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The following are some basic but very important steps for basic care and training. This puppy will grow to be a very large dog and basic manners will be very important, so training needs to start right away. Many dogs end up in shelters due too lack of basic manners, don’t allow your puppy to be one of them. Nutrition: Feeding a high quality food is of the utmost importance. Proper nutrition and weight have a great deal to do with good health and lack of it has a great deal to do with canine ailments. American Bulldogs require a Large Breed Puppy food until they are 1-2 years of age. Then a Large Breed Adult food should be fed. The Large Breed foods are specially formulated to maintain a lean healthy weight and slow weight gain, important in proper development. If the puppies/dogs are obese it can lead to many health issues, especially in young developing puppies who are gaining weight to quickly and putting undue stress on their undeveloped joints. Good food can be pricey but you can find some at a lower cost. However, you get what you pay for, and health should be priceless. Look at the ingredients, the first ingredients should be meats, meat meals, not fillers, or by-products. Other things to look for are Omega Fatty Acids, and Glucosamine. The price may be higher but more of the nutrients will be utilized by the dog, from high quality food, which leads to them eating and eliminating less. Here are some good quality foods (there are many more not listed): v Nutro – available through most pet stores, and many feed stores v Dr.'s Foster and Smith - available from www.DrsFosterSmith.com v Wellness, Solid Gold, Newman's Own, Evolve - all available at www.jbpet.com, and many health food stores. v Diamond - not as expensive, usually available at feed stores v Authority - not as expensive available at Petsmart
Other supplements that are recommended are: v Glucosamine, given as a preventative measure against Hip Dysplasia. (Nupro Joint Support, has Glucosamine and more) v Brewers Yeast, to maintain healthy coats, and decrease shedding. v Fatty Acid supplements, such as a daily tablespoon of Lipiderm, Linatone, or just plain old Canola Oil. These seem to help tremendously with preventing itching and dry skin and coats, which is a problem in a lot of American Bulldogs. Potty training your new puppy: The key to potty training is to start right away, be consistent, and do not let “accidents happen”. If you are consistent potty training can be learned very quickly, especially if bad habits are never established. It is very important to be proactive so that the puppy does not think it is ok to potty in the house. If the puppy has an accident NEVER physically punish the puppy, or rub their nose in it, you can be mad at yourself for not watching your puppy close enough or waiting to long to take him potty. The only time any reprimand is appropriate is if they are caught in the act, then abruptly say NO or whatever word you choice and take the puppy immediately to their potty place, and reward accordingly once they go in their allowed area. Be patient puppies are just “babies” and they need time to learn and understand what it is they are supposed to do. Try to do the following to help them learn: Take your puppy to go potty about every 45 minutes or after any of the following situations: upon awaking, after playing, after eating, after drinking, after leaving his crate or any change in activity. Learn when your puppy tends to go potty, look for signals he gives off just before he goes. That way you can take your puppy to their potty place as soon as he thinks about going. Once he does go lavish him with praise and rewards, get excited and let him know that going potty in his place is a good thing that makes you happy. Never leave your puppy unattended so that he may have an accident. If you cannot be there to watch puppy put him in his crate or a small puppy-proofed area of the house. You want to prevent him from ever eliminating on the carpet, tile, or any flooring in the house so that he does not associate that with his potty place, and get into bad habits that will be much harder to break once they are learned. Feed your puppy on a regular schedule so that it easier to know when he will need to go potty. Teaching good chewing habits: It is natural for a dog to chew so start right away by teaching your puppy what he is allowed to chew. You want to make acceptable chew toys much more fun to chew then unacceptable objects. Have plenty of “fun” chew toys readily available for your puppy. Praise and reward him for chewing these toys. Play with him with these toys. If he starts to chew something unacceptable sternly say “No” or make a noise to distract him and then give him an acceptable toy and praise him immensely once he starts chewing it. Be smart and keep things you do not want chewed away from the puppy. Never allow him to chew on things he will not be allowed to chew on in the future when his is no so cute or little. Following are some toy suggestions: v Avoid rawhides, or vinyl toys. They are not digestible by dogs or puppies and can get into the intestine and block it possible causing death. v Ropes, our dogs love ropes. Tug of war is a fun game for them just is sure that when playing tug of war you are always in charge and you always start the game and end the game. Teach them to “leave it” on command or the game ends. v Kong chew toys, fill with treats like peanut butter, cheese or dog biscuits. These come in many shapes and sizes, and are extremely durable. v Soft, furry, squeaky toys are always great. These will not last long once the puppy gets bigger but he will still enjoy them, and its better he destroy the toy than your furniture. v Ice cubes plain or you can be creative and add flavor like a chicken bouillon. v Nylabone hard toys and edibles are good and can last a good amount of time; there are many flavors, fruits and meats, etc.
