE OF THESE LITTLE ONES.   ONCE MATURED, THEY ARE AS DURABLE AS ANY OTHER PUPPY.    BUT THEY ARE THE PREMIES!!!