PREPARING FOR THE BIG DAY
Before you head to my house, please make sure that you have acquired the essential items that you will need for your puppy, food being the most important (see page above called: WHAT TO BUY???). Do not wait until the last minute as dog food can take a long time and not all pet stores will carry the specific ones I use. It is imperative that you do not switch your puppy's food immediately if you want to switch, it is a 2-week process or else your puppy could become very sick.
When your puppy comes to your home, he/she will weigh between 4 to 6 pounds. Puppies' neck size when they go home is usually between 6 or 8 inches. So you will need a tiny COLLAR at first, and you will need a TAG with your puppy's name and phone number, and of course a LEASH and a HARNESS.
For now, do NOT get a collar and tag yet, as Émile might have decided to give a little departure gift to all his offsprings with their name and phone numbers...
If you get a HARNESS now, get an Extra Small, but remember it's only for your own pleasure to use in your own home or your families and friend's… your puppy will not be able to go in the street until they get all their puppy vaccinations at about 4 months old. So until then, you can only practice walking them, but cannot go walk them on the street or go to a park because of the risk of Parvo which is very serious in California. Once your 3 puppy shots are done the world is yours! You can go out without your puppy having received the RABIES shots. Because of animal control's law, vets often advise to give Rabies at 4 months, I really would advise you to wait until your small breed puppy is 6 months old. There is no Rabies epidemy in California, so you are safe to go out in the world without them having that shots for an extra two months (Go on any Cavalier puppy site on Facebook, and you will see that they think the same way as I do). Some vets are very nice, but can be very trigger-happy when it comes to vaccinations: it is very important that you do NOT let them give the LEPTO shots to your puppy (it's only for the big breeds and could cause seizures or worst). In one of my previous litter, I had a new family vet who re-did the first vaccination shot that I had just given to that puppy at my vet, and even proceeded in re-doing all the dewormings again for no reason and without testing... Please, do not let them do that, it's too rough on your puppy, and you will only risk stomach problems or worst... plus your vet bill will be astronomical, I am certain 😉
DON'T WORRY, ALL THIS VACCINATION STUFF IS WRITTEN IN MY CONTRACT SO THAT YOU HAVE IT HANDY & CAN TAKE IT WITH YOU FOR REFERENCE ON YOUR FIRST VET VISIT, WITH THE PAPERS THAT MY VET WILL HAVE ALSO INCLUDED.
DEPARTURE INFO:
I always make an appointment with my vet to see all the puppies for their wellness exam and their first Puppy Shot when the puppies are 8 weeks old. That same week, all the puppies will also get their last round of deworming and will be all microchipped. If my vet approves, the puppies will be able to go to their new home around 10 weeks. I would prefer that all the puppies leave around the same weekend, as it’s always difficult when one is left home alone (it’s hard for them not to have their playmates)… let me know what are your thoughts and availability when the time comes... When you come to my home to pick up your new puppy, I will ask you to bring a little TUPPERWARE to put food for their meals on that day (and if you are traveling far, bring a bigger Tupperware, so that I can give you enough for a few days); we will prepare the food together, so that you know how to do it. Also, please bring a small BLANKET to hold the puppy on your lap on the way home, I will wrap it around her mates and mom for a reassuring smell (please wash that new blanket before coming to my house as some blanket smell terrible when you first buy them). And please bring some WATER. Please also make arrangements for the rest of the money to be brought in cash. If you need to make other arrangements, please contact me.
If you have a very long drive, plan on using your trunk to have the puppy go potty and I will give you 2 washable pads that you can take with you.
We will go over vet paperwork, AKC registration, my contract that I will ask you to sign... and your puppy will get lots of little gifts to go with them to their new homes.
You do NOT need to buy a traveling puppy bag or a dog seatbelt as this is a small breed and they will sleep in your arms the whole way home (being a little overwhelmed as you can imagine). I will give you little dry kibbles for the trip, and chews (bully stick and hooves) in case your puppy becomes restless (very little chance)...
By the time your puppies go to their new home, they should be almost potty trained using GRASS PADS surrounded by WASHABLE PADS or PINE PELLETS TRAY (your choice), and of course there is the great outdoors (always supervised at that young age).
Your puppies will be pretty much sleeping thru the night and be able to sleep on your bed with you even on the first night. I will go over later how to do that painlessly 💕
