So my uncle was wondering if we could take care of a puppy. I'm not sure how old he is, what breed, or anything really. He looks healthy, no fleas or ticks on him as I can tell.

We have two cats, male and female. They both sniffed him out, the male doesn't mind, but I don't think the female like him much.

Anyways, my mother says we should give him regular puppy food watered down with milk (which kind is best?). When should we bathe him? Any other advice?

Here's a couple of pictures if someone wants to help me find out what he is. Curlish (looks normal now that I look at it), brown hair, black tail, black ears, black nose, big jaw and snout would be a general description.

http://i.imgur.com/sXwor51.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/UsvGxuW.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/pubH6W5.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/JgrFoFm.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/u8lZ4hl.jpg

Where did you get him that you don't know what age he is? To me he looks about 6 weeks old, which is extremely young. He shouldn't leave his mother until 8 weeks.

*You could bath him carefully in warm water in the sink, shampoo him gently but not doing his head. Then dry him gently with a towel, making sure he doesn't get cold. Be sure to make it a positive experience for him, be gentle and kind.

*He won't be wormed, so don't let him lick you.

*Be prepared for a pretty sleepness night for the first few nights as he is away from his mother and familiar surroundings and will likely howl or cry through the night. Be patient with him, don't just dump him on his own in a room, comfort him.

*For food, depends if he is weaned or not. Try a bit of mushed up canned puppy meat (just a bit as new food will upset his tummy.) Bread in milk is okay, but again not too much. (some say this is good, others say it is not)

Make sure water is available for him too. Depending on his age he will have to be fed often. For very young pups it is every 2-3 hours (it has been a while for me so if someone knows different speak up). You can also buy puppy formula at pet stores if he needs to be bottle fed.

For feeding do some research, http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?c=2+1651&aid=704.

*Rule of thumb....'in one end, out the other'. Straight after eating he will need to go poo and pee. Start house training him straight away by taking him outside on a lead and see if he goes to the toilet straight after he eats (carry him outside, he won't know how to walk on a lead and is too young). Praise him when he does go toilet and he will get the idea. Don't tell him off if he goes to the toilet in the house, he can't hold it in as he is a baby and he is too young for real training.

*Looking after a puppy is a lot of hard work and not that different from looking after a human baby. He needs to be fed, cleaned up after and watched constantly. He is definitely too young to be left alone.

*When we have a puppy we usually set up an area in the kitchen, blocking it in with child gate or whatever we have. Then lay newspaper on the floor for piddles, water for the little guy and a nice comfy bed in a dog crate that gives the puppy somewhere safe to retreat to.

Just adding stuff as I think of it. It has been a while since I have had a puppy, the last one is now 2 years old. But he was 6 weeks old when we got him and had to be bottle fed for a while.

That's cool dude, sorry I don't have any advice, but I'm getting a puppy soon hopefully. I want a German Shepherd.

Awww, cute!

Store all shoes where he can't reach or be prepared to throw them out after he has had a good chew on them.

This might be harder to do these days, but we took care of the night howling back in the 60's by wrapping a towel around a wind-up alarm clock. The ticking was like a heartbeat, and the pup would cuddle up next to it like it was the mother.

I don't know how common those clocks are now, but if you get one, make sure you DON'T turn the alarm on / wind the alarm spring.

Never ever get those pee pads that you stick in your house that is supposed to potty-train your puppy. All they do is train your dog to pee in your house.

Get him used to a crate. Puppies are easier to crate train then when they are older. You will have to deal with a lot of whining for maybe a month or two, but just ignore him an he will learn to like it. (Unless it is going to be an outside dog, then ignore this)

He needs to be wormed asap. Ask a vet, but you want that taken care.

Yeah, be prepared for him to chew on most everything. They love shoes. Anything plastic or wood will attract them. If you are leaving them alone in an area make sure there are no exposed electrical wires anywhere because they'll chew right through those with a quickness. Deer horns that you can buy in the pet store are really good for chewing because they can't break off pieces of those and swallow them.

I definitely recommend getting a crate. Dogs love spaces they can crawl into and curl up in and you can put a blanket or towels over it to make it more den like.

That is a young puppy. I don't subscribe to the 'eight months with mom' idea, but that does look like about six weeks which is the bare minimum. Puppy food soaked in milk is definitely the best bet. At this point it is just wild guessing as to what breed or breeds the fluffy ball of puppy fur might grow up to be.

This calls for a check up and shots at the vet. Many vets will give you a pretty good deal on puppy check ups in an effort to get a customer for life, so shop around.

Almost all 'bad' dog behaviors are at root just plain boredom. Lots of action and interaction goes a long way towards making a good dog.

Learn about dogs, and let your dog be one. They aren't four footed mini-humans. They play a lot rougher than creatures without fur are prone to do so explaining to them that play biting isn't your thing is important but it's not fair to get mad about them expecting you to play their way. Until really proven otherwise assume they mean nothing but affection.

That was a mistype, should have been '8 weeks'. Eight weeks is generally recommended by vets. I corrected my post.

If you provide your pup with a lot of dog chews he will have something other then your shoes to chew. If he starts to chew something he shouldn't then remove what he shouldn't chew from him and replace it with a chew.

Thanks for the advice so far guys. I'll try and get him to a vet as soon as possible. Perhaps they could also tell me what he is. Coincidentally, my folks went out for some pee pads and other necessary supplies. More advice is always appreciated.

Ah...that makes sense.

Adding to the providing chews. Take what is yours and say clearly "mine", then give a chew or a toy and say clearly "[dog name here]'s". Dog's are smart and will figure out the human speech and concept...but rubbing a little bit of spit on the soles of your shoes to state your message in their language doesn't hurt either.

