Puppy diet - dalmatian

[pongo111]

Hi All,

We're picking up our new puppy soon.
I have many questions, but will start with the first one
What are your suggestions around meals? The breeders are giving her cheese ... cottage and others, with a mixer and some times mince. I was looking at getting the Royal Canin Junior dalmatian, but the bags are massive and i'm concerned we buy that and then she might not even like it.

(my other questions are around cages and vaccinations, insurance, toilet training - quite a list!!! )

 

[JudyN]

Hi, and welcome - pretty please can we see some photos of your pup when she arrives?

I know that dallys have specific food requirements, but beyond that... not a lot. I found a random article here Dalmatian Welfare » Feeding I'm sure you've already read similar stuff but thought I'd post it for others to see.

I'm a fan of raw feeding and I believe it can be done with dalmatians but I don't know what adjustments you'd have to make.

 

[Mad Murphy]

Years ago we had two dalmations and dad insisted both be fed both on Chappie ( Im talking 1970's) so Im quite surprised to see it on that list..

 

[leashedForLife]

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I'm presuming U know about Dals & their purine issues? -- Is the puppy a LUA Dal? [low uric acid]

here's some tips to avoid high-purine foods -

Low Purine Foods for Dogs Every Pet Parent Should Know About

U can also buy a diet BASE & add yer own choice of protein - Honest Kitchen would be my go-to.
https://www.thehonestkitchen.com/dog-food/meals/base-mix

As for crates, I'd recommend U buy a used 24-W x 36-L airline-approved shipping crate, via PreLoved, e-Bay, CraigsList, GumTree, or any other on-line direct sales classifieds website. That size will fit her thru-out her life, & airline-approved crates have solid lower-halves & floors, so they don't leak, or splash spills outside the crate. Any spills are contained; well-designed crates have a MOAT to catch spills, around the raised center floor, so the pup doesn't have to lie in vomit or urine or a puddle of water. It runs into the moat.

When she's a pup, she won't need a 2-ft by 3-ft space; just put empty, clean, non-stinky corrugated cardboard boxes in, to take up the extra volume. [If U give her ALL the space, she'll pee or poop, here, & lie down, there - it's too big. To encourage her to hold her urine & stool, the space needs to be "just her size", so she can lie down, but not toilet in one corner & lie elsewhere.]
Boxes from a grocery or liquor store are plentiful, but most-likely carry cockroach eggs, which will hatch in yer home; empty paper-ream boxes from a copy shop are perfect.
Boxes that smell are a bad choice; if we can smell it, it will drive a poor dog nutz - too intense. No scented soap, perfume, etc, boxes.
Shoe boxes, so long as they aren't smelly, are fine, but not very sturdy. Stack them & tape them together, so they can't separate, & fall onto the pup!
Avoid boxes that contained anything TOXIC: cleaners, fertilizers, dishsoap, pesticide, paints, ________ .

When a box gets soiled or is wet or chewed, just swap it for a clean, dry one - take the top half off the crate, remove the damaged box, put in the clean one, & replace the crate roof.

- terry

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[JoanneF]

Can't add much to the diet advice but you could have a look at www.allaboutdogfood.co.uk

It is an independent dog food comparison website which scores all types of foods (dry, raw, wet) on a scale of 0 to 5. You can set filters for your dog's weight, age etc and choose to view only the foods scoring, say, 4 and above. Then you can show them listed according to daily feeding cost so you can see what gives you best value for money.

For crate training the key is to take it slow - if she gets distressed at all, she won't see it as her happy place. Remember at first she will have been uprooted from her mum and littermates so it's a Good idea to have the crate in your room at night to start with so you can reassure her. This won't make her clingy; rather it will help build her confidence as she won't have to feel alone and afraid. This is a very good guide to crate training -

Crate Training - Step By Step Guide to A Distress Free, Force Free Crate Trained Dog or Pup by Emma Judson

For insurance, I recommend one with a lifelong cover. That means that if your dog ever develops a long term condition like diabetes for example the payments won't stop at the end of the year. As far As I know, only Pet Plan deal directly with vets so if you use a different one, you would need to pay upfront and reclaim.

Vaccinations - your vet will advise you, these sometimes vary according to the risk in your area. However, do carry your puppy out and about in a carrier, a sling or even your arms so she can start to see the outside world from a safe place. The risk to dogs is from unvaccinated dogs and the faeces of rats so the risk is zero if she isn't on the ground. Again this will help build her confidence.

Toilet training - toilet training happens when two things come together - the ABILITY to hold the toilet, along with the DESIRE to hold it in order to earn the reward for doing so.

