COLDHARBOR Portuguese Water Dogs

COLDHARBOR Portuguese Water Dogs

Lorna Coloccia

2203 Ruritan Lake Road

Scottsville, Virginia24590

434-760-4793

Puppies Diet and Schedule

My puppies eat PEDIGREE PUPPY LARGE BREED PUPPY FOOD sometimes I add a hard scrambled egg, yogurt, and vegetables (cooked or raw). Just leave the food down for 15 minutes and remove any leftovers to the refrigerator to be fed again next meal. Remember a puppy alone at home does not have competition or encouragement to eat that it had when it was a member of a litter. It may well be a little bit picky - but don't let it start being fussy now. BE FIRM!

Fish is an essential part of your Portuguese Water Dog's diet and should be fed on a regular basis once or twice a week. Buy canned mackerel, frozen cod or pollock or whatever ocean fish is on sale. Poach it in water and save all the juice to pour over the food. I use water-packed tuna in a pinch. A little fish goes a long way. Just put a couple of tablespoons of fish and a couple tablespoons of juice on his food at dinner time. Add fish after a few weeks and when your dogs stools are firms.

Feed your puppy three times a day until he is four months old and then cut out the midday meal. Begin with about half a cup of the dry food and a couple of tablespoons of the extras mixed with juice or water. Let soften about 5 - 10 minutes before feeding. Do this three times a day and increase the portion as your puppy's growth demands. If you notice that the puppy is getting fat, either give him more exercise or cut down on the size of the meals you feed.

Always have fresh water available at feeding times. PWDs drink a lot of water. While you are in the process of housebreaking, schedule out your water – no water after 6-7 PM. Once housebroken, he can have water anytime he wishes. All PWD puppies like to swim and play in whatever water is available . . . be prepared!! Elevated Water Bowls may be your best bet - (Toilet bowls are not off limits in their heads!! – REMOVE ALL CHEMICALS FOR CLEANING TOILETS – NO BLUE STUFF OR OTHER CLEANERS)

We do not recommend “free feeding”, meaning leaving the bowl of food all day for the puppy (or an adult dog) to eat whenever he wants to. We put the food down, and whatever remains after 15 minutes is put in the refrigerator to feed at the next meal. If there are leftovers, feed less next time. We would rather feed an "extra" meal for a hungry puppy than leave the bowl down. Lots of small feedings are better than one big one, and we have found that "free" feeding leads to poor appetite and fussy eaters.

Food supplements and Vitamins

Please give the pup daily Multivitamin, Vitamin C and E. The multivitamin will ensure your puppy is getting all the necessary vitamins and minerals essential to good growth, even if he is off his food. The Vitamin C can promote good bone growth, essential to the Portuguese Water Dog. Multivitamins: I have used Pet Tabs with Iron and zinc or Nutra Tabs (available through vets). Any good pet multivitamin.

Vitamin C -- is available from most health food stores, buy Sodium Ascorbate. Ascorbic acid, the more common type of vitamin C is on the acidic side and might cause some initial minor heartburn or stomach upset. If unable to buy the powder form, use the tablets but see if they can get you the powder, it's cheaper. Amount to feed: first six months, 500 mgs per day split up for each meal. Start at a low level of about 100 mg a day and increase gradually up to 500 per day, increasing to about 1000 mg at 1 year.

I use Mega C Plus that can be purchased from Orthomolecular Specialties, San JoseCA95111 (408) 227-9334. It is a powder Multi Vitamin and Mineral with Vitamin C.

THIS IS THE TIME WHEN YOU MUST ADD GLUCOSAMINE TO THE DIET AS A SUPPLEMENT. During the next several months the BONE are growing and GLUCOSAMINE will help to keep joints fluid. You can determine the dogs HIP quality at 5 months of age with a PENN HIP X-ray – This is the BEST determinant for HIP HEALTH and is done for all of the AVIATOR CORE BREED STOCK.

Adult Diet

Increase the amount of food you feed the dog to control the desired weight. Remember When you switch food it should be mixed with new food over a week gradually increasing new food percentage in the mix

Puppy Schedule

The puppies are probably on a similar schedule that may be adjusted slowly to meet your convenience.

6:15 – 6:45 a.m. Outside for morning elimination and exercise

6:45 - 7:15 a.m.Morning feeding and fresh water.Then outside for elimination. Leave food down for 15 minutes only.

0730 a.m.Back to crate to rest. Puppies usually sleep after meals. Whenever the puppy comes out of his crate, make sure you take him outside immediately. If possible, carry him. Never leave a puppy unattended outside (because you won't know if he does his duty or just plays). A puppy should also be trained to collar and leash and taken for walks.

