WE DON'T PROFESS TO BE EXPERTS BUT WE DO KNOW A THING OR TWO
Crate Training tips:
Put the puppy in the crate to sleep. When the puppy wakes up from a nap, immediately take the puppy outside and say “potty” (go potty, hurry up - what ever your potty word is that you select). When the puppy eliminates, make a BIG HUGE deal. Really pet it and give it SO much praise (give it a treat if you want to). Take the puppy back inside and play with it. If it is time for it to eat, then feed it. If you are not playing with it, or holding it, etc., then put it back inside the crate. Don't leave it alone to roam around the house very long or there will be accidents. If it is sniffing the floor and running around - it is probably looking for a place to potty.
Remember each time the puppy wakes up, take it outside immediately to potty. This is KEY. If you see the puppy roaming around and smelling –that is an indication it is looking for a place to potty. When you take it outside, take it to the same place each time.
Key times to take the puppy to the potty: First thing in the morning, after play/exercise, within 15 mins after meals, after waking up from a nap, after coming out of the crate, before being put in the crate, just before bedtime.
Google “crate training” for More information.
If your puppy eliminates on the towel or bedding inside the crate, then remove it. Sometimes you have to do this and let it just sleep on the flat tray. It will be fine. Don't worry. Just don't allow it to eliminate on bedding.
Our dogs have become to love their crates and they will sleep in them with the doors open.
Also, after feeding your puppy, wait 10 to 15 minutes – then take the puppy out to see if it will have a bowel movement.
Puppy Play Pen -
You should feed your dog a very high protein diet. Look at the protein content percentage on the ingredients list.
We do NOT recommend having any corn in the food.
Look on the back of the dog food for the ingredients list. The first ingredient should be protein meat of some sort (Salmon, Chicken, Bison, Venison, Beef, etc).
You can feed your dog a raw diet – research it.
Salmon Oil Supplement-. We recommend purchasing Samon Oil Supplement to help with their coat. He /she will love it. You can put this directly on the dry food.
Make sure your dog will allow you to put your hands in and around their food. Do not allow them to growl when your hands are around their food. The puppy needs to know that you are the ALPHA. There are techniques that you can use – Please study up on this.
If you feel your puppy is not eating well, then you can order “TOMLYNTom Lyn Nutri-Cal Puppy Dietary Supplement” from Amazon. This is a high quality vitamin supplement that will help them gain weight.
If your puppy has an upset stomach, then try cooked white rice to give them. Another option is canned pumpkin or a pumpkin supplement.
The puppy should be on a PUPPY FOOD for the first full year of his/her life.
Currently we send our puppies home eating the following:
Dry Kibble: Taste of the Wild Pacific Stream Smoke-Flavored Salmon Puppy Recipe Grain-Free Dry Dog Food
Can Wet Food: Evanger's Heritage Classics Puppy Dinner for Dog
You can mix this to give the dry food a bit of flavor if you wish.
IMPORTANT- If you switch to another food, make sure you mix in the new food selection with the old food until their stomach gets used to it. Do this over a few days. If you don't mix over a couple of days, their stomach will be upset and you may have a mess in the crate.
Puppies should eat 3 times a day from weaning through 4 to 6 months, if possible. After 6 months, twice-a-day feedings are fine.
Not recommended:
Stuffed toys (when they are > 1 yr old) and rawhides – they will destroy these toys and leave a mess in your house – you can probably used stuffed toys when they are puppies but NOT as adult dogs – destruction and a total mess.
BRANDI PUPPY AT 8 WEEKS WITH A BENEBONE - LOVING IT !
OSCAR with a West Paw Toy - Telling us all about it!
INSTEAD GET THESE:
Benebone Brand, West Paw Brand, Kong Balls, Petstages Dogwood,
Get a METAL bucket for these toys – don't store the toys in anything the dog can chew.
LARGE knotted ropes to clean their teeth and for tug-of-war. When these Ropes get worn out, stringy, throw them away immediately. They do not need to eat the rope! You may end up in the VET hospital in surgery. Be sure to throw them away if worn and stringy.
This breed likes to eat sticks so give them wood flavor toys that are safe - like the Benebones, and Petstages.