If you wanted to splurge a bit you could always buy one of those doggie dna kits. You mail the swabs out to a lab and they send you back a detailed anolysis of the dog breeds that your puppy is.

I wish I had known about that one before.

I found a solution that has worked brilliantly for the last three border collie puppies we got. A friend had given me a small stuffed border collie puppy toy and it is pretty much life size (for a 6 week old). Each of the puppies we got had been taken away from their real brothers and sisters, so this toy was a brilliant substitute. They never chewed it too much or ripped it apart, just cuddled up to it and carried it everywhere. It really comforted them.

Then after the pup grew up I would wash it thoroughly and put it away for the next pup.

http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n99/Shezrie/tao1_zps2bb21b3d.jpg

http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n99/Shezrie/tao2_zps30d1d993.jpg

If want, you can get a self worming kit. Its a simple little kit to work with and saves you an expensive vet trip.

See if your vet has a a day were they give out the rabies vaccine for free.

No, I'm serious about those pee pads. They do your dog harm, not good.

Don't crazy with chew toys for them. They only need a few of them.

I have seen stuffed dogs with a pocket for the clock.

http://dogcare.dailypuppy.com/calm-new-puppy-night-1209.html

Dry food is the best for dogs (and cats, for that matter). It helps keep their teeth healthy and wet food is also more likely to not agree with some dogs. Feed it to them as-is; don't mix with milk or anything else. As with cats, milk can actually cause things like urinary tract infections.

There isn't any huge reason to go with "puppy" food, specifically. Different foods have different focuses depending on the kind of dog. It may help to get food with smaller pieces if they're easier for the dog to chew.

Give the puppies soft food. I think my mother gave our puppies mashed potatos once in a while, along with their puppy food.

Like another has said, you should really forget the pee pads. A waste of money and gives a dog the wrong idea of going in the house. I've attempted the pee pad twice with two of my dogs when they were pups and it did no good. Best to just take them outside to get their business done.

I will say one thing for the pee pads; they keep more of the liquid waste off the floor than newspaper does. Long term goal should be getting him to go outside. However puppies do need to go on a more frequent basis, and you might not wake up if he needs to do his business in the middle of the night. I found it easier to deal with the pee pads than soaked and pooped on newspaper.

Train him to attack when you yell "Rosebud". This works better when you start young.

Well. I had my first night with the guy. It wasn't so bad. I was nearly up from 12-2 in the morning. Took him outside to do his buisness. Did well all three times.

He hasn't pooped yet, that's not normal right?

Also, since nobody could look after him while I was at work, I decided to take him so I could keep an eye on him.

Depends on when his last meal was. He should poop sometime today, if not, take him to a vet right after work.

He may have gone temporarily off his feed due to his new surroundings - he should get back to eating (and pooping) normally once he gets used to his new home. If he doesn't start eating again soon, get him to a vet ASAP.

As far as the cats go, I'd keep them away from the puppy unless you're there to closely watch how they get along. I've had dogs and cats together for many years, and while they have almost never become "best buds" with each other (the exception was a Cocker Spaniel and an orange tabby cat that we got as babies at just about the same time - they grew up together and really did enjoy playing with each other), they'll usually learn to at least tolerate one another. But every animal is different, so you need to be absolutely certain they will not fight and injure each other if they're together.

Don't feed him too much. I learned the hard way when I "puppy-sat" a Doberman for my aunt for a week. Put him in the basemant with a bowl of food and the next morning I was greeted with a dozen piles of poop all over the room.

Your best bet is to leash him, and keep him with you at ALL TIMES while he is up and about. Take him outside regularly to go potty. When he goes outside, tell him what a good doggy he is, pet him, and make a big deal of it. When he goes in the house.... tell him "NO". Be firm, but, don't just yell at him. He will figure it out in a week or two. Don't leave him alone if you don't have too. If you do, cage is a good thing to have. When you get home, first thing you do is take him outside. (and clean up any mess in his cage....)

He will probably sleep thru the night without trouble. His metabolism slows way down when asleep, but, when he wakes up, take him outside IMMEDIATELY.

Puppys chew on stuff because they are bored, and it feels good on their teeth. Give him something better to chew on than a shoe, or plush toy..... (don't ask) and he will chew on that instead. The Rawhide chewy thingys aren't really good for your dog.... Don't give him those. If there is a local meat market, ask for some bones. They will generally just give them away, or sell them very cheap. They will keep puppy happy for days.

Most of all. PLAY with him. Give him attention. When he does something good, make a big deal of it. Be overly dramatic. He will pick up on that quickly. When he does something bad, tell him "no". Be firm. Make sure he is aware that you are unhappy with that behavior. Don't hit him though..... that only teaches him to be afraid of you. Not a good scene.

If you don't want him on the furniture, don't let him up there. At all. Same for beds. No telling how big he is going to get..... so that one is up to you.

Dogs, just like people, like to be comfy. If he can be comfy, AND curled up with his human, he will be in dog heaven. That goes for both furniture, and beds.

I have two dogs. (and have had several others....) One is FAR to big to share a bed with..... But, I knew that when we got her. She sleeps on her own bed, in my bedroom. (Newfoundland/Husky mix....) My other dog is pitbull, and god only knows what. She isn't very big, but she sure is heavy. She LOVES to curl up to my back in bed. She will curl up, pass out, and that's where she will be all night. If either of them need to go, they wake me up.... sometimes at truly stupid hours of the night. Get used to it.