Beagle Puppy!

PuppyLove_2

Hi all! I seem to have aquired a beagle puppy! He is so lovely, and 13 weeks old!

The people i got him from were feeding him Bakers dry food mixed with some pedigree chum wet food. Well ive heard that Bakers isnt the best and just wondered what everyone else fed their puppies?

They also said he was house trained which obviously isnt the case, and thats fine as he is only 13 weeks so i wouldnt expect him to be, they have started him off on the puppy training pads which i also dont really like, just wondering if anyone else had and expereince with these?

Will upload some pics of Jake when i get a minute! :)

kjmtidea

My dog is on Wainwrights and he is doing very well on it, obviously if you do change his food then do it slowly so you don't upset his tummy.

As for the pads, I got my dog when he was 8 months old so I didn't have to toilet train him. However if we did ever have a puppy I wouldn't bother with the pads, you are just teaching him to wee inside. I would take him outside a lot and praise him when he goes to the toilet - this might mean you are outside ever 30 minutes but it will be worth it in the end!
Can't wait to see the pics

Caroline_a

Congratulations! Bakers and Chum certainly isn't a diet I would choose, but hey, each to their own! Personally I would go for a complete puppy food (introduced bit by bit when phasing out the others), Wainwrights from Pets at Home is good, and not too expensive.

You might alternatively think about a Raw diet. Lots of info online about it, but it really is dependent on having a good local butcher who either sells meat suitable for dog food, or buying in bulk from the places that sell and deliver frozen.

NB - noticed your training pad question. I have always thought they were useless and ironically enough was talking to someone at work with a new pup who has been using them... and now the pup uses both the pads and her carpet! And doesn't want to go outside! So a definite no for those from me!

dontone

RE - puppy pads, my dog thought they were a brilliant shredding toy, then he'd pee next to all the bits
On the food side, when he was a pup, he started off on Royal Canin dry, but then started getting fed up of it and left it. Gradually, over time we introducted him to Wainwrights and he loves it. Now he's older, we give him Wainwrights, Natures Diet and natures harvest (he has aquired a taste for the dear stuff) but he does have a sensitive stomach, so the tinned stuff (apart from the occassional tin of Chappie) is out.
Wainwrights food is about £8.75 for 12 trays of the puppy stuff.

PuppyLove_2

Thanks for the replies!

So for the toilet training do i literally just keep taking him outside every half an hour? At night shall i put him a crate and then when he cries i get up and take him outside?

I understand that i should only take him for around a 20 minute walk at the moment due to his age.

kjmtidea

There is a book called The perfect puppy book by Gwen Bailey, it is a fab book with loads of info in it. I read it when we planned on getting a puppy.
For now I would take him outside every 30 minutes and wait until he goes to the toilet and then give him loads of praise. If he doesn't go then try again a bit later, you just need to give him lots of opportunities to do the right thing because then you can praise him and that is how he learns.

If you want to crate train him then I wouldn't get him out when he cries otherwise he will soon learn that crying = being let out. I would have set times that you take him out at night and then gradually extend them until he can sleep through the night.
It's like having kids!