Good Morning Everyone...

I am a new owner to a puppy weiner dog.. she will be 2 months on the 8th of Feb. I'm not real sure about how to take care of a puppy and I want to be able to be the best at taking care of her. I have 2 babies of my own, but when it comes to a dog.. I'm dumb founded. So far.. she's eaten 2 times since we brought her home.. within a 6 hour time frame.. but when I went to give her food this morning.. she refused. Is she still full? Not interested? She's pooped and pee'd outside wonderfully. And seems to be active and as a normal baby.. she also sleeps a lot.. Is there any advice I can get so I can be the best caregiver to my pup? The previous owners didn't really give me a scheduled time for feeding nor did they give me amounts to give to the pup.. so far, I've been giving her Purina Puppy Chow and adding whole milk to make it soft.. not sure how long that has to go on.. I need help.. any advice is much appreciated. Thanks!:confused:

Since you started with the Purina, you may as well stick with it. It is widely criticized, but I think mostly by those selling more expensive products. I started a number of puppies for a large dog guide school on it, and they did fine. Most dogs will thrive on most chows. Biggest problem is feeding very much else. Skip the milk. It has lactose which dogs don't digest well. She will quickly adjust to the dry and it is better for her teeth and jaws dry. Offer her a 1/2 cup each of 3 feedings. If she doesn't eat it within 15 minutes, cut back a little. Everything may be too new, and she may skip a meal or 2. It shouldn't hurt anything to give her a little time. Puppies often come too heavy. Check her following the method in this link, http://www.puppychow.com/products/po...condition.aspx Overweight Dachshunds are more likely to have back trouble. You will want to slim her down if she needs it and keep her lean. Your vet can help judge her weight. You should be seeing a lot of him for a while.

I was once asked ''What does a puppy need?'' That list is now at https://www.askmehelpdesk.com/dogs/i...tml#post251802 along with other things you may find useful.

Come back anytime for more details or things I have skipped. I would suggest getting one of the books on the list in the sticky.

Another thing to think about with a weiner dog is introducing a crate and crate training a dog... I believe that it is on Labman's what a puppy needs link. But, weiner dogs love crates. And it makes it easier on you when you have to leave the house and at night when you want to get to sleep.

I'm a little concerned about the age since that means this pup is only 7 weeks old now... It's very young to be away from its Mom, and in many states not even old enough be legally taken from her mom.

I'm glad you found this place because Labman has tons of experience with puppies... and I agree that crate training is an excellent idea. One point is that the size crate she needs now if not the same size she will need when she is her mature size.

Good Luck

-Beth

I have to agree with some of the others about crating the pup. We have three small dogs and my wife convinced me a long time ago it was the best thing for them. It has been great.

Why did the cowboy get a Daschund?



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Someone told him to get a long little doggie. :o)

James

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Originally Posted by Marci_702

Good Morning Everyone...

I am a new owner to a puppy weiner dog.. she will be 2 months on the 8th of Feb. I'm not real sure about how to take care of a puppy and I want to be able to be the best at taking care of her. I have 2 babies of my own, but when it comes to a dog.. i'm dumb founded. So far.. she's eaten 2 times since we brought her home.. within a 6 hour time frame.. but when I went to give her food this morning.. she refused. Is she still full? Not interested? She's pooped and pee'd outside wonderfully. And seems to be active and as a normal baby.. she also sleeps alot.. Is there any advice I can get so I can be the best caregiver to my pup? The previous owners didn't really give me a scheduled time for feeding nor did they give me amounts to give to the pup.. so far, I've been giving her Purina Puppy Chow and adding whole milk to make it soft.. not sure how long that has to go on.. I need help.. any advice is much appreciated. Thanks!:confused:

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First a good thing to know about owning a dog is that the ingredients should always start with a meat not corn meal or anything like that. A puppy should always have puppy food till it is about one year and cause your dog is a small breed you may want to look for food that says "little chunks" or something like that. I own three dogs of my own and we always buy them Actrium lamb and rice and wet food. Instead of milk you may want to try a little bit of puppy formula wet food and some water. Some good brands to feed your dog are Actrium, iams and any other that have meat as the first ingridient. A puppy should eat 3 times a day and get lots of exercise daily and he will be getting in the chewing stage soon so I suggest you get some toys for your dog unless you want your furinture and anything else it can get its paws.:D
Good luck!!