Bringing Your New Puppy Home

Bringing your new MOSA puppy home is an exciting and happy time. In all of the excitement  waiting for your new family member to arrive we sometimes forget things or if it is your first puppy there are things you are not certain of. 

We want to provide you with information and resources so that the excitement and happiness does not turn into frustration. Our first priority is to better ensure your "parenting" success.  The number one frustration with new puppies is not so much with the puppy but with lack of knowledge and training for the new parents. After all puppies are much like children, they are only puppies who need to be shown and trained and sometimes to successfully train our puppies/dogs we need to train ourselves better in understanding.

Before & after you bring your puppy home there are things you will want to do.

Here is a list of suggestions:

Puppy Proof 

Make sure you puppy proof your home and yard. Puppies love to chew wires, shoes, plants and almost anything they can get. Remember they are usually teething by the time you get them home. To aleviate teething issues and help avoid things being chewed that shouldn't be, supply your puppy with plenty of things that are appropriate to chew on or play with.

Items to look for are:wires, poisioness plants, chemicals of any kind (some cleaning chemicals are toxic to your dogs), wires (from computers, telivisions, phone cords ect.)

Toys for play and dental health

Play is very important for puppies and dogs, as well they instinctively chew, it is something you can not train out of a dog and it has needed health benifits for your dogs dental care. Providing a variety of toys for your IG is important, it is a great source of stimulation for your IG and a great way for you and the puppy/dog to interact and have some fun time bonding.   Toys are also an excellent alternative to offer instead of your personal objects being chewed up and costly replacement of those items. 

Our dogs love the fury toys both the squeeky kind and the new stuffless ones. The puppies especially love to play with the stuffless ones as they are easy for them to carry and play chase with. We have 2 dogs that really like the stuffed animals with the squeakers in them, one of our IGs diseminates it until she gets the squeaker out.

We provide lots of play toys for our dogs/puppies it helps keep them from being bored. Many chew toys such as pigs ears, raw hide, Nyla bones, and the rope toys are made too also help with their dental cleaning, an issue that can be a problem with the toy breeds especially. We keep a steady supply of these toys around the house to aid with thier teeth cleaning and dental health. (With the raw hides and pigs ears monitor thier time with them and take them away when they become to small to avoid your puppy/dog from trying to swallow it whole as they can choke or if successful it can block thier intestines causing unneccessary pain and an expensive vet visit to have it removed.)

Please keep in mind if you have children, when purchasing play toys for your puppy/dog that many dog toys look much like children's toys, such as stuffed animals or a lot of the squeaky toys such as the rubber pacifiers. If you purchase toys for your dogs that are very similar to your children's toys do not expect the puppy to be able to differeniate between thier toys and those of your children as for them the child's toy is just another thing they can play with.

Safety Area 

 Many people do not like to crate train as they feel it restrains from being part of the family, but I would have a crate at home that is size appropriate, because in event of an emergency or during travel you may find that it makes it much easier for both you and your puppy.  It is better to have one than to find you need one when it is too late.

Our dogs do not live in crates or pens, but we do crate train in the event we need to use a crate for any reason. It is best if you do not crate your dog regularly that it be accustomed to the crate in the event it is neccissary to put him/her in it, even for a short time. Keep the crate as a positive experince for your puppy, the training will go much smoother and they will not mind using the crate when neccissary. A good way to make it a postive place is to remove the door, leaving it open in their personal area or somewhere in the home with a blanket in it and they will use it as a den. To further make it postive when they go in it praise them and  give them a treat, it will reinforce it being a good place.Do Not use it as a punishment or your puppy will begin to view the crate as a negative thing.

Look at your home and see what room you are going to leave your puppy in when you are out in the event you do not crate train. Make sure it is puppy proof and purchase a pressure mount  puppy/baby gate that is at least 48" tall with a door so you can walk through without removing the gate each time. Put this across the door instead of shutting the puppy up in a totally confined room. It gives the puppy a sense of peace to be able to see out instead of being totally confined and it gives you an area of safety for your puppy/dog when you need to confine it either while you are home or away.

