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