Puppy Checklist

Thanks! Phew!

I actually have a couple of nail clippers (one for the dogs, a smaller one that I use for the cats/rabbits/guinea pigs that should be perfectly puppy-sized), and a couple of brushes/combs that I can use on the little guy. Though, Luc is a dog that I can't clip his nails on my own - he freaks out - apparently, a shelter dog thing - that, combined w/both dogs having dark nails, means I usually take them in to get their nails done instead since I worry about cutting the quik.

Do you wash your puppy regularly? I hadn't thought of that. If nothing else, it'd be good to get him used to it.

We're going car camping for 3 days at the end of June, and then doing a 5.5 day canoe trip in Temagami in mid-July - since he might not be housetrained yet and I'm not having accidents in my new tent (I got a tarptent! Swoon! ....b/c I don't already have enough tents), I figured a soft-sided crate will be perfect, and can fit in a canoe pack.

I'm looking for puppy classes - I found a trainer I'm interested in that's close by, but the class starts June 4, and I'm in Montreal at a FR trial June 6-8 (though now I'm watching the Grand Prix on the 8th w/the bf), so he's coming home after that weekend. I'm hoping they'll add in another class, if not, I will probably find somewhere else.

There's a vacuum at the dog pool where Teagan goes for her hips, it's on reverse to help dry them after their post-swim shower....Teagan loves it, Luc....he leaves wet

One other quick question - I was just talking to the vet's office. They said I should be careful about taking Neb in public until he's had his last set of shots at 16 weeks!

Don't you need to socialize them before that? 4 months seems awfully old. I thought they'd already have gone through one fear period by then!

I was going to take him on the camping trips, and out to places (like Home Depot, there's one a 5 minute walk away), and on the bus/streetcar/subway, as well as to the bf's triathlons, but I was going to be careful about letting him socialize w/strange dogs (i.e., not allow it) and not let strangers maul him w/affection.

Is my plan okay? It seems to me like if I waited until 16 weeks I'd really miss out on a lot of socialization opportunities.

I think your vet's advice is good but I understand what you mean about socialization. The primary issue with taking a puppy out is parvo - it lives in the ground forever and it's all over the place. It does not require direct contact with another dog to contract. Just sniffing where a dog with parvo pooped 10 months ago can do it. So keeping your puppy away from other dogs isn't the issue that keeping your puppy away from places other dogs have been is.

I would not take a puppy anywhere near places like Petsmart or a dog park until they had had 3 sets of shots and were at least 4-5 months old and even then I'd stay away from the grass. I also don't let my puppy's feet touch the ground at the vet clinic or other heavy dog traffic places until at least that age (which gets tiring when it's a large breed puppy but better than parvo!)

But that doesn't mean you can't socialize your pup and you're right to want to do that. I'd suggest inviting lots of people over to visit, different kinds of people, different sizes of people. Adult dogs with a known history are okay. Go to friend's houses where you know there haven't been any sick dogs and let the puppy play in the yard and meet all of them. And there are some public places you can take your pup and either carry him or put him in a cart - although here again, I would put something down in the cart for him and avoid places like Petsmart where the carts are probably as germy as the floor.

Hope that helps! Congrats on your new baby!

that's very helpful, thank you.

none of my dogs will go to a dog park....i took luc to one when i first got him, and leaving aside that it was terrible for him, i wasn't very impressed by the park. it would've been less terrible for him if i understood more how stepping up as a leader would help him over his fear of strange dogs, but it was in the first few weeks i had him and i wasn't yet that knowledgable.

based on the parvo stuff - it sounds like camping will be okay (campsite will be dirt, if that makes any difference), but i will keep him away from 'common' areas of the campground. we'll do some hiking when we're car camping, and i figured to let him meander a bit on the trail but that he'd mostly be carried.

what i'm going to do for carrying him hiking is the same i'll do for running - he'll be a runner when he's bigger, but in the meantime when i go out w/luc i'll use a snuggli i have (i used to have a kitten w/mega-e and stuck her in there after she'd drank her food so i could rock her and get the food to go down).

but yes, i want to travel lots of different ways with him, though'll i'll carry him while he's small, so he gets used to it and is comfortable.

thanks very much! yup, i'm very excited for him to come....i have to keep stopping myself from bugging the foster home everyday, it's a good thing they live across the city

He should be fine after his second set of shots. That's all I get for my puppies. And I doubt the incidence of parvo is very high in the Ontario wilderness.

He should be able to do a lot of walking on his own. Chama started 4-5 mile walks with me and Massie when she was 5 weeks old. The first week I carried her most of the way but then she started walking on her own (by clear choice). She did her first backpacking trip when she was 12 weeks and she had no problems, even up at the high altitudes.

I agree with starting swimming early. I have not found that kiddy pools (unless they're really big) transfer to the swimming thing since they just splash around in the pool while their feet are always on the bottom. I have found that taking them swimming as young puppies works really well.

Oh, and my new tip on stuffy toys: hit yard sales. Rafi has significantly increased his collection at a very small impact to my wallet! Plus he gets to pick them himself!

that's good to know, i just couldn't see how i could keep him around the house until 4 months and possibly hope to end up w/a well-adjusted puppy!

when we're in killarney in june i will take him to the lake for some swimming, i think. and then in temagami in july he'll have the chance to practice some more.

ruth, that's very good to know. i haven't been sure how much hiking he'll be able to do - i know we'll do a couple of around 20k hikes in killarney, i figured he could walk until he gets tired....on the canoe trip, he can walk the portages, and we're actually going to canoe to the access point to ishpatina ridge (highest point in ontario) and hike to the top, so he can do that as well. we're not doing our first backpack until september (in temagami, again) but we're planning for it to be a relaxed trip for a variety of reasons.

i had been thinking of taking him and luc on the caledon end-to-end again this year - 3 days, between 20 and 25k/day, on cdn thanksgiving - i wasn't sure though. i figure i'll see how he's doing closer too, i don't want to over-exercise him. i'm expecting him to be between 30-40lbs, so joints won't be as much of an issue, but no reason to cause problems either.

good tip about the stuffy toys!

we don't have a petsmart near us, he may come with me to the pet valu on occasion but i was mostly thinking the home depot would be a good spot.

that's very common-sense tracy, thanks

i really want to make sure he's properly socialized. it seems like i would throw away a good opportunity if i didn't take him out for socialization.