These are my *personal practices, I am *not a vet.

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Puppies should not be doing any of the following for the first year of life, at a minimum:

- jumping off of furniture, truck beds, etc. Any type of jumping that slams weight onto their joints upon contact. Lower your dog to the ground or provide a ramp or steps instead.

- doing strenuous hiking, running, weight pulling, exercise, long walks, etc. Any type of extended repetitive movement. Allow your dog to play and get their zoomies out, go for leisure walks to potty, and do more mental stimulating tasks instead.

- do not let kids ”ride” your dog. They may look like a horse, but they are not. 

- feed your dogs in a raised bowl, raised higher than you think. The bowl needs to be high enough to make the dog stretch its pasterns to the correct angle to eat.

- plain gelatin packets are good for puppies with growing joints. I do just a small sprinkle on each meal for 1 pup, or 1 full packet for 3 or more pups.

- food grade vitamin C, this is a lifesaver for knuckling or any other type of growth spurt abnormalities. I don’t measure mine, I just take a pinch out of the container for puppies and 3 pinches for adults.

- protein overload can cause joint issues as well. If the other tricks are correcting an issue you are seeing, try cutting back on the protein percentage

It has been said that giant breed puppies are not supposed to eat puppy kibble due to rapid growth issues. I feed my puppies the same food I feed my adults. If you decide to feed a puppy food, keep an eye on joint health and weight issues- that will tell you if you need to switch to an adult food or not. I free feed my puppies up to the 4 month mark. I understand that may not be feasible for those trying to crate/potty train. Here are my tips.

- if your puppy is too skinny and you’re feeding the suggested amount of food per day you can add the following:

* cooked white rice, i cook mine in UNSALTED beef or chicken broth. The ratio of food:rice should be 3:1

* beef, chicken, salmon, turkey, sardines as a topper. I prefer mine cooked for puppies. The ratio i use for toppers on top of either kibble or rice/kibble is 4:1. If you have 3 cups of kibble, 1 cup of rice.. you’d need 1 cup of meat topper.

- proper hydration is just as important as food intake. Offer electrolytes in their water periodically. I also use a small splash of apple cider vinegar for my pups and adults. If you feel like they just will not drink- try mixing some Dyne into their water. It is sweet flavored and also appetite enhancing.

- if your puppy or dog is overweight, take a cup of of their food each feeding. Every 7-10 days take another cup off. Once your dog hits an ideal look/weight, continue on the exact same portions you are using.

- be mindful of your dog’s activity level. If you dog lays on the couch all day and only gets up to pee, it may not need the suggested amount of food. 

- weight management directly affects joint health. An underweight dog is lacking nutrients and an overweight dog is putting stress on the joint. 

I feed a mid-grade food. I have tried the super nice stuff and the cheap stuff.. I have found my favorites lie somewhere in the middle.

- my dogs eat once per day at bedtime. I do this because they go to bed immediately after, which reduces the chance for bloating as a result of eating and then being active.

- on an average day, my dogs get 8-12 cups of dry kibble. I currently feed SportMix Black. I do alternate between SportMix, Valu Pak Black, and Victor Professional.

- during the cold months my dogs get kibble, hot broth, hot rice, and cooked meat.

- during the super hot days, I will add cold water to their food halfway up the pile of food.

- as snacks I give dog jerky, homemade meat balls, jinx brand healthy treats, cottage cheese, raw eggs with the shell, or oat/molasses balls

- Maca Powder, OxyStud, and Get-Him-Going supplements to help with sperm count, motility, and overall stamina with breeding.

- Breed Heat, Bitch Pills, Oxy Mama, Maca Powder, and salmon oil for bringing females into a natural heat and pre-breeding supplements.

- Fenugreek, Milk Thistle, Calcium Powder, Red Cell, cottage cheese, raw eggs, skin-on salmon, organ meats, and wet puppy food for post-whelp and nursing mothers.

- Everyday supplemental items: Vitamin C, Salmon Oil, Pumpkin Powder, Unsalted Beef or Chicken Broth, canned chicken in water, sardines, tuna in water, whole raw chicken pieces bone-in

Vet guidance is your best hope if you are inexperienced. If the puppy is not in critical condition, here are the things I try at home before going to the vet.

- is the puppy warm? Temp should be 95-102 degrees for puppies. Anything colder is  life threatening hypothermia and must be slowly/properly warmed up. Anything warmer is likely indicative of overheating/infection. 

- is the puppy actively looking for milk? Have you witnessed the puppy nursing in the last 2-3 hours? If not, I will give a drop of Karo syrup.  If I don‘t see an energy change within 15 mins, I immediately begin tube/bottle feeding and monitoring. If yes, but the puppy still looks feeble, go on to the next step.

- Cleft palette? Can the puppy latch correctly. If a cleft palette is present, tube feed until you can consult a vet about quality of life. If no cleft palette, move on. Cleft palette? Can the puppy latch correctly. If a cleft palette is present, tube feed until you can consult a vet about quality of life. If no cleft palette, move on.

- Pull the puppy’s skin up, if it doesn’t snap back fairly quickly, the pup could be dehydrated. In between feedings off of mom, supplement pedialyte. Or if you have ringer fluids, give those.

- next I check the puppies’ poop. If one puppy has different poop than the rest, I typically separate that one until I get it under control. Otherwise, plan to treat the entire litter. I’ll list the tell-tale signs of each possibility below.

- Coccidia: watery, mucus/slimey, yellow or pale tan in color, a pungent sweet/sour smell. I think it smells like garbage.

- Giardia: cow patty style poop, green/yellow, very foul/pungent smelling, greasy or bubbly, poop that switches back and forth between normal and abnormal with the above symptoms 

- Round Worms: you can see the bones but the puppy has a fat belly, dull coat, in my opinion its just that “street dog” look.

- Hookworms: dark/tarry poop, pale gums, cold limbs, rapid weight loss, straining to poop

- Whipworms: from what I have seen, people confuse this one and giardia. You might see scooting/straining, and mucusy stool

- Tapeworms: rice-like spots in the poop, scooting, inability to gain weight while eating a ton of food

My rule of thumb- When in doubt, worm it out. If anyone’s poop looks or smells abnormal, I give a broad spectrum dewormer. 9 times out of 10 the broad spectrum dewormer fixes the issue. If it doesn’t you can at least rule out a majority of things. 

My favorite dewormers I have used are Pyrantel Pamoate, Safeguard for goats, Totalzuril, Albon. 

If at any point the puppy gets worse, or you feel like you dont know what to do, GO TO THE VET. Don’t wait. Some puppies will fade and pass away regardless of what you do, but you should exhaust your options.