Puppy Care

Congratulations on your new puppy, this is a very exciting time for everybody at home - but can be a little frightening for your new puppy. Your puppy is very dependant on you for feeding, care, attention and love. Remember your puppy will desperately be missing the company of his/her Mum, Brothers and Sisters. You will need to provide a comforting environment, such that your puppy settles in to her new home easily.

WHERE SHOULD MY NEW PUPPY SLEEP?
The first few nights is likely to be very hard on your new puppy, she will have been sleeping with her Brothers and Sisters and will be lonely initially. Be sure that you provide a cosy spot for your puppy to snuggle up in. Unless you want your dog to always sleep in your bed, don’t weaken and let your puppy join you. A bed/basket/kennel will make the transition to home life easier as your puppy recognises it’s own sleeping space.

WHAT ELSE DO I NEED FOR MY PUPPY?
There is no end to the accessories for your pet today. Designer collars and sunglasses are far more common than you may think!! But lets start with the essentials:

* Food and Bowls - heavy bowls with a wide base will ensure no bowl being knocked over, and no making a huge mess!

* Collars and Leads - A light-weight collar is best for a puppy, most puppies will scratch at their new collar for a short time when you first put it on.

*  Brushes and Combs - Start brushing your dog when it’s young – make it a routine and it will always be easy, there is a huge variety of brushes and combs suitable for certain coat types – ask your breeder or pet supplier for advice first before buying anything.

WHAT DO I FEED MY PUPPY?
Nutrition is very important, ensure that you give your puppy a good start with a healthy diet. Always take the advice from your breeder, don’t change the diet of your puppy when she gets home. Young animals can’t tolerate a sudden change in their diet, if you really want to change the diet ensure that you do things gradually.The best advice is don’t skimp on food, it is important that your dog has a good quality diet as it is growing, many dogs can and do develop growth and bone problems as a result of an inappropriate diet in their youth. Be prepared to pay a little extra for a good quality food, in general the dry foods have better nutritional value than canned foods.

Young puppies may find it easier to eat dry foods if they are soaked in water first – this should not be necessary once your puppy reaches 12 weeks of age. Milk is not necessary and may cause diarrhoea, if you would like to give milk it is generally best to obtain a lactose free puppy formula eg. Divetelact or Wombaroo milk replacer.

If you haven’t noticed already, your puppy has very sharp teeth and they like to use them – don’t be frightened to give your puppy raw bones, raw chicken necks and chicken wings are appropriate for small puppies. Chewing is important to maintain healthy teeth and gums and too help loosen those temporary teeth to allow adult teeth to erupt through normally. If you don’t like the idea of smelly half eaten bones lying about the house then try chew toys, rawhide chews or dentabones for your puppy to chew on.
<BRHOW often do i feed my puppy?br />All puppies are different but the general advice is:

· 4 times daily until 8 weeks of age
· 3 times daily until 16 weeks of age
· Twice daily until 6 months of age
· Once a day when adults

WHAT ABOUT WORMING?
Puppies need a lot of worming, it is very easy for puppies to pick up worms, young puppies have a weak immune system and can easily die from worm infestations. You should worm your puppy as follows:

<12 wks – every 2 weeks (it is at this age that puppies are most vulnerable to worms)
3-6 mths – every months
>6 mths – every 3 months

Worming will usually be the first experience in giving your puppy a tablet. Some worming preparations come in liquid eg; drontal liquid or cube meat form – Canex Cubes. It is good training to learn to give your dog a tablet from an early age, always give a reward once a tablet has been given. Your breeder, pet product supplier or vet will be able to advise you which wormer is best and easiest for you to use.

WHEN SHOULD I VACCINATE??
How many vaccinations your puppy requires will depend on what age your puppy receives its first vaccine. Generally 3 vaccines are given at:

1st 6-8 wks
2nd 12-14 wks
3rd 16-18 wks

You will need to consult your veterinarian to establish a vaccination protocol for your puppy. Keep your puppy confined to your yard until fully vaccinated. Many viruses can survive in the soil for months – don’t assume your puppy will be safe if it doesn’t meet other dogs.

HOW CAN I PREVENT FLEAS?
All dogs get fleas, it’s just a case of how many. The secret is to never let fleas start breeding in your home and yard. Start using flea control from a young age, so that you never get a flea problem at your home.One adult female flea can lay up to 400 eggs a week, so it doesn’t take too many fleas to suddenly cause a flea explosion at your place. To stop fleas from breeding you must constantly be using flea control. There is a huge range of products available, from flea powders to tablets, there is a catalogue in this puppy pack with all the different products available.

A Quick Summary of Flea Products:
*SPOT ON\'S – these are easily the most popular and by far the most effective of all flea control products. Less than 1 ml of liquid flea control is placed on the back of your dogs neck, this will spread out through the oils in the coat and provide 1 months protection against fleas. There are plenty to choose from but all work very well, choose from  Frontline,  Advantage and Revolution.
*SPRAYS – A spray can be very effective and easy to apply in short coated breeds, if you have chosen a long coated breed then forget about using flea sprays. Frontline produce a very effective flea spray that can be active for up to 3 months. Otherwise Permethrin sprays are useful but do need to be used every day.
* SHAMPOOS – The problem with shampoos is that they have no residual action ie. Shampoo’s are great at killing the fleas on your dog at the time of being washed, but as soon as your dog dries out, new fleas can jump on for a free ride. Many flea shampoos can dry out your dogs coat, giving it a dull, unhealthy appearance.
* POWDERS – never seems to be quite as effective as the sprays.
* TABLETS – There are some oral medications for fleas which have advantages and disadvantages, contact your pet product supplier or vet for advice.
* FLEA COLLARS – Are helpful to prevent fleas but will not be as effective as many of the other flea products discussed.
* DON\'T IGNORE THE ENVIRONMENT - 90% of fleas will be living in your house and in the yard, you must treat the environment if you have a flea problem. Fido’s flea bombs are a very effective environmental flea control. If you don’t have a flea problem then make sure you don’t get one by keeping up with effective flea control all year round.

