Going to pick up my puppy on Jan 16th 2010...
I apologize if any of this includes repeated questions that have been asked 154573 times. I greatly appreciate any advice :D
So the time has finally come, my puppy just passed his first vet exam with flying colors, and he is going to be ready to go home next weekend (9 weeks old). I have done a ton of research and I am doing my best to compile a list of questions that I should ask the breeder prior to picking him up. I have been generally quite pleased with the breeder so far, and she has been very kind in answering my relentless amounts of emails so far, so I want to make sure that I cover all my bases as this is my first time using a breeder.
Below is a list of questions that I have come up with so far. I am hoping to send these questions off to the breeder so that she has time to thoughtfully answer each one, instead of putting her on the spot when we pick up our little boy.
1) How much and how often do we need to feed the corgi as a puppy? And as an adult?
2) The VeRUS adult dog food comes in 6.6lb, 20lb and 40lb bags, which size bag would be best to buy for one adult to avoid the food spoiling?
3) How often should we bathe our corgi, and what type of shampoo do you recommend?
4) At what age would you recommend that we have our puppy neutered?
5) What grooming tools would you recommend?
6) During the day when we can’t be with the puppy, would you recommend that we keep the puppy in the crate, or set up a puppy pen with potty pads?
7) Do you provide a spay/neuter agreement and health guarantee?
8) What inoculations have been given?
9) Have the puppies been dewormed?
10) How often do we need to treat the puppy for worms, fleas and ticks?
11) Will you provide a sales contract stating the purchase price, the puppy's birth date, the AKC numbers and names of the sire and dam, the litter registration number, any other conditions of the sale and the puppys pedigree?
Some of these questions she has answered before, but I want something in writing and a bit more formal that I can look back on once we have the puppy should I forget something.
I would greatly appreciate any suggestions/comments or plain advice on my trials and tribulations to come in the next few months of owning my first corgi. I have scoured this site and many, many other websites for advice, but who better to ask then fellow corgi owners?
So the time has finally come, my puppy just passed his first vet exam with flying colors, and he is going to be ready to go home next weekend (9 weeks old). I have done a ton of research and I am doing my best to compile a list of questions that I should ask the breeder prior to picking him up. I have been generally quite pleased with the breeder so far, and she has been very kind in answering my relentless amounts of emails so far, so I want to make sure that I cover all my bases as this is my first time using a breeder.
Below is a list of questions that I have come up with so far. I am hoping to send these questions off to the breeder so that she has time to thoughtfully answer each one, instead of putting her on the spot when we pick up our little boy.
1) How much and how often do we need to feed the corgi as a puppy? And as an adult?
2) The VeRUS adult dog food comes in 6.6lb, 20lb and 40lb bags, which size bag would be best to buy for one adult to avoid the food spoiling?
3) How often should we bathe our corgi, and what type of shampoo do you recommend?
4) At what age would you recommend that we have our puppy neutered?
5) What grooming tools would you recommend?
6) During the day when we can’t be with the puppy, would you recommend that we keep the puppy in the crate, or set up a puppy pen with potty pads?
7) Do you provide a spay/neuter agreement and health guarantee?
8) What inoculations have been given?
9) Have the puppies been dewormed?
10) How often do we need to treat the puppy for worms, fleas and ticks?
11) Will you provide a sales contract stating the purchase price, the puppy's birth date, the AKC numbers and names of the sire and dam, the litter registration number, any other conditions of the sale and the puppys pedigree?
Some of these questions she has answered before, but I want something in writing and a bit more formal that I can look back on once we have the puppy should I forget something.
I would greatly appreciate any suggestions/comments or plain advice on my trials and tribulations to come in the next few months of owning my first corgi. I have scoured this site and many, many other websites for advice, but who better to ask then fellow corgi owners?
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Sam Tsang on
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1. twice a day as a pup, once or twice as an adult, your choice.
2. 40lbs will be most economical, keep in air tight container, check expiration date before purchase.
3. As little as possible, do no bath frequently because it will wash away their natural oil and can cause dry skin. Baby shampoo and minimal fragrance will be your bet.
4. As soon as your vet allows.
5. Furminator - read faq
6. yes, crate train is the fastest for housebreaking, from my experience, pen and pads lengthen the process, read faq
10. monthly, ask your vet about sentinel.
Congrats and bring a camera :)
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Permalink Reply by Alex on
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I can provide some answers based on my experience with Kenji. He is our 6 months old Pembroke.
