It's time!
When your puppy is 8 weeks old, it can leave
our home and head to your home. Here are some things to help
you prepare for and pick up the puppy.
The Big Day
For specific instructions to reach our home,
e-mail or call us several days in advance. Mapquest and
Yahoo Maps have incorrect instructions from what we've
heard, so don't use those other than to come toward Bedford
from your location. After getting near Bedford, use our
instructions.
If your puppy is flying to meet you, click
here for more information about
the trip and what you'll need.
Final Payment
Most people bring the final payment in cash at the time of
pick up, which is best for us because cash doesn't require
clearance time.
If
you plan to pay via credit card, check or money
order, please send it at least 2 weeks prior to picking up
your puppy to allow for clearance time.
We have found with even PayPal credit card
payments that there can be a processing time, depending upon
the actual card or account you use when paying. So, it's
just best to take care of that about 2 weeks in advance.
Supplies to Buy/Have/Bring
-
A
small collar and light leash for potty stops on the way home and leash
training
-
Two short and heavy (flat-bottomed) tip-resistant bowls for food
and water
-
Some chew toys are good to have!
-
If
you have far to travel, a pet carrier is an excellent idea (and also helps
for vet visits down the road). We might be able to get one for you if you
give us advance warning. We can get them for $20-$30, depending upon the
size you choose.
-
A crate for crate training or to
keep the puppy in (when you are not home) until it is completely
housetrained
-
A bag of puppy food.
Click here to see what we like to feed.
-
One can of soft puppy food for
emergency temptation only.
PLEASE DO NOT FEED YOUR PUPPY CANNED PUPPY FOOD in unlimited
amounts soon after receiving him/her. Puppies are healthiest when fed dry
food. Do keep a couple cans of soft food on hand to use to tempt the puppy
to eat if he/she is off feed. But give just a couple tablespoons at a time
to prevent overeating. If the puppy eats soft food until he bloats, he could
begin a cycle of vomiting/diarrhea that could lead to blood sugar problems
and anemia, and which could be fatal.
-
Talk to your vet in advance about
having some medication for coccidia on hand to use at home (Marquis, Albon or Corid, for example).
Many puppies get diarrhea from the stress of leaving littermates and home,
and it's sometimes caused by coccidia. We treat preventatively prior to their
leaving us, but they can still have an outbreak a few days after arriving at
their new homes. Or, they can pick it up any time in their lives, though it
usually just affects puppies between 2 and 4 months of age. More
information about coccidia here.
-
Ask us about orange or berry Gatorade...a tablespoon added to water
can disguise the chemical/mineral smell of differing water from your tap and
our tap. We may begin adding a tablespoon of Gatorade to our puppies'
water a week before they leave us to help that transition.
-
Pepto Bismol: You can give puppies Pepto Bismol if needed. If your puppy has a
little bit of loose stools for the first day, you can give Pepto to him/her to
help settle the stomach. The change of leaving littermates can sometimes cause a
little diarrhea. If the puppy is still eating and drinking, it's normally not
something to be worried about. But if he/she stops drinking, dehydration can
become a concern. I have given Pepto Bismol (or generic equivalent) to puppies
as needed....1 to 1 1/2 cc's orally, which is probably 1/4th to 3/8ths of a
teaspoon. A couple times that first day seems to help a lot.
-
Visit our Supplies page for a more complete
list of ideas.
Travel Carriers and Crates
Beagles from us are usually between 15 and
30 lbs
and around 11-13" tall when mature, so look for a carrier
labeled for that size of dog if you want one for long-term
use.
If you want to just transport a dog in a carrier to the vet
for quick trips, a smaller carrier will work (but be careful
about carrying it so the handle doesn't break). If you want
to keep the dog in a crate/cage while you are away from home
to crate train him, we recommend a much bigger, coated metal
cage with a door. Pet supply stores sell large crates such
as these for $40 to $100.
Visit our Supplies page
for more information.
Feeding Your Puppy
We're now feeding Purina
Puppy Chow because results of our surveys indicated that an
overwhelming majority of people feed Puppy Chow. Actually,
we are mixing Puppy Chow with
NutriSource puppy food, but Puppy Chow is
available nationwide, so we recommend that you begin with
that.
To avoid
stress of changing foods when puppies leave us, we have
decided to feed predominantly what most of you will (Puppy
Chow). If you want to feed
something different, we recommend buying a small bag of
Purina Puppy Chow (look at the picture on the bag and try to
get the one with
brown kibbles, and NOT the one with red and green
coloring...which also colors the stools) to mix with your
chosen food to acclimate the puppy to your puppy food.
