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1. Good
dog breeders are always concerned about the homes that their
puppies will be going to. Any concerned dog breeder should be
responsible for all of their puppies for the rest of their
lives. They would like to be certain that their puppies will be
well cared for in their new home, and that the new owners will
provide everything that is needed for a healthy, happy puppy.
2. While
it is easy to say that you will do certain things for a puppy,
buyers need to realize that when they buy a puppy that it means
to be a responsible dog owner for the entire life of the dog.
All puppies will grow older and have problems that need to be
dealt with. If you can’t make that commitment for 14 years or
more, you might need to think about getting something other than
a dog.
3. Before
you buy a puppy, you need to spend time with the breeder to
learn all the things that a puppy will require in order to live
a long, healthy life. That should include the following things:
4. Calling
or writing the breeder with updates on the puppy. Who you buy
your puppy from is very important because not only are you
getting a puppy from them, but it should also give you access to
the many years of the breeder’s expertise in the breed. Good
breeders can often pin point a possible problem and give you a
quick solution. This is also very important if you do run into a
problem. Make sure that the breeder is willing to keep lines of
communication open. This will help you with any problems that
may come up. Breeders should be familiar with their lines and
typical problems that may arise. This could be anything from a
puppy getting car sick to a certain type of food might be a
problem. Good breeders also need that information in order to
improve their breeding program as well.
5. Provide
regular vet care and grooming. Dogs need a yearly visit to the
vet to see how the dog is doing, health wise, and to catch any
problem early on. Dog’s teeth need to be cleaned regularly, and
they need to be bathed regularly. Grooming also includes nail
trimming, and ear cleaning. If you can’t make the commitment to
do this on a weekly or biweekly basis, you might want to rethink
getting a dog.
6. The
breeder should recommend a vaccination schedule for your dog
which you should discuss with your veterinarian to determine
what is right for this individual dog given its future lifestyle
and level of risk of exposure to disease. The puppy should have
an initial complete physical examination by your veterinarian
within 14 days of obtaining the dog including a fecal parasite
examination or sooner as dictated by your contractual agreement
with the breeder. Your veterinarian can help advise you on
preventive health and dental care and parasite control."
7. New
puppies are the most common cause of over 10,000 cases/year of
blindness in children because of ocular migrating roundworm
larvae. I would stress that breeders should have a diligent
parasite control program in place and all puppies should be
wormed routinely for roundworms. (I recommend 4 treatments with
pyrantel pamoate every 10 days for 4 treatments starting between
2 and 3 wks of age but this should be discussed with your
veterinarian.) A puppy shedding roundworm eggs can contaminate a
child's backyard with hundreds of thousands of parasite eggs in
a very short time.
8. The
vet will be able to advise you on issues such as how often your
dog's teeth should be cleaned. The Chinese Shar Pei puppy should
be bathed often enough to be kept clean. The puppy will tolerate
this well if they have been taught early that this will be done.
They should not be bathed so often as to give them dry skin.
Their nails should be trimmed when needed and you should check
their ears to see if they need to be cleaned. There are several
good products to do this with.
9. Provide
a fenced in, safe yard to play in.
Dogs need a fenced in yard with a good working latch on the gate
in order to play safely. All dogs need time to run and play
loose in the yard. Fencing must be well maintained, so that the
dog stays safe, and can’t get out, only to be run over by a car,
or mangled by another dog. It is cruel to chain a dog outside to
a post. When a fenced in yard is not possible, walking
your dog several times daily, with one good long walk will also
provide for it's exercise needs. If you can’t provide a
fenced in yard for safe play, or commit to walk the dog
on a leash daily, then don't get a dog.
10.
Provide a good quality food. Not all dog foods are alike.
Breeders should recommend a good quality dog food that will
provide the proper nutrition so that your dog can live a good
healthy life. Good dog owners do not buy the cheapest dog food
just to save money.
11. Keep
the dog at a good healthy weight.
A dog
that is over weight is at risk just the same as a person that is
overweight. Extra weight is hard on a dog’s joints and bones. A
dog that is underweight might not be getting the nutrition that
it needs to maintain a healthy life.
12. Good
owners make sure that their dogs are well trained.
This can be accomplished in many ways. Classes such as puppy
kindergarten, obedience classes, or agility classes are
excellent avenues to train your puppy. Every puppy needs to be
socialized and these training classes give the puppy an
opportunity to be socialized and to learn something new as well.
13. Socializes
their dog from puppy age.
Puppies need lots of
different experiences when they are young to be a well-adjusted
dog. They need to go to all different kinds of places, and meet
all kinds of people so that they won’t be frightened of new
things when they are older. They need to be taken to pet stores,
for walks, and out to the parks etc. so they can have a variety
of experiences from early on. They need to meet children so that
they get used to being around young children. They also need to
experience lots of different kinds of noises. Exposing a puppy
to a variety of different kinds of noises and sounds while they
are young, usually will mean that they won't be startled by new
things when they are older. If a dog is taken on short car rides
when they are young, they will love riding in the car when they
get older. They will love to get in the car to go to dog
classes, the vet etc.
14.
Spay or neuter if sold on a
spay/neuter contract. Reputable Chinese Shar-Pei breeders often
choose to sell some puppies in each litter with the stipulation
that this animal be spayed or neutered at the appropriate age.
Spaying or neutering your pet provides many practical benefits
as well as preventing animal overpopulation: your pet is more
content and far less likely to roam, bite, fight, or mark
territory. Spayed females will not have heat cycles to worry
about. Reputable breeders are most concerned with placing each
puppy in an excellent home as a loving companion and house pet.
15. Provide
for the welfare of the dog for their entire life. Although good
breeders will take their dogs back should you not be able to
keep the dog any longer; you need to be aware that this is very
traumatic for the dog. Shar-Pei are very loyal to their owners.
They trust their owners implicitly. If you can’t live up to your
dog’s expectations of you for 14 years or so, then you really
don't need a dog at all. This means that the dog will go with
you if you move or have children. When the children are no
longer around the dog will still be depending on your care. This
is a commitment for the life of the dog.
16.
It is very easy to say you will do these things today, but you
really need to think about whether you can make that commitment
for the entire life of the dog. If you do make that commitment,
I think that you will have a long time loving companion that you
can enjoy for many years. Anything less than this is really not
fair to a dog. |
