For the first few weeks try to wear clothing that has pockets and every morning load up with Cheerios in one pocket, cheese, bacon-bits and any other thing you can think of to fill your pockets. THEN play the "NAME GAME". Go to any part of you house and call the puppy. When puppy comes, give one of the treats.Never allow the puppy to see you get the treat out of your pocket The puppy learns to come and learns his name. Everyone in the house should help with this. Once you have it down pat, you can take it out side.

Keep the hair from the base of the tail cut...on the front side cut the hair to the skin at the base of the tail.
You want the tail to be really over the back or at 11:00 o'clock. The boney part of the spine at the base of the tail is the last to calcify and when it does, you want the tail up as high as you can get it.(Sometimes that hair is thick at the base of the tail.  On the back side of the tail, keep it clean from waste..( then cut the excess hair off the tip of the tail, keeping in mind the shape of an inverted carrot. Keep tips of the ears clean and close.

NEVER SAY NO. This is a hard one. Things like uhaaa, or nananana, or wait have a softer sound than no. Remember you want that tail up and you can't do it with NO all the time, it really does sound so ugly. This puppy does want to please you. AND most of the time YOU have put him in a position where he could get into trouble...so it's your fault not his.

 We keep a coke cans  with rocks in them, in different parts of the house.  This way IF you see the puppy sniffing, you can drop the can to distract the puppy in time to get him outside.  NEVER scream NO!

 Pull that puppy hair out. This one is hard for pet people too. IF new owners can wait until 12 weeks to pick-up their puppy, I have the hair all pulled out, they do miss that cute little bundle of fur, but I always have lots of pictures for them. I keep one section of the puppy long, left back leg and hip for them to do. The puppy looks so funny it bothers them and they MUST pull it out. Some new owners are so happy with their work that I hear their section looks better than mine. Theirs' is fresh and mine is about a week old, so now they need to blend the two together and I got them hooked on pulling. Another tidbit of info for pulling: I spread peanut butter all over my left knee, put the puppy on my lap and pull like crazy, while puppy is busy licking, it keeps his mind off me pulling. It's messy, but it works!

 Re Nails Everyone forgets the nails until they get toooooo long. The puppy food makes the hair and nails grow faster than normal, so it only stands to reason they need more attention than normal. Once a week to keep them nice and short and getting the puppy accustomed to touching the feet. I use the Dremel from Wal-Mart or the Sears Craftsman Mini Rotary Power tool. Your chances of ever cutting the quick are less-likely with these tools, they are under $50.00 and you can use them around the house so, I think it's money well spent.

 Vitamins: a lot of contradiction here, Pat Hastings thinks too much vit. is hard on the bones and does more damage than good. She also wants to give a good adult food to puppies (See the Puppy Puzzle tape.) I do give puppy food until 18 months and I do give VIT. E 400 I.U. until the testicles are fully descended

I have started giving the Glucosamine Sulfate to my very active and jumping Westies for joint cartilage.

 When I sell a puppy, I try to give the new owner as much info as possible. I give at least 10 days of food, a heart worm pill, a SOW ear, and a handout.

 This handout is something I started several years ago so that the new owner can have something to refer to. My handout is only about 7-8 pages and I'm sure there is a lot I could add to what I have written or other advice out there that I haven't included. I'm sure there are a lot of you that do the same and if you are new to the showing/breeding of Westies, it is something you could always use.

I have prepared this booklet to try and answer some of the basic questions. If you have any questions whatsoever regarding the puppy, please don't hesitate to contact me. My home number is 270-759-4556 and my work number 270-753-7688.

 Your puppy will be experiencing quite a bit of stress. Everything it has known since it was born is now gone. Please do not do any major correcting at this point. Just let the puppy become familiar with its new home and you.

 At this point, the puppy answers to "puppy puppy" and "yip yip yip." Once you have decided on a name, to get it to respond to the new name, just call it "puppy puppy Rover." It will pick up the new name very fast. In a couple of days, you can drop the puppy puppy.

 The quickest and easiest way to train the puppy is consistency by everyone. If you do not want the puppy to get on the furniture as an adult, do not let it do it as a puppy. It is not fair to the puppy to have someone let it get away with something and the other person corrects it when it does it. This causes confusion. For training purposes, the same words should be used by all. NEVER, say NO use words like nana hau hau, or wait. NO has an ugly sound and you want the puppy to keep his tail up at all times, usually when you DO say YOU have put the puppy in a situation and it is YOUR fault he has done wrong. NEVER call the puppy to you for correction. If the puppy has done something wrong, you go to it, otherwise it will associate coming to you as negative.

