Reply #28: here's a few ...

[welshTerrier2]

1. get them to the vet ASAP for checkups ...
2. never, never, never leave their collars on in the crate ...
3. we unplug electrical cords when our pup is alone
4. puppy kindergarten is great at 3 months and then again at around 9 months ...
5. the "special" word ... this was the best training tip we ever got ... we taught our pup a special word to call her to come to us in emergencies ... pups get so used to hearing you say "come" that they often ignore it ... but when we call our special word, she comes flying from wherever she is ... the trick to making this work is that she is always rewarded with a "super treat" (like a big hunk of cheese) and never, ever gets yelled at for disappearing ... fwiw, we use "ici" which is French for "here" ...

other tips: both onions and chocolate can be fatal ... stick with dog food and don't share people food ... if you decide to change dog food brands, do so very slowly ... mix a little of the new stuff in with mostly old stuff ... change the proportions over a week to 10 days ... start training right away (sit, stay, come) ... if the pups each have their own crate, make the crate smaller (add a cardboard box) so that there is just enough room to sleep in ... this helps with housebreaking because they don't like to go where they sleep ... take them outside as soon as you take them out of the crate ... never hit your dogs ... if they have accidents in the house, use something (we use a product called Simple Solution) that completely gets out the smell ... otherwise, that becomes their "special place" ... stay away from rawhide chew toys ... rawhide is dangerous for dogs ... try nylabones ... make a list of a thousand questions to ask the vet ... we have coyotes in the woods behind our house ... small dogs should never be left unattended if they could be attacked by wild animals ... our pup especially loves high-quality stuffed animals that squeak ...

that's it for the top of the head stuff ... congratulations on the new pups !!! if you learn all you can from your dogs you'll grow very, very wise ...