Puppy Care
Puppy Care: Feed a well balanced healthy diet for Toy breeds or a food for all stages. Toy breed puppies have very little reserves of body fat. Feeding frequent small meals and checking that your new puppy is consuming enough calories is a good habit to get into. Young puppies are prone to hypoglycemia. Puppies are interested in playing and discovering their world around them and often forget to eat.
To support growth for high energy, have a good gibble readily available at all tmes. They need those calories as they use them quickly as young puppies. They have a faster metabolism and will burn more calories, even when they are resting. Pick a kibble that is high quality, high-carbohydrate, high-protein and or fatty food designed for toy breeds.
Socialization: How often do we see small breed dogs act out from lack of socialization? Training, obedience class and proper socialization has many rewards. Reward based training, clicker training and verbal cues used in obedience class will help to have a well-rounded and happy puppy that you can enjoy.
Socialization can help a puppy be more confident in a big world and reduce levels of stress as the dog grows into adulthood, with proper training and care.
Playpen/Exercise/Stress: Reducing stress during the first few weeks after arrival is important as your puppy develops a sense of his new surroundings. A radio or a television left on will help your puppy not to feel nearly as lonely when left alone. Puppies whelped here, always have a radio playing.
Puppies need a safe place and placing a playpen in a highly visible area of your home away from drafts will help keep him safe, warm, and help with loneliness. Puppies moved to the living room near everyone get to be part of the family. By obesrving human behavior and other noises they would not get durning the critcial stage of growth, if kept elsewhere. What puppy doesn't like the smell of cooked food, or the extra attention when company comes over.
Young puppies may use their bed and soil the area where they sleep. Plan for a couple for an extra beds should the need arise, The bed should be placed on one end with toys, a blanket , and food and water dishes. On one end of the playpen, place a small whelping pad, or other material to pull wetness away from the puppy as he uses this area. Wee Pads are a great chew toy for puppies. Keep a watchful eye when using a weepad as they can be toxic to a puppy, if they eat the inside where the absorbent material is. Clean this area several times a day and remove the chewed wee pad as needed. I perfer not to use weepads due to this reason and use the washerable pads .
The playpen should be large enough to allow the puppy to play and exercise.
For bedding measure your puppy from the nose to the tail to size for a new bed. As the puppy grows provide bedding appropriate for his or her size taking into consideration the weight of the puppy for maximum comfort.
Toys are important for boredom and help with teething and stimulation. Puppiess here have a small cat tunnel, and an assortment of toys. There is gym with plenty of interesting toys dangling from up high to help puppies stay stimulated. These are found on Etsy.
Choose toys that that are not easily destroyed to prevent choking. Supervising young puppies with toys will help to reduce strenuous play sessions and allow the puppy adequate rest and sleep.
Accidents/Injury: Dropping, stepping on or falling onto a toy dog can be fatal to your pet. Toy breeds are more fragile and require careful handling to prevent injuries from falling, jumping, handling or when they are playing. Serious complications from injuries can be minimized by following a few precautions by keeping puppies from getting underfoot, holding your puppy in your lap (while sitting on the floor) and using two hands while holding a wiggly puppy. Fractured bones and head trauma are serious injuries and being proactive can be very helpful in preventing unnecessary injuries.
Toy breeds, especially puppies under three months, are particularly prone to hypoglycemia. A nutritional supplement, such as Nutrical or Nutri-stat should be kept on hand for emergencies. Hypoglycemia can also occur in mature toy breeds when they are subjected to stress. A small jar of Gerber baby food, pureed beef will also work in a pinch.
Tips for Preventing Hypoglycemia
● Reducing Stress Travel Over handling Activity level
● Strenuous play sessions
● Not enough rest and sleephanges to the home environment
● Groomer visits
● Prevention Loss of body heat
● Poor Diet
● Vet visits
● Bacterial infections or intestinal parasites.
Toy breeds should eat frequently (often 4 to 6 times daily even into adulthood) Limit access to your home (to where food and water bowls are located)
Put a small amount of honey or syrup in the Hypoglycemia Kit and add to water
.● Syringe (or use your finger to rub on gums as needed)
● White Karo Syrup
● Honey ● Nutri-Drop supplements
● Nutri Cal Paste (high calorie dietary supplement)
● Pedialyte (restores lost fluids and electrolytes after dehydration)
● 1st stage Baby Food (Beef)
● Heating Pad or source of warmth. (a puppy should never be left unattended or put directly on a heating pad, (as this can result in overheating, burns and even death)
Collapsed Trachea. Toy breeds owners must always be aware of the fragility of the dogs’ neck. The wrong leash or collar, pulling and yanking on the lead can quickly damage the trachea. Harnesses are a much better option. Collapsed trachea and cartilage can quickly occur with even one misuse of the lead and pressure on a collar. A harness, a better solution, measured properly for the best fit is gentle and easier on puppies.
Toy breeds are more prone to a collapsed trachea and care should always be taken when handling these tiny dogs.
Dental Issues: Toy dog breeds are prone to dental issues. Baby teeth often do not fall out like they are supposed to. As the adult teeth grow in, overcrowding can cause the bite to go off, cause pain as the dog chews (pinching the tongue) or rubbing the roof of the mouth. If the baby teeth do not come out on their own consult with a veterinarian to help manually extract the baby teeth to make room for the adult teeth.
Brushing is important to good dental health. The gum bed is not very deep and gingivitis can cause the gum to recede and the adult teeth will fall out sooner. Preventing tooth loss in Toy Breeds can easily be reduced with ongoing dental care. A veterinarian can clean the teeth from the buildup of tartar and may recommend a yearly cleaning.
Body Temperature: A serious health issue can arise when the puppy cannot sustain their body temperature. Care should be taken to keep them out of drafts and cold weather.
Toy breeds, due to their small size can have problems staying warm when there is a draft in the home, staying outdoors on a rainy day or being in a cold setting. A very young puppy can be chilled from eating cold food that has been stored in the refrigerator. Very tiny puppies should be fed room temperture food. Soaking kibble just before feeding will insure a puppy doesn't become chilled from cold food. Puppies have little body fat and without body fat it is difficult for the body to stay warm. Keeping the puppy out of drafts, staying dry, limiting time outdoors, avoiding cold temperatures, and eating warm food can lessen the chance of serious health issues caused from hypoglycemia,
Luxated Patellas is a common orthopedic problem in dogs. Toy breeds are prone to luxating patellas and using preventative measures may help reduce or prevent luxation. Keep your dog at a healthy weight throughout his life reducing obesity-related luxating patella. Getting enough exercise, a diet that is appropriate for the life stages, puppy, adult, senior and preventing young puppies from excessive jumping or jumping from furniture are all peventive measures.