Natural Health Care + Diet Guidelines for your Puppy’s First Few Weeks
On this Post (Page) I want to focus on your puppy’s natural healthcare and diet for the first few weeks. It is not intended to talk about leash -, or potty training. The goal is to make the transition for your puppy from our home, or the breeder you chose, to your home, as easy and stress- less as possible. This post (page) will also be continuously up-graded, changed, added on, and you can see, if you followed my blog for many years, that it contradicts numerous earlier tips, and recommendations. My outlook in caring for my Butterfly flock has drastically changed, and the positive results are just incredible. The following recommendations/guidelines are just my guidelines, as I am an advocate of natural healthcare , for all creatures, humans, and pets.
I want to see that your puppy has a healthy start, to set stone for a long, happy and energetic life, you and your puppy both love and cherish.
The puppy you are taking home from Road’s End is already eating a Raw Meat Diet (click on the link to get to the Raw Meat page)
Be prepared to continue with the same diet, and have your menu planed beforehand. If you have a grinder you can grind chicken necks, and wings to give to the puppy, and only offer an occasional chicken neck as a "recreational bone". Some 9-10 week old puppies already eat small chicken necks. Small means: not too small to choke on , but still of a fairly small, skinless size.
I feed a puppy 3 times / day, and hope you will continue, till he is 4-5 months old, or depending on his size, if he is a skinny type pup, or a little eating machine. If he gulps down his food at every meal he gets, put a small ball in his dish, so he has to work harder to get to the food.
Be prepared to continue with the same diet, and have your menu planed beforehand. If you have a grinder you can grind chicken necks, and wings to give to the puppy, and only offer an occasional chicken neck as a "recreational bone". Some 9-10 week old puppies already eat small chicken necks. Small means: not too small to choke on , but still of a fairly small, skinless size.
I feed a puppy 3 times / day, and hope you will continue, till he is 4-5 months old, or depending on his size, if he is a skinny type pup, or a little eating machine. If he gulps down his food at every meal he gets, put a small ball in his dish, so he has to work harder to get to the food.
Changing your puppy's diet from kibbles, or any commercial diet to RAW:
Get some of the kibble the puppy was raised, mix meat, egg, yogurt, DE with the kibbles, and serve small meals often. Reduce kibbles gradually every day.
There are some other items you should have prior to your puppy pick-up:
- DE (Diatomaceous Earth)
You can buy 100% food-grade DE at Amazon, and other places on line.
.http://www.amazon.com/Natures-Wisdom-Food-Grade-lb/dp/B003RDKKV6/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1398135407&sr=8-6&keywords=100%25+food+grade+DE- Nutri Cal, or Caro Syrup. Your puppy may get depressed or stressed, and refuses to eat. This will keep his blood sugar up, and may prevent to get hypoglycemic. Follow the instructions by putting a pea size amount on your finger tip, and insert it in his mouth-pouch.
(Available in pet stores or also from amazon)
- Have ice cube trays filled with bone broth. Bone broth is very helpful for sick dogs/puppies. (Diarrhea, and more) Bone broth is also a good add-on to a meat meal. Most dogs/puppies love bone broth!! http://www.dogsnaturallymagazine.com/reasons-your-dog-love-bone-broth/?
When you are going home with your new puppy avoid wanting to give it a “bath” right away. The puppy is already taxed with all new issues. A bath would stress him out too much, and you will end up with a pup with diarrhea, or runny stool, which brings more stress and possible dehydration on your dog. (See below) Let him bond to you, and enter a more quiet home, when you get back ;not have 20 children, grand parents, neighbor,s all wanting to hold him and hug him-; and let him sleep when he is getting tired. Puppies sleep a lot!
Stress Diarrhea
It is very stressful for any dog or puppy to go to a new home. While some dogs and puppies just seem to “fit”right in to their new homes and life styles, others get gastric problems, and develop diarrhea. Please be patient with your dog. Provide him/her a quiet corner to rest/sleep.
Dehydration is the biggest worry with any diarrhea so please be sure your dog is drinking, even if he/she doesn't feel like eating.
Dehydration is the biggest worry with any diarrhea so please be sure your dog is drinking, even if he/she doesn't feel like eating.
I use a small syringe (no needle), or an eyedropper, filled with water and a tiny bit of brown molasses. Molasses has wonderful properties, and helps to keep the blood sugar stable.
- Diarrhea Remedy:
A tiny amount of plain Greek yogurt, or probiotics, added to the menu is helpful with treating upset stomachs
and/or diarrhea.
Canned pumpkin is also known to help treat diarrhea. Feed your Papillon ¼ Teaspoon, to help form firm stools.
- Homeopathic Remedy for Diarrhea:
Arsenicum album (available @ Amazon, or elsewhere on http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_0_9?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=arsenicum%20album&sprefix=Arsenicum%2Caps%2C434&rh=i%3Aaps%2Ck%3Aarsenicum%20album )
line( - Sample Diet for Gastric Problems:
(RAW)
Lean meat, such as beef heart, skinless turkey breast, skinless white meat from chicken.
twice/day, no later than 5-6 PM in the evening.
