Helpful Tips On What To Buy and What Not To Buy For Your New Puppy

 

Long Haired Doxie? or a Smooth-Short Haired Doxie?

        Male verses Female?  What Food Should I Buy?

  and...
           Question's To Always Ask When Looking For A New Puppy

        More Helpful Tips on:  WHEN BUYING FOR YOUR NEW DACHSHUND PUPPY:
 

• Puppies like to chew, so make sure you buy tough durable chew toys.

       Soft toys tear easy and would require supervision.
       I have found that the edible chew bones are dangerous as they break off in big pieces
       and they can choke on them. Nylabones are great. Toys with strings need supervision.
 

• Puppies  love blankets, so be careful of the ones with stitching on the ends...take the stitching off.

 

• Puppies will need a bed. They can sometimes tear apart a foam filled bed or cotton bed.

These beds work great for older dogs who have gotten past the chewing and tearing stage.
So if you go with a crate of some sort you can just put blankets in the crate while they are small.
 

• Puppies should not have free run of your entire home at first, as it can be overwhelming to
  them where to go and what to do, especially during potty training time. So you may need  a
  gait to keep them to a certain room or an exercise pen for confined freedom, which works great
  while away or at night. Their crate/bed can be in the corner of the exercise pen for their own space.

 

• It is best to keep a new puppy on the same food they are used to for a while so they will have
  "something familiar" while getting used to their new owners and new home.  So check
  with the breeder ahead of time what puppy food the puppy will be on so you can already have
  some before you bring your puppy home. Avoid canned food as this is very watery and can
  cause loose or runny stools. Should you decide to change food brands. Remember that different brands of food affect all dogs/puppies differently. They can have a food sensitivity which can cause bowl problems, so it can be a matter of trial and error till you find a food that your doggie can tolerate and do well on.

 

• I have found that puppies will chew on a plastic food dish or water bowl. So stainless steal or
  a heavy ceramic food and water bowl is best.

 

• When it is time to go to the vet or travel somewhere, and if you must drive without a helper to
  hold your puppy, then you will need a travel crate for your safety and the puppies safety.

​

Ever Wonder What Dog Food To Buy? Me Too! So Many Choices.....
Here is a link I found to be helpful to me....maybe it will help you to.
TYPE IN ON YOUR WEB SEARCH THE FOLLOWING:
Dog Food - Or What In The World Should I Buy

AN ARTICLE AND LINK FROM THE WOOD HAVEN LABS SHOULD COME UP.  IT IS A GOOD ARTICLE TO READ.

QUESTIONS TO ALWAYS ASK WHEN LOOKING FOR A NEW PUPPY...

www.woodhavenlabs.com/dogfoods.html

These are my own personal thoughts...I have learned a lot through my own  
experiences in buying puppies locally and out of state. I have had wonderful
experiences, and would be a repeat buyer. I have also had terrible experiences and
would never buy again. It has been trial and error.

​

• First of all do not support puppy mills and large commercial kennels that have hundreds of
  dogs and are kept in cages 24/7.  Buying from a pet store keeps the mills  and commercial
  kennels in business. New regulations now state they must have some "exercise time" but
  then they are right back in the cage. The new regulations also no longer allows wire on the
  floor of the cages which can ruin a dogs feet.  Puppies that grow up in cages tend to have
  anxiety issues, they learn to potty in their "space" making potty training very hard, they will
  run circles endlessly even as an adult and even if they have "freedom" they still might run in
  "circles". Commercial Kennels and Out of State Dealers that supply puppies to stores is public
  information  and can be found on the internet...I get a list every year with my licence renewal.
  Unfortunately PA has a bad rap for "puppy mills" and their are a lot of them but their is also a
  lot of good conscience breeders in PA. Other states have puppy mill issues also.

 

• Ask the breeder "how the puppies are kept? Like what kind of space do they grow up in.

• ​

• Ask if they are handled by people and "how often".

 

• Ask if you can visit if you are close enough to do a visit to see the environment where the
  puppies are living and growing up in. Each breeder has their own recommendation about
  visiting rules. SAFETY of the puppies are a breeders first concern. Visitors can carry the parvo
  virus on their shoes and clothing. You would not want to visit a litter of puppies unless you are
  seriously interested in buying. I personally do not allow visits to a litter until pups are 4 weeks
  of age...which allows "some" immunization time from the mothers milk. My visitors are ask to
  leave shoes at the door and wash hands before touching the puppies and the mother.

I do not allow visitors to handle puppies that have deposits on because they belong to someone
else. Parvo can kill your entire litter. Some breeders do not even let anyone handle pups till 6 to 8
weeks of age.
 

• If you can't visit or is not possible....then ask for references from other people who have
  bought a puppy from them. A good breeder would not mind giving references.

• Some breeders may also give a vet reference.

 

• Ask if the puppies are checked by a vet and if so at what age?

 

• Ask if they have a written health guarantee. I have personally found when acquiring puppies  
  that have a "Written Health Agreement" that those breeders tend to take better care of their puppies and adults.

 

• If buying for breeding purpose ask what the policy is for males who do not drop both testicles
  upon pick-up date...and ask for females & males to be checked for hernias.

Ask about teeth alignment and how their bite is.
 

• Ask any other questions you may have to the breeder...no question is a dumb question.

If the breeder does not want to answer your questions or cuts you off...keep looking. If it is a bad
time to talk the breeder will ask you for your name and number and call you back as sometimes we
are busy with puppy or dogie care. I once had a breeder hang up on me saying I asked too many
questions...??? Their is no such thing as too many questions!

ON A FINAL NOTE...
How many dogs is too many?  It is best put this way...PA is trying to establish a new law limiting the
number of dogs a breeder can own of any breed(s). One breeder may give better care and attention
to 30 dogs while another breeder may have 10 dogs and give bad care and attention.
So it is the care level of the dogs and condition of the dogs versus how many dogs their are.
If a breeder has several dogs...it is ok to ask if they have "help" with their dogs.
I personally have helpers who love my dogs as much as I do and I spend countless hours with
them. It is a huge commitment and very time consuming. I give up lots of other things in my life to be
committed to my dogs and their care. I enjoy providing healthy puppies to better the dachshund
breed. The day I stop enjoying it will be the day I stop breeding.
My motto is: "YOU WILL RECEIVE A HAPPY HEALTHY PUPPY FROM OUR HOME TO YOURS!"
I STRIVE TO DO THE VERY BEST AND BE THE BEST THAT I CAN.