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The most important
thing to do with a Weimaraner or Hungarian Vizsla puppy is to
start the way you mean to carry on. By that I mean don't
take a month off work and then suddenly one day vanish back to
work leaving the dog on its own, It will be so stressed out it
will develop separation anxiety. The Key point to having these
breeds is to
house cage the
puppy during the day time so the puppy gets used to being away
from you. Other wise you will find when you go off to
Tesco's or work part time or bed your dog will scream for you the whole
time you are gone. So start off the way you mean to go on.
If you have a part time job and have taken time off to be with
your dog, make sure you cage that puppy in the time you would
normally be away. Do not let the puppy follow your ever
single move other wise it will learn to depend on you too much.
Of course a puppy can not live its entire life in a cage, its
just those early days it needs training.
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You need to
establish a bond with your dog, so you must play little games
with your dog every day. Not only find time for love but
playing too is a good way of wearing your puppy out. Mind
games such as throwing a ball to retrieve, a cuddly toy. Or
hiding treats under flower pots and getting your puppy to find
them.
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Feeding times are
important, you should teach your puppy to sit whilst preparing
food like this it will learn patience whilst you are doing it
and it wont snatch the food.
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At 7 weeks old
your puppy will not of had any vaccinations. Puppies in
the UK do not have vaccines until about 9 weeks of age.
Although you have to quarantine your puppy from other dogs, you
can still let your puppy out into the yard to play. We
even take our pups to remote parts where no other dogs go into
the woods and carry them, and then put them down for a scamper
as it really wears them out. A tired dog is a happy dog.
A dog that's not worn out is a bored dog and a dog that is a
menace!
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Make sure you
place treats in your house cage for the puppy to learn to like
the cage. Some breeders will of already had pups in
pens, or cages so they will be half trained, others wont have
seen a cage.
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Make your home
safe before your puppy comes to you. Raise plants up high,
electric cables out of reach, telephone cables out of reach.
Poisonous plants gone or fenced off in the garden.
Absolutely no slug pellets on the soil in the garden, and no
poisons in reach in the greenhouse. No coca shells on the
garden to keep weeds out as they are poisons too. In the
home put child gates up between rooms that you no longer wish a
dog to go into.
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Some breeds of
pups benefit from the owner taking the dogs bed up stairs at
night and sleeping with the pup. You can do this with a
Weim and Vizsla for the first night or two if you wish, but know
this, if you do not get that pup sleeping downstairs sooner than
later, it wont ever go, and a 40 kilo Weim laying in your bed
will be a dominant dog later on. So start off the way you
mean to go on, establish your dogs den with house cage, bed in
the area you want the dog to remain in.
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Toys are very
important to your puppy. They learn through play, and you
can play games with your dog and it learns a bond with you.
You cant stop a puppy chewing objects in the house because the
pup will need to chew. So provide it with toys. Chews.
Do not use cuddly toys with beanies in side as they will chew
these up and eat them. Weim pups by 12 weeks can destroy
cuddly toys.
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Food is very
important in your dogs life. Remember to ask your breeder the
routine your pup was in before he joined your family and keep
that pup to the same routine. By doing this will be less
traumatic for the puppy. Gradually over two weeks alter his
normal routine into your own.
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Only feed the food
the breeder has recommended and gradually over 2 weeks change
the diet you wish to give. Check out our diet
for our dogs.
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If you have
children under the age of 7 you must stress to them that the
puppy is not a play thing. It is an animal which will
develop its own character. A child must not pull a puppy
around whilst it is sleeping. Bad behaviour has been noted
in some breeds such as Cocker Spaniels if children pull the dog
around all the whole time and they can snap back. So leave
the pup alone whilst its sleeping. Do not play tug of war
with toys with your puppy. Play throwing games, retrieve
games, and reward the pup with treats. Encourage your
children to attend training sessions with you so they too can
learn how to reward a puppy at the correct time. Train the
kids before the dog comes home to give the dog some respect.
I once heard how a male Weimaraner at two years of age was
eating a bone and a kid of 3 was laying on top of the dog
tormenting the dog, finally the dog snapped at the kid and
suddenly the owner was in outrage. Use common sense and do
not let this kind of thing happen. Teach your kids to leave the
dog alone. Give the dog respect and feed it bones or chews
in the house cage if you have toddlers. Just remember if
your dog is growling it is telling you. "Leave me alone".
Dogs generally do not growl but if they do its for a reason,
respect the animal. Not all dogs like toddlers laying on
top of them the whole time being prodded.
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To teach your
puppy to walk on a lead it starts at 8 weeks of age. I
take my pups on a lead and let them walk me around the garden in
a fun way. I do this every day until the pup learns that
the lead is something to enjoy. Finally when second
vaccines are over we can take puppy out on a lead and its
already trained. If you do not do this it will leap about,
pull, lay on the floor. Sometimes this silly behaviour
towards the lead can go right into adult hood. So teach the
puppy as young as you can. Put a nylon light weight lead on to
your puppies collar and go around the garden.
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Both sing from the
same hymn sheet! Yes if their are two adults in the house,
both of you need to have exactly the same rules. For if
the husband says the dog is allowed on the sofa, and the wife
does not, the dog will get confused and wont know what it can or
can not do. So keep things simple.
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Always reward your
dog if its done something good. Never scold it. I
knew of someone who lost their Weimaraner and when it came back
to them they gave it a hiding. What that dog learned that day
was not to come back again. Always no matter how furious
you may feel, squat down and open your arms, and welcome the dog
home. Even if its caused you a lot of pain by running
away.
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If your puppy
mouths' harshly get a water pistol and shoot the puppy in the
mouth. Or get some Eucalyptus oil and rub on your hands
because the puppy does not like the smell of this. This
will repel the dog, do not allow the pup to lick it. You
may well smell like a jar of Vik but it can work.
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Exercise is
something everyone with a puppy worries about because they read
on the internet that hip dysplasia is caused by over exercise.
Their is the five minute rule where every month of the dogs life
it can be walked 5 minutes. I do disagree with this. A
puppy must be worn out. It however should not be allowed
to jump high fences, be expected to run beside a bike for miles
or be taken 10 miles per day. However a dog needs good exercise,
and it needs to be taken out off the lead so it wears it out. If
you do not wear your dog out it will be naughty because its
bored.
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Check your puppy
for fleas, and if your pup has fleas firstly find out if the
breeder has treated the puppy with anything as you do not want
to over dose it. If they have not, then you can treat the
puppy.
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If you have
another older dog, make sure you place all the new puppy items
in your house weeks before the new pup is ready to come home.
So the older dog can see new objects around the home. It
is often a good idea to take the older dog out down a country
lane and meet there with the new pup and go home together.
Like this the older dog accepts the new puppy better. Do
not favour one dog over another, do not forget the older dog.
Keep that dog in the same routine its always had with you.
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Always go to training class's and
its a huge benefit to you both if you actually do the KC Bronze
award. It teaches basic sensible rules for you and your dog. It
may even save its life if you teach your dog to sit for one
minute and not move.
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Remember vaccines are done around
8-9 weeks, its probably better to leave it until 9 weeks, the
second vaccine is given 2 weeks later. Followed by a week
of quarantine before allowed outside to walk anywhere.
These are guide lines.
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Training/Training/Training.........Do not neglect any trainig.
