THE NEW PUPPY OWNER

Congratulations! You are now the proud owner of your new puppy.

VETERINARY CHECKS

If you have not already done so, it is important to make an appointment at the veterinary surgeons for a puppy health check as soon as possible. This appointment usually consists of a thorough check over of your puppy, advice to you regarding a continued worming program and diet etc.

REGISTRATION AND INSURANCE

In most cases, on purchasing your new puppy you will have received a AKC (American Kennel Club) registration document from the breeder, your puppy will be registered with the AKC but this must be altered to show that you are the new owner, to do this the document must be signed and dated by the breeder and yourself.  The AKC do  make a small charge for this, but is is something that should be done immediately, as in most cases on receipt of your registration document the AKC will insure your new puppy for a period of six (6) weeks for free, after this has expired you will be given the opportunity to  continue your insurance, this is not essential but it is recommended

CALL YOUR PUPPY'S NAME

Start by calling your puppy by his new name, this in itself will start to give him confidence

WALKING WITH A LEAD AND COLLAR

For the safety and security of your puppy, it is essential that he learns to walk on a lead sooner rather than later, this should be done within the confines of your home and garden.  Start with a soft collar placed around your puppy's neck, not too tight, but equally not too loose, usually allowing two fingers between the neck and the collar for approx 10 to 15 minutes at a time.  Repeat this many times throughout the day for a few days.  Once your puppy has settled with his collar you can attached the lead and encourage him to follow you, this will probably for the first few times be greeted with a look of disgust, however, with encouragement and persistence in just a short period of time your pup will be walking quite happily on his lead.

TRAINING CLASSES IF YOU NEED THEM

Once your puppy has gained in confidence, it is a good idea to take him with you wherever you go. Local training classes can also be useful for socializing and putting you on the right track too. If you own a car, the sooner your puppy gets used to it the better, start with short trip to the local park, building up to longer trips as time progresses.  It should not take many days before he is waiting to jump in the car at the sound of the car keys being picked up.

It is essential at this time NOT TO OVERDO YOUR PUPPY'S EXERCISE, his bones are still soft and too

much muscle build up can lead to deformity of the bone

STAIRS!!!  A BIG NO-NO!!!

Under no circumstances allow your puppy to walk up and down stairs or jump from high places as this can cause serious damage that may not become evident until later in life.

HOUSE TRAINING

House training should start the moment your puppy arrives in its new homes, paper training is usually the best way to begin this. Place sheets of newspapers on the floor leading to an outside door, over a short period of time slowly reduce the sheets of paper until only 1 remains next to the door, then outside.  You play a big part in helping your puppy to be clean in the house so do be vigilant at all times and offer praise and encouragement (treat) when he gets it right.  The most usual times that a pup will want to relieve himself is on waking from sleep and after finishing a meal, or after playing for a while in the house, but all puppies are different and you will soon get to know the characteristics of your own.