Feed about 2-3 ounces/day to a 5 LBS dog.
- Herbs: Relaxant, Anxiety Relieve, Stress Remedy:
Chamomile. A few drops of Chamomile from a tincture, or tea added to the puppies food, or inserted in his cheek with a needle-less syringe, or eyedropper.
First Vet Exam, Puppy Vaccinations:
I cannot point out enough to learn+ research about safe vaccination guidelines. (See below). There is much information out there on the web. Take your time and google!! You are setting your puppy’s foundation health book up from the first vet visit on. If you want to be in control over your puppy’s future health, you must be informed, not only to seek the right veterinarian service, but also to ask the right questions, as well as in many occasions being able to ask for specific services
Seek a Holistic/Homeopathic Veterinarian Service who does not use conventional care as the first choice. If you do not have such service in your area, learn more about Natural Healthcare, so you can tell your conventional vet what you are wanting him to do. (or not to do!)
Your first vet visit, if done before age 14-16 weeks should not include any vaccinations, Give only one modified live canine parvo/distemper vaccination between the ages of 14 to 18 weeks; this can provide many years and often a lifetime of immunity in most dogs (see below "Saver Vaccine Guidelines"),nor should it include any conventional worm/flea treatments.
Your puppy was already treated daily with DE, a natural worm treatment, at Road’s End, as well as the mom in pregnancy. So, if you continued at home applying a little DE every day to your puppy’s meal, there are now worms!!
If you have purchased your puppy from another breeder or kennel, eliminate worms at home by adding DE daily to his food. He will be worm-free in just a few days.
.If you are living in a flea-infested area, put a little DE on the puppy’s hair coat, and in its bedding, and lounge areas. But make sure he is not inhaling much of the powder.
There are also other alternative treatments for fleas- . Google, Google, and get a handle on it!!
Saver Vaccine Guidelines (by Dr Michael Dym VMD)
In more than 23 years of practicing veterinary medicine, I have been minimally vaccinating pets to keep them safe from the dangers of over-vaccination. Over that time I have also been gathering data and research from top vaccination experts such as Dr Ronald Schultz and Dr Jean Dodds,
I have compiled some short points to provide dog owners with an accessible, easy to read guide to safer vaccination.
Dos, Don’ts (and Nevers!)
DO…
ask about measuring vaccination titers as an alternative to vaccinating adult or chronically ill pets.
DO…
avoid vaccinations such as Lyme, Bordetella, and Leptospirosis, which have questionable safety and efficacy.
DO…
give only one modified live canine parvo/distemper vaccination between the ages of 14 to 18 weeks; this can provide many years and often a lifetime of immunity In most dogs.
DON’T…
vaccinate young puppies under 12 weeks of age. At this young age, vaccination is not usually effective because of pre-existing antibodies from the mother’s milk.
DON’T…
vaccinate with multiple combination viral vaccinations at the same time.
NEVER…
vaccinate at the time of hormonal, surgical or emotional stresses, including at the time of any surgery, dentistries or while boarding.
NEVER…
vaccinate a pet who is ill with ANY symptoms, including those pets suffering from skin/ear allergies, and those with any digestive upset.
Be Aware
- Over-vaccination is not only a waste of money for animal guardians, but may jeopardize the long term health of our animal companions.
- Vaccine reactions are quite common, and may occur not only immediately after the shot, but over days, weeks, months or even years later in what is immunologically accepted and known as a delayed hypersensitivity reaction.
- recently vaccinated pets.
- Modified live parvo/distemper vaccination has been shown to cause immune system suppression 10 to 14 days after administration.
- Environmental shedding of modified live viral vaccine antigens may cause immune reactions in sensitive pets that have not even been vaccinated!
- Rabies vaccination can lead to the production of antibodies against the thyroid gland and other organs in dogs recently vaccinated for rabies.
- Autoimmune conditions, cancers and severe neurological disease have been reported in Modified live combination parvo/distemper vaccination has been demonstrated to increase allergic responses to grasses and pollens in recently vaccinated dogs.
- Most commercial animal vaccinations contain unhealthy levels of mercury, aluminum and other heavy metals.
Please support the work of the Rabies Challenge Fund whose goal is to increase the duration of required rabies vaccinations to at least five or more years, as well as allow medical exemptions of dogs deemed too unhealthy to be vaccinated.
Dr Michael Dym is a Presidential scholar graduate with a BS in animal science from Cornell University, as well as a VMD from the University of Pennsylvania in 1991. He has used classical homeopathy since 1997, with extensive advanced training and coursework from Richard Pitcairn, DVM, PHD. Dr Dym offers house calls to clients in Palm Beach and Broward Counties in Florida, but also encourages phone consultations from national and international clients. Visit his website at doctordym.com
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