Puppy Care

Feeding And Nutrition

We raise our puppies on Life’s Abundance All Life Stages Food for optimal health and development. This premium-quality food provides balanced nutrition and supports healthy growth.

  • Feed your puppy three small meals daily until they are about 4 to 6 months old.

  • After that, you can transition to two meals a day.

  • Always provide access to fresh water.


We’ll send a sample of your puppy’s current food to help with the transition to your preferred feeding routine.

2 Year Health Guarantee

At Hilltop Kennel we believe SO strongly in Life's Abundance Dog food that we offer a 2 Year Hip Guarantee against genetic moderate or severe hip dysplasia, and retinal eye disease on all of our Puppies that are kept on Life's Abundance Pet food & wellness supplements for their first 26 months of life.

Vaccinations & Vet Visits

Your puppy will come home with up-to-date vaccinations and deworming records. It’s important to schedule a wellness check with your veterinarian within 72 hours of bringing your puppy home. This visit helps establish care and ensures everything is on track. Your vet will advise you on a continued vaccination schedule, typically with boosters around 10–12 weeks and 14–16 weeks of age.

House Training

House training should begin right away. Puppies do best with consistency, so take them outside first thing in the morning, after meals, naps, and before bedtime. Accidents are normal at first—use positive reinforcement like treats and praise when your puppy does well. Over time, they’ll learn the routine and become more reliable.

What is included with your puppy:

  • Limited AKC Registration Application (which will be sent once puppy owner provides Hilltop Kennel with a spay or neuter receipt stating dogs name, description and microchip number)or Full AKC Registration if you have decided to purchase a puppy (at Hilltop Kennel LLC's approval) for breeding or showing and a copy of your new puppy's pedigree.

  • Your puppy's vaccination/deworming records.

  • Micro Chip Registration Information Information on the MICROCHIP that has been inserted into your new puppy and how to go about registering your puppy.

  • Personalized New Puppy Care Information Folder.We provide you with all the information you will need to continue providing top quality care, nutrition, training and love for your new puppy!You will also be provided information on spaying/neutering your puppy to protect his/her health and unwanted breedings.

  • Dewclaws ~ We do NOT removedewclawsas new studies are linking dewclaw removalto potentially causing arthritis problem in your puppy.

  • ​Lifetime support for the life of your puppy!

Flying Your Puppy Home Option:

Included with puppies who fly with our Puppy Nanny in cabin and are hand delivered to you:

(This service is an additional $400-600 fee after you have paid the airfare cost):

  • Airline approved soft travel crate (we keep this crate once puppy is delivered to you).

  • Veterinary signed FDA Health Certificate, required to be allowed on a plane.

  • One on one care, love and attention to make sure your puppy travels in comfort, safety and security ~ in cabin with our Puppy Nanny.

What we recommend when driving your puppy home:

If you are driving your puppy home we recommend the following for the drive home:

  • A travel crate for the ride home

  • Old towels or blankets to place in his crate to keep him warm and help him feel more comfortable. If you'd like us to rub one or two on his litter-mate, let us know. The smell often makes him adjust to the crate easier.

  • A water dish in case he/she needs a drink during the ride home. However, we don't recommend this unless the drive is more than about two hours. Also, unless the drive home is more than four or five hours, please don't feed him until you get home as he/she may get car sick and/or have to go potty.

  • You may want to bring along some paper towels and even some wet wipes in case of an accident on the way home.They do happen from time to time.

  • A couple of toys for the drive home may help keep him calm and cry less---sometimes not.

  • A collar to wear when you are not leash training. This is the collar that will have your puppy's ID tags on it.

  • You may wish to bring one or two gallon jugs with that we can fill up for you so you can mix it with your own water at home and make this change gradual as well. We have well water here that does not contain any chemicals whatsoever. A sudden change of water can make people sick, and can really cause problems with a little puppy.

What we recommend when flying your puppy home:

If you are planning on flying with your puppy, you will need the following for the flight home:

  • Airline approved soft travel crate.Veterinary signed

  • FDA Health Certificate, required to be allowed on a plane (we will provide this for you ~ just make sure you give us advance notice so we have this ready for you!)

  • Puppy Potty Pads (10-12)

  • Chew ToysPortable plastic water/food dishSmall Bag ofLife's Abundance All Life Stage Dog Food

  • NOTE: We can give you some great flying tips during our final Puppy Phone Appointment chat so you are sure to have an uneventful, successful flight home with your sweet puppy!

The First Few Days at Home:

Just a little advice on what to plan for and expect for the first few days living in your home:

The first few days can be quite stressful for your new puppy, as everything is a change for him! He will already be weaned off of his mother, but will still be very used to sleeping with his littermates so will be a little lonely and likely cry at night when in his crate. Expect this for the first two to three nights, the first night of course being the worst. If after he falls asleep for a while, he wakes up again and starts to cry, he probably needs to go potty. When you take him out to go potty, keep it all business, NO playing or praise whatsoever. If it's no fun to get up in the middle of the night, he'll soon decide it's not worth it and just sleep through the night for you. However, if you make it fun, he'll look forward to that special playtime and continue to wake up to play at 3 a.m. for months! Remember, you're the responsible one and have to make the rules. If you let him call the shots, he will and they likely won't be what you have in mind.

If your new puppy won't eat at first, don't worry too much, as he will likely be very busy and excitedly checking out his new surroundings. However, if by evening he still is not interested in eating, please try offering him some cooked ground beef. Keeping his blood sugar from dropping is important, so make sure he does eat something. Also, this should help stimulate his appetite again so he'll begin eating his dog food as usual the next day. If he does develop loose stools, adding some cooked white rice should help to bulk them up again quickly. If by the second day he still refuses to eat, please give us a call ASAP, so we can help you determine if there is a problem developing as he may need to see a vet. Above all, the most important thing is that the puppy is drinking! He should be willing to drink shortly after arriving at his new home. If he won't drink within a few hours after he arrives at his new home, please call us immediately at 417-380-0293!! Rarely does this happen, but can from time to time, and it's important not to let a problem go too long. We'd rather you called us as soon as it seems a problem is arising than to wait until something is really wrong. Please, you will not be inconveniencing us at all. We are concerned with our puppies even after they have become yours.

Congratulations on your decision to adopt a Hilltop Kennel LLC Puppy!!

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