FEEDING

 Puppies under 6 months need to be fed 3-4 times a day. When you work this is a little difficult to do. What I do is feed in the morning, and then when I get ready to leave for work, I put more food out for the puppies.

 The puppy is currently eating PRO PLAN dog food. I realize this is a brand of food you probably never heard of let alone know where to purchase. . Please be sure to gradually make the switch over to the new food.

Up to 6 months of age

 Feed 3-4xday. Give approximately 1/3 to 1/2 cup of food at each feeding.

6 months to 1 year

 Feed 2xday. Give 1/2 to 3/4-cup food each feeding. I sometimes feed 1 cup each meal, but it depends on the individual dog. If the dog seems skinny, increase the food amount.

 The amounts of food are approximate. If the puppy eats all its food and seems to still be hungry and is not overweight, I would give a little extra. However, if the puppy is eating all the food and is overweight, cut back on the food. If the puppy is not eating all the food, you might want to cut back some to teach the puppy to clean its bowl. If your puppy eats when it's hungry and you don't mind leaving food out all the time, this is find. As a reminder, it is harder to housebreak a dog that has access to food 24 hours a day.

TREATS

 All treats are acceptable. Just remember if your puppy is overweight, treats are additional calories. There are healthy treats you can give. My dogs love carrots, apples, and cereal.

 As far as rawhide bones go, do NOT give the skinny pencil ones. It is too easy for the dogs to break them down and swallow parts. Get the ones that are smooth on each end. The large ones with a knot on each end are acceptable but should be watched as sometimes the dog can work the knot itself loose. The dog swallowing small pieces of rawhide is not harmful, but if they swallowed a large piece, it could get hung up in their throat. I have a friend that lost her dog due to this happening. The dog swallowed the knot and it could not pass through the esophagus to the stomach. The vet anesthetized the dog and tried to push it through to the stomach because it was starting to swell. Surgery was the last resort. The surgery was done to remove the rawhide from the throat but the dog died the next day. To this day, my friend does not allow her dogs to have rawhide bones. I give my dogs rawhide bones, but I am much more cautious and check the bones on a regular basis.

 HOUSEBREAKING

 There is no way you are going to be able to housebreak a puppy that is 3 or 4 months old or younger. They are eating 3-4 meals a day. The puppy is paper-trained. There should be paper On the floor (place a large plastic trash bag under the paper to prevent urine going through to the floor) that is easily accessible to the puppy. Also, they can have their front feet on the paper and think their whole body is on it. All you can say is "Good Puppy!"

 When a puppy goes to the bathroom, as soon as it is finished, it has totally forgotten about it. You cannot bring the puppy back to an accident on the rug and point it out after the fact and think that the puppy knows what you are talking about. You must catch it in the act. At this point, you either put it on the newspaper or take it outside.

 When taking the puppy outside, you should always be with it to make sure that it goes. Many puppies will play and forget to go and as soon as you let it back in the house, it runs for the paper and goes. When the puppy goes outside, you need to give it lots and lots of praise. When it goes on the newspaper, just clean it up with no special praise. Westies are very smart and like to please. The puppy will pick up that it gets praise when it goes outside and nothing when it goes on the paper. If you are having trouble getting the puppy to go in the yard, you can take some of its feces and put in the yard so the puppy can smell itself. I place the  soiled paper in the  back of the yard and hold it down with  rock.  We then walk the puppy to that area and use the words  "GO POTTY".

 As to when to take the puppy out. First thing in the morning. As soon as the puppy wakes up, it needs to go. If you wait 5 minutes, that can be too late. Also, after they eat they usually go. If the puppy has been playing a lot, start watching to see if it is sniffing a lot or going in circles. This is also a good sign that the puppy has to go to the bathroom.

 If your Westie has an accident in the house, please do not take them to the scene of the crime and rub their noses in it. This is an old wives tale and does not work. If your dog is having accidents in the house, you are giving it too much freedom. A dog likes to keep the area that they sleep in clean as well as the area that they spend time around. This is why you will find most accidents in rooms that the dog does not spend a lot of time in.

DIARRHEA

 Sometimes the stress of going to a new home can cause loose stools. This can easily be corrected. Simply give it 3-4 cc's of Kaopectate several times throughout the day. I have given you a syringe that makes it easy to give liquid medicine. If the stomach seems to be upset along with loose stools, give it 3-4 cc's of Pepto Bismol. Most dogs like the taste of Kaopectate, but I have never met a dog that liked Pepto Bismol. Kaopectate & Pepto Bismol can be used when the dog is older as well. The rule of thumb is give 1 cc for every pound.

