This is a page we’ve put together with some resources for your new Oracle puppy.
Training Resources – this page is an ongoing list of valuable videos, online courses, e-books and more. I encourage you to watch the videos and read as much as you can before your puppy comes home, so you are well prepared.
Shopping List – A list of what you’ll need before your puppy comes home.
Feeding Schedule
Our puppies are weaned onto raw food. By the time they are ready to leave, they are eating about 1.5 lbs per day, divided into 3 meals (so about 0.5 lbs per meal). They will be used to many proteins (usually including mostly chicken, turkey, beef, salmon and lamb) and many brands of raw (including Haus Raw, Tollden Raw, Iron Will Raw, BCR and Healthy Paws).
If we are using kibble in a puzzle toy, we use Carna4 kibble. If you request the puppy to be transitioned to kibble before they leave, they will be transitioned to Carna4 as we find it to be the best to transition onto as it’s closest to raw food. Recommended foods can be found on the shopping list.
Potty Training
Once the puppies are mobile, from three weeks on, a portion of the puppies’ area is made into a potty area. They quickly learn that there is a designated area to potty. Then once they are old enough they are brought outside to potty as much as possible.
So by the time they arrive at your house, they understand that there are to potty outside. That being said, they are babies and will not hold it if they have to go. So it’s your job to transfer what they already know to your home.
This means you should be taking them out to potty as much as possible. We recommend making it a habit to take them out:
– After they’ve eaten
– When they wake up from a nap and in the morning
– When they’ve been playing for a long time
– If they haven’t been outside in the last hour
It won’t always need to be that frequently, but at the beginning you want to avoid accidents as much as possible, because they will quickly make it a habit. To further avoid accidents, you can:
– Crate them when you are not supervising or tether them to you (puppies tend to move away from the place where they are playing/sleeping so when you tether them to you, you will be more aware of that movement)’
Crate Training
We start this process for you, by introducing a crate to the puppies and working with them to be comfortable in the crate. However the hardest part is going to come when they are away from their littermates and on their own. So we encourage you to have the tools ahead of time to begin positive association with the crate from day one.
We highly recommend this course by Cognitive Dog called Happy Crating. It’s a $47 course that will help you set yourself and your puppy up for success.
Veterinary Concerns
MDR1 – this document should be printed out and brought to your vet with you. It lists the drugs that should be avoided with Australian Shepherds due to the MDR1 mutation. Do not assume your Vet knows about this. We have come across more than one Vet who does not.
Dewclaws – this document – We leave dewclaws on puppies to maintain the soundness of their fronts. We have had vets suggest to owners to remove the dewclaw upon spaying/neutering. This document helps explain why the dew is an important appendage. They use their dewclaws and it is attached through ligaments to the leg.
Vaccination – Schedule – the most important part of our vaccination requirements are that vaccines are not combined – particularly with the Rabies vaccine. Rabies should be given 3-4 weeks apart from other vaccinations to reduce the risk of a reaction.
Tick Concerns – while our contract requires the use of monthly chemicals be limited, we acknowledge that in some areas the threat of ticks and therefore Lyme disease are so great that the risk of the chemicals is worth it. If you feel this is your scenario in your area, please reach out so we can discuss your options. Right now the best option on the market for safety in MDR1-at risk dogs is Advantix II.