Care and Feeding Guidelines

Care and Feeding

Food
    I leave fresh food and water down for all of my Shibas 24 hours a day. If your Shiba has trouble maintaining an appropriate weight, or if you have problems with over-eating, then you should only provide smaller meals more times a day. For example, spread a day's 2-cups of kibble over two meals of one cup in the morning and evening.
    To help prevent accidental wetting while crate-training, you can remove the puppy's water one hour before bed time. I provide new puppy owners with one can of Eukanuba Growth Puppy Food in addition to a gallon bag of Eukanuba Small Breed Puppy Chow. If you are having trouble getting the puppy to eat his dry kibble, try mixing in a little bit of the canned food. The remaining canned can be stored in the fridge for use over the next several days to entice your pup to eat.
Up to one year old:
    Eukanuba Small Breed Puppy, follow feeding guidelines for appropriate age/weight.

Eukanuba Feeding Guidelines (Small Breed Puppy)

Weight (lbs.)	6-11 weeks old (cups/day)	3-4 months old (cups/day)	5-7 months old (cups/day)	8-12 months old (cups/day)
1	1/2 cp.	1/3 cp.	1/4 cp.	1/4 cp.
3	1 cp.	3/4 cp.	1/2 cp.	1/4 cp.
5	1 1/4 cps.	1 1/4 cps.	3/4 cp.	1/3 cp.
10	2 cps.	2 cps.	1 1/4 cps.	2/3 cp.
15	2 2/3 cps.	2 1/2 cps.	1 2/3 cps.	3/4 cp.
20	3 1/4 cps.	3 cps.	2 cps.	1 cp.

**These guideline amounts are a starting point and your pet may need more or less food depending on age, activity level, and temperament. In order to reach optimal body condition, you may need to adjust food intake. This represents the total recommended volume of food per day. You should divide the total recommended feeding amount by the number of times you feed your pet per day to get the actual portion size per feeding.

One year and older:
Eukanuba Premium Performance: Active, follow feeding guidelines for appropriate weight.

I go to Petco for my Eukanuba. If you have a PALS card, which is free, you earn one free bag of food for every ten you purchase.

Eukanuba Feeding Guidelines (Active Performance)

Weight (lbs.)	Performance Level - High (cups/day)	Performance Level - Moderate (cups/day)	Performance Level - Maintenance (cups/day)
3	1/2 cp.	1/3 cp.	1/4 cp.
10	1 cp.	3/4 cp.	2/3 cp.
20	1 1/2 cps.	1 1/4 cps.	1 cp.
30	2 cps.	1 2/3 cps.	1 1/4 cps.
40	2 1/2 cps.	2 cps.	1 1/2 cps.
50	2 3/4 cps.	2 1/3 cps.	1 3/4 cps.
60	3 1/4 cps.	2 2/3 cps.	2 cps.
70	3 1/2 cps.	3 cps.	2 1/4 cps.
80	4 cps.	3 1/4	2 1/3 cps.
100	4 1/2 cps.	3 3/4 cps.	2 3/4 cps.

What's in your dog's food:
If you're curious about what makes up your dog's food, and what shouldn't, visit our list of commonly found *premium* Dog Food Ingredients or check out our article on Why *not* to Skimp on Dog Food.

Bathing
    I use Soap-free Hypoallergenic Shampoo when I bathe the dogs at home. You should not bathe your dog one day before or one day after the application of Frontline Plus. It is also important that you use a soap-free shampoo so that you do not remove the Frontline during bathing. If you follow these two rules, the Frontline will remain effective and water-proof for its full 30 days.
     The puppy's toenails need to be clipped regularly. You should handle your pup's paws often so he is used to you touching them. Your puppy has had their dewclaws removed, so there will be 4 nails to clip on each paw. For clear toenails, you can easily see where the pink of the quick ends and the toenail which can be cut begins. It is more difficult to tell where to cut on dark-colored nails, so you should take off less at a time. You can roughly estimate where to cut by basing off the clear nails. If you cut the quick, it will not only hurt your pup, but he can bleed profusely. I recommend keeping quick-stop on hand, or if you're uncomfortable doing the trimming, ask a professional groomer to do it or even your vet.
     Petco will be willing to bathe your pup, clean its ears, and clips its toenails after your pup gets his rabies vaccine. For the first year, you can do a puppy groom which I believe is 18 dollars. After that, you can do their regular bath package which is somewhere around 25. If you have a PALS card, you earn a free groom for every 8.

Heartworm Prevention
Heartgard Plus must be administered once a month to prevent heartworm disease and to help treat and control roundworm and hookworm infection. Heartgard guarantees its product and will cover all medical expenses if your dog contracts heartworms while on Heartgard. In order to be covered by this guarantee, you cannot purchase your Heartgard from warehouse wholesalers such as 1-800-petmeds, and you must have administered the Heartgard every month. If you fail to administer the Heartgard and your dog contracts heartworms and you then continue treatment, the Heartgard can be fatal. You can sign up for monthly email reminders at www.heartgard.com **If purchased from Animal Aid, they will give you one free month when you buy a pack of twelve.