Your breeder's answer might be different but this is what I have gathered from my research and experience.
1) We are currently feeding Kenji 1.5 cup per day divided into 3 servings.
2) Kenji is only 6 months old so I can't tell you how much he'll be eating when he's an adult.
3) Do not bathe him too often because it can cause dry skin (That was what I was told). We use oatmeal shampoo. The most important part of bathing is the rinsing. Please rinse, rinse, and rinse once more even after you feel that you have rinsed enough.
4) As early as 6 months old. Kenji is still recovering from his neutering. We had him fixed last Sat. at the age of 6+ months.
5) Furminator. You can get the small or the medium. I went with the medium.
6) We set him up with a playpen ever since he was only 8 weeks old. We did however place an indoor potty system inside the playpen (UGoDog). He is crated at night. Do keep in mind that puppies will not be able to hold their bladder for that long. It's around 1 hour for every month.
7) Up to the breeder. I think Kenji came with a 1 year guarantee.
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Permalink Reply by Kevin and Buddy! on
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I really like the UGoDog product, we will have to look into that option. Thank you so much for the feedback!
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Permalink Reply by Joanna Kimball on
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Numbers 7 and 11 are usually answered in the initial contacts with the breeder; if they haven't been already, consider what you'll do if the answer is no. Are you willing to back out? (I always hope that buyers will be, but often they are not.)
For me as a buyer, what would be important is - How do I reach you if there is an emergency? - Do you want me to put your name and contact information on his microchip? - Do you take dogs back if my world crumbles and I can't keep him anymore? - Do you have a local trainer you recommend, and any methods you've found to work best? Questions like that will tell you where the breeder is philosophically, so you know how to start off right and how to find support later.
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Permalink Reply by Beth on
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For 6) It depends on how long you are gone.
If pup will be alone for 8 or 9 hours in the day, and crated overnight, that is 17 hours a day in a crate, which IMO is too much.
We used an exercise pen in the day and a crate at night. I don't personally recommend pads; several people have posted on here that they have trouble training the dog to stop using the pads. What we did was attach the pen to the crate so pup had access to both. We kept water and safe toys in the pen in the day, and lined the entire bottom with several layers of newspaper.
I came home every day at lunch and removed the wet papers, took puppy out to eliminate, gave pup some lunch and some play and another potty break, and then put him back with fresh papers. After a week or so I was able to see which side he used to eliminate and reduced papers to just this spot. The reason I think papers work better than pads is they are not all that absorbent, so pup is left with the puddle and doesn't really like it and so attempts to hold it. This method is a bit exhausting after a few months (and I kept this schedule til he was about 9 months old, when I slowly weaned off the lunchtime visit) but it worked well for both the housebreaking and keeping puppy happy.
If you are only gone for a couple hours then a crate would be fine. Remember, pups can only hold for about as many hours as their age in months + 1 ( a three-month old pup can hold 3-4 hours when confined). If left longer than that, it is cruel to be in a crate. Many pups can hold longer overnight when asleep, just as you can. We had no trouble or delay with potty-training using this method. The key was when we were there, the papers were not so pup ONLY used the papers if no one was home. Otherwise we praised, praised, praised for going outside. The breeders I talked to all used ex-pens for puppies and adolescents.
We fed three times a day til pup was about 4 months old or so, then cut down to two times a day which is how often we feed now. As a pup he got about a cup and a half, and now gets anywhere from 2/3 to 1 cup per day, but that does depend in part on what you feed.
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Thank you all for so much feedback!
Even though we know that it will slow down the potty training process, we plan on setting up a puppy pen with his crate in the pen. There are going to be days where he will have to be home alone for up to 7hrs, and I agree that it is not right to keep him in a crate that long, then crate him again at night.
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Permalink Reply by Jane Christensen on
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I would also ask:
1. What are they feeding the pup now and will they be sending some along with the pup (I always send a 5# bag with my pups)? And if you are changing the food it should be gradual and also check the food if using the one they did to make sure it is a quality food.
2.They should be sending a vet record with all the pertinent info on shots/worming and health check...but you might want to ask this.
3.You should also receive the litter registration papers with your puppy being marked as what sex and color this paper is the one you need to register him with the AKC.
4. Make sure you get your new pup to your vet ASAP just for a check , my vet found a hernia on my last pup that had closed but there was nothing about this on the vet paper from the breeder! It's just a safeguard!
Have fun and enjoy that new little bundle! We want lots of pics!
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