QuestionWhen I start to have peopleover to pick their pups what is a good thing to tag the pups with for the buyers?
AnswerSheila,
This is an area where you will have to get creative. The most common method is to put different color nail polish on their toenails. This can sometimes be problematic because their toenails are so small and thin and they wiggle a lot. The nail polish also seems to come off fairly easily, probably because they use their feet a lot when they are playing.
Another method that I have used is marking the inside of the ear with a number. If you have 5 puppies then you mark the inside of the ear (on the pink and where there is little or no hair)with number 1 and so on. I used a Sharpie laundry marker (almost all grocery stores have them)because they are supposed to stay on even if they get wet. Black would be the color of preference because it will be less noticeable. It is best to have them marked before your first customer arrives so they can be referred to as puppy number one and so on. The marker is not toxic to the puppy and since the inside of the ear does not (or should not)get wet it usually lasts longer than the nail polish. You must use caution though when marking the ear. The cartilage in the ears is still forming and if you are too rough then you could damage the cartilage which would cause the ears to be unable to stand up like they are supposed too. You should have two people to mark the ears, one to hold the puppy steady and one to mark the ear. As long as you are cautious it is a fairly easy solution.
Those are the two methods I have used and as far as I know they are the safest and most reliable. I liked using the numbers in the ears also because we would refer to the puppies as number 1 and 2 etc. This was helpful because I found that if I named them, I ended up keeping them. Never name your puppies! lol
