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We discuss common puppy training issues and solutions in many of our articles. (See the articles “Normal Puppy Behavior & Solutions to Common Puppy Problems” & “Understanding Your Puppy”) Here we answer other frequent puppy related queries! Our puppies are generally about 2,000. Long coated pups or pups with a small show fault that will not affect their quality as a pet, are priced a little less. Occasional super stars are priced higher – we usually keep them! Older puppies with some training are also priced a little higher. * Can we leave a Deposit to Reserve a puppy? We don to accept deposits until after we have approved you as a potential family and until after you have visited and met our dogs. We do not want you to feel pressured to buy a puppy and we want you to be You can either leave a deposit on the day of your visit, or you can take more time to decide, and mail a deposit. Deposits are NONREFUNDABLE. If for any reason we can not provide you with a puppy from your first choice preferred litter, your deposit will carry over to a future litter. If we have unspoken for puppies from another litter at the same time, you might also We consider a deposit a commitment to work with us. *Can you ship the puppy to me in California/Mexico/India/Switzerland/ etc.? We do not ship puppies. We do not sell puppies to anyone we do not first meet in person. If you are willing to travel to come meet us and take the puppy back with you, great! Otherwise, sorry… we prefer to place *I have never owned a dog as an adult, never trained my own puppy. But I am reading books, visiting puppy classes, researching breeders. I found a trainer with puppy Kindergarten and a dog walking service for those days when I can’t work from home. I really want to learn, and I think a German Shepherd Dog is the dog for me. Do you think I am a good candidate for a puppy? Wonderful to Hear! I am not at all put off by newcomers or folks with little experience, but a desire to get involved and learn. Some of our best homes have been people like you. Doing your homework, starting our right and having this attitude makes you a super candidate for a puppy!!! *We have a dog (or two) already. Will a German Shepherd puppy be a good addition to our family? Will the Shepherd be good with our other dogs? This is highly individual. The answer depends a lot on your other dog/dogs. Do you have a male or a females or one one of each? How old? Will your older dog appreciate a bouncy puppy? Does your dog like PUPPIES specifically. A puppy is DIFFERENT than an adolescent or adult dog. Some dogs love puppies, others hate them. Which do you have? If you don’t know, you need to find out! Do you understand that the puppy will need to be separated from your odler dog for meals at first, and only allowed access to your older dog with supervision? Do you understand an 8 week old puppy is small and young to play with an exhuberant “teen” dog? Are you willing to take puppy to puppy K class and train and socialize him/her? There are many factors to consider. I can not give you a yes or no answer without detailed information about your current pets and their personalities. *I noticed my puppy has been scratching a lot. He does not have fleas. He is also loosing clumps of his coat, shedding a lot. Does he have food allergies? Twice a year, A Germans Shepherd Dog sheds his coat, also termed “Blows his coat.” You will notice big clumps as well as fine hairs coming loose. Your dog may itch – you should help him shed by brushing/raking him. When his coat finished shedding, he will look more bare and thin than usual until his new coat fills in. This process takes several weeks. If you notice generalized itchiness while he is shedding, it is probably not food allergy. Additionally, food allergies are usually (but not always) indicated by chewing at paws/between toes,licking feet, itchy ears with recurrent ear infections, and sometimes hives. *My puppy’s ears were up, now today he woke up with one down. What should You should do NOTHING. A puppy’s ears may go up and down up til they are 7 months old., when they finish teething. If the ears were solidly up prior to teething, they almost always come back up. Sometimes they alternate – one up one down for days/weeks. If your pups ears have NEVER gone up and they remain down at 7 months, you might wish to glue/tape them. We have an article on this on the site; please refer to it. Do NOT use any harsh glue on puppy’s ear skin. You will use either surgical glue or Eyelash glue. Nothing harsh. If you do not know what to do, please get help from a vet or from your breeder. *I was trimming my puppy’s nails and I accidentally go the quick. It won’t It is a good idea to keep Quick Stop powder on hand in case you nick the quick. Toe nails cut too close will bleed a lot, so do not panic. Styptic powder will stop the blood. I also use a product called Wonder Dust, for horses. It works very well and comes in a squeeze bottle, you squeeze a puff of powder onto the nail, and hold a tissue there for a few seconds. *When should I spay (or neuter) my puppy? Should I do it at all? There is a good deal of debate about this topic. We have articles on the subject in our archives. In the past, vets recommended