Information Sheet On Care Of Your New Puppy

Feeding:            

- Eukanuba (small bites puppy food)  Feed dry and "free choice." You can feed this to your puppy till he is 1 year, then switch to adult. It is very palatable (easy for puppy to eat).

- You can feed Eukanuba Low Residue for puppies (which is a prescription dog food only obtainable at the vets). This helps firm up the stools.

- Leave fresh water "free choice" for your puppy.

- In case of loose stools, use cooked hamburger and add pumpkin to the hamburger. Pumpkin is a "binder."

- I advise against using a grocery store dog food; and if your dog food supplier doesn’t have eukanuba ask them to get it for you - most stores will do this.

-         Do not give milk or table scraps to your puppy/dog; it causes loose stools and is very unhealthy for them. They have a very small throat and food can get stuck in there and choke them to death. I had a little male that this happened to – it was a very small piece of hot dog. Please be very careful with table food.  

Stress: - I strongly advise using Nu Vet which contains electrolytes, vitamins and minerals (and sugar). This is to keep your puppy from stressing. It is a good idea to give this to your puppy as soon as you pick him up from the airport or after your car ride home. Give him a little for at least several days after he arrives in his new home. Toy breeds are subject to stress. Get him to eat as much as possible (no more than a ½ teaspoon) and if he is not up and moving on his own within a half hour, get him to your vet. Aggressive therapy may be needed if he doesn’t "come around" - which means he may have to have an IV drip. Make sure you have Nu Vet to keep giving him for a few days after his round with stress. A/D prescription dog food is good to feed a puppy that has stressed. (Word of caution - A/D is so high caloric that it may cause loose stools.) If your puppy won’t eat (don’t bring him home from the vet unless he is eating on his own), Your Vet will prescribe what you need at this point.

Choice of a vet is "critical":

- Choose your vet carefully!

1. Try to find a vet that administers to only small animals.

2. Convince your vet that Pomeranians are NOT "normal" dogs.  

3. Check a prospective vet’s "references"; make sure they can keep small kittens alive during surgery.  

4. If your dog requires "intensive care," make sure that Pom is going home with your vet at night or has someone with him at all times, or your Pomeranian will not be getting intensive care!  

5. If your Pomeranian needs teeth pulled or cleaned, make sure your vet can keep small kittens alive during surgery.

Worming:

It is always a good idea to have your puppy’s stool sample checked for worms at every annual visit (because random checks don’t always find worms when your dog has them). Hookworms and roundworms are the

two most common worms. Hookworms are microscopic and can cause your puppy to become anemic and death can occur rather suddenly. Roundworms are visible by human eye and resemble miniature spaghetti.

Puppies can pick up tapeworms (from cats or eating "wild game"). Some of the "foul" things they chew on can also allow them to pick up other organisms like giardia. Fleas can also give dogs tapeworms. Have your Vet check them out though testing.

Flea & mite control:

If your dog does get fleas I would recommend Advantage. You can buy this through your vet, but only use it if they have fleas. Don’t use it as a preventive. If you have fleas in your home you could use Xotrol bomb to "debug" your home, garage, wherever. The label says to keep house closed up (and all living residents out of the home) for 2 hours;  This bomb kills all kinds of bugs. It sterilizes eggs and it is effective for 11 months. Clean ears with mineral or baby oil twice a month and your dog should never have ear mites.

 Bathing/Grooming:

Once every 5 weeks all of my poms get to have "bath time". If you have a male puppy and you take them to a groomer don't let them cut off his pee pee hair. This is their guide when they pee. If you cut this hair off it will not grow back and they will pee on their tummies.   It is best to have them groomed, but of course you can do it yourself.

 If you choose to bath your dog use a mild dog shampoo once every 5 weeks. If you bath your Pomeranian to often he/she will develop dry skin. Always brush and comb out your Pomeranian before and after bathing.  A thorough blow-drying should follow bathing.  You’re done brushing and combing when your comb goes through every inch of your dog easily. You should be able to see and feel clean healthy skin. When brushing out your pom make sure you brush from their tail to their head. This allows you to get into their undercoat. This is very important otherwise the will get matts. This also brings their hair "up" rather than lay it down if you brush them the other way.  

During the shedding times of year (spring and fall)  - Brush and comb out at least once a day.

Nails should be trimmed every other week and kept short. Long nails break down the pasterns and would be equivalent to a person walking painfully with fallen arches. So it is more "cruel" to let your dog have long nails than it is to trim the nails often. If his/her nail starts to bleed use Quick stop and this will stop the bleeding immediately. Pinching the toe pad immediately above and below the nail before and after you clip the nail will slow the flow of blood to the nail. Apply quick stop. This method also helps eliminate "foot shyness”.

Teeth should be cleaned regularly.  The small jaw size of the pom makes cleaning necessary to keep tarter and gum disease at bay.  Teeth should be checked thoroughly at yearly check ups and possible vet cleaning determined at that time.

Potty training:

Potty training will be easier if you do not allow the puppy to have the run of your house at first. This will save your carpets and then after they have figured it out then let them run free through the house. I do not recommend paper training unless that is where your dog will have to go its entire life.

When they go to your home they should have the “idea” of what to do because they will start going potty outside here. Immediately start to potty train to go outside once you have them in their new home. It is like a child - after it eats, sleeps, and romps around, it is going to need to potty.  It may also be necessary to let the dog out to eliminate after meals. You should send them out at least every ½ hour to start with and praise them when they come in. When they go potty outside make a very big deal out of it with a little treat.

Spaying/Neutering

The most important thing to do to your "pet" male and female puppies is to have them neutered/spayed between, 6 to 9 months of age!  A knowledgeable breeder should be the only one breeding poms.  Some poms require C-sections and only an experienced breeder knows how to keep this from happening or what to do if this becomes necessary.  And, breeding undesirables only leads to a “watering down” of the purity of a well-bred Pomeranian.

Special Tips:

To prevent front leg injury to toy breed dogs - pick puppies and adults up by putting your hand under their rib cage with free hand on their backs to steady as you lift.

Prevent puppies and adults from jumping off furniture (especially if they are jumping onto slick, hard surfaces).

I do not recommend leaving any collars or harnesses on any dogs unattended because they can "hang" themselves with them.  The fine toy dog show leads are recommended, even for pets, because you must take these leads off and not leave them on - used only for "walking" your dog.

For training young show puppy prospects or training pets to lead, I recommend a size 12-figure 8-cat harness. Again, I do not recommend leaving this harness on an unattended dog.