Preparing for Your Puppy

Welcome to our "When you bring your puppy home" page!

I'm guessing you have decided or are thinking about adding a new addition to your family. Well, I am SOOOOOO excited for you!

It can be pretty intimidating to add a new puppy to your household, especially when you have not had one for many years. NO worries! we've got your back and we are ready to prepare you for this new amazing journey.

This page will have lots of great information about how we like to do things and what seams to work well in our own experience. We want to make this as easy of a process as physically possible for not just your sweet baby but for you too! This page will have all of our favorite products and tricks that make this an easy journey.

Our Dog Food

This is my absolute biggest recommendation I could ever give you.

Here at Rushing creek farm.ily. We believe in awesome genetics. We have had the most amazing opportunity to show most of our girls against the Shih-tzu breed standards. That means We don't show them against other dogs but against what the breed stands for. With that said- a perfect score for the breed standard is 200 points. A champion has to have 194 points or more in 3 shows (from 3 different judges) to be a champion. Every one of our girls have reached a perfect score of 200 by at least one judge (You can see their score sheets on our "previous puppy updates").

With that said, You are receiving top of the line genetics when you get a puppy from us and that is why we can't stress the importance of your puppies diet.

We Have been using "Nutrisource dog food" for the past 20 years and between great genetics and great dog food We have little to no health issues within our puppies.

We believe a well balanced diet adds to the life expectancy of your dog. We have had many families call us and ask us why Their dog now has allergy problems and Our first question is "What dog food is your puppy on?". 90% of the time They have Their puppy on a diet that is not a well balanced food and it is very hard for their digestive system to digest. Within 3-4 weeks of changing Their dogs food the allergy issues have cleared up and the dogs coat is more beautiful than ever!

Things we love about Nutrisource

* II's made in the U.S

* It's made with quality ingredients (chicken is the #1 ingredient!)

*It's well balanced in protein,fats, and carbs

*Easy on their digestive system

*Does not cause allergy and skin irritations

*Allows your puppy to grow in a healthy manner

We also LOVE using the Nutri-source soft and tender puppy treats for training our babies.

We allow our dogs to have full feed but a puppy will eat 4-5% of Their body weight a day on a good diet.

Our puppy baskets

These are a few of our Rushing creek farm.ily puppy baskets.

We try our best to help provide you guys with enough basics to last the first week. We send each family home with the following items-

*A puppy folder that has all of Your puppies information such as- AKC papers, Microchip paper work, vitamin brochures, shot records,etc.

*A collar that fits them

*A leash

*Nutri-source puppy food

*Nutri-source puppy treats

*A Fuzzy blanket that smells like mama & siblings

*Several of their favorite toys

*A small pack of potty pads

*And of course Their favorite stuffed animal!

This also allows you time to find items your baby will love over that week and this gives you all the necessities You need to welcome Your baby home with familiar items.

Our Favorite tricks for smooth sailing

At this point You know your baby is coming home soon and you SO badly just want familiar things for your baby- SO, let us show you how We enjoy setting things up so You can create an environment that feels safe for Your puppy and efficient for You.

One of the items We highly recommend is a Snuggle puppy!

Many of our sweet babies are from a litter of 3-6 puppies and they are used to having a warm snuggle buddy. Sleeping by themselves for the first few nights and even the first few weeks can be daunting by themself. BUT not with a snuggle puppy! These puppies have a heart beat and heat pack to resemble Their siblings and we have MANY families who swear by them! For many It went from a rough night of adjusting and lots of whining to a smooth night of only checking your baby to take them potty.

Just a reminder: These things work great for us but may not fit your needs 100% and may need adjusted for you and your puppy.

A puppies Playpen

We believe creating a safe environment is key to having a content puppy

All of our families always ask us how we have our puppy pens setup so They can make it as similar and homey as possible.

I attached several photos of how we prefer our areas to be set up and many of our families do this exact set up and find that the puppy stays in a very similar routine as to when they were with us.

We really like having a small crate with the puppies bed, blanket and snuggle puppy inside in. It creates a small safe environment for the puppy to snuggle in and sleep. Very similar to when they were 2 week old babies and mama snuggled with all of Her babies to get them to sleep. We also love the covers that go over their pen and you can roll up the sides or leave them down at night.

We also love using the fold-able panels to create a big play area for the babies. You can buy the panels in packs of 6 ,8 ,and even up to 16! You can put as many or take away as many panels as you need to fit your area. We have 8 set up up inside and we keep the other 8 set up outside in the grass and it is SO handy!

