Puppy We’re here for your

Puppy
We’re here for your
Congratulations on the introduction
of a new puppy into your home!
At such an exciting time it is important to take a moment to familiarise yourself
with the routine healthcare requirements of the new addition to your family.
This booklet should help to answer some of the most commonly asked
questions about your puppy. If you have any further questions we are open
seven days a week and are more than happy to chat through any concerns
or queries you may have – you are welcome to call or pop in any time, we
love to see our pet friends here in the clinic!
To help you keep track of your puppy’s early days we have included a
calendar. Simply follow the steps as shown and you can be safe in the
knowledge that your puppy is well taken care of. Leaving you to get on with
having lots of fun.
Contents
Page
3
Puppy’s first year
4
Vaccinations
Worming
5Fleas
Neutering
6
Identification
Insurance
7Feed
Exercise & socialisation
2
Your puppy’s first year
Puppy’s age
Treatments
6 weeks
Worm treatment
8 weeks
1st vaccination, worm treatment and insurance
10 weeks
2nd vaccination and microchip
11 weeks Allowed outside to explore the big wide world
3 months
Free weight check with nurse & worm/flea treatment
4 months Free weight check with nurse & worm/flea treatment
5 months
Free weight check with nurse & worm/flea treatment
6 months
Free weight check with nurse & worm/flea treatment
Book neutering if no plans to breed
7 months
Flea treatment
8 months
Flea treatment
9 months
Free weight check with nurse & worm/flea treatment
10 months
Flea treatment
11 months
Flea treatment
12 months
Happy first birthday!!
Worm and flea treatment
Date
completed
From here on in...
Monthly
Flea treatment
Every 3 months
Worm treatment
Annually
Health check, vaccination and weight check
3
Vaccinations
We routinely vaccinate puppies at eight and ten weeks of age. Up until this
time they will have a degree of protection from infectious diseases from their
mother, which begins to wane from eight weeks of age.
To protect your new puppy from potentially fatal infectious diseases including,
Disptemper, Parvovirus, Infectious Canine Hepatitis, Parainfluenzavirus
and Leptospirosis:
• First vaccine from 8 weeks of age
• Second vaccine 2 weeks after the first vaccination from 10 weeks of age
They are fully immune one week after the second vaccination and are then
safe to explore the big wide world.
A booster vaccination is required every year. At this time it’s great to see how
your dog is progressing, with a lovely head to tail health MOT. Whilst your dog
is having his complete health check you will have the opportunity to discuss
any health, feeding or behaviour concerns you may have.
Worming
All puppies can have worms regardless of the conditions into which they were
born. This is because the main roundworm that affects puppies, Toxocara
canis, can pass to the puppy whilst it is still in the uterus and following birth in
their mother’s milk.
The migrating egg larvae that hatch can cause blindness in children and
therefore if children play with your puppy, it is especially important that the
puppy is wormed meticulously.
To keep your new puppy safe from worms:
• Worm every 2 weeks until 12 weeks of age
• Worm every month from 3 months to 6 months of age
• Worm every 3 months from 6 months of age and older
We cannot over emphasise the importance of regular worming. Besides
causing damage to the intestine and potentially the lungs, the eggs which
are passed in the faeces, are a Public Health concern.
4
Fleas
Fleas are potentially a huge problem, which can easily be prevented
with regular treatment. There are many different types of flea treatments
available and we are more than happy to advise you about which would suit
your needs.
To prevent a persistent infection it is key to follow these simple steps:
1 All cats and dogs in the house should be treated. Cats and dogs can
transfer fleas to one another.
2 All products should be used as frequently as recommended by
the manufacturer. Due to climatic changes and central heating
the flea season is now year long.
3 All areas of your home need to be thoroughly treated with a household
flea treatment as fleas can live in any nooks and crannies on any floor surface.
Neutering
If you have no plans to breed from your pet, neutering is the kindest way to
proceed with your puppy.
Although neutering requires a short anaesthetic and a surgical procedure,
neutering will prevent many life threatening illnesses later in life and will negate
a lot of the more common behavioural problems.
We recommend all female dogs to be neutered at six months of age before
the first season as it reduces the chances of developing mammary tumours
later in life. Also, the surgery at this age is more straightforward and the
recovery times are shorter.
Similarly with male dogs, we recommend castration at six months of age.
Castration will ensure your puppy is more social with other dogs, much less
likely to develop behavioural problems and testicular cancers later in life.
5
Identification
Microchipping is a form of identification that is permanent, safe,
cost effective and tamper proof. The microchip is approximately the size of a
grain of rice and is inserted in a similar fashion as a vaccination injection.
All lost animals that are brought to vets, police or animal shelters are routinely
scanned for the presence of a microchip. Each chip has an individual
barcode that corresponds to your details so that you can be contacted
when your animal has been found.
Several cases have been recorded of pets being reunited with their worried
owners after going missing for six months! Also, microchipping is mandatory
under the pet travel scheme, which is important if you are planning to go
abroad with your dog.
We recommend all pets to be microchipped at their second vaccination.
Insurance
We are proud to say that the standard of veterinary care available to animals
these days is extremely high, even to the extent of surpassing the care we
receive ourselves. However, there is no NHS available for animals and good
veterinary care is not cheap. When you consider that one in three animals
requires treatment as a result of accident or illness, we strongly recommend
taking out pet insurance. It is always distressing when the treatment required is
not possible due to financial constraints. With pet insurance, you do not need
to worry about the cost of the treatment.
Once insured, the best of care will always be available to you and your pet. 6
Feeding
Sensible feeding of young animals is extremely important. To ensure a correct
growth rate and weight gain we advise that you feed strict portion controlled
meals of a high energy dense complete diet, such as Royal Canin Junior.
Our nursing team has a vast experience of pet nutrition. You are welcome to
book a free nurse consultation when you will be able to talk through the types
of diets available.
Exercise and Socialisation
Most behavioural problems, particularly in relation to aggression and phobias,
are caused by poor socialisation early in life. A puppy’s personality is said to
be fully developed at 16 weeks of age so it is vital that your puppy meets and
greets other dogs, people and noisy environments as soon as full immunity is in
place (see page 3).
An ideal way to ensure your puppy is introduced to new dogs, people and
sounds in the right manner is to come along to one of our Molecare Puppy
Parties. Ask a member of staff for details.
Regular exercise is also important in the development and growth of your
puppy. In general, regular and controlled exercise two or three times a day
with on and off lead activities will allow your puppy to develop normally and
experience new things safely. Regular exercise is also important for young dogs
to ensure muscular development as well as preventing early onset obesity.
There are no hard and fast rules as to the quantity of exercise that each puppy
needs but it is important to be aware that both under- and over - exercising
when young can cause joint damage and lead to arthritis in later life.
7
We are open seven days a week
Mon - Fri 8.30am - 7pm
Sat
8.30am - 5.30pm
Sun
10am - 4pm
A380
Coldeast
Heathfield
A38
Bickington
Newton Abbot
24 hour contact: 01626 835002 [email protected]
www.molecarevets.com
Milber
Open
days Farmers
a week
Find Us Seven
at Mole Valley
Battle Road, Heathfield Industrial Estate,
Newton Abbot Devon, TQ12 6RY
Stoke-in
Teignhead