Tiny PawsHealing Hearts

Puppy Guide

Your puppy's first weeks home

Everything we send home with your puppy, typed up in one place. Keeping things the same as they were with us helps your puppy settle in.

Feeding instructions

Keep meals small, regular and the same

  • Food: your puppy eats Hill's Science Diet Lamb & Brown Rice. We send home a supply so nothing changes on day one.
  • Amount and times: your puppy's exact portion and meal times are written on the feeding card in your Puppy Pack.
  • Don't skip meals. Tiny puppies should not go long stretches without eating. Keep to the schedule, even on busy days.
  • Fresh water should always be available in the play area.
  • Please avoid chicken-based foods and Pedigree.
  • Changing food? Talk with your vet first, and switch slowly by mixing the new food in a little more each day.
  • Watch closely how much your puppy eats during travel, vaccine days, illness and the first days home.

Nutri-Cal instructions

Low blood sugar: what to watch for and what to do

Toy-breed puppies can have a sudden drop in blood sugar (hypoglycemia), especially when stressed, tired, cold, sick, or after a missed meal. Your Puppy Pack includes Nutri-Cal or Karo syrup and a syringe for this reason.

Warning signs

  • Sudden sleepiness, weakness or hard to wake
  • Wobbling, stumbling, trembling or shaking
  • Glassy eyes, staring or seeming confused
  • Refusing food or too weak to eat
  • Seizure, collapse or not responding is an emergency

What to do

  1. If your puppy is awake and can swallow, offer food right away.
  2. Rub a small amount of Nutri-Cal or Karo syrup on the gums, only if it can be done safely, while you call your vet.
  3. Never force liquid into the mouth of a weak, limp, seizing or unresponsive puppy. It can go into the lungs.
  4. Keep your puppy warm and get to a vet promptly. Sugar helps for a short time, but the cause still needs to be checked.
Help prevent it: keep meals on schedule, keep your puppy warm and rested, don't let play go on until they're exhausted, and keep the Nutri-Cal where you can grab it fast. Save your vet's and the nearest emergency vet's phone numbers in your phone now.

This is guidance from our breeder notes, not a replacement for your veterinarian. Call your vet any time a young puppy seems weak, unwell or isn't eating.

Routine, sleep, potty training & feeding

Keep things familiar

For the first days home, keep feeding, sleeping, potty and quiet times as close as you can to what your puppy is used to. Familiar food, smells, words and timing help them settle.

Set up the playpen

Your puppy is used to three zones in a row: potty pads → play area → sleeping area. Keep food and water in the play area. Bring the puppy pads we send home so the potty spot looks and smells familiar.

Potty training

Calmly and consistently guide your puppy to the potty pads after waking, eating and playing. Praise them when they get it right. Accidents happen, so stay patient.

Sleep

Your puppy already has a nighttime routine. Keep bedtime at the same time each night, in a warm, quiet spot. Tuck the blanket that smells like mom and littermates into their bed for comfort.

Chewing & teething

Rubber toys and braided bully sticks only. No rawhide, string toys or toys with small loose pieces. Gently redirect chewing on anything else to an approved toy.

Play & confidence

Keep up gentle handling, cuddles, new textures and everyday household sounds. Short periods of safe alone time help your puppy learn independence. Puzzle feeders and snuffle mats make mealtime fun.

Feeding routine

Feed at the same times each day using the feeding card in your Puppy Pack. See the feeding instructions above.

Questions after go-home day? Call or text Heather anytime at (717) 636-8889.

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