Puppy Toys Recommended:
Take the puppy to dog parks and on walks AFTER they are vaccinated. They need to be FULLY vaccinated prior to going around other dogs and/or going to where other dogs have eliminated. The puppy could catch a disease prior to being fully vaccinated. Please ask your veterinarian when it is safe for your puppy to go out into public.
Nails - Play with their feet often so they don't mind you touching their paws. Start trimming your puppies nails immediately and do it at least once a week – maybe more often. Just the “act” of it will make them get used to the process. When he/she is a puppy, use baby clippers for their nails. When he/she is older, you can either use a nail grinder or dog fingernail clippers.
To clip your dog's nails without causing bleeding, use sharp pet nail clippers, identify the "quick" (the pink area inside the nail) on lighter colored nails, and trim only a small amount at a time, especially with dark nails; if you accidentally cut the quick, apply immediate pressure with a clean cloth or use styptic powder to stop the bleeding; always have styptic powder (or corn startch) on hand when trimming your dog's nails.
To stop a puppy's nail from bleeding, you can apply styptic powder, cornstarch, or flour to the nail tip. If the bleeding doesn't stop after a certain amount of time, call your vet.
Brush your dog often to avoid matting. If it matts, you will be forced to clip close and cut most of their hair completely off. So BRUSH OFTEN. Recommend a Slicker Brush PetSlickerBrush, or this Higher priced slicker brush (which is recommended by tons of PWD owners ) and/or a Mane and Tail Brush
Clippers - If you are going to groom your puppy, then go ahead and purchase high quality clippers and get him/her used to the clipper noise. We recommend Andis UltraEdge Super 2-Speed. Get a an Andis ultra edge size 30blade to go with it. Make sure your dog is clean when you clip or it will dull the blade. Make sure you get blade spray to cool the blade. Make sure to get oil for the clippers also.
An inexpensive set of clippers to have around for quick clean ups is a brand called Hold Dog. Keep these clippers charged so that you can keep their "behind" area clipped shorter. You don't want to get into a situation where they have a lot of hair back there and they end up having "nuggets" caught in the hair - bad for them and bad for you. So keep their bottom area clipped short and sanitize your clippers afterwards.
Use a dog safe conditioner on your dog after you shampoo while they are wet. Also recommend an oatmeal based shampoo. You can use coconut oil in their hair to condition it after you dry them off and leave this oil in their coat. They can eat/lick the coconut oil and it will be ok. In fact, you can add coconut oil to their food for their coat.
Recommend to keep the dog in a “retriever” clip in warmer climates in the spring/summer due to the heat. The dog will be much happier and cooler. You can let the hair grow out some in the winter months. We leave the hair little longer on their heads. Keep nose shorter.
If you plan on taking your puppy/adult dog to the groomer, the groomer will require their vaccination records so be prepared to bring them with you.
Ear Cleaner - Invest in a good ear cleaner and clean their ears often. These dogs can have thick ear hair so pay attention to their ears please.
Teeth– start brushing their teeth when they are puppies so they are used to it.
Below is a Link to Instructions for the Grooming guides for a "Lion Clip" and a "Retriever Clip". We keep ours in a short Retriever Clip for the Summer. You will see the Lion Cuts in the Dog Shows.
Accepted wisdom is that you spay or neuter your dog at about six months of age. Portuguese Water Dogs, however, are slow maturing, and don't reach full growth until around 16 months of age.
Most breeders recommend that you wait until your PWD is at least a year old, and waiting four more months is even better. Therefore, it is recommended to spay your female between after 12-16 months of age.
For a male, it is recommended to neuter at the same age - after 12- 16 months of age.
You could end up with a larger-than-average dog if you sterilize it too young. "Fixing" a dog too early can interfere with the normal development of bones and muscles. If you do so too young, the growth plates may take longer to close. This can make his bones grow longer and cause him to be larger overall than he normally would have been.
So discuss the date to fix your pet with your vet and come up with a great time to do it.
Ensure your Portuguese Water Dog gets the exercise they need by taking them for a pleasant walk. Enjoy a leisurely stroll with your beloved pup, embracing the fresh air and bonding with your furry companion. Walking your puppy regularly not only benefits their physical health but also strengthens the special bond between you and your Portuguese Water Dog.
