Gales Creek Labrador Retrievers

A Few Notes for Your Puppy’s First Week Home I hope things are going smoothly with the pup’s first week at home! I’ve answered a lot of questions individually, but I’m not sure everyone has asked the same ones — so I wanted to put together a post covering a few topics for everybody. Nutrition As far as food goes, I recommend Victor Hi-Pro Plus. Cooper has been thriving on it for four years now — it’s good food, reasonably priced, and frequently on sale at Tractor Supply. That said, I’m sure you’ll see ads for The Farmer’s Dog and Sundays pop up on social media, so I wanted to share some context. After Clover’s first litter, she had what’s called a “blown coat.” Lots of breeders and vets say that’s normal given the demands of nursing a large litter, but I hated seeing her beautiful coat go thin and start to fall out. So I did a lot of research and started experimenting with a homemade diet. The results were a quick recovery — her coat came back thicker, fuller, and shinier, with noticeably less shedding. I kept Cooper on Victor the whole time as a comparison, and the difference between the two dogs was clear. That said, keep in mind this is all anecdotal, just my own experience — and homemade diets can be tricky to get right. I also started to suspect Clover’s heat cycle was being delayed by an imbalance between calcium and phosphorus. Once I started supplementing, she went into heat almost immediately. Could’ve been coincidence, but her coat also came through this second litter in much better shape than the first. At peak lactation, I was trying to get about 6,000 calories a day into her, which is difficult (and expensive) on a homemade diet heavy in beef, salmon, and beef liver. I ended up using a modified homemade recipe with lots of eggs, plus a significant amount of kibble — some Victor, and some Orijen Six Fish. Orijen isn’t cheap, but it ends up costing about the same as the homemade diet once you factor in supplements. Bottom line: I’m not suggesting anyone do a full homemade diet or spend half the day cooking for their puppy — Victor on its own is just fine. But if you want to give their coat and long-term health a boost, cracking an egg over the kibble a few times a week, or tossing them a can of salmon now and then, tends to make a noticeable difference. If anyone wants specific recipes, just ask and I’m happy to share. Potty Training Once puppies start moving around, instinct kicks in — they want to keep their sleeping area clean and go elsewhere to do their business. As soon as ours start walking, I add a potty tray with pine pellets and some alfalfa pellets (which are supposed to smell like grass). It keeps their enclosure cleaner and can also help with the transition to going outside. We’ve been taking them out whenever they wake up and after meals, and aside from a few accidents, they’ve been doing well using the tray the rest of the time. If you take your pup outside right when they wake up and right after meals, and let them stay out there for 20–30 minutes, accidents should be pretty minimal. Nighttime and Crate Training They’ve had littermates to snuggle with up until now, so being alone at night is a new experience — the go-home blankets should help ease that transition. A couple of crate training tips: • At this stage, the crate should be just big enough for them to stand up and turn around in. That sense of a small, secure space makes them far less likely to soil it. If your crate is bigger than that, you can section it down with a cardboard box. • Everything you do trains them to do something. If they jump on you and you give them attention, you’re training them to jump. If you’d rather they not jump, ignore them until they calm down and sit, then mark it with “yes” and give a treat. Start that from day one, and you’ll end up with a dog that walks up calmly to greet you instead of jumping. • I know the crying can sound heartbreaking, and the instinct is to go comfort them — but that’s training them too. That said, sometimes the whining really does mean they’re hungry, thirsty, or need to go out. Yesterday, on the road, Nala (one of the little chocolate girls) climbed into Cayden’s lap and started staring him down and whining. I pulled over, let her out on some grass, she did her business, and went right back to sleep in the truck. Chewing It helps to have plenty of appropriate chew toys available — and to keep anything you don’t want chewed out of reach. That said, they’re probably going to get into something eventually, and I think it helps to look at how these lessons play out in nature. Think about how a wolf pup learns not to mess with a porcupine — one experience is usually enough. I’ll date myself a little here: years ago I had a lab that developed a taste for Blockbuster DVDs. I rubbed a hot pepper on one and left it on the coffee table — he never touched a DVD again. Books were Clover’s one vice, and I used the same principle. I put her in a training collar and watched her on the security cameras from the driveway, so she wouldn’t know I had anything to do with it. The moment she started on another book, I gave her a correction — and she never chewed a book again. I’ve found it works best when the “consequence” seems to come from the behavior itself, with no sign that a person was involved. Book Recommendation If you’re looking for a good training book, I’d recommend an older one: “Family Dog” by Richard A. Wolters. It shows its age in places — the potty training section assumes everyone has a kitchen with a door, which isn’t really a thing anymore — but the underlying principles are sound and line up well with a puppy’s natural instincts. Wolters has a few other books, including some on field training, but this one is the best starting point for everyday life with your pup. These are the pine pellets I use. Check out this product! https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/tractor-supply-pine-pellet-stall-bedding-40-lb-2181006?appID=TSC%201.68.1&cmaType=webview&riskifiedSessionId=F2695C9B-ACAA-4481-BBC4-3A3F1DDF624B&adobe_mc=TS%3D1784557731%7CMCMID%3D60713009359826251435724653852684914271%7CMCORGID%3DAC8C79E45D5D0BD50A495E1F%40AdobeOrg https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/tractor-supply-pine-pellet-stall-bedding-40-lb-2181006?appID=TSC%201.68.1&cmaType=webview&riskifiedSessionId=F2695C9B-ACAA-4481-BBC4-3A3F1DDF624B&adobe_mc=TS%3D1784557731%7CMCMID%3D60713009359826251435724653852684914271%7CMCORGID%3DAC8C79E45D5D0BD50A495E1F%40AdobeOrg This is the tray Small Mixing Tub 28-in L x 20-in W x 6-in D Plastic Drywall Mud Pan https://www.lowes.com/pd/Creative-Plastic-Concepts-Small-Mixing-Tub-20-in-W-x-28-in-L-x-6-in-D-Drywall-Mud-Pan/1000608719 I recommend this chew Check out this product! https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/redbarn-beef-cheek-roll-large-1558294 https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/redbarn-beef-cheek-roll-large-1558294 And this is Clover’s favorite chew toy Check out this product! https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/starmark-everlasting-treat-wheeler-dog-toy https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/starmark-everlasting-treat-wheeler-dog-toy