If this is the first time you have a dog, surely you have a million doubts and questions hanging around your head while waiting for an answer. Do not rush, it is something completely normal, we have all had doubts about how to treat a puppy properly.
In reality everything is much simpler than it seems, so we simply invite you to spend the next two minutes of your life to read this information and understand that it is everything you should do for your dog.
There are three basic pillars when treating a puppy that has just joined the family: food, health, education and coexistence. We will explain all the details you should know about each one of them and you will see how in a short time, you have everything under control.
Index of contents
- 1 Treating a Puppy: Proper Feeding
- 2 How to Treat a Puppy: Your Health Comes First
- 3 How to Treat a Puppy: His Education and Coexistence
Treating a Puppy: Proper Feeding
Puppies cannot take the same foods as adult dogs since they do not have all their teeth or digestive system developed, depending on their age they will need one feeding or another, as we explain below.
Puppies less than two months old suckle directly from their mother, they feed on breast milk. If they have been separated from their mother, we should go to the veterinary clinic and buy special milk for dogs infants.
Cow’s milk, the one we humans drink, is not good for these cubs. Don’t make the mistake of feeding your puppy cow’s milk thinking it’s the right thing to do. They need a special milk that you must buy in veterinary clinics, without exception. Another option is to leave them with their mother until after two and a half or three months, they are weaned naturally and we can start feeding them solid food.
Puppies older than three months can eat specific food for puppies, although at first it is recommended to moisten it with water or milk for dogs. In this way it will be a kind of porridge, easier to eat for them.
It is about four and a half or five months, when they already eat practically everything, as long as it is specific for puppies. It is not convenient to change food every two by three, because that will disturb the intestinal flora of our puppy, causing diarrhea.
Puppies should eat three to four times a day. If the bag of food tells us that according to its weight our dog should eat 100 grams a day, we will divide that by the number of feedings. For example, if we feed him four times, which is the most common, we will give him 25 grams of food each time. Between breakfast, lunch, snack and dinner, you will have completed the 100 grams that the manufacturer indicated.
Although we should not adhere 100% to the manufacturer’s indications as there are more active dogs than others and higher quality feed than others. If we appreciate that our puppy loses weight, we must increase the food ration (the quantity). If this does not solve your thinness, then we will go to the vet.
It is always preferable to choose a quality diet, the best I think for our dog, do not think anywhere that the white or commercial brands that they sell in shopping centers are of quality … because it is not like that. The quality of food will directly influence the development and health of our puppy.
To treat a puppy nutritionally correctly, we must invest money in high-quality feed. Or start using the BARF diet from three to four months of age, a diet based on administering natural food to our puppy.
How to Treat a Puppy: Your Health Comes First
Puppies often have internal parasites that must be treated. Don’t be scared thinking that your dog is serious…. It is completely normal, 99% of puppies have intestinal parasites.
We just have to go to the vet to start with his immunization record and have his first check-up. They will also give you some syrup to eliminate these parasites, in this way you will be able to absorb nutrients better and grow healthy and strong.
All dogs need to be vaccinated, all without exception. There are mandatory vaccines such as rabies, and other options but highly recommended, such as that of parvovirus. Not vaccinating a puppy is the same as exposing it to serious diseases that can end its life.
We must be aware that puppies have a much weaker, developing immune system. Therefore, it is extremely important to protect them against external diseases, without skipping a single one of their vaccines. Here you can see when they correspond: Immunization Schedule.
Apart from vaccines, to treat our puppy well we must carry out periodic veterinary reviews. Keep it protected against fleas, ticks and bathe it at least once a month (only when they are more than three months old): How to bathe a puppy
And even if we do everything correctly, it is possible that on more than one occasion we should make an appointment with the vet. There are dogs that are born stronger and others that are weaker (immunologically speaking) as well as humans.
Remember that you should never take a dog outside if it has not been previously vaccinated. You can contract many diseases that can end your life in a few days. It is not something to be taken as a joke, while you are not vaccinated, you should not walk or join other dogs or cats that are not vaccinated.
How to Treat a Puppy: His Education and Coexistence
First of all we must focus on coexistence, to treat a puppy well he must have a fluffy bed at home where he can rest and take long naps. A bed that is in a temperate zone, neither cold nor excessively warm.
You should also always have at your disposal a bowl / drinker with clean and fresh water in abundance. If the water gets hot because it is very hot, it is advisable to change it every few hours so that it is cool.
At home we must be very strict with the rules, that is, if we have decided not to let the puppy climb the sofa, we will never let him. There is no use leaving him when we are there and not leaving him on other occasions, or one day if but not another … that is a big mistake.
Just as it is a great mistake to try to educate our puppy as to whether it will be an adult dog. A puppy is comparable to a human baby: He just wants to eat, play and sleep. And that’s what we should let him do, enjoy his childhood and play with him whenever we can.
The education or training of a puppy should begin very slowly from the age of six months, and we should never take his education seriously until he is at least one year old. However, here are some very practical tips to apply little by little: How to educate a puppy, step by step.
Once our puppy is over three months old, has his vaccines on, and can start taking a walk on the street, we should focus on his socialization. Socialization is the task of relating our dog to all its surroundings, neighborhood parks, other puppies, other humans, etc …
Properly social
izing a dog makes the difference between having an aggressive or scary dog, and a healthy and friendly dog. It is a very simple task but one that we must constantly apply, mainly during its first year of life. Here you can know all the details to do it correctly: How to socialize a puppy
And pretty much this is all you need to know to treat a puppy properly, how it deserves. Always remember that you are his family to him, he sees you as his father or mother. Take care of him, give him many, but what a lot of pampering, honey and just be very happy with him.