FEEDING - We use an all natural dog food, it is very important to us that our dogs have excellent diet and nutrition. Not only do we feed them Timberwolf Organics, a very high protein "small bites" dog food but we also combine that with other important foods. In addition to feeding Timberwolf, we also give our dogs one feed a day that includes a variety of the following: broccoli, carrots, rice, grain bread, natural yoghurt, cottage cheese, cheese, eggs, chicken, liver and beef. I do not feed ALL of those things in one meal! I always give them rice, and then I add steamed broccoli and/or carrots, some chopped up meat, usually chicken, but occassionally beef or liver, some small pieces of cheese or a tablespoon of cottage cheese. This meal I call their RICE dinner of the day. These are in very small amounts per dog. For more advice please contact me as you must be very carefull to feed the right amounts as weight can be an issue with chi's. Also make sure your dog gets plenty of excercise. Brindy was kept in a cage and put on huge amounts of weight from when she was taken from her breeder to when she arrived with me. We fed her good food often but gave her plenty of excercise, she lost weight and became healthy within a couple of weeks.
Many people say not to feed dogs table food - but I say don't feed dogs AT the table. Make the above apart of their feed program on a daily routine. All of these foods are good for your dog and provide them with extra essential nutrients. For the information about this I will give you another contact, but please contact me for this.
My feed program is as follows:
Hard feed Timberwolf Organics in the morning, and make available during the day as free feed. In the evenings provide the RICE feed, I also put some Timberwolf into this feed as well.
HOUSE TRAINING! Boy oh boy! I always assume people know how to house train dogs, I even give them instructions before they take their new pup. Most people follow my advice, but some don't and then they have nothing but problems. Following a routine is utmost in being successful with training your pup. It does not happen over night, it takes time and it takes commitment. I cannot stress the importance of this, if you follow the program you will succeed but if you become lazy - so will they!
CRATE TRAIN! Invest in a crate, this is the most important tool. Make your puppy sleep in the crate over night, take it out first thing in the morning and take it to the place you want it to do its business. For some that is the garden, for others that is a "Peepad". WAIT - make sure they go and praise them when they do. Feed your pup, wait a few minutes keeping an eye on him, then take him so he can go again. He will probably pee again , but if he did a stool the first time he may not this time. If you have time to play with your puppy at this point then do so, as long as you keep an eye on your pup at all times they can run around a bit. If you have an out door pen you may want it to stay outside for a while, ensure they have food and plenty of FRESH water, they should not be left in direct sunlight, make sure they have shade, and they should not be left out in the cold or rain. Should you want your dog inside this is where it needs commitment. If you work - put your dog in the crate or in a bathroom with drinking water and a little dry food. Ideally you should come home lunch time and follow the same routine as the morning, put him out and watch him, make sure he goes and praise him.
Spend time with him, play and then return to the crate when you can no longer watch him.
If you are home all day then you can spend more time cuddling and playing but the minute you can't watch him put him back in the crate so he doesn't get into the habit of sneaking off and messing! Repeat this all day every couple of hours if you can. Be strict, make it a routine and stick to the routine, if you do you will succeed.
PEEPADS - wonderful yet not so wonderful. I love them, I have hardwood floors so the dogs want to use them. But.... for those with carpets they are not so successful. The dogs relate carpets to being peepads. In this case I suggest that you keep the pee pad accessible to your dog at all times as it gets older and you make sure it is in the same place. That way your dog is relating to the "place" it is supposed to go.
HOPE ALL THIS HELPS! I am always free for advice either by email or phone. Remember - routine is the answer to all your problems!
