Care

I have had great success with a quality dry kibble of lamb and rice. I will add left over vegetables and I will add a small amount of finely cut meat or gravy if I'm trying to put some weight on them. Do not let your pup get fat or grow too quickly from these overly high nutritional diets, give his muscles and bones a chance to strengthen and harden.

They do like to chew, especially wood, and watch those young trees! Mine love rawhide bones,-some say the rawhide can cause problems, but my dogs tend to disagree with that.

I like to wrestle and play with my dogs using ropes, towels (old towels help keep me out of the dog house), stuffed animals and balls.

Follow your vets' advice, usually they have a schedule close to 6,9,12, and 16 weeks, then yearly. Be sure to keep up on vaccinations!

Your dogs immune system may not be fully developed before 16 weeks! Do not take your dog to public dog places before they are safe! As soon as it is safe, get your dog acquainted with other dogs as much as needed to socialize him properly. ( OBEDIENCE CLASS TIME! )

Introduce your dog to strangers, encourage people to show them affection. When a family member is present the dog should be on good behavior if your vibes tell him to be so. When no one is around the dog may be suspicious and their presence alone is enough to stop an intruder. If a person approaches you abruptly, talking loud and waving their hands as they talk, check your dog, he may be getting the wrong message, or maybe not, let him know.

Exercise is important, you may need to invent some activities. Remember when you exercise, it isn't something that you do continually, hard and fast for a while, then rest. If your pup is over doing it, give him some quiet time.

Do not allow your dog to ignore you. Say what you mean and mean what you say. You need to be Alpha, leave no doubt about it. Zero tolerance on this pack dominance bad behavior is a must . This is where a firm hand might be needed on a strong willed dog. By a firm hand I mean a shake down by the back of the neck and restraint, similar to what the mother would do if disaplining. If you have hurt your dogs feelings wait a minute or two, then reassure with affection. If you think you can reward the dog with a cookie for not showing bad behavior, good luck, I hope he really likes cookies!