Many of you are collecting your puppy this weekend - so we thought we would post some quick pointers about what you will need and what you should do when your puppy gets home.

1. People travelling a distance should bring an old towel or similar to wrap the puppy in so that it doesn’t get cold and doesn’t leave a mess in your car. It is best if you have a passenger with you who can hold the puppy on the journey home.
2. If the journey is more than about 30-45 minutes - you should bring some water in a bottle so that the puppy can have a drink. In this case you should also bring either a saucer or a shallow cup. Note that if the puppy has a drink in the middle of a car-journey he/she is much more likely to relieve itself in your car.
3. We recommend that when the puppy arrives at home - the puppy is placed where you have decided the puppy should sleep - routine is key to help your puppy settle in.
4. You should put a small bowl down with water - and a small bowl with dried puppy food.
5. You should let your puppy eat the dry food we have supplied for at least 2 weeks. If you decide to change your puppy’s diet - you should do this gradually. If you do change your puppy’s diet - be aware that your puppy is only very small so can only eat small items.
6. Your puppy might be feeling home-sick and you may worry that he/she isn’t eating enough food. Try not to worry about this. You can encourage the puppy to eat the food by placing very small strips of meat (eg. chicken) in the bottom of the bowl and/or make the biscuits soft by mixing with a small amount of water or milk.
7. We have tried a range of puppy foods - Iams, Pedigree Chum, supermarket, science formula etc - and our puppies prefer Morrisons own brand (!). Our older dogs prefer pedigree chum biscuits and winalot canned food, 50%/50%.
8. Your puppy can’t ‘overeat’ - so it’s OK to leave food down all the time for it. Your puppy needs a lot of energy whilst it is growing.
9. Your puppy will almost certainly explore straight away, which is great but whilst your puppy is at such a young age - you should not let it explore without supervision as they tend to be able to escape through very small holes in fences etc. It’s a good idea to puppy-proof your garden and home as soon as you can.
10. Your puppy does not really need a collar until it goes outside on a regular basis. If you do decide to buy a collar - you should buy a cat collar as normal dog collars will almost certainly be too big (and cat collars often have a very handy bell!!).
11. Your puppy will tend to go through cycles of being full of energy and then sleeping, probably approx 30 mins exercise/1 hour sleep. You should try to return the puppy to it’s sleeping area when it sleeps as this will reinforce the sleeping area to your puppy. Avoid waking your puppy if possible.
12. Your puppy is going through teething - and it will for a while. So when puppy proofing - make sure you take into consideration that you don’t want your puppy to chew certain things:
    1. Shoes
    2. Electrical cables - especially wires leading to light objects that can be pulled onto the floor, eg. think mobile phones/chargers.
    3. Bins (They tend to have lovely smells that your puppy wants to investigate!).
    4. Plants - Low-down plants can be an interesting place for puppies - you may come home to find your puppy has dug a big hole and left soil all over your carpet.
    5. It’s really just a case of using common sense - look around your home to see if there is anything that your puppy might take a fancy to - any items lower than about 1.5 feet high.
13. Puppy proofing your garden is not difficult - just look for gaps in fences/walls etc. - lower than about 2ft high. If you have any gaps - try to cover them or put wire-fence type material over the gap.
14. Your puppy should not go outside at the moment as he/she has not had final injections. These injections should be booked with your vet for the week starting 5th May, ie. 9-10 weeks old.
15. You should supervise your puppy when it is around children. Currently at just 7 weeks old - it’s unlikely such a small puppy could cause any harm to a child. However - children tend to play with them as if they were teddy-bears: watch out for children pulling your puppy’s ears/legs/tail - or dragging them around as if they were a doll. It is a good idea to get your puppy socialised to children at a young age if possible. This is often a good opportunity to teach your child about how to handle dogs.
16. First Night: On your puppy’s first night he/she will be missing Lili (mother) and siblings. Your puppy will almost certainly cry and make a fuss on it’s first night. Our advice is to check the puppy is OK (ie. not hurt) and not hungry/thirsty and then not respond to it: if you do - he/she will continue to do this and will learn that crying gets your attention. At the worst - you could try placing a pop-bottle with warm water in it as this will simulate them being next to siblings (Note: NOT a hot-water bottle as he/she may chew and burst it).
17. Put a doubled-up sheet of newspaper down - somewhere that is accessible from your puppy’s sleeping area. Your puppy should use this to go to the toilet. Puppies prefer to pee etc. on newspaper.
18. Your puppy is so young that he/she is really just interested in playing and having fun. House-training your puppy should start over the next few weeks and will last for a few months - we will post an article over the next few days for how best to do this.

Bad things for your puppy:

1. Chocolate: We do not recommend you give your puppy (or dog) chocolate as it contains a chemical that can be fatal. This chemical IS ALSO present in dog choc-drops (most people don’t realise this!!). At this age - a ‘treat’ to your puppy is simply YOUR attention.
2. Bones: Your puppy should not eat bones, only older dogs should have bones, and never give a dog chicken bones as they tend to be very brittle. Older dogs (over 1 year old) tend to really like bones - but if they don’t have them often they will get upset stomachs. Hide-chews can be good for puppies who are teething.
   
3. Getting it’s tail stuck. Dogs can get their tails stuck in a variety of places - and it causes considerable pain - it’s something to watch out for.
4. Getting it’s limbs or head stuck. Puppies tend to be very inquisitive - and tend to put their heads and legs everywhere they are not wanted. If you are not used to dogs - you should especially be careful when you close doors in your house etc. Also watch out for them around your feet, especially if you are in your kitchen. Your dog should learn to watch out for these things itself over time.
5. Electricity - watch out for any electrical appliances that the dog can investigate and get into trouble with (Videos, DVD players and plug sockets are often very interesting!!).
6. Water - deep water (>0.5ft) can be a problem, as your puppy could jump in but then not be able to get back out of the water.
7. Other animals - be careful with your dog around animals such as cats and birds as they could harm your puppy. Your puppy also needs supervision when it is around rabbits, mice, rats, hamsters etc. Note that your puppy should be socialised with these animals if they are to live with them.

Discipline

You can start to approach some form of discipline with your puppy almost as soon as he/she arrives - but be aware that he/she is only very young. At this stage - I would recommend a short, loud ‘NO’, ‘AH’ or ‘AH AH’ and pointing at your puppy, to demonstrate that he/she has done wrong. Repeating these phrases everytime your puppy does something that you don’t like will soon help your puppy. Do not let your temper get the better of you.

Naming: We’ve called the puppies various names - but these are only so we know which is which. You should choose a name almost as soon as you get your puppy and continue to say the name. Your puppy will almost certainly ignore you when you call it’s name, but after only a week or two he/she will start to understand that when you say ‘BEAR/LOUIS/MILLIE/POPPY/SAM/STAR’ (or the name you decide) - you are calling his/her attention.

To summise: Have fun with your new puppy and try to minimise any dangers for him/her. Don’t worry too much about your puppy - he/she will learn to adapt to you and these next few weeks will help both of you to understand each other. An investment in time now will pay off 10x in the future.

Your puppy has been wormed several times - the most recent occasion was 17th April.

We will post more information shortly about how to start house-training your puppy.

We suggest all new owners register on the cairn puppies forum and post a “Hello!!” message. Once you are registered on the forum you will then be able to post questions and we (or other owners) will be able to respond. NOTE: We are happy for owners of other dogs to register and comment on our forum too!