Another option and one that we use is the expen. This allows you to sit up an area any where in your home (I would reccomend on a solid floor and not carpeting) to confine the puppy in. The expen can also be taken with you on trips as a way to confine your puppy if you need too. I would reccomend purchasing the 48" if you use this method as I have some IGs that can rather easily clear a way over the 36" and smaller ones. I have also heard stories of IGs attempting to climb over the smaller ones and getting thier leg caught and broken. The taller ones make it much less tempting for a puppy to even attempt to go over.

Regardless of which method you use, place a bed, some toys, and the potty material (place the potty material in one corner) in with your puppy. If it is going to be confined for over 2 hours I would place water in with them also.

Confining your puppy not only keeps it safe but can make potty training go much smoother. If you are not able to watch your puppy it is best not only to confine him/her for safety reason but an unsupervised puppy that is allowed run of the house also can not be potty trained as quickly or easily. An unsupervised puppy that is allowed to have full run of the house or large area will most likely have more accidents as they are too busy playing or doing whatever their minds are on to really think of going back to the proper place to potty and many times they just can not hold it long enough to get back to the potty area and just need to go.

Feeding

Make certain you have the same food that the puppy is currently being fed on hand even if you plan to feed a different food. It is best to gradually change your puppy's food and not do it all at once. Not changing food gradually can cause stomach upset and digestive problems.

When feeding I would avoid plastic dishes, the compounds in the plastic breaks down over time and enters into your dogs food. I prefer the metal or crock style dishes, they are resistant to chemical breakdown and they are very easy to clean and disinfect.

IG's need high protien food, they have a very high metabolism and foods that are not high in Protien just do not allow your dog to have the proper nutirents. Not giving them a high quality food can shorten thier life span and/or cause/worsen other health issues. It also leads to poor coat condition.

We look for a dog food with as much natural ingredients as possible ( the first ingredient always a meat not a byproduct or filler), with little or no corn or soy product (at a minimum I would ensure it is far down the igredient list as possible), and the highest protien level we can find.

Feed your puppy at least 2 meals a day no more than 3. Each meal usually consists of about 1/2-1 cup of kibble. Allow your puppy about 15 -20 minutes to eat, you can increase or decrease the food by monitoring how much your puppy consumes in that time. Once your puppy has finished put him/her in thier confinement area for about 10-15 minutes and then take them out to potty, allow them at least 5-10 minutes to potty and use the command so they know what they are too do. Once they potty praise them and give them love, this allows them to see postive reinforcement with thier actions.

When initally housetraining your puppy do not allow it to have playtime outside while you are out trying to get it too go. You only allow it to play after going potty as then it associates playtime outside with something it does after it goes potty. Therefore becoming a reward. If you allow it to play prior to going potty it will forget why it is outside to begin with, get distracted with playing and then most likely go to the bathroom in the house once playtime is over.

If they do not potty bring them back in and put them in thier confinement area for about 10-15 more minutes and repeat taking them out again. Keep doing this until they use the potty and don't forget the praise when they successfully complete the task!  Do not allow them to run in the house if they have not pottied or you will most likely have accidents in places you don't want them.

Potty Training

Make certain you have the supplies for whatever method of potty training you will be using. IG's can be a bit more challenging at times to housetrain but not impossible as you may have been led to believe. ( On your information sheet we provide you with reccomendations and if you decided to continue with our methods we will be happy to speak with you on how to better succeed with it). 

 Correct your puppy when it has an accident and show it the proper place to go immediately following.  Do not spank or yell at your puppy when they have an accident, this will cause your puppy to have fear. Using postive reinforcement with your IG works much better and creates a much more loving bond between him/her and the family members. Using treats, love, and lots of praise for doing the right thing also reinforces in your puppy the desire to want to please you by doing the right things.

When rewarding your puppy for going potty it is best to use attention and praise as the reward rather than a treat.  The reason being there may be times you are out with them and treats are not readily available and you don't want them to be accustomed to recieving treats for this action and then be out at some point and not have treats available. Besides they thrive on attention and it doesn't put on extra wieght.

When accidents do happen it is usualy due too  human error, wether it be lack of learning/knowing your dogs ques when it has to potty, leaving it unsupervised (allowing it to run in the house freely while still being trained),  or just our lack of consistensy with them in thier training.

