An Owner’s Manual for the New Puppy

Let’s suppose you’ve done your research, decided that a Ridgeback is for you and located an ethical, reputable person from whom you are going to purchase your new best friend. While you are waiting for the puppy to grow to 8 or 9 weeks, here are some pre-puppy arrival things you can do….sorta reminds you of getting ready for a little human addition to the family – doesn’t it? Well, it should, because just like a human baby, having everything in place will help in the transition and give you more time to play with the little fella.

1) Two large stainless steel, non-tip bowls. One is for puppy to eat out of and the other for his water bowl. Plastic is not a good idea for two reasons…. Little Ridgebacks can total a plastic bowl in record time and some plastic bowls can cause “winter nose” – a loss of pigment on the nose.

2) Heartworm preventative and instructions from your veterinarian on the proper usage. In some sections of the US, dogs are on preventative year around and if this is the case for your area, then you should have at least a month’s supply on hand. You should make an enquiry to the breeder about their preferred preventative and jot down their recommendations to take to the veterinarian with you. Some preventatives also give protection against other internal parasites, such as, roundworms, hookworms, etc. ( I usually give a good supply of the puppies’ preventatives to my new owners so that they will have enough to last until they take the pup for it’s next scheduled vaccinations.)

3) A high quality dog food. The first couple of months of puppyhood are critical for a good start in life. Now is not the time to go bargain hunting! Most breeder’s will provide you with several day’s supply of the food the pup is eating when you pick him up, along with a feeding schedule to follow. Should you not be able to find that particular feed, then you should get a good quality feed and start changing him over before your supply runs out. For example: If the puppy is eating one cup of feed each meal, you would substitute 1/4 of the new feed….the next day, 1/2 and so on until the pup is tolerating the new feed completely.

4) A nylon or leather buckle-type collar. Remember to check any collar to make sure it is not too tight. Puppies grow very rapidly up to 10 months of age. Very young puppies can gain a pound a day so make sure the collar you choose will grow with the puppy and not into it’s neck! NEVER leave a “training” collar ( those sliding chain ones) on an unattended dog – they get their commonly used name, choke collar, because that’s what will happen to your puppy if you aren’t viligant when he is wearing one! Training collars can be wonderful tools for training, but dangerous for everyday use.

5) A dog crate.Your Ridgeback puppy’s final size will be around 26″ at the shoulder. You might as well go ahead and buy a full sized crate to begin with for him to sleep in. One that is 26-28″ will be sufficient. A crate is a very useful tool also to help everyone get through a long puppyhood.

6) A six foot lead of either cotton webbing or leather is best or nylon…..NEVER a chain! Chains will only hurt your hands and are hard to use when you need to “reel in” the puppy.

How and when to feed your puppy.

• Young pups, from 8 weeks to 12-14 weeks need to be fed 3 meals a day. Then twice daily for the rest of their lives.
• Feed the puppy/dog the same time every day or as close to it as you can. DOGS THRIVE ON ROUTINE! Unlike humans, dogs are very much creatures of habit and changes are stressful to their systems.
• Pick a good brand name food and stick with it. If you do change feed, introduce the new feed by mixing it with the old brand until the new one is the dominant portion.
• When feeding the puppy, put the food down and give him about 15-20 minutes – alone and undisturbed- to eat it. Then pick it up, if there is any left. In this way puppy will learn not to become a picky eater, bowel habits will stabilize and should your dog become ill, you will be able to tell the veterinarian exactly when you noticed a change in eating habits.***Do not feed “free choice”, ie, leaving food down all the time. To my mind, this is a lazy man’s way of feeding. If you don’t have time to prepare the food for the dog, you don’t need to have a dog!

Each dog differs, as do people, so let your eye determine the amount to feed. Don’t overfeed the puppy but remember that a “pleasingly plump” puppy who becomes ill will fare better than a thin one….Also remember that puppies go through growth spurts – one day they appear plump and within 3-5 days they appear thin! As they get older these fat-thin intervls become longer in duration and less noticeable.

HAVE PLENTY OF FRESH WATER AVAILABLE FOR YOUR DOG AT ALL TIMES!

Picky eaters are made – not born!

A good quality puppy food doesn’t need any supplements.

The most important advice I can give you about owning a dog would be to use common sense and have a good sense of humor!