(And now… what shall I do?)
A little guide to grow up together
Autore: Valeria R. for Lupavaro Italian Sighthounds,
All rights reserved
Today is the big day!
You are finally going to pick up your new best friend and for sure you did not sleep last night, right? Feelings are mixed and maybe also a bit overwhelming: you are happy to finally welcome the little creature, you’ve been waiting for but you also are a little bit afraid. “May I be able to handle everything in the right way?” In this tiny guide, i want to underline some focal points. Stay relaxed, because our dogs absorbs all our moods.
If you’re coming alone by car, to make the journey home safe, you need a proper pet carrier. A Skudo Kennel size 4 would be perfect because it is IATA approved and will still fit the puppy when fully grown.
During the car ride, if you are traveling alone, always keep the puppy inside the carrier until you are safely inside your own home. If you are together with another adult person, the puppy can also be kept in the arms of that person. Do not take the puppy out on a leash at a highway stop area: the pup may get scared because he/she doesn’t know you yet, might get lost and could run away easily. Safety always comes first! Even if there is a small “accident” on the puppy pad during the first travel with you it can be cleaned later.
Welcome home! 
Your puppy has just experienced a big adventure and will need plenty of rest. Puppies are like babies: they grow while they sleep, so it is very important never to wake them up while they are sleeping. Then it’s time to eat. We recommend high-quality super-premium puppy food or a fresh BARF diet. Young puppies should eat three times a day. After fifteen minutes, remove the bowl if food is left. This helps establish a healthy routine.
Remember to go potty again after every meal; generally, the pup will poop shortly after meals.
Puppies go potty every time they wake up, they finished playing and immediatly after every meal. So go out with the pup very frequently, ideally every 2/3 hours in the first months. It’s very important to distinguish between “walking the puppy” and “go potty”: When you go outside, the first 10 minutes don’t start immediatly start walking around in the park. Why? Well, during walks the puppy gets distracted by exploring the environment, intrigued by various noises and smells, other dogs in the vicinity, cars, and passersby. He’ll never go potty, if we keep walking. Puppies needs routine and structure: in the first 10-15 minutes, take your puppy to a quiet area, without too many distractions, preferably a lawn. . Give him a limited radius to explore, ideally near trees or bushes. Encourage the puppy to sniff around. The important thing is to stay within that radius until he’s done his business. At that point, praise him profusely and begin the real walk. This way, the puppy will learn that the fun part begins AFTER he’s done his business. Furthermore, if you always take him to the same spot, it will be easier for him to remember what you expect, because he’ll smell his own scent there, sniffing around. You’ll see that by doing this, your puppy will quickly learn to do his business in the place you’ve chosen. Little by little, he’ll learn to expand his circle and eventually do his business immediately, as soon as you leave, in other places too. The important thing is to create a routine: dogs are creatures of habit and quickly associate
We highly recommend this e-book by Turid Rugaas, available on Amazon. It is an excellent resource for new owners to truly understand a puppy’s needs. Many books push puppies into way too early “socialization,” often throwing them into “all breed puppy classes” where sensitive or little sized puppies are overwhelmed by bigger or more dominant ones. Others encourage immediate exposure to very busy environments, lots of people, shopping malls, or crowds of visitors—and then wonder why the puppy becomes fearful. Italian Greyhounds are especially sensitive. People often focus too much on SOCIALIZATION without considering that entering a new home is already a huge challenge. The puppy has lost their mother and siblings and must adapt to a completely new environment with people they do not yet know. First, they need calm, stability, and time to build trust with their new family. So, the most important socialization is to creating a bond and to make your puppy fee safe around you and his new home. The stronger the bond gets, the more the puppy will have trust in you and follow you trustfully. Your behavior will imprint the pup: if you are calm and relaxed while you walk your puppy, you dog will feel safe. If you are stresed, panicking, disappointed or nervous, your dog will be worried all the time too. So your job in the first weeks will be: CREATE A BOND with the pup and keep cool and relaxed. A relaxed owner will have all the trust of the puppy and the little one will follow you everywhere. As example watch this video: i’m walking a 3 months old puppy in the airport: look how trustfully he follows me, without caring about the noises, people and luggages.
By the way, walking on a leash is a brand-new skill for your baby. If your puppy becomes scared and refuses to move with you (remember, at the beginning you are a total stranger for the baby), never pull on the leash. Pulling may cause the puppy to resist or slip out of their collar. Instead, kneel down and call them with a happy, encouraging voice. You may offer a tasty treat, although some sighthounds are too shy to eat when nervous. Be patient—trust will grow, and walks will soon become a joy. Lupavaro puppies already with an anti escape harness. Check my article about this type of harnesses, i highly recomend to use them on puppies.
Italian Greyhounds are sighthounds, meaning they instinctively chase anything that moves. Leaves, birds, or even a piece of paper can trigger a sudden sprint. Because they are extremely fast, they can easily get injured or lost. Never let your puppy off-lead unless you are in a very safe, fully fenced area. Uneven ground or rabbit holes can be dangerous for their delicate legs.
Inside the house, your puppy may enter a true “kamikaze phase.” 
They have no idea how small they are and will try to climb chairs, tables, and sofas—then jump down without hesitation. Always push chairs under the table and block access to the sofa when you cannot supervise. A big puppy playpen with toys, a soft dog bed and chewing stuff, can create a safe exploration area when you need to leave the house. We are not fans of crates to leave a dog in while you are away.
Clothes
Italian Greyhounds suffer the cold weather, They have no undercoat and must be absolutely protected from the cold. The puppy in the picture is waering a beautiful and warm sweater, made by ZIKKI Design .Italian Greyhounds generally love to wear clothes during winter walks. 
To grow up strong and healthy, your puppy needs a balanced diet. We love to use Microflor to support immunity and Nutrimind pearls . As the puppy grows, Chondroitin (such as Condrogen) helps protect ligaments and cartilage. You may notice the soft “woolly” puppy coat starting to fall out—this is completely normal. It is being replaced by the sleek, silky adult coat. Salmon oil can help support a healthy, shiny coat. I also love to massage my dogs coat and skin with native coconut oil.
Around four to five months of age, puppies begin changing their teeth. During this phase, ears may temporarily look uneven or stand strangely—don’t worry. 
Gentle ear massages can help to put the little ears in shape. Always check the mouth too: if an adult canine tooth comes in, while the baby canine tooth still remains, a vet may need to remove the milk tooth to ensure proper alignment.
Vet visits: There are two very important things to remember. First, sighthounds are extremely sensitive to anesthesia due to their low body fat, so the veterinarian must be informed and cautious. Second, to reduce vaccination reactions, we follow a specific homeopathic protocol to support the puppy’s well-being.
Scopri di più da Lupavaro: Italian Greyhound breeders in Italy
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