How to Choose a Dog Name and Puppy Essentials

Naming the new addition to the family is an exciting moment for everyone! You are faced with choosing a name and that maybe a very decisive task. Talk it over with the family, how you think the puppy may look when he grows up and take in consideration of the puppy's breed. This is special time and you'll want to be proud of your puppy's name.

Observe how your puppy respond to a few short names or not respond, one or two syllables will work fine. Choosing a long name, you'll shorten it after a while. Dogs respond quickly to sharp sounds like Charlie, Simba or similar. Be careful, don't choose a name that sounds like a command, such as Bo, sounds like No or Kit, sounds like Kit. Names like these would confuse your dog.

Be fore warned about naming your pets after a family member. You may think it's cute or an honer but the family member may think it's an act of disrespect.

Bathing your puppy requires some essentials for this task. Before getting started, you'll need a comb, brush, tear free shampoo, conditioner, nail trimmer, large pan, dog hair dryer, and towels. If your puppy has long hair, you'll need to comb the hair instead of brushing.

Combing removes tangles and small matting in the hair. Be very careful if the hair is matted because if it is very close to the skin, you'll need to carefully cut it out with scissors. I used a shampoo and conditioner with oat meal because the puppy's skin is delicate like a baby's skin. Ingredients that include oat meal soothes the skin and makes the coat shiny and soft.

I used the sink for bathing because my puppy was small enough to fit comfortably, you can use a large pan if you prefer. As my puppy grew, we moved to the bath tub so I could add toys that float and bath time was fun for him. I only filled the water level in the tub to the start of his body so he wouldn't become overwhelmed and fight the water. Keep him calm by talking or singing to him and petting so he'll love bath time.

Be careful not to get shampoo into the eyes if you're not using tear free. Gently wipe inside the ears and do not use q-tips, you may cause damage to the inner ear. Old towels will do just fine to dry off with. Hair dryers can dry out the hair and skin and may burn a puppies sensitive skin. If you must use a dryer, us the coolest setting while holding it a distance away or purchase a pet dryer but still hold the dryer away.

Puppy's nails are sharp! You can use a nail trimmer but not to close, just the end of the nails to remove the sharpness and gently file to remove edges. Be very careful, there is flesh inside the nail, except near the end.

Start off with good dental hygiene, brush teeth often to remove tartar. Do not use human tooth paste, fluoride will make your puppy sick, it poisons the system. Use only the tooth brush and tooth paste that you purchase just for the puppy. You're not done yet, there's still more to come. Remember, your puppy is a new addition to the family and it doesn't have any puppy essentials yet.

You'll need a bed for your puppy but some puppy parents prefer to use a cage because of work schedules. In any case, you'll still need an old blanket, a pillow, a few toys, especially a teething ring to help develop strong teeth and to help prevent chewing on other things.

Puppies will chew on the legs of furniture when their gums itch so it's best to have teething rings or something similar for chewing. Your puppy will need a food and water bowl whether he is kept in a cage or not. Puppies are like babies, they need a feeding and potty schedule. For best results, use your schedule at the same time each day.

Chose your puppy's food brand wisely. Look for companies that have undergone AAFCO feeding trials because this lets you know the food is scientifically approved for your puppy's consumption. Do not skimp on your puppy's food by giving him a cheaper brand because cheaper brands use recipes that has never been fed to dogs before, they're just made and do not include the nutrients that a growing puppy needs to mature.

All the playing that your puppy does will requires a high calorie diet for tissue growth and development. The adequate amount of nutrients will help them develop properly. Yes, size does matter, you'll want to give your puppy food that is formulated for his size. You would give a tea cup poodle the same food you'd give to a sheep dog because the bone growth is different and shouldn't be fed the same food.

Kibble size or meat chunks are important too because a tiny puppy would have problems chewing large kibble sizes compared to a larger puppy. Therefore, you would look for a food for a toy or small breed puppy. Above all, always look at the ingredients! A puppy’s nervous system is dependent on the essential fatty acid DHA.

Puppy diets should have a higher amount essential fatty acid than foods meant for adult dogs to aid in the eye, ear and brain development of a growing puppy. Studies have shown that puppies fed diets high in DHA have increased memory and train ability. This should result in smarter more trainable puppies.

Puppy's can get diseases such as arthritis, high blood pressure, heart disease, diabetes and heat exhaustion and it is vital to your puppy's health to keep him trim and healthy. You will want your puppy to have a long life so it is important for you to keep his weight in proportion with his size.

This is a sample schedule that you can tweak to fit your schedule. Do keep in mind that your puppy needs to eat 3 times a day. In addition, it is best to allow about fifteen minutes to pass after giving the puppy water before you take him outside to potty. You will need to be patient during the learning process and be ready to take him outside again if it appears that he needs to potty again. You can use puppy pads or just take him outside to potty.

I used puppy pads but did not use a cage or crate.

• 6:30 a.m. wake up, quick exercise

• 7:00 a.m. morning meal, outdoor walking, playtime then back to crate

• 10:00 a.m. outdoor walking, bonding time with owner then back to crate

• 12:00 (noon) midday meal

• 1:00 p.m. outdoor walking, playtime then back to crate

• 5:00 p.m. evening meal, outdoor walking, playtime 7:00 p.m. short outdoor walk, playtime, then back to crate

• 9:00 p.m. bedtime (in his crate or in your bedroom)

Having a new puppy is exciting but there's a lot of work involved. If you adopted through the Humane Society, necessary vaccines has been taken care of according to the puppy's age. Instructions will be given to you for when your puppy needs to see a veterinarian for more health care. If the puppy was a gift, see a veterinarian to get a physical and vaccines. Young puppies need to be vaccinated against Canine Parvo Virus.

Parvo is a deadly virus and acts quickly throughout the puppy's system. With no veterinarian care, the puppy will die. We had a puppy to die of this dreadful disease. The first thing we noticed was a lack of energy. He wanted to play but just didn't have the strength. The next thing that happened, he lost his appetite and bowls became very loose. We didn't know what was wrong, had never heard of the disease so we didn't recognize the symptoms. When we took him to the vet, it was too late.