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Important Puppy Care
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Choosing a Puppy:
Choosing a puppy is no easy task! With the internet and hundreds of options how do you pick the right puppy for you and your family? I have a couple tips to help: 1. Choose a BREEDER before choosing a puppy. ALL puppies are cute and darling. Good pictures can make them even cuter! But puppies grow up and turn into full grown dogs very quickly. You should choose a breeder first so that you know what your puppy will turn out like. Things to keep in mind: How are the puppies raised? In a kennel or in a home? With kids or not? How do the adult dogs look? Like real aussies or like chihuahuas? 2. Read the BREED STANDARD (link below) for mini and toy aussies so that you know what you are looking at and for. This will help you steer clear of prick ears, big round bug-eyes, dome-head and over all "toyish" looking dogs. It is VERY hard to tell if a 6 week old puppy looks "toyish". Even if your puppy is to be only a pet it should still be the finest quality. http://www.americanstockdog.org/breeds.php 3. Does your breeder have a good guarantee? The guarantee should cover at least 3 years for genetic defects. Because OFA requires the dog to be at least 2 years old before testing him for Hip Dysplasia, a two year guarantee is useless. Dont rely on parents testing to ensure your puppy will not ever have a genetic disease. The testing of the parents tells you only if the parents HAVE the disease, NOT if they are carriers. Only experience of your breeder and their ethics can tell you that. A breeder who has only been breeding for a year will not know the genetics of their breeding dogs for many generations to come. Regardless of the tests done on the parents. We have been breeding mini and toy aussies since 1998. We show our dogs, know our breed standard and pride ourselves on having the very best quality and TYPE in our little aussies. We have an excellent 3 year guarantee.
Nutrition: Probably the most important part of the care of your new puppy is nutrition. Dog foods have come a long way since the only choice was "Dog Chow" or "Puppy Chow" at your supermarket. We now know that dogs are carnivores and need meat to be strong and healthy. When choosing a dog food for your new puppy always read ingredients. The first two to four ingredients should always be meat. Grains are only fillers and should be at least third or lower on the list and your dogs food should NEVER include CORN, WHEAT, or WHEAT GLUTEN! It is also important to choose an excellent quality DOG food, NOT puppy! Puppy food can cause growth exceleration (your puppy grows faster than its body is meant to). This can lead to all sorts of bone and joint problems including hip dysphasia. Always resist the urge to buy "puppy" and go with the best quality dog kibble you can find. We feed Kirkland Chicken and Rice. Here is a great article on dog foods: http://www.thepetcenter.com/imtop/contrast.html Never feed: Science Diet, Pedigree, Dog Chow (Puppy), Beneful, or Ole Roy. See comparisons at the link below.
Drug No No's: Aussies and other herding types (Collies, Border Collies, ACD's and Shelties) can have certain drug sensitivities. Aussies should never be given any of the drugs listed below. Please note Heartgaurd is on the list and can cause seizures in sensitive aussies. Never give Heartguard to an Aussie, choose Interceptor instead. Also note not all vets are familiar with this list or the MDR1 mutation. Drugs that have been documented, or are strongly suspected to cause problems in dogs with the MDR1 mutation: * Ivermectin (antiparasitic
agent) "Heartgaurd"
Training your Aussie: We really like Cesar Millans way of training as the "pack-leader". I would absolutely recommend that you watch his TV show or read his book that is in stores now! Here is his web site for training advise and much more.
Turtle
Mountain
Miniature
Australian
Shepherds
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