Preparing for the puppy

Lisa Luck (who's getting Josephine [whom she's naming Mia]) has had some questions and pointers about the puppy transition from our home to yours.  

1.   She's ordered a SnugglePuppy because she's heard good things about it being like a sister pup.

2.  Getting the food....  We're feeding IAM's Smart Puppy Large Breed, and I'll give you a bag to take home which should last you a week. 

3.  If you like, you could schedule shots for a follow-up to their Sept. 27th shots.

4.  Their current daily schedule is as follows:

Get up and go directly outside at 6 am.  The only problem with this is they all have to pee and a few poop on the paper overnight in the pen.  So,  you could either crate them in the bedroom and let them out at 2 am, or pen them and put paper down.  I've always crated and let them out at 2 am, but for the masses of course, penning and papering is necessary.

With the nice weather, I leave the door open throughout the day, and with the exception of half a dozen puddles (total for the crew all together), all the puppies have trained themselves to do their business outdoors.  In the past, during cold weather, I've always let a new puppy outside quite often during the day, and kept them in a crate while I'm away.  I've invested in a pen through www.jbpet.com with these puppies, and I'll probably continue to use it for whomever we keep.  You can find red rosin paper  @ $12 roll at Home Depot in the painting section.  As most of you have seen, there's a play area and a papered area in the pen.  But maybe a crate is easier for one puppy by itself.

They've been free to wander in and out, so I can't clue you in to their nap times.  They do have several at this point!  

5.  We free feed, leaving dry kibble and water out at all times.

6.  We humans eat dinner at 6pm and go to bed at 9:30 pm, but the little guys have a resurgence of energy about 9:30 pm and really must go outside and run around before they konk out again it seems.

7.  The most energetic time of day for these guys is from the time they wake up in the morning till about 10 am.  Then late in the afternoon till 5 pm.

They're lovely, and fun, so don't worry about adjusting to life with them.  Ok, I'll put that differently!  Don't worry about them adjusting to their new lives with you!  We live very peacefully with nearly a dozen.   I'm amazed by how easy they are to be around.  We just finished watching the presidential debates, and a couple of them slept on the couch with me (mmmhmm, I fell asleep too), while others were under the couch or bedded down on a blanket in the pen.  They're incredibly sweet and smart.  One of them actually watched TV a bit.  They're always observant of strangers, even on the screen!