Puppy Guide 2025
- Elizabeth Hosmanek
- Feb 2
- 7 min read
Updated: Feb 6
Celine’s Fabulous Five were born on November 26, 2024. They are now eating a variety of foods and getting ready for their new homes. At this time it looks like the puppies that are leaving will all fly with their new families so I am making care packages a little different than I did in the previous two litters, when most of the puppies were picked up at our home and traveled by vehicle.
Food and Feeding Recommendations:
Each puppy will leave with a small bag of Nulo Challenger Puppy & Adult Small Breed Northern Catch. This food is fish based and also contains poultry. It can be purchased from Chewy:
Feed your puppy three times a day, about ⅓ cup per meal, to begin with. I recommend feeding in a crate so that other household pets cannot eat the puppy’s food. As an adult, your Vallhund’s calorie needs will vary based on gender (males need more), activity level, and whether or not they are spayed/neutered (intact dogs need more calories). Egon consumes about 800-900 calories daily whereas Celine needs around 500. Prins and Mario have higher daily needs, at around 1,000 calories a day.
When your puppy is around six months old, you can transition to adult dog food. I recommend Earthborne Holistic Unrefined, which is a grain inclusive food available in three different protein blends: Salmon, Rabbit, and Lamb. The Salmon does not have other proteins in it. Rabbit contains lamb and salmon. Lamb contains salmon. I have used all three with my own dogs and usually purchase rabbit based; they are the same price. The puppies had small quantities of this food at my house. If you choose a different food, be sure to find a formula that has grains but no corn, legumes (peas, pea protein, lentils, soy, etc.) or potatoes (sweet or regular). Those are the top allergens that lead to itchy skin and additional health problems. Legumes in particular are linked to cardiovascular problems in multiple breeds. Vallhunds need more fiber than other breeds I have owned, and each Earthborne Holistic Unrefined formula has at least 7% fiber, with the highest having 9.5% fiber. I do not need to supplement my dogs with additional fiber when at least half of their daily diet is Earthborne. Protein and fat levels need to be watched in Vallhunds, as they are prone to pancreatitis when overfed, which is an extremely painful medical condition that necessitates emergency veterinary care.
A second dog food that I recommend, particularly for show dogs and intact males, is Canine Caviar Caviar Open Meadow, an all life stages food. Puppies ate this food at my house and it is a great alternative or addition to the Nulo food. CC Open Meadow is nearly allergen free, so it’s a good food for any dog suspected of having food allergies. Many Vallhunds in the US have some level of sensitivity to poultry; in my house that includes Mario and Prins. CC Open Meadow is a high calorie kibble not recommended for less active dogs.
Puppies enjoyed a variety of AAFCO balanced foods as treats at Lycklig Farm. We don’t usually buy foods specifically labeled as dog treats, because they are often empty calories and exorbitantly overpriced for the ingredients. Yumwoof has a food called Perfect Kibble that the puppies love, they enthusiastically ate the chicken variety. I gave them a few pieces each time they go back into their puppy bedroom after a play session in the main living areas of our house. Yumwoof Superfood is fed at our home, both the Meat Lovers and Wild Caught Fish, to our adults. These are high calorie foods that should be fed sparingly. I have a subscription and purchase directly from the Yumwoof website:
Puppies all enjoyed Pawstruck Air Dried Beef, both as a treat and topper. This balanced food is available from multiple suppliers, Chewy included:
Puppies all ate multiple kinds of canned dog foods. The first food that they began to ate was Nulo Puppy Chicken and Egg Pate: https://www.chewy.com/nulo-small-breed-puppy-grain-free/dp/1297838
Additional canned foods that were mixed in and recommended include Acana Premium Pate Puppy:
One all life stages canned food that puppies enjoy is Evanger’s Lamb and Rice. This is one of those surprisingly well priced foods that has high quality ingredients with high palatability. At the time I wrote this guide, it was priced under $30 for 12 full sized cans, with 475 calories per can. I keep extra cans on hand when we have female dogs in season in the house, as the boys have less appetite during that time and often need a little enticement to eat. The link to purchase Evangers on Chewy is:
Beds and Crates:
Puppies leaving by plane will have an airline approved Sherpa bag. Puppies leaving by vehicle will have a solid sided crate. I recommend nothing fancier than an old towel for bedding when working on crate training your puppy. Do not leave bowls, toys, or collars on your puppy when they are unsupervised in their crate. Puppies are NOT crate trained or leash trained before leaving my house. This is the best time in their life to learn dog social skills, with siblings as well as adults. I work with puppies individually but it is time limited and strictly positive so that they enjoy time away from other dogs. They are separated in crates for an hour for each of the three cheek swab collections for genetic tests. They rode in crates in my car to and from our vet office. Full crate and leash training will begin with their new families.
