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Caring For Your New Puppy
Congratulations on the arrival of your new family member! A new puppy brings a lot of excitement and joy. The following information is provided to help you with all the necessary health care for your new puppy.
Vaccination
Vaccination is very important to protect your new puppy against serious and often fatal diseases. Our vaccines protect against Canine Parvovirus, Canine Distemper, Canine Hepatitis, as well as Bordetella Bronchiseptica and Parainfluenza (“Canine Cough”). Your puppy will require a course of three vaccinations to protect him or her against these infectious diseases at:
- 6 - 8 weeks
- 10 - 12 weeks
- 14 - 16 weeks
Optimum protection can only be achieved if all vaccinations are given and your puppy is kept away from public areas (such as parks, dog beaches and shops) until at least 10 days after the second (10 - 12 week) vaccination.
Adults then require an annual booster vaccination to maintain immunity. This is also a good time to get your furry family member their annual general health check and discuss any concerns you might have. Dogs tend to age faster than humans (estimated equivalent of 7 years to every 1 human year), therefore their annual visit is a very important part of their health journey.
Heartworm, Worming and Flea Prevention
Heartworms are worms that are injected as larvae into the dog through a mosquito. These larvae grow up to be worms which travel in the bloodstream and lodge in the heart, causing heart failure. All dogs in Western Australia are at risk of developing heartworm unless they are on a heartworm prevention program.
The most common intestinal worms in dogs are roundworms, hookworms, whipworms and tapeworms. Not only can these cause problems for your dog, but they are also readily transmissible to humans. By ensuring your new puppy is up to date with intestinal worming prevention, you are also protecting yourself and your family.
Puppies should be given an intestinal worming treatment every 2 weeks until 12 weeks of age, then once a month until 6 months of age. After this they should be dewormed at minimum every 3 months for life.
Fleas are ectoparasites that live on a wide variety of mammals, particularly domestic dogs and cats. They feed on the blood of their host and sometimes bite humans. Problems caused by fleas may range from mild to severe itching and discomfort to skin problems and infections. In extreme circumstances, anaemia may result.
To provide your puppy complete overall protection, we recommend a product called Nexgard Spectra. Nexgard Spectra is a flavoured oral chew that is given to your dog once-a-month for life. Nexgard Spectra protects your dog against heartworm, intestinal worms and fleas. This is given in conjunction with tapeworm treatment every three months.
Nutrition
A complete and balanced diet is essential for the development of a healthy and happy dog. A puppy's energy and nutritional requirements will vary depending on the puppy's age, size and breed. As your puppy develops into an adult, its requirements will change from puppy/growth to adult maintenance. It is important to feed your new puppy a good quality premium puppy food. Your veterinarian can discuss with you what puppy food is best, based on your puppy's own individual requirements.
Socialisation and Training
Puppyhood is a critical time for socialisation. Puppy Preschool is a great opportunity to socialise with other puppies and learn those important socialisation skills. Please speak to our staff to book your puppy in for our Puppy Preschool Program.
Microchipping
A microchip is a small device the size of a grain of rice inserted under the skin on the back of the neck. A microchip cannot fall out and can be read by a scanner which all vets and rangers carry. This chip connects to a national registry that holds your contact information, including your address and your phone number so your cat can be reunited with you if it gets lost. Always remember to update your pets microchip if you move house, change phone numbers or seperate from partner. If your pet was microchipped with us, you can update their details at Australasian Animal Registry.
We recommend microchipping your puppy, as other identification methods (such as tags and collars) can easily fall off. The microchip can be implanted either at the time of vaccination or the time of desexing.
Desexing
Desexing is important. If you are not planning to breed from your pet, desexing is highly recommended. Desexing your pet helps prevent many health conditions such as testicular cancer and prostate enlargement in male dogs, as well as mammary cancer and uterine infections in female dogs. Sterilised females will also not come into heat.
We recommend getting your new puppy desexed at 5 - 6 months of age. For dogs expected to be greater than 25kg when fully grown we would recommend desexing at 8 - 10 months of age.
Pet Insurance
There are a number of good pet insurance policies now available. It is highly recommended to insure your puppy as we can't predict what sort of mischief he/she may get up to in future. Our staff can provide you with additional information on various pet insurance options on request.
If you have any queries or questions, please do not hesitate to ask. Our staff are always happy to help you and your new puppy in any way we can.