-
We keep Purina Puppy Chow dry (brown kibbles
only...no red or green coloring) with the puppies almost all
the time.
-
Once per day, we give them dry
NutriSource puppy food mixed with warm water, and they
think that's a real treat for some reason, even though it's
just dry food with water. :-) You should be fine with just
the Puppy Chow, as that is what most of their diet is here.
A
high-quality puppy food is essential for the first few months. We
love
Diamond
brand Lamb and Rice Puppy for puppies that are 2 months
old and older. We also found a food at Wal-Mart that does
not contain corn called Maxim Puppy Food that might be good
to look into. Science Diet, Eukanuba,
Purina Puppy Chow, and Iams are also good, and your
veterinarian might have a suggestion that he/she prefers. Lamb and
Rice or chicken and rice foods are often recommended for breeds of dogs with
large ears that lay down, like beagles. We also like
the quality of
NutriSource puppy food, and supplement our puppies with
that. However, millions
of puppies have been raised on non-specialty store-bought food, and you sure can choose
that route as well.
How do you know if a food is good? Look at
the ingredients...if "corn" or "corn meal" (or similar) is
in the first few ingredients, it isn't as good as if those
ingredients were lower on the list. Better yet, avoid a
corn-based feed entirely and look instead for rice.
PLEASE DO NOT FEED YOUR PUPPY CANNED PUPPY
FOOD in unlimited amounts soon after receiving him/her.
Puppies are healthiest when fed dry food, and drastic
changes in their diets can cause severe digestive upset. Do keep a couple
cans of soft food on hand to use to tempt the puppy to eat
if he/she is off feed. But give just a couple tablespoons at
a time to prevent overeating. If the puppy eats soft food
until he bloats, he could begin a cycle of vomiting/diarrhea
that could lead to blood sugar problems and anemia which
could be fatal.
Ask your vet about vitamins. Puppy foods are supposed to be complete, so
giving vitamins might just be overkill and not necessary. Lots of people do
give vitamins, though.
Registration Papers
We will mail your puppy's registration
application to you about 2 weeks after you pick up your
puppy. This is because we want you to wait to register your
puppy until after you have had your vet check him/her, and
also to make sure you can keep your puppy.
Recommended
Vaccination Schedule
We give the puppies their first vaccination
at about 6-7 weeks of age, around the time of weaning. You'll need to
continue with a vaccination schedule recommended by your
veterinarian for your area. The Humane Society has some
recommendations:
From The Humane Society
- Distemper - an airborne viral disease of the lungs, intestines and
brain.
- Hepatitis - a viral disease of the liver.
- Leptospirosis - a bacterial disease of the urinary system.
- Parainfluenza - infectious bronchitis.
- Parvovirus - a viral disease of the intestines.
- Rabies - a viral disease fatal to humans and other animals.
- Corona - a viral disease of the intestines.
- Bordetella - a bacterial infection (kennel cough)
Puppies - 6 weeks to 1 year
- 6 to 8 weeks - First puppy shot (DHLPP) + Corona
- 11 to 12 weeks - Second puppy shot (DHLPP) + Corona
- 15 to 16 weeks - Third puppy shot (DHLPP) + Corona
- Over 4 months - Rabies (repeat l year later)
- 7 to 9 months - First heartworm test
Adult Dogs - After 1 year
- DHLPP - Yearly
- Heartworm test - Yearly
- Rabies - Every 3 years (after second Rabies shot)
- Bordetella - Yearly
Note: Some states have their own laws
regarding the frequency & requirement of certain vaccinations. When in
doubt, always ask your veterinarian or local humane society.
I've made a 2-page (front and back of one sheet of paper)
health record form for puppies we sell that is great to use to keep track of
your dog's health its whole life. Feel free to download it
here. It is in MS Word
format.
Deworming Schedule
Veterinary recommendations vary for deworming puppies, but
all resources we've encountered recommend deworming at LEAST by 6 weeks of
age and again at 3 months of age.
A schedule beginning at 2 weeks with deworming every 2 weeks
through the 8th week is recommended by some vets, while others recommend
deworming for the first time at 6 weeks. We deworm our puppies at least
twice prior to weaning (at least at 4 and 6 weeks), and hope you'll continue
with at least monthly deworming unless your veterinarian recommends
otherwise.
Training/Growth Stages for Puppies
This is a neat and short article about the stages of puppy
growth. Knowing what to expect for that first year can help you both
train and cope with your puppy's changes in personality and abilities.
Click Here to read the article.
More here...
FAQ's About Our Puppies
We are assembling some commonly-asked questions and answers about getting a
new puppy, and have created a FAQ page that might
help.
Our Pet Store Philosophy