Flea/Tick Protection
Frontline Plus must be administered once a month to provide flea and tick control. In a warmer climates where the temperatures do not get cold enough to kill the outdoor fleas, protection is absolutely necessary year-round. While Frontline Plus is waterproof, it will wash off during bathing if shampoo containing soap is used OR if you bathe your dog the day before, of, or day after application. If bathing at home, be sure to use soap-free shampoo such as the HyLyt *EFA. If you use a grooming service that uses shampoo containing soap, have the grooming done 2 days before your next application to minimize reducing Frontline's effectiveness.
**If purchased from Animal Aid, they will give you one free month when you buy a pack of twelve.

Parasite Prevention Guide
This guide will show you the benefits of the different parasite prevention products on the market. Please keep in mind that you should always consult your vet about what is best for your dog and what type of protection is necessary for your area. Parasite Guide.

Crate Training
    The crate you use needs to be big enough for your dog to stand up, turn around, and lay down comfortably. I would recommend a crate that is roughly 2 feet high by 2 feet wide by 3 feet long. This size is usually about $50 and will leave ample room for you to leave a bowl of food down, if you want.
     Bedding for the crate should cover the crate floor. For the first few weeks with your new pup, you may want to just use a couple of old towels, or make sure you use a crate pad that is machine washable so potty accidents are easy to clean up.
    While you're crate-training, you absolutely must ignore your puppy's cries during the night. I know it will be very hard to do, and you'll probably lose some sleep for the first week, but I promise you it will be faster and easier for both of you if you don't come running every time he squeaks. Within the first week or two, he'll be sleeping like a baby, and be successfully crate-trained for life. When we send home new pups, they have already been sleeping through the night-- going out for the last time at 11 or 12 and first thing at about 8 am. Remember that your house is a completely new environment for your pup, so him not sleeping through the night is completely understandable. Some tricks I have heard to help make your puppy more comfortable are to use a warm towel wrapped around a sound machine that makes a slight heartbeat sound or to buy a puppy pal from Petco. Your pup is used to sleeping with the sound of his litttermates' heartbeats and the warmth of their bodies so suddenly sleeping alone will seem strange to him.

House Breaking
We train the puppies to use puppy pads for urination, and only have bowel movements outside. This is not to say that the strangeness and excitement of a new home will not excite him into having accidents. I recommend putting the puppy pad near whichever door you will use to take your puppy out to relieve himself. If you have more than one door, always use the same one so the puppy knows where to head if he has to go. I also recommend always taking your puppy to the same area outside initially so that the scent of his previous droppings will encourage him to go. When he goes outside, you should verbally praise him and then give him a small treat when you get back inside. Shibas respond fantastically to positive reinforcement and you will be surprised how quickly your pup will learn to go to the door. Once your Shiba has the hang of going outside to potty down, you can start to vary the door you use, and you will want to give him new areas to explore and use for pottying. Some dogs have been known to only go on one particular substance (eg: grass) if that was all they were exposed to and then will not go when introduced to new environs(eg:dead leaves). This can sometimes cause a problem if the dog's preferred medium is not available, so it is important to introduce your dog to varying types of earth.

Immunizations
    Our pups leave with their first set of immunizations. You will be provided with an immunization record which you should take with you to your first vet appointment. Your vet will let you know the schedule for remaining boosters and rabies vaccine.
    A typical Immunization Schedule is as follows:
       8 WEEKS:
        First DHLPPC (Distemper, Leptospirosis, Hepatitis, Parainfluenza, Parvo virus, & Corona virus)
        Deworming
       12 WEEKS:
        Second DHLPPC
        Deworming
        Kennel Cough Vaccination
       16 WEEKS:
        Third DHLPPC
        Rabies Vaccination*
       ANNUALLY:
        DHLPPC Booster
        Kennel Cough Booster
        Rabies Booster*
        Deworming
*Some rabies vaccines are good for two years after the initial vaccination. Please check with your vet.

Exercise
As a pup, the majority of your puppy's exercise will most likely come from running in and out to go potty. Shibas are fairly hardy even at this age, so feel free to take them on short walks and you will quickly learn when they have reached their limit. As they get older, you should be able to take them on lengthy walks without them suffering exhaustion as long as you bring fresh water. My Shibas like to walk the 7-mile trail at Maclay and are then ready to run around again by the time we drive home.

Socialization
It is important to expose your pup to a variety of people, animals, and experiences while they are still young. While I don't recommend going to the dog park before your pup is fully immunized, I would recommend getting him there shortly thereafter and going regularly for the first year. This guarantees that your Shiba will be well-rounded and not be stand-offish or withdrawn.