Puppies

Vaccinations

Puppies require their vaccinations at 8 and 12 weeks old. Vaccines are vital to protect our puppies from fatal diseases. The vaccines we use are very safe and we have never encountered any problems with them. Vaccination is a whole topic in itself; you can find more information on our website if you want to know more.

Microchipping

All puppies should now be microchipped by law at 8 weeks old, so the breeder should have done this for you and given you some paperwork to prove it. You now need to make sure the puppy is registered to your name and address.

Worming

Worming is required at 8, 10 and 12 weeks old and then at 4, 5 and 6 months old. As your puppy grows up he/she will grow at an unpredictable rate so we recommend weighing them at each of these milestones (there is no extra cost for this, it also provides a good opportunity to get them into the practice and get used to it, a good chance for our staff to play with puppies too). Once your puppy is 6 months old, he/she is classed as an adult and will need worming every six months thereafter.

Flea, Tick & Lungworm Treatments

We recommend treating puppies with monthly flea/tick and lungworm treatment (this is one product) every month in their first year. Thereafter, it depends on their lifestyle and health. There are some dogs whom we recommend continuing monthly treatments. There is also some concern now that treating monthly is perhaps too much for our dogs, but also for the products’ environmental impact. So, we have launched our new GREEN pet club, whereby dogs are flea-treated every other month as a compromise. This is a new project, but the early signs are very encouraging – we have had no increase in the number of parasite-related illnesses with this protocol.

Neutering

Male dogs — he can be surgically castrated from 6 months old in small dogs and from 12 months old in larger dogs (>20kgs). There is a debate about neutering to be had (and we’re happy to discuss with you), but in general, if you know you are not going to breed from him, then castration is a good idea — it prevents unwanted pregnancies, reduces overexcitability, can reduce aggression and reduces the risk of some cancers. The main con is that post castration, some dogs put on excessive weight due to the hormonal changes that have occurred. There is also the option for a ‘chemical castration’ – this is an injection, so it saves the need for surgery, but only lasts for between 6 and 12 months, so it needs repeating. Again, we’re very happy to discuss this with you.

Neutering female dogs — she can be speyed at 6 months old, or 2 months after a season has finished (to allow the hormones to settle). Again, if you know that you do not want to breed from your bitch then we would recommend spaying. It prevents unwanted pregnancies, nasty infections in later life, and reduces the risk of some cancers too.

Again, the main side effect is weight gain, which needs to be closely monitored for a year postoperatively. In female dogs, neutering is a more significant procedure as we must go into her abdomen to remove her uterus. This means that strict rest is required for a couple of weeks afterwards, whilst everything heals up. Again, a buster collar will be needed and some painkillers. We will check her twice in the week after the op.

Nails

Lots of puppy owners worry about their puppies’ nails. Often, they are very sharp, but it is rare that they are too long and require trimming. The nail does have a blood supply, which bleeds if cut through, so caution is required. We are more than happy to examine his/her nails for you but are unlikely to trim them down for this reason. We find the best nail file is to walk on pavements, which wears the sharp ends down painlessly.

Feeding

Most puppies would be on 3-4 meals a day initially, which comes down to 1 or 2 a day by six months old. Dry food is best for teeth. Treats should be kept to a minimum and used only if earned e.g. for obedience. It is also worth starting brushing your dog’s teeth when young – you need doggie toothpaste, but a normal toothbrush is fine, once a day after eating is ideal.

Toilet Training

Toilet training can be a messy business – perseverance is the key! The first step is to have a puppy pad or an old towel by the back door. When it looks as though he is about to go to the toilet, lift him up and put him onto the pad or take him outside. Every time he goes to the toilet outside, give him praise, never punish him for
going inside – he often won’t know what he’s done, and this leads to anxiety. Some owners can get their pup to toilet on demand which is very useful! They do this by saying the same word each time they go, so toileting is associated with this word.

Insurance

We recommend pet insurance. The capabilities of vets are now much higher, but with this comes increased costs too. If you get an insurance policy set up whilst your puppy is young it will run in the background, and you won’t think about it until the day it is needed. We find that owners’ stress levels are much less when their pet is ill if they have pet insurance, it means that there is one less thing to worry about. Occasionally pets in our care have very serious problems that can only be treated by a specialist, in these occasions the bill can become very high, so insurance becomes extremely important. As with all insurance these days there is a large choice online! You need to sit down and consider very carefully what you need.

Unfortunately, the cheaper policies are cheap for a reason and often come with a catch: you need to read the small print. We recommend ensuring that your policy limit per condition is a minimum of £6,000. £10,000 + if possible – I’m aware this sounds a bit mad, but this means you’re well covered if a specialist is required.
Consider if you want a “lifelong” policy or not. This means that if your pet got an ongoing condition, e.g. diabetes, that needs lifelong treatment, they would be covered forever.

Lots of policies only cover for one year, which is fine for lots of things (e.g. a broken leg) but won’t be for other problems. You need to do your research and find a policy that is right for you. Give us a call if you need some help.