When we set up Their pen we always put the crate in the panels like what you see in the photos below. This allows the puppy to sleep in a warm and cozy place while being able to get up and play with plenty of room. Some families do not do this but We put washable potty pads on the floor since We put their food and water on the opposite side of where they sleep. Since our puppies are on an every 2 hour potty break we don't have hardly any accidents but we do have water spills and it keeps our floor safe and all's i have to do is throw the potty pad right in my washer. Especially with my babies who LOVE water! haha. We try to be as accident free as possible. Having their play pens like this creates an environment that is small and safe for them while still being a "Fun zone". It makes this space cozy and it makes crate training much easier! Even as adults they will continue to make this "Their Home".

Our favorite grooming supplies

As many of Our families know- I (Glori) did professional dog grooming for 3 years. I have learned to groom all of our dogs myself. Whether it be a fancy show cut or a simple clean shave to get our mamas ready for whelping. With that said, These are our favorite grooming supplies that We personally use and love!

BATHING AND BATHING BRUSHES

Shih-tzus don't need a bath very often. We only give our shih-tzu's a bath when They start to smell or Their hair starts looking greasy. We never want to strip the natural oils from Their hair.

We also use a gentle tear-less shampoo on our dogs. We wash Their ears, butt, and feet with Dawn dish soap to get all the dirt and oil off the most greasy and soiled parts of their bodies and we use the tear-less Gentle shampoo to wash Their face and bodies so it doesn't strip the oil out of their skin. I actually love using the soft rubber grooming brushes! i don't often like using it on their bodies BUT i love using it on their ears, feet, tummies and tales to lather the soap better. I also use a flea comb with the fine teeth to brush any eye buggers from the face when i bathe them. It gives their face a cleaner look than just trying to use my fingers to scrub.

BRUSHES AND Bows

I like to brush My dogs every 2-3 days depending on how long Their coats are. My show girls get brushed every day and I do their top knot every day to keep any and all tangles out. My girls that have short hair do not need brushed often but it allows me to spoil each of my dogs even if I just brush Their ears and tale. Here are several photos of my favorite brushes AND of course my favorite bows! Have i mentioned how much I LOVE bows!?!?I

I really enjoy using the slicker brushes. They are my absolute favorite go-to brush for all my dogs. They get any and all tangles out with complete ease and my dogs love getting brushed with it! When I brush my girls I always brush Their belly and the inside of Their legs as those 2 spots get tangled the soonest because of the dogs movement.

After They are brushed out I love to use the wooden brush to do Their ears and face and I use a comb around Their muzzle to get the hairs flat and to smooth out Their top knot so I can put Their hair ties in.

Down below I put all of my absolute favorite bows that I love to use.

The first set of bows I use in all of our puppy photos. It helps me keep some of them apart so I can tell who is who and I always send our retired mamas home with some of these bows because They are SO easy to put in Their hair for beginners! They work really well to put in the hair by Their ears with no hair ties needed.

The next set of bows have hair ties attached to them and you would put Your dogs hair up in a top knot with a hair tie and then put the bow in over it. It gives it a very secure and tidy look that lasts several days when done right.

I also put my favorite hair ties on here as well but there are so many different thin ones that work well and that give a discreet look behind a bow.

Products We love but not family enjoys

*A no drip lickit water bottle

These are amazing! no more wet chin hairs!

*Metal food and water bowls with slip grip bottom

We especially love the ones that the babies can not spill over.

*Washable potty pads

I love having potty pads i can wash that are made thick and strong that i can shake outside and throw right into my washer.

*Indoor potty tray

I do not personally use them but one of our families lives on the top floor of an apartment and they have one like this. These work wonderful instead of using potty pads daily and having to take Their puppy down the stairs every 2 hours to train.

*Odo-band spray cleaner

I actually buy this in a gallon jug and make my own spray but this has to be the best spray i have ever gotten! It smells so good and is very easy on your lungs and your puppies (unlike bleach). It cleans any accident and eliminates any odor smell.

*Food scoop

I have a feed scoop that i LOVE! of course you can use any scoop but i love the ones that measure out my food for each dog.

Clippers

*I love to trim all of my own dogs and i do not reccomend battery operated clippers as they don't last very long. We like to use the Andis 5 speed clippers. They are light weight to hold and very quiet!

Grooming blades and clipper combs

*We use a #10 blade to trim the paw pads, privates and tummies. It gives a nice clean look and helps with the up keep of your baby.

Grooming scissors

*We have several families who also groom Their own dogs and scissors are an essential item for that!