Noon - Take puppy out to eliminate. Always try to get your puppy to do his business in the same spot or area. This will help to teach the puppy when outside, where he should eliminate. I have my dogs taught that when I say piddle, that means go potty. Feed lunch, water and exercise before a nap.

1:30 - 2:00 P.M. Take out of the crate, then outside to piddle. Once the job is done, it playtime.

6:00 P.M. Dinner time, fresh water, outside and then play time. If you take your puppy to same area every time, they learn that is the spot for their business.

7:00 P.M. Outside for walk. No more food or water after 8:30 P.M.. This is to help nighttime housebreaking. Sometimes when it's really hot, I give them an ice cube or two to play with in the evening.

9:30 P.M. Bedtime - My dogs usually start to settle down and nap about 9 P.M. The older ones can stay up, but I usually put the babies to bed in their crates about 10:00 P.M..

Crates

Confine the puppy at night and when he sleeps during the day. Confine the puppy whenever you leave the house even for a short time. Yes, even 10 minutes. I strongly believe in crate training. Most breeders start this when puppies are five weeks old. They put a small crate in the x- pen without the door so they can go in and out anytime. Once they see that every puppy is used to it (about seven or eight weeks), they start dividing the puppies two to a crate.

Crates are the safest protection for a curious, active puppy. It will become his "safe" place where he can go and not be disturbed by anyone. (Make sure that you start training the humans that no one is to play with or disturb the puppy while he is crated.) The crate should be 30-36" long, 22" wide, and 25-27" high. Don't make a big deal out of either going in the crate or coming out of the crate. Usually I give them a chewie or a doggie bone when getting into the crate, and definitely a toy to play with.

On coming out of the crate, I usually open the back door to outside and then open the crate door and immediately take them outside (carried for the first few times). I usually don't even talk to them until they are outside. Then praise them heavily after doing their potties. If they cry, carry-on, whimper or barks in their crates IGNORE THEM!!!!! They should settle down in a few days. They never want to miss anything and only want attention, if you give it to them, it will get worse.

When you’ve been gone and come home, the crated pup will fuss and cry demanding your attention immediately. I make it a point to not speak to them immediately and to do something in the kitchen for a few minutes before I go get them. It won’t take them long to get used to NOT getting your immediate attention. My reasoning on this is that some days you may be carrying groceries from the car, or the phone may be ringing, or there is just something else you have to do before you devote time to the pup. If the pup is used to not getting all of your attention immediately, it will make it easier on both of you.

Sleeping

You are probably going to discover that the puppy will cry less, and you will sleep better if you let puppy sleep crated in your room where they can see you and hear you during the night. They do not like being left alone.

Housebreaking

Portuguese Water Dogs are clean dogs and don't like to dirty where they sleep (if the area is small). If you follow the schedule, withhold food and water after 7:30 p.m., and walk him immediately after awakening, giving him lots of praise and patience, you can expect a good degree of housebreaking by 12 - 14 weeks.

Learn to observe your puppy's "signals". Often circling or sniffing around, looking anxious and moving quickly side to side a lot means that he is going to eliminate. Rush him outside. Give him lots of praise when he performs correctly. We don't believe in rubbing noses in mistakes. We do, however, bring the puppy (do not call it) to a mistake, show them what they did and say "NO". We don't believe in spanking them for mistakes. Never let a PWD puppy out of your sight, and unattended . . . they will be in trouble!! Do not expect perfection from puppy until he is 5 - 6 months old. Sometimes a puppy exuberance will distract him from the call of nature, so he will run to the door too late. Don't be too hard on the puppy when he is 8 - 16 weeks old, as his bladder is not completely under control.

Teeth

In the PWD, you should watch the canines. Permanent teeth begin coming in at four months with the incisors (the front teeth). My vet calls it the “4 - 5 - 6" rule - first the incisors, then the canines and finally the molars. Make sure that the permanents showing by five months. If not, please have your vet take a look. In our show dogs – it is not uncommon for baby teeth to be pulled to ensure a proper adult bite – please call us with any question – some VETS with limited show animal practices are not “up” on this practice.

We used to advocate the “Sterile Hollow Bones” but have had too many adults with CRACKED TEETH from the trauma of biting these HARD Substances – Therefore – use the HOLLOW HARD BONES only is really needed.

It is important not to play tug-of-war with the dog ever(!!) because this can cause shifting of the teeth and a hard mouth. You may start right away on getting your dog used to brushing his teeth. You can purchase dog tooth paste (they like the taste) and dog tooth brushes from any supply house or most pet shops. Never play hand games with your puppy; i.e., slapping at their feet, etc. Always have something between your hands and the puppy's playing mouth. It helps to make them realize that they are not supposed to bite human skin. There are a lot of good hints to keep a PWD puppy from their natural biting . . . if you have problems in that area, call us.