For your information:

1 ml = 1 cc

5 ccs = 1 teaspoon

15 ccs = 1 tablespoon

 If the stomach is very upset, take away all food for a day to let the stomach settle down. The next day you can give it rice and meat baby food (usually give veal or lamb). Get the baby food for that is strained. The baby food is bland as well as the rice and won't make the stomach work very much. Do not feed normal ration. Give about 1/3 of normal ration the first day and gradually increase over the next few days. When up to normal ration, start mixing in the dog food while decreasing the rice and baby food. You can add a little bit of water (just a little) to the rice and baby food mixture to help mix it. I usually mix just enough of the baby food to give the rice flavor.

 VACCINATIONS

 The puppy has already received two shots. The dates given and when the next three are due are listed on the health certificate I gave you. Until the puppy gets all its shots, it should not be allowed to play with strange dogs. The reason a puppy is given so many is because you cannot tell when the immunity the puppy got from its mother has worn off. As long as the mother's immunity is protecting the puppy, the shots have no effect. There is a blood test that the vet can do to determine if the mother's immunity is still in effect but it is very expensive. Giving the puppy the 4 shots, with the last one after 16 weeks of age, provides adequate protection. However, it is not worth taking a chance by exposing the puppy to strange dogs that might be carriers.

 You can take the label off the vial (ask the vet for the bottles) and put the label in the puppy shot record.  This way you have record of the company, lot, and dates on the label  in case there is a problem or a reaction  to the shots.

HEARTWORM

 I highly recommend that you put your puppy on heartworm preventative. I use Heartguard Plus. This is a once a month pill that not only prevents heart worms (transmitted by mosquitoes), but also protects the puppy from getting roundworms, whip worms, and hookworms. The pill given is based on the dog's weight.

 When buying the heartworm pills, they come in 6-month packages and you can only get them from your vet. The pill the puppy is on is for dogs up to 10 lbs. You need to get the next dose level when the dog weighs 11 lbs. Since each dog is different, I cannot tell you when this will happen. However, when the dog does reach 11 lbs and you still have the 10 lbs and under pills, you can give 2 of these at one time. The next dose is for dogs up to 20 lbs.

 Many breeders give Interceptor year round. Otherwise your dog has to get retested to start again next year. You should get the dog tested for heart worms (this is a blood test) about once every 2 years to be on the safe side.

GROOMING

 If you are having your Westie clipped, they should be done approximately every 8-10 weeks to stay neat looking. Please TRY to pull OUT as much as the puppy hair as you can. You will have a wonderful coat later. Remember the more hair  you pull the more hair  you will get.. So pull that hair on the head and legs!!!!!

 I have provided you with a sample of the Plum White, blue self rinsing  Shampoo. This shampoo should be diluted 15:1. This is an excellent shampoo made especially for white dogs. It lathers and rinses out easily--and the smell is absolutely wonderful. This is a little bit more expensive that shampoos found at local pet suppliers but it is well worth it. I use it on my dogs. If you are interested in buying more of this shampoo after you have used up what you have, please get in touch with me.

 After shampooing, you should always put cream rinse/conditioner on the legs, stomach, and just a little on the head. This helps reduce static electricity in the coat (especially in the wintertime). This is the main reason for hair breaking. It also relaxes the hair so that it lies properly.

 Before bathing, it is absolutely imperative that ALL mats be out of the dog. Otherwise, the mats just get tighter. You should first use the slicker brush. Brush the entire dog. Be sure to brush the hair on the legs up as well as down. When you are through brushing, get the greyhound comb. Using the side with the largest gaps between the teeth, comb the coat, again making sure the leg hair is completely combed as well as the stomach and the face. Another area that seems to mat is the inside back legs. Again, please be sure to remove any mats prior to bathing. Once this is done, take the other side of the comb and redo the dog. If you got all the tangles and mats out, this shouldn't take you more than 1-2 minutes. ALSO remove the hair from the dogs pads of the feet .I use Goldbond Powder to keep fungus away. If the hair on the toes is already brown or red, you already have a fungus. Keep it dry and use a jock-itch cream then the goldbond power.

 I have had many people bring me dogs to groom that insist they brush the dog before every bath, but the hair was completely matted next to the skin. They were brushing the dog, but they only got the top layer. Please make sure you get all the way down to the skin. The only remedy is to cut all the hair off down to the skin and Westies look really funny when there is no leg or stomach hair.

