Welcome to Canyon Creek Aussies

Congratulations on your new puppy and welcome to our Canyon Creek family!

We are excited to have you join us and all the families who have chosen one of our Aussies to love and bring into their homes!

We appreciate your business and consider a deposit a firm commitment on making the puppy a part of your family. We do our best to make the transition smooth for you and more importantly your new puppy and our priority is the comfort of the puppy when they come to you. We ask that you read through this page in its entirety!  We get so many questions that can be answered here! Even with links making it so easy for you. 🙂

This is an exciting time and to help you prepare to bring your new little one home we do our best to make the transition smooth and most comfortable for the puppy when they come to you. We have made a list of items that should help! When your little baby is 8 weeks they will be in your arms before you know it!

It’s a good idea to prepare your home for your new addition and help make it a safe environment for them when they arrive. Bringing home a new puppy can mean tons of wet kisses, snuggles and tail wags and while you’re about to embark on an exciting new adventure as a family, it’s important to note that this transition can be a difficult time for your new puppy establishing themselves in a new environment.  Our biggest thing we ask is EDUCATE yourselves BEFORE puppy arrives.  We have given you everything you will need here to do so.  We also ask that you consider puppy school with your new up!

“Sometimes it can be hard to remember that moving into a new household can be stressful for a new dog, and it can take time for them to adjust,” says Dr. Sandra Mitchell, owner of All Creatures Veterinary Services in Bangor, Maine. “So, being careful not to overwhelm them initially can help them to adjust.” Dr. Mitchell recommends giving your new puppy their own space, such as a small room or bathroom and providing them with some downtime

We will be updating your puppies pictures pictures every two weeks! Once you see them posted on the website we are happy to text them to you so you have a copy.  Just let us know.

You will be sent a follow up email that will have a lot more information for you as well!  So keep an eye out for that 🙂

Below you will find  the essentials, like puppy food,  harness, crate, pen, treats ect ect . These are products we use here at Canyon Creek and will set you up to be ready for puppy to arrive!!

1. Standard Puppy Food ONLY. NOY FOR MINI’s!!!! – If your puppy is a standard please purchase this –Purina Pro Plan; Small and Medium Puppy Food is the preferred brand to keep your puppy on after they arrive.  Your puppy will arrive with a small bag of food lasting a few days.  We have had great success here! Shiny healthy coat, good stools and a good healthy weight. We ask you to KEEP them on this food through at least one bag.  You can always work on transitioning them to a different dog food after the bag is gone. You can CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE 
2. MINI puppy food- If your puppy is from our mini program you will be getting a follow up email on the recommended puppy food.  Please still get the probios probiotic powder listed below and watch for an additional email. 

2. Probiotic-  We REQUIRE everyone to get this Probiotic.  It will help your puppy transition into their new home.  This product is a MUST!  We start them on this probiotic as soon as they are old enough to eat food and a tub of this will last a very long time. Keep those little guts in check as they transition to their new homes.  This probiotic is one of the TWO the things we do require you to get on this list.  So please purchase the puppy food and probiotic.  They are used to the powder formula but you can get a soft chew if you prefer.   Probios Soft Chew

3. Collar and ID tag – Your dog is in a new neighborhood. If he/she gets lost, an ID tag can improve the chances of your pet being returned to you. We recommend that you get your puppy microchipped at their first vet appointment and make sure you register the microchip!  Depending on your location, it should run you about $50.

4. Leash and Harness – When you pick up your new puppy, they will have a mesh harness and a leash. They grow so fast, so this harness will generally fit them for a few weeks to a month (maybe).  Please do not ask for neck size and use this harness until you get your puppy home.  Little ones can slip out of a collar easier than a harness but we do recommend transitioning to a collar  and not harness and sooner than later!

5. Play Pen / Exercise Pen.   Wire pens work great as you introduce your puppy to a crate and they give your puppy/dog a little more freedom while you might be away.  We like the midwest brand, because we feel like they are built a little better.  We like to put the pen around the crate.  We only will lock the crate at night during sleeping time once they are of course introduced to the crate.

6. Dog Crate – A wire crate with large door is ideal for crate training. It not only helps in training but it gives your puppy a space to call their own. You can add the CC blanket and what is familiar to them inside the crate. We recommend  42 inch crate for standards.  We really like the MidWest brand because they are built very well and should last forever. Best we have used by far.  And we love that they fold down really nicely when you need to store them.  The mini’s do great in a 36 inch crate and we like the double-door options. You can also get a cover for when it’s quiet time.  And you can add some padding if you like.

7. Puppy Treats & Chews – Keep some of our favorite soft training treats hand for rewarding good behavior while training and for bonding with your new pup.  We also like to boil chicken and offer very small pieces as a reward.  We don’t recommend excessive treats be given to them because the majority of their calorie intake should come from their food.    They also love these chews as well and are the treat your puppy will come home with.  Puppy Chew/pizzle stick  They love these and they are puppy safe! AVOID RAW HIDE. 