Purchase a water proof dog collar because if you walk beside a stream, your PWD may end up in the water! A good collar for a puppy is this Waterproof smaller collar and a good one for an adult dog is a Wolfone Collar . If you would also like a harness, a good one is this Harness. Good Leashes are very important also. You need a leash with 2 handles for good control. Of course, while you are walking, your fluffy friend may have to go #2. Take along some Earth Rated Poop Bags and make sure you have a Poop Bag Holder that will attach to your Leash.
When they go home from Us (as a puppy) - their Collar / Neck size should be around 10 inches. So we suggest getting a collar around that size. Their weight should be around 7.5 lbs.
Even though these dogs were bred to swim – there are instructions on doing so. Here is a link to help:
Introduce your puppy to the water early - let it play in a bathtub of water, buy a small baby pool for it to play in - these are water dogs - so put them in the water as a puppy for them to learn and enjoy. Remember - don't leave them alone in the water.
Their Needs - If your dog seems restless and barks at you – then it could need:
to go to the bathroom
might need exercise – play with it, walk it, play tug-of-war
hungry and/or thirsty
Counter Surfing - Keep any food AWAY from the counter edge– it will steal the food. This breed is notorious for “Counter surfing”. It can counter surf in the kitchen and in the bathroom. They will Counter surf on the Dining Room Table, bathroom counter, kitchen counter, - any ledge they can barley reach - and get things you would not believe they would chew on. Put "things" away - way up high.
JUMPING UP - Why does my dog jump up on me to get attention? - When your dog was small, a little cute puppy, the pup would raise up on you to get picked up and cuddled. Do NOT pick up your puppy until your puppy sits down and is in a sitting position. Push the pup into a sit, stay - then pet, pick up. Break the pup of raising up on you when they are little. Paws off your legs - teach them when they are little. Sit before Pet/Pick up. VERY IMPORTANT !
Toilets - Close the lids on your toilets and close the doors to your bathrooms.
Trash Cans - Have covers on your trash cans or close the doors to where your trash cans are located.
Command Words - Use 1 to 2 syllable words for commands. NO, Good Girl, Good boy, Sit,Stay, OFF!, UP, Down (use hand motions when teaching). Praise and pet when they do something good! Make a HUGE deal when they do good things.
EXERCISE - Again– this breed is active and requires exercise. Play with it and be firm with it. They will love you the most!
PUT AWAY – your shoes, purses, medicine bottles, inhalers (they are toxic to dogs), chocolate (toxic), nice sweaters – anything that they can chew. Instead give them a toy. Buy some bitter spray to spray on furniture legs just in case. We have not had a ton of trouble with them chewing on furniture but some do this. Just be safe and buy some bitters spray Watch them, know where they are so that they are not chewing on something they should not be.
Zoomies– PWDS are known to get the “zoomies”at night around 6 to 7pm – especially if they haven't been exercised during the day. Zoomies remedies: Tug-of-war, a long walk, a run, fetch, lots of petting – EXERCISE.
Before the anticipated day that your new little one comes to his/her forever home, make preparations. Purchase the crate(s), bedding, extra towels, food, durable toys, liquid Benadryl for the trip home, portable water bowl, brush, scissors, clippers, etc - most items you will find here recommended on this page.
For the trip home, we recommend you have some children's Benadryl for car sickness, some bath towels, and some paper towels in the car - just in case you need them.
Benadryl is an antihistamine which can suppress sickness by blocking signals sent to the vomiting center in the brain, and it may also help to keep your dog calmer. If you choose to give your dog Benadryl to aid their motion sickness, opt for the plain formula which uses diphenhydramine as the sole active ingredient. The typical dose is 0.4 ml/lb of liquid, and should be administered about 30 minutes before your planned journey so the effects have time to kick in.
Tips and Tricks from Saylor's Delite
AKC.org Link
AKC Portuguese Water Dog Link
Groupson Facebook:
PortugueseWaterdogs world wide;
PWD-L- Portuguese Water Dog List
ILove My PWD! - https://www.facebook.com/groups/160626741480797/