Ideally you want her to not be in a position where she needs to toilet before you have her outdoors, so that every toilet is outside - as far as possible, there will be accidents! So set her up to succeed by taking her out even more than she needs; for example every 45 minutes to an hour and always after sleeping, eating, playing. The time between a puppy realising they need to toilet, and being unable to hold that toilet, is zero. So your aim is to have her outside before she can't help herself. When she toilets outdoors make a huge fuss (never mind the neighbours, act like outdoor toileting is the best thing you have ever seen) and reward her with a high value treat. Do that immediately, don't make her come to you for the treat so she is clear that it's for toileting and not for coming to you. The idea is that she wants to earn the treat enough to hold the toilet until she is outside - once she is physically able to control her toileting obviously. If she has an accident inside don't react at all. If you get annoyed she may learn to fear your reaction and avoid you if she needs to toilet - the opposite of what you want. Just clean the area with an enzymatic cleaner to remove any trace of smell that might attract her back to the spot. As she is actually performing the toilet you can introduce words she can associate with it (like 'do weewee' and 'busy busy') that later when she is reliably trained you can use these to tell her when you want her to toilet.

Indoors if you see her circling or scratching the floor, that can sometimes precede toileting so get her out fast.

Overnight she is unlikely to be able to control her toilet as her little bladder and bowel are underdeveloped and not strong enough to hold all night so set your alarm to take her out at least once if not twice during the night.

I don't know if you were thinking of them but iI really don't like puppy pads - they give mixed messages about whether it's ok to toilet indoors and confuse the puppy.

Hope that answers some of your questions!

 

[Teddy560]

I got Teddy's crate off EBay and just got the size recommended for his breed. It was a bit too big for him as a smaller pup. His vaccinations we followed the vet's advise as there's different brands that aren't compatible. He had his second jabs and will have his next at a year old I think.

He is on AVA puppy food with a tiny bit of wet mixed through.

 

[pongo111]

All,
Thank you all for the replies.
Sorry for my delaying in replying. it's puppy central here!
It's going ok, though the nights are quite tricky. Hoping for a good night tonight!!!!! She sleeps quite a lot during the day so I'm not entirely suprised that she doesn't sleep through, but should you wake a puppy when they're sleeping???!!!

 

[JoanneF]

All,
Thank you all for the replies.
Sorry for my delaying in replying. it's puppy central here!
It's going ok, though the nights are quite tricky. Hoping for a good night tonight!!!!! She sleeps quite a lot during the day so I'm not entirely suprised that she doesn't sleep through, but should you wake a puppy when they're sleeping???!!!

There is a reason for the saying 'let sleeping dogs lie'. I wouldn't wake her unless absolutely necessary. Under what circumstances are you thinking though?

 

[leashedForLife]

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Are U setting the alarm for approx 4-hours past bedtime, each night? -
so that U can get up, take Pup out to pee, & get back to bed quickly,
& the pup isn't awakening U whining, with a bladder about to burst?

IME, pups need to pee once nightly until they're about 15-WO - they don't have working sphincter muscles on bladder & bowel till they hit 12-WO / 3-MO, & they still need to learn what "full" feels like, & also build some muscle-tone in order to retain their urine & stool.
Housetraining isn't only learning that voiding outdoors is rewarded - it's also learning how to "hold it", which doesn't happen instantly, it's a learning process.

- terry

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[pongo111]

I mention waking her as I think if she is napping too much during the day then she won't sleep at night.

Anyway, last night she slept from about 10.30pm through until 6am - no suprises on the floor!! I told her she's a super star!

She likes to sleep on the sofa during the day...but we need her to go in her crate to sleep on a night. So last night I sat with her so she would go in her crate then I closed the door of the room where the crate is and I went to bed. she did whine quite a bit, but not for too long. I did think, I can't go back as that is reinforcing the whining.

 

[JoanneF]

I did think, I can't go back as that is reinforcing the whining.

That train of thought has been superseded in recent times - rather than reinforcing the whining, think more in terms of comforting her when she is distressed so she knows you have her back so she will be more secure and build confidence. Think of her like a baby who has been taken away from mum and littermates to a place with new rules and strange changes - being with her will make her feel safe, and build your bond rather than making her clingy. She will develop more independence from feeling confident rather than feeling alone.

 

[leashedForLife]

QUOTE, pongo111:

I mention waking her as I think if she naps too much during the day, she won't sleep at night.

Anyway, last night she slept from about 10.30-pm through until 6-am - no surprises on the floor!! I told her she's a super star!

... last night I sat with her so she would go in her crate, then I closed the door of the room where the crate is and I went to bed. She did whine quite a bit, but not for too long. I did think, I can't go back as that is reinforcing the whining.
_______________________
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As above, I'd have her in my bedroom by the bed, in her crate - when she's in a completely separate room, U have no idea why she's whining. If she's whining 'cuz her bladder is about to burst, she has good cause. I'd whine, too!
I'd also set my alarm to take her out, about 4-hours after we both go to bed.

Most pups NEED to go out to pee at least once during the night, & forcing her to suffer won't help her learn to hold her urine, at this age; it's more likely to result in breaking her instinctive desire to keep her sleeping-space clean, & pee / poop elsewhere.
If her cleanliness instinct is broken, housetraining will be a whole lot harder.

It's up to U - but parking her in a separate room, plus failing to set an alarm for an overnight potty-trip, can cause serious problems in housetraining, IME of over 30-years.
- terry

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