the 10 essentials of puppy care

Puppies are such a special gift to have! A beautiful treasure that requires daily care. The best way to care for your pups is to be prepared before getting one and ensuring that your home is a safe-haven place where they can thrive with health, happiness & security. Here are 10 great tips to be ready for your precious pup. 

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 1. PROTECTION. When a puppy is young they greatly rely on you to get them off to a great start. Making sure they are protected from predators is essential. Make sure your yard fence is functioning, no holes or ways for your pup to escape or for predators to enter in to harm them. If you live on a busy street (or not) this is absolutely essential.

If you live in a two story home make sure your puppy has a protective fence barrier to keep them from falling down the stairs until they're ready to go down by themselves. If you have a front door that opens to a busy street make sure to have a protective barrier to keep your puppy from running out into the busy street and getting fatally hurt. So many have sadly lost their pup unnecessarily this way.  : (

If you are driving with your pup, please don't keep them without a protective crate or secure seat belt to harness them  in case of an accident. Also, please do not keep them in the back of a pick-up truck unless they are secured in a breathable crate that is secured to the truck, away from harmful elements. If it's possible to keep your furbabe inside the car with you please keep them with you.

If you live in the countryside (or near one) please be cautious of preying hawks, mountain lions, owls & coyotes as many dogs (especially small ones) have been easy prey to these types of animals.

2. DIET, CLEAN WATER & SUPPLEMENTS. To ensure your pup lives a happy & healthy good quality food is so important. Please ensure your pup eats a healthy well balanced diet that excludes the following: Sugar, Corn, Wheat, Canola Oils, artificial ingredients, other GMO's including soy. A raw diet has been known to deliver amazing health benefits to your pup. Feel free to reach out to us on what we feed our pups. Adding vitamins, minerals, probiotics & antioxidants to supplement their diet is highly recommended to fortify their immune systems to do what they do best, protect the health of the furbabes.

PROBIOTICS: According to the Whole Dog Journal, here are some of the most beneficial strains of probiotic bacteria for your furbabes:

• Enterococcus faecium (strain SF68)
• Bacillus coagulans
• Bifidobacterium animalis (strain AHC7)
• Lactobacillus acidophilus
• Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG (LGG)
• Lactobacillus plantarum
• Streptococcus
• Lactobacillus casei
• Bifidobacterium breve

For more info on the benefits of probiotics click here for a great article by Dr. Axe.

WATER: Access to fresh clean pure water daily is super important for the health of your furbabe. We add one tsp of apple cider vinegar in approx. 16 -20 oz of water to help alkaline their systems and keep them healthy. Also we add a drop of Citrus Fresh Essential oil *from Young Living) to help clean their systems. Click here for some great info on the benefits of ACV for your furbabes.

 3. LOVE, EXERCISE & ATTENTION- Walking your pups!  Just like kids, our furbabes need lot's of love and attention. We all live busy lives but taking out the time for healthy habits like walking our furbabes in the morning & evening will not only benefit the pups but benefits the owners also! Taking fresh air outside in nature will help the owners and the furbabes to bond, strengthen immune systems & get some exercise! Taking time to let your pup snuggle with you and kiss you is so important for them and even more so for you. Studies show that pup kisses allows them to increase their endorphins and petting your furbabe can release endorphins in you! It's a win-win for everyone. 

According to an article from Harvard University there's many health benefits to the simple act of petting your dog.

EXERCISE: How much exercise your furbabe needs really depends on their breed & age. Here's a good article from the AKC that suggest regular outside exercise.

BEWARE of Small Items & Objects: Please be aware of anything that may be a choke hazard as puppies and untrained dogs can and have been known to swallow things other than food and need surgery to remove if they cannot pass them in their poop. Always monitor your puppy when around new areas and remove any possible choke hazards. If they start eating something they shouldn't  firmly say "NO!" so they know that is something not to touch again. If it persists you can use a drop of Thieves oil in their mouth as it is non-toxic but has a strong bitter flavor that could deter them from that behavior again.  Thieves oil blend is an immune boost anti-bacterial oil that can be purchased from the Puppy Wellness Bundle.

4. NATURE RESET. If you're not able to walk your pups twice a day or daily playing fetch with them in a secure yard outside is a great alternative. Allowing their bare paws to touch the earth for at least 20 minutes a day is called earthing or grounding and there have been great studies done showing the amazing health benefits of earthing in boosting health, for example; reducing inflammation, reducing pain, boosting immune system, etc..(Click here for more info on earthing). Allowing the pups to go outside and smell fresh air, play in the dirt is good for their immune systems and also for their owners who interact with them.