By the time the puppies leave here housetraining has been well begun, the success will rely on your continuation with whatever method you choose to use. Keep in mind the progress point your puppy is at will depend on the age that your individual puppy arrives home. The younger puppies will not be as far along as the older puppies/dogs.

 It is also essential to know that no matter how much house training a puppy/dog has had, when going to a new home it upsets that training for a while as they have new surroundings, rules, and people to get accustomed too. It is a process to learn what you expect  and it does not happen over night.

We begin our house training as soon as the puppies begin to walk out of thier whelping bed with newspaper on the entire floor of the expen area. Once they begin to walk well and begin exploring we teach them to use an indoor training system also. Once thier vaccinations have been started we allow them to go outside (in our yard only until all vaccinations have been completed) to use the batheroom and to play.

If your puppy arrives and it has not had it's complete series of Parvo vaccinations, we highly advise that you DO NOT take your puppy out into public places. I would definitely not take them to ANY Pet shop or veterinarian's and place them on the ground, allow other dogs to come in contact with them physically or allow others to handle or pet your puppy in any of those places. When at the vet keep your puppy in a crate or hold them, do not allow them to walk around on the ground or socialize with other dogs or animals. Your puppy is not fully protected from Parvo until the series is complete and by doing those things you are jepordizing it's health.

There are times when we all have to be away from our homes and our IG's can not go with us. While our primary housetraining is to go outdoors we have found it very helpful for our IG's to continue keeping an indoor system in our home for the times we are gone and they are alone a little longer than expected. It gives them an area other than our floor where they can go when they just can not hold it any longer. It has saved us numerous accidents on our floors and has helped them by not having to continue to try and hold themselves when we are gone for an extended period of time. Using the indoor systems is a choice we have made and it has helped with housetraining considerably, it is definitely something worth considering.

For those who may be interested in using indoor potty systems in conjunction with outdoor housetraining or alone, we will provide information on the different systems on another page. If you are interested in using the same system and technique that we use we will be happy to provide you with a detailed information sheet before your puppy arrives home to better prepare you for the arrival.

The main key to housetraining success is consistency and knowing/learning your IG. 

Collars & Leashes 

Make certain you have an appropriate fitting collar/harness and leash. IG's can slip collars and harnesses if not properly fitted or adjusted. Our personal choice are the buckle or belt style collars. They are more secure than the breakaway collars and once you adjust the fit of them it is not prone to slippage over time which cause it to fit more loosely, as the breakaways are.

Another good choice is the Martingale collar, especially for special trips as they can be purchased in very ornate styles for the times you may want to dress your IG up a bit.

 If your puppy does slip it's restraint while outside be sure to stay calm as if you react in a non-calm way it may scare your already frightened IG and cause it to run from confusion. IG's reactions often reflect our mood, demeanor, and actions.

Veterinarian

Look for a Veterinarian that you would use in advance of bringing your puppy home. When you get him/her home you will want to take them in for thier checkup and you never know when you will need a Veterinarian.  Look for a Vet that is famiiar with and has experience with sighthounds. You also want one that will listen to you, explain questions you may have, research things either that they are uncertain about or that may be new treatment options. You also want them to be open to discussing treatment options that you may have researched and not just dismiss you on it.

Be certain that you have the Immunization sheet we provide with each puppy when you go to the vet. This will tell them what immunizations and othe medicinces have been given  as well as the brands of the vaccinations.

This is list will be updated, if you have any suggestions on things that would have made bringing your puppy home please let us know.

Once you are approved, have placed your adoption fee and are waiting for the arrival of your new puppy we send to you a detailed packet of resources and suggestions that we feel may help with your IG. 

The resources and suggestions in the packet are things we use ourselves and have success with. We do not reccomend things we have not either done ourselves or have researched to determine the success rate.

We do not reccomend anything with a low success rate as if it is llikely to not work or has failed more than succeeded, it can just add frustration to the training of your puppy and the goal is to keep your experience as postive and stress free as possible.

"Just keep in mind that we are dealing with puppies so it will never be 100% stress free just as with any child, but the love you recieve in the end far outweighs the inital training. "

So you get the advantage of skipping things that do not work and learning from successful things.

We constantly research new techniques, and training as well as preventative and corrective health  and do our best to pass this information along.