Your New Puppy

Bringing your American XL Bully pup home is an exciting event.  Your puppy will be in a new environment with new sounds, smells, and a brand-new family to meet.

Below are some tips and recommendations:

PREPARE YOUR HOME

Prepare your home or apartment for safety:

• Check your fence or balcony to make sure it is secure and your new pup cannot accidentally get out.
• Check the environment for anything that may injure your puppy.  You may find small objects that your puppy could easily swallow, cut themselves on or knock over.
• Check for poisonous plants, soil or potting mix that your puppy might chew on or eat.
• Check for any exposed electrical cables as they ill get chewed.

Decide where the puppy’s bed, toys, food bowl and drink bowl will be.  Decide on general rules, e.g. which rooms your new dog will be allowed to enter, whether he will be allowed on the sofa, sleep in the bed with you etc.  These are important decisions to be made and then you can be consistent.

VACCINATIONS

For the health and safety of your puppy, you need to take your puppy to the vet and get the appropriate vaccinations.

Your puppy will come with the first round of vaccinations (c3) already done.  MVP will provide you with a vaccination certificate and it will include the date that your puppy is due for the second vaccination.

Approximately four weeks after your puppy will need its second vaccination, your vet will get you back in for the third vaccination.

After the third vaccination your puppy is ready to socialise with other dogs.

WORMING

MVP has been de-worming your puppy from two weeks of age.  The worming has been done every two weeks up to the day they leave for their new home.

You will need to continue to worm your puppy.

Puppies should be wormed every two weeks until twelve weeks of age, then monthly until six months of age.  Once they have reached six months of age, a puppy can transfer onto an ‘adult’ worming schedule.

MICRO CHIPPING

MVP has already had your puppy micro-chipped by our vet and health certified.

PUPPY SETTLING IN

It takes approximately 3 weeks for your puppy to settle in to its new home and start to feel ‘at home’, to gain confidence and show their true nature.  It’s normal for a new puppy to cry for the first few nights.

There are some things you can do to help them settle and feel safe in those first few days.

SHOULD I WAKE MY PUPPY UP TO PEE AT NIGHT?

Puppies cannot hold their bladder through the night.

If your puppy is going to be an inside dog, then YES you should wake your puppy up to pee at night, even if he’s sleeping since this will heavily influence your toilet training.  Waking your sleeping puppy up might seem like a hassle but it’s definitely worth it to avoid accidents.

PUPPIES NEED TO CHEW

Chewing is a perfectly normal behavior for dogs of all ages.  In particular, for the first 8 months your new puppy will be teething and they need to chew for their gums, teeth and it also provides them with mental stimulation.

Although puppies do need to chew on things, gentle guidance can teach your puppy to restrict chewing to appropriate objects, like their own toys. 

NO EXERCISE OR JUMPING

Your XL Bully puppy is a young giant.  They grow extremely quickly and their bodies are heavy.  When these big dogs are young puppies, they are not fully developed and their joints and ligaments are not fully developed.  Their joints are fragile, their muscle tone has not developed and either has their co-ordination and control of their bodies.

While they are young (0 to 6 months) if they experience high impact activities, they can do serious and permanent injuries including having joint issues when they are older.  XL Bullies that were exercised while young can end up needing surgeries as young adults.

Recommendation AVOID:

• No jumping in and out of the car
• No jumping off a lounge
• No jumping off a bed
• No jumping off any high place
• No running up and down stairs until they are 4 months old.
• No long exercise walks until they are at least 6 to 8 months old.
• No jumping down off beds or lounges until 10 months old.

The act of jumping down involves less muscular work and a lot of impact on the joints.  Your puppy has a lot of body weight traveling in downward momentum is dangerous.

SOCIALISE

Your puppy needs to develop relationships with other people and animals in its environment.  They also need to get used to household noises and activities such as vacuum cleaners, music and car travel.

You can introduce your puppy to other pets, but not until he/she is fully vaccinated.  Don’t let older dogs play rough with your puppy as this could cause long term issues with fear and aggression.

It’s beneficial to take your puppy out and about to experience different things, but don’t walk your puppy long distance as they are a giant breed and their joints are not up to it.

The more they see the world as a fun and exciting place at a young age, the more confident and calm they’ll be as an adult.

ENQUIRIES

Contact Craig at MVP XL Bullies Australia:
Send an email: mvpbulliesaustralia@gmail.com
Phone: 0447 211 370