Feeding: Your puppy has been eating Evo dry kibble, and should be kept on this food for at least a month, changing gradually if desired. You don’t want to change his food too rapidly as it can cause diarrhea and stress. Leave dry food and water available at all times. Puppy has been fed raw ground meat with bones 4 times per day (8am, noon, 4pm and 8pm) but is eating dry food well. If you want to withhold food for potty training reasons, the puppy MUST be fed every 4 hours, except over night. Low blood sugar (hypoglycemia) can be caused by stress, overplaying or not eating often enough. If you find your puppy is listless and weak, give him a few drops of Nutrical or Karo syrup, give Pedialyte instead of water and treat for hypoglycemia.

Potty Training: Decide if you’re going to use a playpen (for paper training) or a crate (for outside pottying). Feed puppy inside crate or pen. Wait for pup to potty (in playpen or outside) and then pup can run around the house for a little while without needing to potty. Then puppy can go back in it’s pen or crate for a few hours. If you are keeping your puppy in a crate he must be let out every 2 hours at first, until he can hold his urine for a longer time. If you are going to keep your puppy in a playpen at first with a corner with a potty pad, put squares of paper down on top of the messes without picking them up, so he can remember where to go by smell. Gradually let the puppy have more freedom, as long as it is still using the correct potty spot.

Grooming: It is best to trim your puppy’s nails every month. Teach your puppy to lay in your lap and rest while you brush his fur with a pin brush. He won’t need much brushing now, but it’s a good habit to get into once a week. It will get you ready for your 1 year old’s first spring when you’ll have to keep up with small mats getting in the coat and get them out before they get bigger. Don’t leave those mats for the groomer to get out, or your dog will not enjoy going to the groomer. Test your brushing job with a fine tooth comb. The groomer is there to trim your dog’s rear, feet, in front of the eyes and the matts you can’t get out, or you can learn to do it yourself. If you bathe your dog be sure to trim his rear and get the matts out first or they well “set” and be harder to brush out. You can get your dog clipped short on his body just for the summer or have him in a new clip every 6 weeks.

Health Care:
Vaccinations; Your puppyis on a schedule to be vaccinated at 8, 12 & 16 weeks. Don’t take the puppy to public places (no pet stores or parks!) until after it is 16 weeks old and has had all 3 of it’s vaccinations. Your puppy can be vaccinated for Rabies after he is 4 months old.

Worming; Your puppy has been wormed recently and should be free of worms, but the stress of a new home may cause a new outbreak. You can routinely worm him 2 weeks after bringing him home or if you see any worms you can give him an over the counter wormer, or have a fecal test done at his next scheduled vaccination.

Heartworms; Your puppy has been inside only so can’t have heartworms. You will want to start him on a monthly heartworm preventative when you bring him in to the Vet for his next vaccination. Give him the lowest dose possible for his weight. He is a tiny dog!

Fleas; Your puppy shouldn’t have fleas when he leaves here. If you do find any fleas on your puppy, Advantage is a mild medication that works well. If you see itching and no fleas, Revolution works well for parasites you can’t see and also prevents heartworms. Give him the lowest dose possible for his weight. He is a tiny dog!

Holding; When you or someone else is holding your puppy make sure he is supported well so he can’t jump or fall. It’s also best to not wear shoes when he’s running around the house in case he gets stepped on so it won’t hurt so much. He won’t be able to jump on or off the couch for a while, so make a step or ramp to help him out or don’t put him up there if you’re not there to let him down.

Teeth; Baby teeth may need to be pulled if they don’t fall out by themselves. This can be done when your puppy is being neutered after 6 months of age. Raw chicken wings are a good supplement and will clean his teeth when he eats the bones. Don’t feed any cooked bones.

Socialization: It is important for your puppy to meet new people and experience new situations and sounds. Don’t let your puppy get too scared, but to be a little frightened of something new and find out it doesn't hurt him does great things for his temperament later.