Beagle Puppy Care
What do I feed? We start with canned Iams and Eukanuba Puppy and transition them to Dry Eukanuba Small Breed (which is the smallest kibble) and dry Iams Puppy. Puppies eat twice a day- when you eat breakfast and dinner. Young puppies will generally be eating 1/4 a cup twice a day, sometimes less than that if they are a nano size. You can order a bag of Iams Puppy through our Petsmart link here and quite often shipping is free on orders depending on how much you spend on other things! Over Feeding? Beagles are known to eat all you give them, so be careful to restrict how much you allow them while they are young, especially for a mini or nano to stay that way. Overfeeding can lead to a stretched stomach, before the body starts adjusting to the amount of food intake, and later a larger beagle than you had hoped for. Sometimes we here from customers who fed more than we recommended, saying "my puppy's tummy looks bloated" We say "cut back on the amount of food you feed tomorrow in order to feed appropriately to your little baby's size". Remember the food also expands when the puppy drinks water, so don't be surprised if their tummy looks large. A stretched tummy simply means their body was not meant to require that amount of food, and you simply need to cut back next time until their tummy is back to an appropriate size. Usually 1/4 a cup twice a day is the right amount for a new puppy, sometimes less for the smaller sized babies which again, you can always cut back its you see that it was too much.
Its been shown that overfeeding a smaller size dog can lead to a larger one , just feed twice daily and carefully and responsibly in order to keep a mini mini !! Beagle Puppy Training
Where should my new puppy sleep? The first step to housetraining, is setting up a confined area your bathtub for the new puppy to stay in when you aren't able to take him outside. we also like to put puppies in play pen set up , with paper on one end and a doggie bed, and toys, on the other so they can use the paper when you are busy and aren't right with them in their new house, or cant take them outside. Crate training can come later at around 14 -15 weeks old, and you can follow our advice on doing this easily from our tips page! By starting them from the time they can walk our puppies are way ahead of the game on housetraining and using paper ! Clarice has graduated to a bigger playpen setup area! She has learned to keep her bed clean, and uses the paper for hurry ups. This setup helps you avoid accidents in your home, and allows you take your puppy outside to begin forming that routine with your schedule. Click here to Purchase the Top Paw Pet Yard Containment PlayPen for just $79.99 through our affiliate Petsmart.com Beagle Puppy Training
Housetraining? Begin taking your puppy outside to a preferred spot in the yard starting their first day home. With any new dog, you will need to take them out often to begin forming a routine in your home of what door to go to and where to go in the yard. When you get a puppy they can start out in a confined safe-area with newspaper and bedding and toys for them to go in whenever you are not supervising them in the new house. This can be a pet playpen, a kitchen, or a laundry area. When you are with your puppy he or she can play on the carpet and you can take them out as needed, but when you are not right there to supervise, they can be in their safe area and still have the option to go on paper until household routines are learned. Take them out as often as possible, and begin developing a routine recording how many times they went, and around what time. Keep in mind that they will need to "HurryUp" as we call it every time they eat, drink, wake up from a nap, or play. Avoiding accidents that first week learning about the new home is very helpful in housetraining. In order to help avoid accidents, only have your puppy out on the floor when supervised, and if he or she seems to start losing interest in you and begin searching/ sniffing around, they are probably looking for a spot to go, usually by finding the scent of a spot that has already been marked as a hurry up spot (which is why avoiding accidents in the first place is good!) If accidents happen, be sure to use a good product that is meant for cleaning up pet accidents, so that the scent is completely removed from their mind! Click here to order Simple Solution- formulated to discourage remarking, which is a natural scent triggered behavior for animals When you aren't able to supervise your puppy in their new household put them back in their contained safe-area so that they will be able to confidently choose paper rather than bed if they need to go. With your supervision and leadership your beagle can earn house privileges for safe and more harmonious years to come. Crate Training is good for everyone involved, whether you plan to use one regularly in the future or just when needed. Getting your pet comfortable with his or her own crate there in your home ahead of time helps give them a good option in the future when you need to go out, have someone new over, or need to travel.
You can start crate training after your pup can start being expected to hold their bladder through the night. After around 14 - 15 weeks or so, older puppies can usually start sleeping in a crate at night, and you can plan to get up early the next morning those first few days to let them go outside, as they learn your schedule and form working lifelong routines in your home. Crate from Petsmart
Whenever you see your puppy walk into the open crate on their own, reinforce that decision with a "good in your bed" in a good job tone. We gave Cinder a treat in the crate, and she liked the experience of being in there! Teaching your dog a key command is good- our Grace knows "Get in your bed" and will happily go get in her crate whenever we need her to. She was taught this with a positive reinforcement as a growing pup- every time she came in from outside we would toss a treat into the crate or have one waiting for her and tell her get in your bed, she would get in and be rewarded with a treat, as well as a Good get in your bed! to reinforce she did good by going into the crate, and would close the door and let her spend a little time in there to dry her feet after coming in the house.
Always take them out the same door, so they associate that door with going outside to hurry up, and to the same spot in the yard so they can pick up the scent of where they've gone before, and know what their outside to do! Dogs like to re-mark where they have gone before, so starting a routine of where to go from the beginning is always helpful in building those associations for them to remember for the years to come! When your new dog goes outside to 'hurry up', let them know they did a good hurry up so they will want to repeat that behavior, even on command, in the future- making for a much easier housebreaking and walk-taking experience! of course a doggie door like this double flap Ruf Weather brand
is our preferred way of housebreaking . Our pups start out with a doggie door here and begin going to the bathroom away from their bed and play areas inside... learning to keep their things clean starts young . |
Having taught this mom to look for toys in the basket as a puppy
she still does when she comes back in our office the day we take photos of her little ones at a couple weeks old... still nursing she sticks close by but takes a minute out to pop her head back in the toys to see whats new . Occasionally we put a greenie or rawhide treat in the bottom so there is a good smell to attract them to the basket from puppy stage on this directs their attention to their own things rather than taking yours . Most of all have fun with your new family member from sunshine acres and stay in touch with us over the years...
Disclaimer: we warn folks our puppies can be addicting , so be ready for lots of Hound Dog Happiness ahead ! this family has gotten 7 of our puppies over the years we must be doin somethin right :) |