HEARTWORM - HOW DO I PREVENT IT?
Heartworm is a killer disease spread by mosquitoes, many dogs sadly still die from heartworm and it can be so easily prevented. Every dog must be on heartworm prevention from 12 weeks of age. Again there is a huge range of product to protect your dog from heartworm, all of them work very well when used as instructed.

A quick summary of Heartworm Preventatives:
* MONTHLY TABLETS – Still the most popular for preventing heartworm – there is a huge range of different products available, there is a catalogue in this puppy pack with all the different Heartworm products.
* MONTHLY SPOT ON – Applied exactly as for the flea control, these Spot on combine both flea and heartworm prevention. These are 100% effective and particularly helpful for those dogs who are difficult with tablets.
* DAILY TABLETS – Still very effective but MUST be remembered every day, can you trust yourself never to forget?

If your dog is overdue to heartworm medication, please consult your veterinarian before giving a preventative, some preventative medications can cause a reaction if your dog has contracted heartworm disease.

LETS KEEP YOUR PUPPY SAFE - WATCH OUT FOR THESE:


* TICKS? In many areas of Australia paralysis ticks are common, these nasty little critters can kill a dog. Many products are useful for preventing ticks but nothing is 100% effective. If you live in or are visiting a tick area, always check your dogs daily for ticks. Of the products available for ticks, there are Tick collars, Frontline Top Spot and Proban tablets, discuss these options with your Pet Product Supplier or your Vet

* TOADS? The cane toad can kill a playful puppy – never let your dog play or chase toads. If you think your dog may have ingested toad poison – wash her mouth with running water for at least 5 minutes, this will go a long way to preventing the poison from being absorbed through the gums. Always call you vet immediately after washing out your puppies mouth.

* CHOCOLATE POISONING? Yes it’s true, chocolate can be very toxic to dogs, cooking chocolate and dark chocolate is the most dangerous, but to be safe never give your dog any chocolate.

BEHAVIOUR

HELP - WHATS THE SECRET TO TOILET TRAINING?
Don’t expect too much too soon, puppies don’t have real control of their bladder until about 14 weeks of age. The key to success is persistence and consistency. Most puppies will want to toilet when:

· She wakes up from a sleep
· Shortly after eating
· Whenever you see her sniffing about

Taking our puppy outside at these appropriate times and waiting until you get some action, when you get success make sure you have some special treats on hand to reward your puppy for getting it right.

MY PUPPY BITES OUR FINGERS?
Puppies have razor sharp teeth and love nothing more than to chew, it is a natural behaviour for puppies to play bite each other and that includes biting you. Discipline your puppy not to bite your fingers but encourage her to chew on toys etc. There are a big range of toys appropriate for puppies soft teeth. It is important for puppies to chew to ensure that they have healthy teeth, and to help loosen those temporary baby teeth allowing the adult teeth to grow through normally.

YAPPING?
A yapping puppy will generally grow into a barking dog, this I something your puppy will not grow out of without some firm guidance from yourself. A firm voice “bad dog” must be used to quieten your puppy, followed by an encouraging “good dog” a few seconds after your puppy stopped yapping.

CRYING?
All puppies will cry for attention to some level, try to make your puppy as comfortable as possible and reward your puppy only when she is quiet. DO NOT give in to your puppies cries for attention or in no time your puppy will have YOU well trained.

PUPPY PRESCHOOL - DOES MY PUPPY NEED TO GO?
Socialising your puppy is very important, puppy preschool is all about your puppy getting the chance to socialise with other puppies. Puppies that are not socialised when they are young often become aggressive towards other dogs when they grow up. Most vets run puppy preschools and it’s also a good opportunity to learn a few other tricks to looking after your new friend.

DESEXING?
Unless you plan to get serious about breeding, it is best to get your pet desexed at around 6 months of age. Your dog will be a better pet, be much better behaved and have fewer health problems in later life. Councils reward owners who have their dogs desexed with cheap dog registration.

$$$ HOW MUCH DOES ALL THIS COST? $$$

Keeping and looking after a new puppy properly is never cheap, but you can save yourself a lot of money by shopping at discount pet suppliers. The Vet Shed is a very customer friendly discount supplier that sells direct to the public all common pet products eg heartworm, flea and intestinal wormers, toys, leads and collars and a big range of pet supplies. We sell direct from the warehouse and as such can only mail products to you, but we are always quick with our deliveries. Our prices can be up to 50% cheaper than some prices in Vet Clinics/Pet Shops and we are always happy to help with simple health advice for your pets.

You can contact us on 1300 735 995 or web site www.thevetshed.com

I hope you have a wonderful time with your new puppy and many years of happiness when he or she grows up.