When buying a puppy - Make sure you can see the mother and the rest of the litter
- Check that the mother and puppies are healthy - ask if they have had any diarrhoea/sticky eyes or if they look dirty and unkempt
- Ask the breeder if the puppy has been wormed (they should be wormed from 2 weeks old)
- Ask if the puppy has had its first vaccinations*
- Ensure the puppy is fully weaned from the mother
- Depending on the breed of the dog ask about breed predispositions to certain diseases eg CKCS - Dry eye and Labrador Retriever - Hip/elbow dysplasia
- Make sure the puppy seems lively and not lethargic/depressed/ill
Taking the puppy home - The best idea is to have a food bowl, bed, and other essentials before bringing your puppy home
- Check with the breeder as to what type of puppy food the pup has been having. its a good idea to use the same food as a sudden change might give you puppy the runs. A pup should have puppy food until it is 1 year old unless they are a large/giant breed then it is recommended to feed them a puppy food til they are 18 months old as they mature slower than "normal" dogs. Most brand name diets have a specialised Puppy diet too. Try and ignore what the breeder says as sometimes they feed their animals odd stuff - Porridge and scrambled eggs are not good food to bring a puppy up on!
- On the first night your puppy *will* cry most of the night. try not to go comfort them. they are not used to being away from mum and their litter mates. they will get used to it within a couple of days.
- Your puppy wont be litter trained so expect a few presents in the morning. the best idea is to surround the puppies bed with newspaper or training pads (from pet shops), and hopefully the dog will get used to going on them
Vaccinations
If your puppy hasnt already had its first vaccinations, get it vaccinated as soon as possible. The first vaccination can be given at 6 weeks old at the earliest and the second vaccination 2-4 weeks later. (Eg if first vacc is at 6 weeks, second at 10 and if first is at 8, second at 10). The vaccinations it will recieve will protect it againt :
- Distemper
- Parvovirus
- Leptospirosis
- Infectious Canine Hepatitis
- Canine Parainfluenza Virus
Kennel Cough will have to be given separately as it cannot be given by injection and instead must be sprayed into the nose.
- If you are not willing to get the puppy vaccinated, seriously consider your decision. For a small cost per year your dog is immune against many diseases that can seriously harm or even kill your pet.
- The puppy cannot go outside until it has been vaccinated fully. If you have a back garden that is enclosed and no other dogs use it, then its fine for the pup to go out there. They can also socialise with vaccinated dogs. It is important to have your dog fully vaccinated by 10 weeks of age as the time between 10-12 weeks old is the vital socialisation period for puppies to be shown and experience new and exciting things.
Parasitic Prevention - All puppies should be wormed every month until they are 6 months old. Then it is every 2-3 months after that. Most, if not all puppies are born with a burden of worms passed down from their mother via her milk and transplacentally. Getting rid of them when they are little and can affect them the most is best.
- All pets should be regularly flea treated whether you can see fleas on them or not. Prevention is better than cure and the majoroity of "skin complaints" seen at Vets are Flea allergy related. Easily preventable but can be costy and long term to get right if left untreated for a while. Most treatments available can be given from 8-10 weeks of age and should be redone ever 6-8 weeks.
Neutering
When your puppy gets to at least 6 months of age, you will be noticing that their hormones are starting to kick in,. Maye your bitch will have had her first (messy) season or your dog has started getting too friendly with your favourite cushion. Neutering in Britain is a commonplace occurrence and the most common operation done in Veterinary Practices. Certain other European countries (eg Sweden/Norway etc) do not believe in Neutering and they do see more clinical cases in later life that could have been prevented with neutering (Pyometra/testicular tumours, Prostatic Hyperplasia/mammary adenocarcinomas etc).
The Bitch Spay
This is the trickiest out of all of the pet neutering operations, it is also the most invasive of all the operations as it goes into the abdominal cavity. All that is involved in the spay is the removal of both the uterus and the ovaries. most animals recover remarkably quickly and tolerate the operation amazingly well compared to ovariohysterectomies in humans! The timing of the spay (ie how old the bitch should be) is the centre of some discussion amongst vets. Some think that waiting til after their first season allows the urinary tract to mature properly and thus prevent incontinence in later life, whilst other say that having a season first is not necessary. Obviously, the earlier the animal is spayed, the less likely they are to develop hormone related tumours and pyometra in later life.
The Dog Castrate
This is one of the more simple and less invasive of the neutering operations. The removal of the testicles can help dogs that are over boisterous/cocking their leg in the house lots/over sexed. The effect of castration on these problems is varied and success cannot be guaranteed. Tardak injections before the operation is booked is one way to know if it will help (Tardak blocks/stops the production of testosterone thereby temporarily chemically castrating the dog). If your dog has one or both testicles retained, then Castration is the only option as the retained testicle, due to being in a warmer place in the abdomen, is more likely (in later life) to become cancerous. Dogs with retained testicles should also never be bred from as it is a genetically passed trait. The operation involves a small cut in the skin in front of the scrotum and the testicles are singularly pushed up into the incision and removed leaving a small skin wound. Most dogs also cope well with the operation.
my puppy guide wasnt good enough