Full housebreaking will also begin with new families. Puppies are started on housebreaking here, but the reality of our house floor plan and Iowa winter conditions limits the amount of time puppies can spend outside. There are some days that it is just too cold to safely take a young puppy outside in our climate. We have a large population of native aerial predators, including bald eagles during the day and multiple species of large owls at night. Each puppy will leave with two washed pee pads similar to those that they used in their puppy room and the living areas of our house. To ease housebreaking, keep your puppy supervised at all times when they are not in a crate. Shortly after eating or drinking, take your puppy outside and use they same words to ask the puppy to potty. We use “Go Potty” as well as “Go Poopy.” All of our dogs learn those words, and will go on a leash or off. The general rule of how long a puppy can hold it is the age of the puppy in months, plus one. A three month old puppy can hold their bowels a maximum of four hours. This is a maximum guideline, and some puppies need to go more often than others when young. If you don’t have other boisterous dogs in your household, you could keep your puppy leashed with you when loose in the house. When they start to stiff around, use a common word like “Outside,” and head to do business outdoors.
Round, donut style beds are extremely popular with Vallhunds. The medium sized Best Friends by Shari Donut Cuddler bed is completely machine washable and reasonably priced. We have several of these and they have survived several months of getting dragged around the house, shaken, and slightly chewed. I do not recommend leaving a dog bed in a crate with your puppy. The temptation to destroy is too high and could result in swallowing parts, possibly leading to life threatening impaction. The bed is available in many colors:
Chews and Teething:
Puppies are all used to chewing beef cheeks at our house. I buy large cheeks by the dozen from Red Barn:
While no chew is completely safe, cheeks are safer than most other animal based chews. They are fully digestible, though you still need to watch for sharp pieces that splinter off smaller pieces. Those should be removed and discarded, as they could cause a puncture before being digested. Large splinters can also cause impactions if swallowed. Cheeks are not as hard as bones (synthetic and natural) or antlers, both of which can cause slab fractures and other canine dental problems. They last much longer than bully sticks. In our house, even the monster size bully sticks do not last more than a half hour and cost $15-20 per stick. We save bully sticks for special occasions like travel and birthdays. Each puppy will leave with a smaller beef cheek that has been partially chewed (the most popular kind) and a wrapped new beef cheek.
In addition to chews, we recommend that you purchase toothpaste and a toothbrush from your veterinarian to brush your dog’s teeth on a regular basis. Weekly is best, and most of our dogs love the poultry flavored toothpaste. They look forward to tooth brushing and this prevents plaque buildup better than any chew products.
Toys:
Each puppy will leave with a stuffy toy and a Daugnut toy. Vallhunds are extremely tough on toys. Most of our adults are not allowed stuffy toys because there is nothing we have found that is not destroyed within a few minutes. Our adults also enjoy sneaking their toys into the yard, where they become disgusting. Many stuffies are washing machine safe, and last through many cycles if washed in a delicate laundry bag.
Leash Training:
Puppies are not started on leash training in my house. Leash training needs to be done one on one, and I don’t like to start to put pressure on a puppy’s neck until they are at least 12 weeks old. Puppies will each leave the house with a British style slip lead. I will show each family how to correctly put the leash on. This is an excellent leash to have on hand, both collar and leash in one tool. Remember “P for Puppy” when you put the leash on your puppy.
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