Socialization: It is very important that your puppy is well socialized from the beginning. Introduce your puppy to as many things as possible, and always make sure the experience is positive. Let your puppy determine how much exposure to give at a time. Do not do too much and frighten your puppy, go slow, go at your puppies pace. One caution; until the puppy is fully vaccinated avoid any exposure to other animals and places where animals are or have been, that you do not know for sure are fully vaccinated. It takes a little while for the puppy to build up a solid immune system and you don't want to take any chances. Here are some examples of socialization: v Introduce puppy to every variation of person you can; and teach puppy to great people nicely. Have puppy meet people who are old, young, loud, quiet, men, women, and those of different nationalities. v Take your puppy for car rides. v Introduce your puppy to strange objects like, brooms, vacuums, umbrellas, bags, ladders chairs, etc. v Expose the puppy to loud and obnoxious noises but do so gradually as not to frighten the puppy. Never “comfort” puppy for showing fear it may be taken as encouragement or support of fearful behavior. Just ignore the fearful behavior and reward proper behavior (like investigating what puppy is afraid of). v Teach your puppy to be touched in all places. Check between his toes, and look at his teeth, lift his tail, clean his ears, bath him, clip his nails. All these things will by done by you or the vet as he grows and he needs to learn that it is ok. The vet will appreciate your efforts! v Change the puppy’s environment around. Turn a chair upside down or put a ladder in the room, get out the ironing board. Teach the puppy to investigate unfamiliar things and not become aggressive or run away. Fear is a common reason for bites or injury. v Have your puppy meet other puppy friendly animals, like a friend’s dog or friendly cat. Make sure any animals your puppy meets are properly vaccinated especially until your puppy has had all its shots. v Take puppy to ballgames, or parks, or places with lots of people and noise. v Teach your puppy that it is ok for you to stick your hand in the food dish while your puppy is eating. Take his bones and toys away and give them back, make sure the puppy is acceptable of actions like this. Think of things children might do or things you may need to do and make sure the puppy knows how to behave at these times. Basic Obedience: Basic obedience is very important for your puppy. Remember your puppy will grow into a very large dog, and needs to know how to behave. Your puppy is a dog and will act like a dog, he must be taught how to live with humans. Your puppy is really cute and may do a lot of things as a puppy that you will not want him to do as a dog. If you would not want a 100lb dog jumping on you then do not let the cute puppy do so. It is best to never let the puppy learn behaviors that will not be acceptable when he grows up, this could be very confusing for the puppy. So don’t encourage jumping, chasing, barking, etc., no matter how cute it is. Be sure to praise heavily any acceptable behaviors and associate words with the behaviors. Teach at least basic things such as:
v SIT v LAY DOWN v STAY v OFF v WALKING ON A LEASH It is wise to enroll your puppy in basic obedience classes, or purchase a book on positive training. Remember use rewards and praise not punishment. This will help establish a good relationship between you and your puppy. Your puppy will want to please you and will view you as a good leader. Take time in the beginning to establish a solid foundation and it will pay off later. You and your puppy can enjoy each other and be best of friends.
If you have any questions please contact us and we will help in any way we can. |
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