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Puppies may become car sick during the first couple of trips. Consider taking another person along to hold your new puppy. Your passenger should wear a seatbelt and open the window about 3" to 4" from the top. Constantly, but slowly rub the underneath of the puppy's neck. This proves to be effective 98% of the time. Take a towel along just in case your puppy does get sick. Upon your arrival home you can do any needed clean up or you may need to stop along the way. Give your puppy about 45 minutes to an hour to settle down - his tummy should do just fine.
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Things to Do Before You Bring Your Puppy Home
Get Your House Ready - Boxers are family dogs, so you need to decide where the pup is going to eat, sleep & play while you are at home & also while you are not at home (working, shopping, etc...)
Get The Yard Ready - Boxers have a lot of energy & like to run & play. Is the yard fenced? Is it easy for some one to steal your dog out of your yard? Could a dog dig under the fence or jump over? Are there things your dog can get into to chew, eat or get sick from? What about stray dogs or the neighbor's dogs? What about poisonous plants?
Who Is Your Vet - If you don't have a vet already, shop around. Call different vet clinics & ask some simple questions; like: are they a walk-in clinic, cost of office call, do they board & how much, what the cost of a health certificate is, what is the costs for a full set of shots including the rabies shot. If you ask these things for general information, you can compare. If you go to the closest vet, or the ones in your town/city, they may be very much alike because they work together. Check with some vets in nearby towns & compare. Talk to other people to see what they think or how they feel about other vets.
Health Issues - Some pups get stressed out, or are afraid when they go to a new home. They can come down with a bad case of diarrhea; some won't eat, others shake & others just have a good time with no problems. Don't let your pup get dehydrated. Make sure the pup is drinking water. A pup can get dehydrated in as little as 6 hours.
Dog Food - Do some research on dog foods. Look at labels. What about corn, animal by-products & soy? Are the old time dog foods really as good as they use to be? Check out what companies bought out who.
Anyone Could Have It - Does your dog need to be on special food because of a sensitive stomach? One dog out an entire litter or one in several generations may develop a problem like allergies, demodex or some other issue. This can happen with people too. Your sister, brother, aunt, uncle or cousin my have had a bad case of allergies, but no one in the family history ever had. Maybe your grandfather had a health problem as he got older, but your parents or you didn't have, but it then shows up, in maybe one of your kids or your sister's kids. Does that make your parents or grandparents bad? NO! Things like that can happen with dogs and cats too. Looking back to where you searched for your pup, does that make the breeder "Bad"? No, they would have no knowledge of it.
So Do Your Homework Before You Purchase A Puppy!!
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Health In General
I will not knowingly sell an unhealthy puppy. Each litter goes to the vet for a health exam, to get their tails docked and their dew claws removed. I do NOT perform this.
When the puppies are 2 1/2 to 3 weeks old, I take them back to the vet to be checked for parasites. At this visit, they are examined again, checked for parasites and if needed, they are treated by the vet.
When the mother weans her puppies, I start them on solid food and they are introduced to water also.
They received their first set of shots when they are weaned and not dependent on their mother. These shots are also given by the vet. A shot record(issued by the Vet) is given to the new puppy owner. That way your vet can continue where mine left off. If your vet has any questions, he or she can call my vet to discuss whatever is in question.
When the puppies leave my home, they can come in contact with so many different things. My puppies don't leave here if I know that there is a problem, unless the buyer wishes to take on the responsibility. If a pup or the entire litter have come down with something suddenly and I have taken the pup or pups to the vet where he has treated them, I will inform you of the situation so your vet is aware of it. Your vet can contact my vet for details. Keep in mind that when a stool sample is taken by the vet and the results are negative, the next stool sample may show positive of worms or parasites. Occasionally, vets may not find parasites but will do their best to treat a pup.
Ear mites are treatable if the pup happens to get them. Remember, dog and puppies aren't the only ones that can get ear mites. Your cat or even the friendly neighbors animals as well as horses can get them.
Common treatables that should NOT be considered AWFUL that your pup might have gotten or picked up and these should NOT be left untreated:
- Coccidia
- Kennel Cough- common cold
- Ear mites
- Diarrhea
- Worms - hook, round, tape & etc.
- Giardia
- Parasites of any kind
These are all common and treatable. These are not considered serious unless you neglect to have it treated.
Sometimes parasites may or may not show up easily. I do my best to keep the puppies in a clean environment. The puppy's living areas are cleaned several times a day with bleach water to kill whatever parasites, I can that might be around that want to invade our puppies.
Many breeders keep their puppies in cages, boxes and in the dirt and you can't imagine what the vets find in those puppies when they leave their litter mates.
Shots
Look at how many breeders give their puppies their shots and some don't even do that. How do you know for sure that is what they really gave them? My vet does that, and you get a vet issued shot record when you get a pup from me.
I know it is more expensive to have "shots" done at my veterinarian, but it is a way that you can ensure that the vaccine is of good quality, stored properly and given correctly.
I have seen other breeders that gave all their own shots to their dog and puppies. One of the puppies came down with a disease that is generally prevented by vaccination – called Parvovirus. This brought the issues of pet owners giving their own shots to my attention.
These are not popular thoughts but none-the-less, you can be guarantee that they are honest.
Be careful when you are searching for your puppy. These are issues you should be concerned about. Think about it carefully.
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First Few Days
Your puppy may be a bit nervous, since the puppy is no longer experiencing familiar sounds, smells and environment. This unsettling feeling will past shortly, but some may take longer than others.
Nervousness or change in diet may cause diarrhea. If it lasts more than 2 days please contact your veterinarian.
Not Eating for the first day and a half - that can happen. Things are different for him. The adjustment period should last a day or so and with others it may be longer.
After putting your puppy down for the first time, he may just stand there in fright. Back away and talk soothingly to him. Reassuring him by saying "good puppy" or "nice puppy" Whistle very softly and your new puppy will come over for a sniff. When he comes over, give him a gentle pat on the head. The puppy should do just fine.
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Always talk with your breeder & ask questions, even if
you think they're inferior, everyone was a novice in the beginning.
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