Congratulations on the arrival of your new family member. The following information is provided to help you with all the necessary health care your new puppy will require, including worming, vaccination, heartworm prevention, flea control, nutrition, desexing and microchipping.
Puppy Pre-School
Our hospital offers Puppy Pre-School classes for puppies between 10 and 14 weeks of age. These classes are a must for any pet owner wanting a well behaved sociable dog. The class places a strong emphasis on the importance of socialization and teaches basic training. Advice is available for any problems or questions you have regarding your puppy.
If you are interested in Puppy classes please call the hospital to make a booking.
Wellness for life
Did you know pets age around seven times faster than you? Taking your dog to the veterinarian once a year is the same as a person seeing a doctor or dentist once every seven or eight years. That is why all dogs need twice yearly wellness check-ups. Wellness check-ups allow your veterinarian to detect, treat and help prevent health related problems early before they become painful and sometimes untreatable.
Vaccination
To safeguard your pet from potentially serious and sometimes fatal diseases we recommend vaccinations. Dogs are vaccinated against:
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Canine Parvovirus - is a viral gastroenteritis that is highly contagious. Depression, loss of appetite, severe vomiting and diarrhoea containing blood are some of the signs. Without treatment death can occur within 24 hours.
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Canine Distemper - Distemper is a highly contagious disease producing signs such as fever, depression, loss of appetite and discharge of pus from the eyes and nose. In severe cases the brain may become affected resulting in convulsions and death. Treatment is often ineffective.
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Canine Hepatitis - in puppies Hepatitis can cause sudden death, whilst adult dogs can experience weakness, fever, diarrhoea, loss of appetite, bleeding and acute abdominal pain due to enlargement of the liver. In severe cases death may occur within 24 to 36 hours from onset.
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Canine Parainfluenza Virus and Bordetella (Kennel Cough) - Signs include a dry hacking cough that often finishes with gagging and persists for several weeks. These are both highly contagious diseases especially in enclosed conditions such as boarding kennels and show rings.
Your puppy will require a course of vaccinations; our aim is to achieve full immunity by 12 weeks of age.
One week after the last vaccination your puppy can socialise with other dogs or go for walks in the park etc.
Adult dogs require an annual vaccination booster for life. You will receive a reminder when your dogs' yearly vaccination is due.
Heartworm Prevention
Heartworm can affect dogs and is spread by mosquitoes. This disease can be very serious and if left untreated could result in the death of your pet.
Heartworm prevention should commence from 10-12 weeks of age with once a month preventative medication. From 12 months of age an annual preparation given by injection can be administered to protect against heartworm. Heartworm prevention is needed for the life of your pet.
Worming
The most common worms that affect dogs in Australia are roundworm, hookworm, tapeworm and whipworm. Worms are a common cause of ill health in pets and can cause signs such as loss of appetite, vomiting, diarrhoea and in severe cases even death.
Puppies should be wormed at 2, 4, 6, 8, 10 and 12 weeks of age, then every month until 6 months old and then every 3 months for life with an allwormer, eg. Drontal tablet or Canex Cube.
Flea Control
Fleas are unfortunately an ever present nuisance to our pets. If fleas exist in the environment they will find a way onto your dog's coat.
Fleas can be prevented easily and effectively with a once a month topical solution or tablet. All pets in the household need to be treated. Puppies can be given a topical flea treatment as early as 6-8 weeks of age. Our Veterinary Healthcare team can provide you with more information about effective flea control.
Dental Care
Teeth cleaning and gum massage are very important and probably best achieved by supplying your puppy with the appropriate things to chew on. This helps exercise the teeth and gums and helps to prevent boredom. Be careful when selecting toys that puppies can break off pieces and swallows, which could make them seriously ill. Greenies or Rawhide chews are good for your puppies teeth and will provide hours of fun.
Nutrition - a healthy diet
Getting the correct nutrition as a puppy is very important. Therefore it is highly recommended to feed a high quality commercially available puppy or growth formula. We stock several varieties of premium quality dog foods at our hospital.
Puppies only have small stomachs and require small meals often. Three to four meals spread throughout the day is best. Milk is unnecessary and can cause diarrhoea in those that are lactose intolerant. Clean water must be available at all times.
Desexing
We strongly recommend all dogs, male and female, to be desexed. The optimum age is 5 to 6 months of age when the animal is approaching sexual maturity but before they come on heat.
As well as reducing the number of unwanted pregnancies, desexing prevents pets from roaming, fighting or causing nuisance to neighbours. In females it significantly reduces the risk of uterine and mammary cancer and in males it reduces the risk of cancer of the prostrate gland and testicles. It is also advisable to have a tattoo placed in their ear to indicate that your pet has been desexed.
Identification/ Microchipping
Your puppy should be registered with the local council by the time they are 3 months. Some councils offer discounted registration for desexed pets. A dog tag is supplied by the local council for their collar but we also suggest more permanent identification such as microchipping.
Microchipping is a permanent form of identification in the form of a tiny chip, which is implanted under the skin. Registration details are kept with Central Animal Records and can be updated by the owner if there is any change in owner details. We recommend to microchip at the time of desexing as a tattoo is required in the right ear to identify them as being microchipped.
Pet Insurance
Pet Insurance is now available to cover your pet's medical expenses including surgery, illness and accidents. Please ask us for a leaflet.
Bathing
Puppies generally do not require much bathing, however if this becomes necessary make sure you use a mild shampoo. Dogs' skins are very different to ours. We recommend that your dog is bathed no more than once a week.
Environment
At home, your puppy needs somewhere comfortable to sleep and access to somewhere protected from the weather. He/ she would be used to cuddling up to brothers and sisters so may cry when put to bed for the first couple of nights. Provide them with a blanket and a basket or box to curl up in. Try placing a ticking clock under the blanket to simulate the mother's heartbeat.
To keep your puppy's bright little mind active, supply a good range of toys such as Kongs, treat balls, rope chews etc which are rotated over a period of a week, so they are always kept novel. If you are out and about you should have your puppy fitted with the correct lead and harness. A car harness is a good idea for car travel.
House Training
There are certain signs you should watch out for that will alert you that your puppy needs to go outside. These include walking in circles, sitting or whining at the dog or sniffing on the ground. It is advisable to take your puppy outside first thing in the morning, after sleeping, after being left alone for a period of time, after eating and before they go to bed.
Accidents will happen! If you catch your puppy in the act you should immediately take them outside. NEVER spank your puppy, rub their nose in it or reprimand them after an accident. A puppy is too young to be able to connect this with what has been done wrong.
Using praise is the best method of training. Puppies only want to please their owners. Give your puppy lots of praise when the right thing is done.
