Enough of the serous stuff. Let’s do a fun blog. Did you know pups are born with eyes and ears closed. They can smell. That’s how they find mom. Around 2 weeks of age their eyes open and they can hear. A dog doesn’t have great eyes sight like you think. They see movement more than actual definition. That’s how they recognize you. It’s by the way you move and smell and sound. A dogs brain is 90% developed by 14 weeks old. So any nutritional improvement you can make have to be done before that point. When a pup is first born it doesn’t even know how to defecate on its own. Mom licks to stimulate them to go. Studies show hip dysplasia can be linked to slippery surfaces in the whelping box. We use a vet fleece for traction. Pretty cool facts and finds.

We confirmed pregnancy on dolly yesterday. That’s a drive! It takes all morning to go up and back. Don’t fear, I left my son sitting beside the box while I was gone. I had 2 video cameras pointed at the box. Well one in the box, the other outside the box. And a microphone so I could yell if I wanted him to do something like move a pup or straighten out the bedding. Lol. He did very well. Like always. Anyways it was a long day so I didn’t blog last night. So I’m doing it now. I want to talk about making a plan prior to pup coming home. A plan is the do’s and donts that everyone agrees on. Like pre marital counseling. You talk about all the things that are acceptable and not acceptable when the pup comes home. Are you letting the pup on furniture? Where is the pup sleeping at night? Who is feeding the pup? Who is walking the pup? Who is in charge of training? At what age are you altering the pup? Have you selected a groomer? A vet? Barking? Jumping? Are you going to allow any of this? I like families to talk through the plan. I always tell the story of my son. He wanted curly to give him kisses when he got home every day. Curly was the first pup that he helped raise all the way to adulthood. Ok so he taught her to stand up and kiss him. Now that doesn’t sound so bad in a 10lb pup. But at 30lbs her jumping up to kiss is a pain. Now he took it a step forward. She would jump up on his lap on the sofa and kiss him. Now as an adult it’s pretty gross to be trying to have a conversation and she jumps up and sticks her tongue in your mouth mid sentence. He taught her this. So have a plan that everyone is on board with what is ok and not ok for the pup to do. You need to be consistent. I always hear the stories of oh I thought so and so was going to be the one walking the dog. Or feeding the dog. Be realistic. If you have young kids they can help but don’t expect they will do it consistently. So I try to incorporate it into our chores. If you do this, this and this for the day then you can enjoy xyz. Game time or tv time. I teach kids like pups. Everything is earned. If they don’t do the xyz that’s ok, then they have not earned the reward. No argument or yelling or even saying twice. My pups love earning a reward. Either a treat or a belly rub or head pat. Kids love earning rewards too like doing something they want to do. Just make sure what ever your plan is that you have a plan and can stick with it.

I thought all day about what topic to start with. And there are so many. Do I start with light topics. Or heavy topics. Ugh. I decided I just couldn’t decide. Lol. So I picked one. And that will be the flow of this. I most likely will get my topics for the day from posts from fb. I see so many every day. So I’m hoping this will help you guys prior to bringing home a pup. Not after.

so the topic today is insurance. Pet insurance. I send you home with 30 days of free insurance from trupanion. No string attached. No waiting period. There are lots of companies on the market. Trupanion just happens to have a great Breeders program that I can give you with no waiting period. First let’s start with if insurance is important or not. I recommend doing it for 1 year. By a year they are adults and don’t tend to have as many emergencies issues. Puppies eat everything. And I don’t want to scare you. But 3 of Maggie’s pups last litter ate mushrooms the first week home and ended up in er for 3 days checking liver. Not joking. 3 different pups in different areas. 2 in Maryland and one in Virginia. Up until that I have only had a handful eat weird things. But I had 2 jump things and break legs. One jumped a baby gate. Another ran head first into a deck step and break a leg. Crazy things. Now remember I’ve sent home over 100 puppies in 7 years. So static’s are not common that you are going to need insurance. But having it is peace of mind. I like insurance for the first year. After that I feel you have adjusted to having a pup, they are not eating everything possible and it’s not as necessary. Now the companies I’ve heard good things about are healthy paws, embrace, and ASPCA, and obviously trupanion. If you decide to pick a different company, at least enroll in trupanion for the first free 30 days. Because most companies have a waiting period. This way you are covered with no lapse. I will give you a certificate the day you pick up your pup. You must go online and enroll with in 24 hours of picking up the puppy. I don’t get any kick backs from this. I don’t know if you enrolled or not. The only thing trupanion gives me is free blankets every spring and a bunch of literature to send home. That’s it. I don’t make money for referring them. I always get the call a couple weeks later, hey we had to run to emergency vet and we are wondering why we don’t have insurance. So I try to stress this and I’ll say it a couple times, you have to enroll. I can’t do it for you. And the free insurance only covers 80% of the bill for emergencies. Not shots. Not normal care. Emergencies only. 80% of the bill. They have other plans. So do other companies. Which leads me to the next topic, wellness plans. I do not like wellness plans. At all. I really don’t like them. First, pick a good vet. I don’t like chain store vets. I like an actual veterinarian. Most at those places are not fully licensed vets. You will need to go to the vet 3-4 times for booster shots. Then not again till spay/neuter. Then yearly shots. We will do a blog on spay neuter as well as shots. So I won’t get into all that now. But I will. So homework is start looking at insurance plans. See what the monthly costs are from different companies. Decide if you just want an OMG emergency plan. Or if you want everything covered. Pick your deductible. If your company offers health insurance, some also offer pet insurance. I know a couple families that went that route.