CONGRATULATIONS on your new family member. Owning a puppy can be very rewarding and also very challenging. This handout is meant to be a brief introduction to the care of your puppy.
Vaccines are critical to the health of your new puppy.
DHPP – a 4-way vaccine with some critical components for you to understand.
- Distemper Virus – can attack multiple organ systems including the nervous system. This is a life threatening disease if your pet is not protected against it.
- Parvovirus – is still present in many public environments. It attacks the intestinal lining causing a severe and often life threatening bloody diarrhea and vomiting.
- Leptospirosis – can attack multiple organ systems and has been known to cause kidney failure. Dogs who will be spending time in open space and around wild life have particular susceptibility to this disease.
- Bordetella – a vaccine used to protect your puppy against this component of the kennel cough complex. It is recommended for all puppies and required for training classes and boarding facilities.
- Lyme – a vaccine used to protect your puppy against Lyme disease. This is a disease spread by ticks. It can cause polyarthritis, lethargy, and high fevers.
- Rabies – a vaccine used in every puppy over 16 weeks of age in California. This is required by law and is critical due to the public health concerns.
THE SCHEDULE:
| Age |
VAX |
Date Due |
Date Given |
|
6-8 weeks |
DHPP #1 |
|
|
|
8-10 weeks |
DHPP #2 |
|
|
|
12-14 weeks |
DHPP #3 |
|
|
|
16-18 weeks |
DHPP #4 |
|
|
|
18 weeks |
Lepto #2 |
|
|
Please do NOT take your puppy to any public areas until 2 weeks after the 2nd DHPP or until the vaccine schedule is completed.
Deworming
We recommend every puppy be treated for roundworms. This is the most frequent intestinal parasite of puppies. We can give your puppy an oral medicine during your first visit. It is normal to expect these worms to pass into the feces after treatment.
Heartworm Preventative Heartworms are parasites of the dog in which worms literally lodge in the heart and vessels of the lung. It can be very dangerous to your pet if he/she contracts the disease. Heartworm disease is spread by mosquitoes so any dog is at risk, even indoor dogs. We recommend starting preventative tablets at the age of 8 weeks and monthly for the dog’s lifetime.
The heartworm preventative will also treat most intestinal parasites before you are even aware of the problem. Because puppies eat everything, including animal poop, grass and dirt, they are particularly prone to picking up parasites from the environment. This additional benefit from the heartworm preventative is important to their health as well as the health and saftety of the owner.
Fleas
Fleas can be a nuisance to you and your pet. In high quantities, fleas can cause a life-threatening anemia to young puppies. Ideal treatment options for puppies greater than 7 weeks of age include any of, or a combination of the following:
- Advantix – topical insecticide, kills all adult fleas and ticks on pet within 24 hours, protection lasts up to 4 weeks.
- Trifexis – oral tablet, starts killing all adult fleas within 30 mins, protection lasts 30 days & won the Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge Award from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in 1999. Also provides protection against heartworm and most intestinal parasites.
- Revolution – topical insecticide, faster kill rate than Advantage and is safer for your pet and controls fleas for a full 30 days (we sell up to the 20lb size). Also protects against heartworm, most intestinal parasites, and mites.
- Frontline Plus– topical insecticide, kills adult fleas and ticks within 24 hours, protection lasts up to 4 weeks.
- Scalibor collar – collar that provides excellent tick protection for 6 months and very safe.
Other Parasites – The Fecal Exams
There are MANY intestinal parasites your puppy can carry. It is very important to bring in a fecal sample for us to evaluate with special testing under a microscope. Some parasites are transmissible to humans so this is a critical step for the health of your pet and the protection of your family.
Diet
Puppies should be fed a main brand puppy food such as – Science Diet, Iams, Eukanuba, Pedigree, or Purina, from weaning until 1 year of age. Ideally train your puppy to be meal fed rather than always leaving food out. This will help control problems with obesity that could develop later in life.
For LARGE BREED PUPPIES – such as Great Danes, Dobermans, Golden Retrievers, Rottweilers, and Labradors, and many other large breed canines, feed a puppy food designated for large breeds. This special puppy food has fewer calories per cup than regular puppy food. It has been scientifically proven that these foods can significantly reduce the chances of orthopedic illnesses, including hip dysplasia, from developing.
Spay/Neuter
We recommend your puppy be spayed at 6 months of age. Spaying your female puppy prior to her first heat will critically reduce the chances she will develop mammary cancer as an adult dog. Neutering your male puppy will eliminate problems of prostatitis and testicular cancers seen in adult male dogs. We recommend your male puppy be neutered at 8-12 months.
Hip X-rays should be taken at the time of anesthesia for those breeds predisposed to hip dysplasia.
Puppy Training
We recommend puppy-training courses for EVERY puppy and their owner. Normally this is started after 12 weeks of age, once two sets of vaccines have already been given. We can provide you with some phone numbers for local training school if you like.
For additional information visit Dog Star Dailey.