I'm getting my first puppy on Friday and I need some info. regarding dogs. I have a dog at my house but it isn't mine so I don't take care of it so much. But this one will be mine to take care of.

It is half Catahoula, half Lab

What is the best puppy food?

It will be 9 weeks, when should I start training it?

I can't really think of any other questions but any and all info. you'd like to give will be much appreciated!

Thanks a lot!

I would find out what they are already feeding him and stay with what he's used to til he gets settled in. Basic house rules (if you don't want him on the couch and jumping on you later don't let him do it now}and crate training is what we start with. Even if he is going to be an outside dog its always good to have them crate trained. Next is basic obedience sit, here, heel. Keep it it fun for the pup and only a few minutes at a time. There are some good guys on here that know a lot more than I do if you run into any problems.

Thanks kindall

Good advise kindall. What do you plan on using this dog for? Kindall pretty much covered the basics. If you have a specific purpose for the dog there could be some other tips you will need to know about.

I would like to use her as a hunting dog but that is not her sole purpose. Just to have really.

you can start obedience now, just take it easy. catahoula/lab could do a number of things, or nothing at all. You won't know for a while. You might try bloodtrailing, you can start them early on that, and it only takes a few minutes when their small.

start training now. Best time for the dog to learn. Take him out in the field. Expose him to a dead whatever it is that you hunt. Let him learn to use his nose.

You can start training the day you put hands on one. You just have to make sure that you are training to his age and attention span.

don't forget the puppy shots.

I keep my puppies close to home til they have completed all 3 sets of puppy shots. Parvo and distemper seem to be on the rise this year.