Feeding & Grooming
FEEDING
FEEDING: As with any puppy your Spitz IS what they eat and what goes in also must come out. So in order to give your puppy its best start in life it is recommended that initially you continue with the diet & regime that has already been established by your breeder.
At 8 weeks of age this is likely to be 3 or 4 meals each day spread equally across approx' a 14 hour period with each meal left down for only 20 minutes or so. Never leave uneaten food on the floor as this encourages 'grazing'. As your puppy grows you will need to increase the amount fed at each mealtime according to the food manufacturers recommendation.
At 12 weeks of age you can probably drop one mealtime but still spread the remaining 3 meals equally across your day. Try to feed at about the same time each day, your Spitz has a remarkable body clock and will quickly get used to its new routine. Continue this pattern until your dog is 6 months of age when you can drop a further meal, probably the lunchtime feed.
Once your dog reaches its first birthday it may well be time to migrate it from a 'puppy food' onto an adult food. As with any change in your dogs regime introduce this gradually over a period of some days so as not to cause tummy upsets or pooh problems. This may also be the time when your dog reduces to a single meal each day.
Fresh water should ALWAYS be available to your dog.
GROOMING
GROOMING: With a breed that owns such a profuse and magnificent coat you could be forgiven for believing that it requires extensive grooming; Nothing could be further from the truth.
As commented upon elsewhere on this site the breed has a 'self cleaning' coat which means that it can get extremely dirty and all you need to do is to allow the coat to dry and to then give your dog a light comb/brush through and the vast majority of that dirt simply falls away and you are left with a pristine, gleaming dog all over again.
That is not to say that the dogs coat does not need attention because it does, but it is true to say that a little goes a long way. If you give your dog a 5-10 minute groom each day then you will keep it very tidy and be able to reserve a bath and a more extensive groom for those special occasions or visits to dog shows.
The key here is frequency, i.e. groom every day -or- at worst 5 days out of 7. The only exception to this is when your dog is moulting when it will require more attention and will need grooming every single day and thoroughly combed to carefully remove as much as possible of the dead hair. This moulting period usually occurs once a year for dogs and twice yearly for the bitches.
Click on the link below if you would like to download a detailed and illustrated guide to grooming your Japanese Spitz. Grooming Guide . . .
PEDICURE: Of course no tidy up of your Japanese Spitz could be complete without full and proper attention to their paws & claws - the only area of your dog that requires a trim to its fur coat. To support our owners we have produced a definitive guide to a full paw trim and claw clip.
Click this link to get your free Paw and Claw Trimming Guide . . .