My gosh the weeks are just flying by!

We have had a brilliant week, everyone is well and turning into little porkers! They are thoroughly enjoying their raw food and all get very excited when they see me arrive with their bowl for feeding time. Smudge is still choosing to regularly feed her puppies which is lovely to see.

They are all getting to grips with their litter tray and we have very few accidents inside the pen as the days pass.

Over the last week we have been regularly playing the pups desensitising noises - there is always a moment where you’re loading the washing machine and wonder ‘who on earth is setting off fireworks at this time of day!!’ before remembering it is you! The pups sleep right through all the noises we play them, just goes to show you how noisy our family really is! 

Importance of Fruit & Vegetables in a dogs diet

As the pups now have teeth, we will be introducing new items into their daily diet. We will be offering the puppies different types of raw fruit and vegetables to have a munch on! Carrots and apples are normally well loved in this house.

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Always sounds strange to read that first time, but fruit and vegetables are so key to every dogs diet. Fruit and vegetables provide your dog with many nutrients and vitamins, but also help the gut and digestive tract, support a healthy liver, ​help ward off bacteria and viruses, reduce inflammation and even combat cancers/heart disease.

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Fruit and vegetables should make up to 10% of your dog’s daily diet and can either be given raw or lightly steamed. Lightly steamed vegetables are easier for dogs to absorb (and so provide more nutrients), however, puppies and dogs love to naw away at a crunchy raw vegetable. Raw vegetables provide them with not only entertainment and a good natural way to clean their teeth, but also hydration! Vegetables are an excellent source of water, dogs who eat kibble are typically in a chronic state of dehydration. Dehydration contributes to problems such as kidney disease or the formation of bladder stones.

 

Below is a short list of suitable, and very healthy, fruit and vegetables that your puppy can eat:

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• Apples

• Bananas 

• Bell peppers

• Blueberries

• Broccoli

• Brussel Sprouts

• Carrots

• Cucumber

• Green beans

• Pears

• Strawberries

• Watermelons

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Washing your dog

The puppies will be having their second bath experience this weekend, we use natural dog shampoo from ‘Herbal Pet Supplies’.

Dogs have different PH levels to us so it’s important that you don’t use human shampoo as it may cause irritation. Finding products for your dog that are either natural or have the fewest amount of ingredients / chemicals possible is very important. Our puppies leave us with a large bottle of natural shampoo in their puppy pack.

Microchipping

The puppies are now microchipped. A microchip implant is an identifying integrated circuit which is as small as a grain of rice and is placed just under the skin between the dogs shoulder blades. Once the microchip has been inserted it will remain under the skin of your dog for the rest of its life and won’t need to be replaced. The purpose of a microchip is to hold data which can be retrieved by using a microchip scanner. The information that is stored on the chip will be able to identify the dog and it’s owners contact details, this is specifically helpful if your dog has been found after going missing.

I will register your puppy in your name and contact details before they leave us. You will receive a text or an email just before handover all you will need to do is follow the link they provide to confirm this. If you change home address or your phone number in the future, you will need to go online and change your details (I will provide more details of this in your puppy pack).

 

Hope you have a lovely rest of the week! 

Emma xx

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Weekly quiz for photos and videos.

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For this weeks photos and videos, please text or email me the answer to the following questions for us -

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In the section 'the importance of fruit and vegetables in a dogs diet', can you :

 

1. Name 4 reasons why you should offer your dog fruit and vegetables.

2. Name 5 items of fruit / vegetables that you can safely offer your dog.

3. Explain what dehydration can contribute to.

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In the section 'microchips', can you explain the purpose of a microchip?

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For 'week 7' update, I will be asking you a few questions relating to a documentary called 'Pet Fooled'. You can find this documentary on Netflix, please give it a watch when you have a moment.

 

I have attached a trailer below -

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