8. Dog Bed – Most new parents are excited to get their puppy a new cozy bed but don’t surprised if they prefer the cool floor for now. We’ve also tried the elevated pet beds that are off the floor which allows cooler air to circulate under them. Some of our owners have said they really like them. So that’s another option you can look at as well.

9. Dog Toys – Provide your new dog with mental and physical exercise with different types of dog toys. They love squeaks, rattles, bell, balls and crinkle type toys! They love to chase around small balls, and play with smaller type toys for now. Be careful of small pieces and choking. Avoid rope toys, they are proving to be dangerous. We like to find out puppy toys in the baby section of  stores like Walmart as well as the kids toy sections! Treat Puzzles are also a great option to keep them engaged. These are a few that we have used.  They really love the puppy slide. Puppy Slide | Treat Puzzle | Treat Ball 1 | Treat Ball 2

10. Teething Toys-  You should begin by inspecting your home for low lying cords that they can reach! i.e. charging cords, computer cords, lamps ect. Make sure th. y have plenty of toys to chew on! Just like babies they with teethe. With this comes the constant need to chew! You will also notice sometimes their ears go crazy! Like one will stand up or be crooked! With time it will go back down. Just snag them some teething toys!

11.  Puppy Camera– Do you need to leave your puppy at home during your work day or just a few hours? We recommend using this great camera by Furb Dog Camera. It has a 2-Way Audio & barking alert: Furbo’s barking sensor detects when your dog is barking. It sends push notifications to your smart phone when it detects barking. Know what’s going on at home and talk to calm them down via the app. Toss a treat to your dogs via the free Furbo iOS/Android app. Fill it with your dogs’ favorite treats & play a game of catch.

12. Dog Brushes-  We really love the Chris Christensen brush line.  Good quality, will last a long time and gentle on aussie coats! (ps I dare you to try the pin brush in your own hair! Best brush I have ever used! )  You can find great deal on amazon for these brushes. Here is the pin brush–  We also like the slicker brush.   We also really like their comb for those skirts tangles!   You will also want to pick up an under coat rake.  They will blow their coats out and this helps to get all that under coat out!  Here is the Chris Christensen one, its a little more pricy but awesome! Another one we like is this rake as well.

13. Shampoo  We love this shampoo & conditioner for the puppies! We will also use Fresh Spray for a fresh smell between baths! Puppies only need a bath when you feel like they need one.

Those are the basics for a dog of any age. As time goes on and you get to know your new family member better, you can customize the type of dog toys or dog beds or leashes to meet his specific needs and preferences.“Products beyond the first few days will depend a lot on the personality of the dog,” Dr. Mitchell emphasizes.

From today moving forward here is what you can expect from our end!

Vet Care for Your Puppy– 

It is important to choose a good vet.  Do your homework and get referrals.  A great question to ask your vet is if they’re familiar with the drugs that are to be avoided with the gene called MDR1.  It is within your aussies best interest to avoid these drugs even if they do not carry the gene.  We will be sending a list in all puppy kits for medication to avoid with your aussie due to the noticed influx of vets prescribing these medications that are best to avoid for aussies. Please have this conversation with your vet on the first day of your vet visit.

You can also read about the gene here.  MDR1 FAQ.

Puppy Training–

THis is a BIG one.  Aussies are VERY smart and eager to please!  We highly recommend if this is your first Aussie, to study now and get ready for your puppy. Also please consider puppy school as well as an online puppy program!

Many of our families get training from an online puppy school called, Baxter & Bella.   They are experts in their field and you can have one on one access to them all through the growing years! You will pay a one-time lifetime fee to access this amazing program!

Learn more about Baxter & Bella here at this link and see if you think it would be a good fit for you and your family! Use our discount code canyoncreekaussies for 25% off your lifetime membership.

If you feel you can handle puppy training and just need some tips we highly recommend series on by Mccaan Trainers on YouTube!

Puppy Biting-  (if link won’t open, try a left click and open in new tab) puppy biting/puppy mouthing and jumping up to you is a normal behavior but needs to be corrected or it can get out of hand quickly and those soft puppy bites will get harder! The blue link has a great full series on puppy biting/nipping stage.

A few things to help-

A Snuggle Puppy will help make your puppy feel more comfortable in their crate, adjusting alone away from other puppies.  You can also keep the crate very close to you for the first few nights.

If you have any further questions or concerns please feel free to reach out to me at any time! We are so excited for you and grateful that you have chosen one of our sweet babies to be in your home and a part of your family!

Again we thank you for your business and for making one of our puppies part of your family!  We truly appreciate great homes and families We stand behind the health of every puppy we place. We love your puppy so much and we do our best to give them a great start both physically and socially and trust that you will continue to love, raise and train them.