spaying and neutering by 6 months of age. Now, many vets suggest waiting til the dog is done growing. There are health pros and cons to each side. My general opinion; Spaying a female at about a year old is a good idea. You won’t have to ever worry about pyometra – which can be life threatening- or breast I do not like to neuter a male til after he develops his secondary sex characteristics/ blocky head etc. So, I prefer about 10-12 months old. You should educate yourself about health benefits/drawbacks, behavioral differences, and then decide what is best for your dog. If you choose to keep your dog intact, you have a huge responsibility to keep this dog from impregnating females or from getting pregnant as the case may be! We generally sell all our non- show home pups with a spay/neuter agreement. We are flexible as to the age of spay/neuter. *My puppy has diarrhea today. What should I do? Did your puppy ingest something that is a likely cause? Too many liver treats at class? Your child’s macaroni dinner? A big pig ear? If so, his belly is irritated, so withhold one meal and then offer a small meal of bland cooked rice/hamburger or ground chicken cooked/drained of fat/cooled. This is likely all you will need to do! If the puppy is acting ill, no appetite, lethargic, has a fever, you should see If the diarrhea persists more than 48 hours you should see your vet. Likely, your puppy needs flagyl (metrodiazole). Your vet may also need to administer fluids if the puppy is dehydrated. (I use a small syringe to squirt some sideways into the mouth. Not straight down the throat, which can You can offer a puppy unflavored liquid Pedialyte to help him from becoming dehydrated. You can offer ice cubes to lick. If you can get a stool sample – even if you must spoon it – you should do so. This will help your vet determine of your puppy has a parasite. *My puppy ate: a chicken bone/ a sock/ a child’s toy/ what do I do now?? You should get to your vet. Better safe than sorry. Many times a puppy can pass an ingested item; but other times the item causes an Your vet might do an xray and tell you to give mineral oil and watch and wait *I gave my puppy a nyla bone. A little while later, I saw it was missing. He couldn’t have eaten it so fast, right? Could he have swallowed a big piece? Nyla bones are dangerous. YES, he could have ingested it. (I read once that Nylabone will not always be visible on xray due to the material it is *My puppy has been asking to go pee more than usual. She urinates, but only a little bit. She keeps doing it every hour, though! Does she have a UTI? Quite possibly. If so, your vet will likely send you home with Clavamox which should clear it up. You will do a round of Clavamox and retest your puppy a couple weeks later to be certain the infection is totally cleared up. *My puppy has a small greenish bump. it seems he grew a tumor or cyst Sounds like an engorged TICK. You will need to remove it, and apply some alcohol to the bite. (Be sure to remove the entire tick. See article on *My puppy/dog was fine earlier. All of the sudden he is really, really lame. He is also acting odd, lethargic. He was hungry for dinner, but as the night went by, he was really not himself. When he got up to go outside, he looked lame in another leg, too! I took his temperature and he has a high fever! This could be many things, but it sure sounds like Lyme Disease. You need to get the puppy to your vet. Puppies sometimes present Lyme symptoms but the test is falsely negative. If so, treating for Lyme and getting quick improvement confirms Lyme. Lyme can be cleared if the puppy This depends on the age of your puppy or dog. We like Life stages puppy toys. We like kongs, Jolly Balls (Sherry’s favorite!!), Jolly Balls with Rope, Tuff toys – the Crab, Turtle, Dinosoar, Sheep, & Everlasting Balls. For our dogs who do not chew up toys, we like soft stuffed toys, and squeak toys, too. Clark Kent loves stuffed toys. Xenia collects Beanie Baby toys for Dogs. (They crinkle and squeak!) We Do NOT like tennis balls, which ruin tooth enamel, or small balls that Again, depends on the dog’s age and power. Sweet Potato Chips (Sam’s Yams by Front Porch Pets) (N-bone.com) Edible, digestible multi sizes. *What type and size crate is best? Do I need a bed or blanket for inside it? We use XL Life Stages Crates that come with a divider, so you can make the space smaller for puppies and increase space as they grow. The crate collapses for easy moving. (Though it is bulky!) YES, you need a (Pooch Pads waterproof/washable mat is a good one) VariKennels provide more privacy and security and less chance of draft. *We have a POOL. What do I need to know about Puppies and pools? Please see our article on Pool safety. Generally, a puppy should not have access to the pool area as part of his outdoor fenced area. Puppies can swim but they can not get out of pools easily. You should install a puppy safety device for climbing out. You should also install a pool alarm to alert you if Puppies skin and coat can dry out from chlorine/pool water. You should always rinse your pet in clear water after pool swims. Please see our Archives or Articles for Training Questions and more Detailed answers to some of the Above Topics.

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