I'm getting a six week old, puppy any tips?

Question

german shepherd puppy (Female) like i said six weeks. thinkin of naming it "Hazel". I asking for:

-what brand of dog food
-what shampoo
-what kind of toys
and if I should get a male

Answer 1

Yes. Wait two weeks. Dog psychologists and animal behaviorists have studied puppies and determined that just about 8 weeks is the ideal time for a puppy to leave its dog family and join its new human family. If you take it too late it can have trouble bonding with people. If you take it too early it can have trouble relating to other dogs later in life.

Two weeks isn't that long. Puppies have a lot of social development to do in the few months of their puppyhood and you would be giving your pup a big head start in life by waiting.

In terms of food, I wouldn't recommend any brand sold at grocery stores or convenience stores. They're OK but there's food that's much healthier for your dog.

I'd suggest that you browse the resources below and choose a food based on 1. your budget, 2. what's available in your area and 3. what your dogs like/how it effects them.

Personally, I tried several good brands, including Canidae and Solid Gold. They all gave my dogs wonderful coats and healthier look. However, I eventually decided to feed Artemis because it was the first food that significantly minimized my dog's gas.

I trust the Whole Dog Journal's annual report on dog foods. It is not available for free online, but this is due to the fact that WDJ doesn't take ads and so is unbiased. You can buy their report on dog foods, though. http://www.whole-dog-journal.com/

Also, this is a pretty good site for finding good foods: http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com/dog_food_reviews/

Shampoo... it's pretty flexible. I've never heard too much debate on shampoo. If you were getting a dog with a coat that easily tangled I'd recommend a conditioning shampoo. I'd say go to the pet store and find one that looks like it has good ingredients (I'd stay away from ones that had a lot of ingredients that I had no clue what they were) and smells good to you.

Toys... Definitely your puppy will want chewie toys since he'll be teething. I'd recommend interactive toys (the kind you can put food in and your dog can spend a while getting it out) and PetStages toys. http://www.petstages.com/ There's plenty of other good toys, but those would be my top choices for new puppies. Be careful of toys like stuffed animals until you know how he'll treat them (don't let him swallow parts).

If you want your dog to be confident and well-rounded as an adult, he should be socialized as a puppy. First, don't take him out until the vet says it's safe. You don't want him catching a disease because he hasn't been fully vaccinated. But when it's safe, take him everywhere you can. Introduce him to new people, new animals, new dogs, new locations, new everything. Sometimes he'll be confident, sometimes he'll be scared. This is part of puppyhood. For yourself you just need to be calm and leader-like. Don't push him if he's scared and he'll soon get over his fears (maybe in a week or so).

Definitely I'd recommend getting a book on puppies to prepare you. Here are some excellent books: http://www.dogwise.com/Browse/SubCatList.cfm?SubCat=Puppies I'd recommend one of these, but you can check it out at the library if you don't want to buy it.

About male vs. female, both make great pets. All I can say is that if you're getting a dog from a good breeder he or she should know her puppies and be able to pick the pup (male or female) that is best for you.

Good luck!

Answer 2

#1 I'd wait at least 2 more weeks before bringing her home

#2 Any good brand of food that lists meat as the #1 ingredient and is not found in grocery stores. I also prefer one that has human grade ingredients and is grain free. You will need to find out what food she's been eating at the breeders though and get her a small bag of that as well so that you can change her over to the new food gradually - over a period of about a week so that it doesn't give her any tummy upsets.
Some foods I'd recommend are:
Orijen
Innova
Timberwolf Organics Wild and Natural
Canidae (good, but not grain free)
California Natural
Natures Variety RAW
Solid Gold Barking at the Moon
There are more, but this is just a few of the good brands out there.

#3 Any puppy shampoo found at your local pet shop should be good. Most other dog shampoos can't be used on pups under 8 wks of age so check the bottle.

#4 Lots of chew toys so that she doesn't chew up stuff that is not meant for her to chew. I'd avoid raw hides though as they are hard to digest - all natural beef chews, such as bully sticks are better. Since the bully stick is pure beef, it is 100% digestible. This is contrary to rawhide chews, which have been reported to choke or obstruct a dog's bowel if large pieces are swallowed. http://search.onlynaturalpet.com/search.aspx?searchterms=bully-sticks

#5 Male or Female is just personal preferance, both make great pets as long as they are SPAYED and NEUTERED - Un neutered males tend to get out of their yards when there is a female in heat close by, and they have to pee on every bush and blade of grass when out walking. Un Spayed females go into heat twice a year, will drip blood all over your house during this time (heat lasts 3 weeks) and runs the risk of getting pregnant no matter how careful you think you're being.

Answer 3

Do not bring the puppy home before at least 8 weeks of age, preferably 9 weeks.
This is because those two extra weeks are vital to the puppies future socialization and behavioral attitude.
If the breeder sends home the pups before at least 8 weeks of age, find yourself another breeder!!

For your other questions:

Merrick Puppy Plate kibble and canned foods.
Basic human baby shampoo is fine for puppies, or Top Performance sensitive puppy formula shampoo
A Kong, some tennis balls, a nice doggie bed, a soft squeaker toy, and some dentabones.

