Setting You and Your Puppy Up for Success
Here are some things to remember when bringing your pomeranian puppy home and/or tips and tricks I have learned along the way.
The Puppy Apartment:
Pictured below is my preferred set up when bringing home a new puppy.
It has a bathroom station, his dog bed or blanket, his food and water bowls, as well as his toys.
The puppy apartment is where your puppy should spend the biggest part of his day. He will stay there during meal times, nap times, while you are at work or not at home, and especially when not being supervised (you'd be surprised what they can get into!)
The supplies I use to set up my puppy apartments:
My old nursery had carpet so if you have carpet, I reccomend starting with;
- Vinyl carpet protector from Walmart.
Put it spike side down then duct tape in place.
-For the pen, I use an IRIS pen or black metal pen. I typically buy them off Amazon.
- For puppy pads I use washable bed underpads found on Amazon. I love the brand Utopia.
-For bedding I use cheap fleece throw blankets from Walmart and Amazon. They are easy to replace if need be, but typically they wash and reuse really nicely as well. If the puppies don't rip up beds, I get beds from walmart, chewy, or petco sometimes.
-Food and water bowls are purchased from Walmart, Tractor Supply, or Jeffers Pet.
- I get all my toys from Dollar Tree or Amazon! Puppies are brutal on toys so I go with something that is easy to replace.
The Dangers of Hypoglycemia
Hypoglycemia is a lack of glucose or sugar in the bloodstream. This is very common in small breed puppies. Especially when transitioning to a new home as stress can cause their sugar levels to drop quickly. It is SO important to make sure your puppy eats throughout the day and drinks plenty of water.
Small breed puppies cannot regulate their sugar levels until they are 4-5 months old. The way they keep their sugar up is by eating.
A great thing to have on hand when bringing home a pomeranian puppy is Nutri-cal (forti-cal, nutri-stat. etc) It is a tube of gel that is sugar and nutrient rich.
A great substitute for nutri-cal is Karo Syrup. You can get this at any grocery store.
Giving your new puppy approximately 1-2mLs every day for the first month or two of bringing them home will ensure they are keeping their sugar levels where they need to be while the puppy is growing and getting used to its new normal. You can get Nutri-cal from chewy.com, revivalanimal.com, 1800petmeds.com, etc.
Hypoglycemia can happen very fast. Even the day of or after bringing your new puppy home. Stress alone can cause their sugar levels to drop.
Your puppy may be suffering from hypoglycemia if you notice one or more of the following;
white gums, lethargy, having no interest in playing or eating, they are unncoordinated, shaky, falling over/to one side, or even having a seizure. Once hypoglycemia worsens the puppy goes into convulsions and then later becomes unresponsive/comatose. At this point, without urgent medical attention, the puppy will not survive. As soon as you see any of these signs, or if your puppy is just acting off, administer as much nutri-cal or karo syrup as you can SLOWLY into their mouth and call your vet to schedule a check up.
After a hypoglycemic episode, protein is just as important as sugar. Mix meat baby food or pureed, canned puppy food with a small amount of karo syrup/nutri-cal and feed to your puppy every 1-2 hours until your puppy is willing to eat on their own. You can even put this mixture over their kibble to entice them to eat if you see that they are not eating well.
If your puppy is showing any of these symptoms, is not eating, and will not willingy eat nutri-cal, or has not improved after receiving nutri-cal/karo syrup, please see a veterinarian asap.