Sleep
Let them sleep. Make them go to bed and take naps. An 8 week old puppy needs 18-22 hours of sleep a day. The remaining 2-6 hours include their time to eating, playing, exploring, potty breaks, and getting attention. New puppy owners find that a significant number of behavioral issues in young puppies can be solved by letting the puppy sleep. We love our wire pens and set up a whole 4x4 area for the puppies. They are used to sleeping & playing there. When it is bed-time, just put them in the pen with their bed. They may fuss a bit at first, but turning out the light & ignoring them gives them the signal they should go to sleep.
Food
Your new puppy should come with a small bag of the food they are currently eating. We recommend keeping a bowl of dry food, and a bowl of food that has been softened with water for your puppy. Having food available at all times is important to prevent hypoglycemic incidents with your new puppy. You can also transition your new puppy over to a new food by gradually changing the food by mixing the new food in with their current food. When transitioning to a new diet it is normal for the puppy to experience digestive upset (loose stool).
Tiny toys need to be watched closely for any signs of hypoglycemia. Research hypoglycemia and be ready if there is ever an incident. I keep Nutri-cal or another high-calorie supplement. Just a dab will help them recooperate. Many of our tiny toys eat wet, canned food. Anything to entice them to eat!
Attention
Puppies need attention, but too much attention can stress the puppy and keep the puppy from getting enough sleep. (see sleep above) Puppies don't always know when it is time
Pest Removal
Dogs get fleas. Dogs get worms. We hate parasites. This is normal. As puppy owners we are always fighting them. We like to use the most gentle worming medication and flea abatement techniques that we can. For worms this means pyrantel pamoate at a young age and Panacure/Safeguard once the puppies get a little older.
For fleas we like to use coconut oil after a bath. We also keep fleas off our adults, and that solves a lot of problems. We use nematodes on the yard and flea-prevention drops on the adults, along with salt or baking soda under their bed pads. Your vet can help you decide what is best for you and your puppy.
Recommended Products for New Puppy
We use the following items and recommend them for our puppies. We get no incentives to recommend these items, except NuVet vitamins.
Wire pen & crate-Puppy apartment
Set up a “puppy apartment” with an enclosed bed, toys, food, & potty area. If you have carpet, use a tarp or a piece of sheet vinyl as the floor. This personal space gives the puppy their own private area where they can sleep, eat, & begin potty training. We use both a wire crate & a wire pen. We often cover the crate to give puppy a dark den in which to sleep.
Let puppy out to play and interact with you, leaving door open so they can go back to potty, eat, or sleep. Slowly increase their area size as they adjust and start to become trained.
Puppy dog food
This is what we usually use, as the kibble is very small. We also add water or puppy-formula to make soft food for puppy. Many tinies need wet food 3-4 times per day. We leave dry food out 24 hrs per day until they are about 3 months old.
We also use HEB Texas Pets wet food in tins, and Purina One Puppy lamb & rice
Puppy will come with a quart-size bag of current food. This will give you enough to gradually change to what you prefer to feed.
Pro-Pectalin
This supplement is used for occasional stress diarrhea & discomfort. It has kaolin-pectin combined with probiotics. The kaolin-pectin firms up and slows the diarrhea, while the probiotics helps get their gut flora back to normal. If puppy is severely sick or doesn’t get better quickly, then get him/her to the vet.
Soft toy with heat pad & heartbeat
Many of our puppy families have successfully used a stuffed toy that holds a heat pad & heartbeat. It mimics sleeping with their littermates. Here is a common one called “Snuggle Puppy”
NuVet Plus
Yes, we give these to our dogs & puppies. Yes, we like them. Yes, we get a small portion of the fee. It seems to help supplement what is lacking in their dog food. Your can order with our number: 35594
High calorie supplement
Tiny puppies (especially poodles) are susceptible to hypoglycemia and can be picky eaters. This supplement will help get them over times when their sugars drop & they won’t eat. Toy poodle puppy owners should keep this on hand. Havanese puppies are not as susceptible to hypoglycemia and can use a bit of honey to achieve the same thing. If all else fails, use some unsalted chicken meat.