I would go for a Male GSD only because of their differing temperaments. And I would neuter him before 6 months of age, even though you did not ask that :)

Answer 4

DON'T take him back to the person who gave him to you. A: You might not get him back. B: You don't know how that person will react to you bring the puppy back. It might hurt the puppy. NO matter what the puppy don't deserve that. The puppy is kind of young. But what can you do now. If he has sold all the puppies then the mother ain't going to feed the dog. As long as the puppy is eating and drinking. He will be fine. If you have any worries take him to the VET. But it will be a bad choice to take him back to where you got him. Poor puppy. Good Luck and be patient please.

Answer 5

Agree with the first poster -- find a different breeder because this one doesn't know what they are doing by placing a puppy before they get their social skills learned in the litter that takes place before nine weeks of age -- a lot of people that breed and are wanting to get rid of the puppies quick because they are costing them money and clean up time and all that will get rid of them before 8-9 weeks and that is a huge red flag. Dogs learn to communcate with one another during their litter socialization period and it can make a huge impact on their life in the future and it can be a real pain to the owner later in life if they don't properly learn their communcation/social skills.

When you do find a breeder that knows what they are doing and will only place a pup with a novice puppy owner after eight weeks of age, they will usually give you tons of information as to these questions you asked -- they will usually be pretty specific about these things that they want with their pup as a matter of fact -- a good breeder will be the best resource for you and will mentor you throughout the dog's life. The brand of dog food will be told you as well as some of it to take with you so that you don't go out and get another brand and give the dog gastrointestinal upset that can actually be deadly to a puppy. Recommendations on shampoo, toys as well as having long discussions as to whether you should get a male or female, what temperament characteristics your situation warrants and stuff like that will have already been discussed with you so that you don't have to rely on strangers with potentially incorrect or dangerous perspectives on the internet.

My tip - don't get a puppy yet as you haven't done your homework on the breed or decent breeders and likely are getting a pup from a back yard greeder. Take your time - this is a living creature that will hopefully be a huge part of your life for a decade or so.

add: The puppy doesn't need to stay with its mother but with its littermates -- the mother is okay to have around but the socialization the puppies need at this time is with peers so that they learn to communicate with their species - you will see a lot of interaction between littermates between 7-9 weeks of age - a lot of dominance postures as well as play fighting and stuff like that - they learn how to best get along with others of their species, how to hold their bites in play, how to read body language of others and stuff like that -- mom is sort of a bystander to all of this and while it is okay for her to be around, it isn't imperative at this point.

Answer 6

try a mix of wet and dry puppy food science diet is a good brand... we use a flea and tick shampoo that has a good smell and it is for puppies.... well try some toys that are soft that way she can chew on them..... the best thing for her is to crate train her too that way it helps with potty training them at a early age. well if you get a male make sure that he is around the same age and is fixed because when they aren't fixed they tend to be very aggressive with the female dogs because that is how my puppies were before i got him fixed.

Answer 7

German Shepherds are a great, intelligent breed. Good choice!!
Dog food- All Natural or Organic. "worth it in the long run".
Shampoo- One for dogs only or Natural one.
Toys- Any safe Doggie Toy should be fine.
I prefer Females to Males.
Good luck with your new friend, God Bless.

Answer 8

6weeks is too young! don't shouldn't be sold until 8weeks!

An adult would be good.

NEVER EVER BUY from any petstore! they pets dogs, cats&other animals in there are from puppy mill or backyard breeders.

No pet is free, Don't forget the cost of food, vetinary care, bedding, harness, scratching post, worming, flea treatment, litter boxes etc

http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?cls=2&cat=1671&articleid=1543

http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?cls=1&cat=1838&articleid=1542

An adult puppy or cat/kitten from a shelter would be good for you. Some adult dogs are already used to cats&other dogs, where as you have to start from scratch with a puppy

Why not get your mum&to go down to some shelter or pounds and let your choose from the adults dogs make great pets and alot calmer Make sure you pick 1 that suits your lifestyle.
there are many other breeds but don't buy on looks along or favorite breed alone, buy only one that suits your lifestyle.

Never EVER buy from a petstore!

Pets can have there paper forge!

kittens need 4 meals aday
Where as Adult only need 2

www.dogbreedinfo.com
http://www.seven.com.au/sunrise/fact_050...
http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?...

http://www.petfinder.com
http://www.stoppuppymills.org/survivor_s...
<>http://www.akc.org/breeds/labrador_retri...
<>http://www.akc.org/breeds/golden_retriev...
http://www.1-800-save-a-pet.com/...........
<>http://www.1-800-save-a-pet.com/...........
<>http://www.pawsperouspets.com/adopt/pets...
<>http://www.washhumane.org/info/inftop.ht...
<>http://www.aspca.org/aspcablog/2006/06/t...
<>http://hattrick-dals.home.att.net/10reas...
<>http://www.fortunecity.com/millenium/saf...
<>http://www.psychopup.com/tb/dontbuy.html...
<>http://www.associatedcontent.com/article

Answer 9

Tip #1 wait for 2 to 4 more weeks
puppies need to be with mother longer than 6 wks.
Hazel is not a good name for a male
spay or neuter so your dog will live longer healthier life
GL

Answer 10

Here's one not on your list.. Get her lots of things she can chew on and move away all the things you don't want her to chew on.. I have had big dogs that have been taken away from mommy at 6 weeks in fact I had a German Shepard Collie mix that I got just after it's sixth week and it was the best dog I ever had. (I like to go against the flow....)