Hips (VERY IMPORTANT)

Be careful that your dog does not do a lot of jumping, sliding on hard floors, or excessive running up and down steps. This is very hard on the soft, growing hip bones and pelvis. Never force your dog to jump over his shoulder height until he is 12 - 18 months old nor let your young dog JOG on pavement or concrete; when you take your dog for long walks, make sure he has grass or dirt to walk on which is kinder to the maturing growth plates. You can occasionally bike the pup for 1/4 mile, but not often and not for a longer distance until the magic 18 month old number, and not prior to a preliminary hip z-ray. You can familiarize your pup to Agility apparatus, but do not let him do the jumps until he is much older and has had the prelims. Swimming is a great exercise for young dogs!

Treats

You will find that PWDs love crisp vegetables: carrots, broccoli, lettuce, beans, cauliflower. Celery is too stringy for them. They are better for your dog than doggie junk food. Carrots are great for puppies that are teething. Rawhide chewies are nice for teething puppies if not fed too many. Some dogs devour them rather than chew on them -- use your discretion. They love Pig Ears which can be a laxative. They love HOOVES - which smell - buy thick ones and remove them when they get small and start to splinter. Use a handful of their puppy chow - given as treats, they love it - make sure you deduct the amount you hand fed from their meals.

Grooming

Our mother’s desire is that you will (several times a day, put your puppy on the grooming table and brush him for 1 - 2 minutes). Make it fun for him and make him start to behave. Increase the amount of time you have him on the table, telling him "table" whenever you place him upon it.

Also give "Puppy Massages" while resting on the couch or floor in the evenings. Think about anything a vet would ever do to him and anything a groomer would ever do to him and start "massaging" those areas every night to get him used to being touched. Especially FEET and MUZZLE

Although the puppy’s nails are clipped every other day beginning at birth, some owners are hesitant about clipping black toe nails. Just be careful and take only the ends off. It’s a good idea to have some SUPER GLUE to work as a coagulant on hand in case you clip too close. If you do, don’t make a big deal of it, just dab the toe into the GLUE and keep going on with the other nails, and be a little more careful. It’s something the pup is going to have done his whole life and you want him to be as comfortable as possible. If you make a big deal of it, the pup will learn that he can get away with being bad. You and the groomer will have a terrible time from then on, and he may have to be sedated to clip his nails.

If you’re handy and want to use a “dremel” automatic nail filer, find a loose weave fabric (I use an old dishcloth) and stick the pup’s nails thru the weave prior to turning on the dremel. The reason is that the nails stick through and the fir doesn’t, allowing you to zip off and cauterize the nail tips without getting hair wrapped up in the dremel. Slightly squeeze his toes during his massages to desensitize him; have him "Show Teeth", play with his private areas, etc. These things take about a second each and will make him more comfortable when those doctor/groomer times come.

Brush your dog entirely out twice a week. This means removing all MATS and at the end – you should be able to COMB through the dogs hair without having to Stop for a MAT – The Comb should be placed at the HAIR near the SKIN and be combed out - moving the comb through the shaft of the hair – make sure you GET TO THE SKIN - Brush your dog out before a giving a bath and remove any mats. If you do not the MATS multiple after a bath. Use Conditioners and detangler products.

You can use a slicker brush or a pin brush, depending on his coat type. I recommend trying out the brush on your own scalp to see what it feels like; then you'll know how softly to brush. We usually brush the coat and follow it up with a greyhound combing.

Bathing, when mats are in the coat will make the mats worse. Mats are difficult to remove. While the dog is dry, you can use cream rinse on the mat and comb out the mat starting at the end of the hair and work toward the skin. If your dog swims a lot, check for mats more often - they are easy to notice. When a dog gets wet and air dries, and gets wet again, we have noticed mats form quickly.

We have found that you can more easily work out the mats if you have a “stand dryer”. At night, just set up the grooming table in front of the TV and use the dryer to blow and separate the hair. You’ll see the mats easily and can work them out into little mats which are then easily removed with your greyhound comb.

When washing, use a good shampoo and scrub the skin of the pup. If the puppy’s skin is clean, the pup will also be clean. Go easy when rinsing, use your fingers as a comb and try to keep the hair straight. This will help to minimize the mats. Be sure to rinse the dog well - until water runs clear and then more – Shampoos left in the coat will CAUSE horrible MATTS. Gently towel dry and comb out while the hair is wet, or put him on the table and use your dryer. In warm weather the dog can dry naturally, but in colder weather, blow dry. Use cotton in dogs ears when blowing dry with a human hair dryer, the sound tends to scare them.