 After the bath is complete, use the pin brush for blow-drying. This helps the hair to lay flat. When blow drying, always brush the hair in the direction it is suppose to lay. In doing the legs, you want to start by blow drying the hair up to get it dry underneath, but then you finish by blow drying down. When blow-drying, be firm but gentle. If the puppy turns around, just put in back in the correct position. Do NOT say "Good Puppy" when it is misbehaving. You are giving negative re-enforcement. The dog then thinks this is the way it is suppose to behave. Only say "Good Puppy" when it is being good.

 After you are through blow drying, you can then trim the nails. Do only the tips being careful not to cut the quick. If you cut the nails before you give the bath and blow dry, where the nails are rough, you could end up with scratches on your arms.

TOYS

 The puppies love soft squeaky toys, ones they can pick up and shake. A great place to buy toys for puppies is in the baby department. The toys are safe for babies, so they're safe for puppies and a whole lot cheaper. Puppies as well as adults love cloth (stuffed) toys. Another great toy for puppies is taking an old pair of sport socks and putting lots of knots in them. The puppies can shake them and when they get dirty, you can throw them in the washing machine to clean.

 I like to purchase toys from the baby departments. THEY are safe!

FLEAS AND TICKS

 There are several new items on the market to help treat the environment as well as the dog to kill fleas that are completely safe. There is a flea/tick product called "Frontline"or" ADVANTAGE" that is available through your vet. It is put on the dog at the shoulder blades once a month and kills fleas up to 90 days and ticks up to 30 days. It can be applied monthly if there are lots of ticks in your area. To get rid of the existing adult fleas in your yard, you can treat it is Bio Flea Halt. You mix it with water and spray your yard. What it is is microorganisms called nematodes. These nematodes eat fleas. There are no chemicals that can hurt either you or the dog. As a matter of fact, you can go into the area immediately after spraying. This product can be found at most pet `supplies outlets; i.e., Petsmart, etc., or places like Hechingers in the lawn and garden department. The fleas are usually gone within 24 to 48 hours and then the nematodes die. You have to reapply every 30 days. This product is usually not available after September.

COMMON SENSE RULES

 Westies are a hunting dog and everything catches their eyes. Please do not think you can trust your dog to be completely trained and leave it outside unattended in an open area. If they see a rabbit, squirrel, bird, etc., they will go after it. Westies are also a dog that people like to steal. My dogs are never outside when I'm not home. They are also very smart. They get bored with routine. When training your dog, try and keep it interesting, make a game out of it, with lots and lots of praise. If you ever have any questions or problems, please be sure and call me.

VITAMIN SUPPLEMENTS AND CLEANING TEETH

 VITAMIN C

 Your puppy has been started on daily Vitamin C and I strongly recommend you continue this throughout his life. The pup should get 500 mg daily in one of the meals. You can purchase tablets and crush them and add to the meal or you can purchase the vitamin in powder form.

 VITAMIN E

 Males should be started immediately on 400 I.U. daily. This should continue until they are seven to eight months old or until the testicles are well down in the scrotum and of good size. You can purchase 400 I.U. capsules, clip off the end, and squeeze out the liquid into his food.

 I recommend you read the book "HOW TO HAVE A HEALTHIER DOG" by Wendell 0. Belfield DVM and Martin Zucker, available in paperback edition.

TEETH

 Your pups permanent teeth will come in around 4 to 6 months of age. I recommend you start brushing the teeth every few days or at least weekly to avoid build up of tartar and gum diseases as the dog gets older. I use a soft tooth brush and Pepsodent tooth powder. if you start when they are young they will not object. This can save you the expense and danger of an anesthetic when your Vet has to clean and possibly remove neglected teeth every year or so.

 TEARING

 Westies don't usually tear. I have found that the tearing comes from puppy hair touching the eye causing it to tear. When you have removed the hair from the eye area AND the puppy is still tearing, chances are, you may have a clogged tear duct. To check this, the vet puts propuracaine drops in the eye then touches the eye with fluorescin strips. When the lights are turned out in the room, the vet uses the trans aluminator light, the green fluorescein comes out the nose. IF there is a blockage, it doesn't. I then set a time to bring the puppy in to have the blockage removed. All of this takes less than 15 min to check. Also, there are some wonderful products on the market to clean up the tearing. BUT first find out what is causing it.

Rose Carpenter

KenLake Westies at Kentucky Lakes