Welcome to Kent Family Farms

Deworming:
All our puppies are dewormed at 2, 4 and 6 weeks with Pyrantel Pamoate. We then do a fecal exam after the 6 week deworming to determine if there is any worms present. If they test positive for any parasites we then treat for those. With a negative fecal we don't deworm any more.

Early Neurological Stimulation:
We practice early neurological stimulation from day 3 to day 16 at minimum. Read more about Early Neurological Stimulation on the Early Neurological Stimulation Page.

Potty Training:
All of our puppies are raised on a specially made pad that is attached by velcro to their whelping box. This pad is designed for better traction so that the puppies do slip or have any stress to their developing joints. It is also very absorbent so that they do not have any moisture on their body from urine. We change these pads out twice a day. By 3.5 to 4 weeks I start using pine pellets in a litter box for our puppies. The pine pellets teach our puppies to go in one specific spot in their area and to not potty where they sleep, eat or play. This easily translated to pottying in their new yard when they go to their new homes. 

Food:
We feed our puppies TLC puppy food. It is a wonderful balanced diet that we are very happy with. We start the puppies at 4 weeks on a puppy mush, consisting of the dry puppy food soaked with puppy formula and blended to make a puree that is easy for them to eat. We then slowly soak the food less and less until by 7 weeks the puppies are on 100% dry puppy food. This way we make sure they are on dry food at least 1 week before they go to their new homes. We also start giving NuVet Vitamins daily from 7 weeks old. 

Travelling:
All our puppies will have been in a vehicle to get used to the feeling of driving a few times before they leave our house. It is good to keep up with this once they get to your home. A puppy that travels in the car more as a puppy will be less likely to get car sick when older. A lot of time the 'car sickness' is actually anxiety because they aren't used to the vehicle. 

Veterinary:
We take our puppies to the Vet between 7 and 7.5 weeks old for the puppy health exam, fecal test, vaccinations and microchipping. All our puppies have a thorough check up, including checking their heart, eyes, ears, patellas, proper bite, descended testicles(on males) and for any worms. 

Crate Training:
We start all our puppies on crate training before they go to their new homes. We feel this makes their transition to their new homes much smoother. We start with introducing them to their crates at 4 weeks old. Between 4 and 5 weeks they will get to go in and out of the crate and sleep in them when they want to. Between 5 and 6 weeks, I will put them in their crate a couple times a day for an hour or two while I am disinfecting their room. Between 6 and 7 weeks they will be in their crates overnight, but I keep 2 together in each crate. Between 7 and 8 weeks all the puppies will be in their own individual crates overnight. By the time our puppies go to their new homes they are sleeping consistently from 10:30pm to between 6:00 and 7:00 in the morning, sometimes longer depending on the litter. 

Socialization:
All our puppies are handled from the second they are born. I am up with the mother of the litter helping her deliver them (usually all through the night). I sit with each one as they are born and make sure that each one is drinking properly and is weighed right away. They are then weighed daily for the first week, to make sure they are gaining weight effectively, so I know whether I need to get one of mom more than the others or if I need to supplement. I then weigh the puppies weekly after that. I sleep in a cot next to the whelping bed for the first week to two weeks depending on how things are going and after that they are within hearing range as they are just in the next room over from our bedroom. 

Our puppies are exposed to my three boys daily and once they are old enough to be out playing and running around, they are playing with my boys a large portion of the day. They will also once they have the vaccinations have several different people here to expose them to different ages and personalities of people. We also have 2 cats, 1 of which the puppies get a lot of exposure to, so they are used to small animals around. 

We also introduce the puppies to as many different surfaces as we can, such as vinyl, hardwood, carpet (area rugs), linoleum, grass, gravel, sand, cement and more. We all weather permitting will bring them outside and get them used to going up and down stair on our deck. They will be exposed to many different kinds of toys (including many kids toys, not necessarily on purpose, lol). They are used to playing in tunnels, exercise mats with toys hanging from them and are used to individual snuggle time. We usually will each pick a different puppy to cuddle up with on the couch if we are watching a movie or something in the evening. They are used to being in our entryway, kitchen, living room and the bedrooms. Our puppies are a part of our daily activities and are used to lots of different noises and activity throughout our house. 

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What does our puppies first 8 Weeks of life look like?