5. TOXIN FREE HOME. There are so many synthetic toxic chemicals in commercial cleaning products, even the ones labeled, "natural" and "green". Sadly, the leading causes of death and sickness in many pets today are the harmful ingredients in cleaning supplies. They get into the air, are absorbed in the lungs, absorbed into their waters and absorbed through their paw pads that walk on the floor or lick the floors. We have put together a * Holistic Wellness Puppy Bundle that includes essential oils as first aids or natural remedies for your puppy, (instead of option first for Vet prescribed synthetic meds that can have harmful side effects and will wreak havock on the pups natural bacterial microbiome that helps keep their immune systems strong). *Be sure to use referral#25453346 when ordering your puppy bundle to ensure you get a free bonus gift from us. You'll also get a lifetime access to free holistic remedy recipes & DIY's. Feel free to reach out to us with any questions via email.

6. IDENTIFICATION. This is super important .You want to make sure your furbabe is either microchipped (preferred) or has a name tag with your contact info. Also it's important to let your friendly neighbors know you have a furbabe and your contact in the event your furbabe gets lost. 

​7. PUPPY SUPPLIES & TOYS:  Beware of toxic ingredients in most puppy supplies; parabens, perfume, fragrance, PEG's, Alcohol, etc. We use a fragrance free nontoxic line through Young Living. 

Teething & biting is a natural occurrence with puppies. This behavior can be easily halted with good training & chew toys. Be sure to use safe, sustainable toys that are not easily swallowed. We use Yak Chews (all natural & easy to digest) that you can find on our Amazon Puppy Supply List. Always make sure your furbabe has access to plenty of fresh water, especially when they have chews.

8. SOCIALIZATION & VACCINATIONS. Dogs are very social and love being with other furbabes & animals. We discourage dog parks unless absolutely necessary. Unfortunately your furbabe can pick up some illnesses from the park from other canines. Make sure your pup is fully vaccinated before you allow your furbabe to be exposed to other canines at dog parks. We love puppy play dates with other furbabes we know in a safe & peaceful environment.

Make sure to supervise your pup when introducing them to new people and animals. You can safely keep your furbabe in a harness and leash until you feel comfortable letting them romp around with other animals.

9. TRAINING. Our puppies are sent to their furever homes with started training in pee-pad & crate usage. Owners will need to follow-up on that training and cater to their own specific needs. Dogs can be very intelligent creatures. We recommend sending your pups to reputable training schools or you can research awesome training methods online and train yourself. They have a wonderful intelligence that they thrive on using. Brain stimulating activities are encouraged.

10. BATHING, GROOMING & HEALTHCARE. Bathing: We only bathe our pups approx. every 1-3 mos or as needed. We try to never use synthetic medications or chemical based products as our first option but opt for holistic all natural plant & essential oil based remedies as a first line of defense (Young Living essential oil based products) . We use a homemade dry shampoo in between baths as a natural deodorant and bug repellant. 

Treatments: For example for flea & bug treatments we will bathe our pups with 1 part Young Living nontoxic Animal shampoo and 1 part apple cider vinegar to naturally kill and repel bugs on the furbabes body naturally. We use fractionated Coconut oil with Lavender & Peppermint essential oils as a natural coat conditioner & bug repellant. 

Grooming: Doodles require a bit more grooming needs than most dogs. Make sure to only use reputable cruelty-free groomers with outstanding reviews. If you opt to groom your furbabe yourself please invest in training and puppy friendly grooming kit and use it safely for your furbabes. The genital & anal area must be cleaned and trimmed regularly to not accumulate harmful bacteria's that could lead to infections. Also the fur around their eyes need special trimming periodically to help them see and also to prevent the accumulation of mucus eye gunk. Please be sure not to trim their very important whiskers or their beautiful eyelashes that protect their eyes from harmful substances. Please don't trim their lashes and if you have to use a third party groomer let them know this also...Their beautiful lashes are put there for a reason and they sadly won't grow back if trimmed. : (

Puppy Wipes: Your best option for puppy wipes are fragrance free all natural Seedlings Baby Wipes from Young Living.

Healthcare: Although we do give our pups their needed vaccinations because we travel with our pups, we try to do as many home remedies holistically first before considering to go to the vet. We use awesome holistic methods for our furbabes as a first resort.  Here's some great info on what some essential oils can be useful for in natural home remedies for your furbabe.

We rarely make vet visits (only when absolutely necessary) as we have found that they have flourished with our holistic home  based remedies. Most vets are not taught the holistic methods of treating symptoms through diet and natural remedies (such as essential oils) as they are only taught the western medical view with synthetic meds as their solution for the majority of their diagnosis as this is a multi-billion dollar industry. Also, most vets are exposed to many contagious illnesses (like Parvo) with sick animals being treated there and use toxic cleaners on their floors, exposing your furbabe to more unnecessary negative circumstances.

ENJOY A HAPPY & HEALTHY LIFE WITH YOUR FURBABE...THIS IS ONE OF LIFES SPECIAL GIFTS TO YOU. Everyone that has our pups can be assured that we take very seriously their foundation with us and we use the BEST all natural holistic ingredients and supplies we can to ensure this for their new furver homes.