Taking Care Of Your Puppy: Best Practice

It’s so easy to get caught up in all of the excitement when you get a new puppy and completely ignore your gorgeous new pets basic needs in the process - no one could blame you either, they’re so energetic and playful that they seem to have an endless abundance of energy ready to deploy at a moment’s notice any time of the day.

Don’t be deceived though, these little guys are prone to illness and they’re literally placing their life in your hands. Whether your new family member is a personal pet or a little friend for your child - it’s important that you make their health and safety a priority from the moment they enter your life if you want to have nothing but happy memories as they develop into a fully grown adult.

We’re going to share some of the best tips out there for ensuring that your miniature canine companion develops as soundly and safely as they should.

Secure a vet

This probably seems a little obvious but this step is likely the most important - you really do need to ensure that you find not only the best vet you can afford to take care of your puppy’s health, but also one that is in close proximity in case of an emergency.

Any potentially stressful situation you may face with a new pet is almost definitely going to involve a visit to the vets - that’s why you need to ensure you get the right one. Look into the customer testimonials for the veterinary practices in your area and hone in on the most positive. You should never search purely on price alone.

Don’t buy junk food

Believe it or not, some of the leading canine food brands produce nutrition products for dogs that are actually the equivalent of a human eating McDonalds for every meal - we’re pretty sure you wouldn’t be comfortable with your kids eating like this, so it’s important that you apply the same logic to your puppy too.

Look for the highest grade dog food you can find relevant to your chosen breed and age - again reading through testimonials and looking for products that have been backed by veterinary practices will almost always guarantee safety.

Establish strong foundations

It’s important that you lay down some ground rules from day one to ensure that your little friend doesn’t develop any negative behavioural traits that could soon turn ugly as they continue to grow.

If you’re not confident training your puppy on your own, it would be a great idea to enlist the help of a dog trainer to help bring out the best in your canine companion - the financial outlay will more than pay for itself over time when you’re not having to replace broken furniture and throw out dirty carpets.

Engage, play and enjoy!

Just like human children, puppy’s need mental and physical stimulus to ensure their overall happiness - their energetic nature needs to be nurtured in order to keep them wholly satisfied and you’re going to play a vital part in the sustainment of that activity!

Regular walks are a must, but equally as important is playing with them and allowing them to benefit from new experiences as often as possible. They love seeing, doing and smelling new things - open the world up to them and you’ll find that it’s also easier to control their behaviour as they get used to the world around them.

Look out for early warning signs

It’s quite normal for a puppy to temporarily go off their food due to over excitement and sometimes nervousness (after all, everything is completely new to them) but this lack of appetite and any other slightly “off” behaviour you notice should only ever be temporary.

If you see strange behaviour for a period of more than a couple of days at the most then it’s important that you take your furry little friend for a visit to the vets to see what the problem might be. It’s probably going to be nothing, but it’s always better to be safe.

These five points are by no means an all encompassing list of elements to incorporate if you want to ensure that your puppy lives the happiest life possible, but they certainly form the cornerstones of the vital foundations needed to develop a happy life for your puppy.

Should you adhere to these steps, you’re going to create infinite happy memories with your new companion as it grows from being an adorably cute bundle of excitement into a well formed, well behaved and genuinely lovable adult.