hello

[travis ronni]

I guess I'll start by introducing myself. I am Ronni and my boyfriend Travis and I will be sharing this forum together, so when we post I'll try to remind him to tell everyone its him. We are in the process of buying a Dutch pup. We pick him up early July.

As we get closer to the date of pickup there are more and more questions that we think of. What is a good food brand? What toys will he like? What should we have here and ready for him? When should we get him fitted for a harness?

My biggest question and borderline fear, is that I am home 5 out of 7 days a week, and the days that I work Travis is home. I am nervous about the stress that this may have on our new puppy, but excited that we will be able to work on training all the time. So my question to those of you reading is, how do we avoid separation anxiety in our new baby, and what are some tips to get him to be social with everyone and not just a momma's boy (not that I will mind that at all!!! )

Thank you in advance!!!
Ronni

[TexasDobe]

I food I would start with what ever your breeder is feeding to start. Then you can go to www.dogfoodadvisor.com to look up food. For puppies I like large breed puppy or all stage dog food. I know my breeder is feeding Acana Pacifica. I have one bag right now but may change it to something I can get local. Then you need to take your time to switch over food.

Toys really anything you want. Just have to watch for when they start to come apart. My favorite toy is a black Kong. They last a long time and you can put food in them and freeze them to give them a treat to give you some quiet for a while. Some toys will not last 5 minutes and are more of a waste of money and increase change for a vet visit.

For the separation anxiety I would say just leave and not make a big deal about it. Also crates training is a good thing to work on at a young age. If they are from good lines I really do not see this as a huge problem to worry about.

Social I would just take him to a lot of places. If he does not want people coming up to him I would not force the issue. Let him pick who he wants to enter act with. For me on socializing a puppy I just want him to see a bunch of stuff he will encounter in his life young. Not really to force him to love everyone. For the harness some with say yes some will say no. Just personal options.

[travis ronni]

Thank you for all the advice! I will send my breeder an email to see what she is using!

I was thinking trying to stick with Kong because of their reputation. So I guess I was on the right track with that!

I think our breeder said she has started crate training and socializing but I don't remember. I would have to go back and look at what she said. You have taken a huge stress off my shoulders! Thank you so much!