Guide to Puppy Care

Feeding

 Puppies should be at least 6 weeks before they leave their mother. (If they are younger than this, or orphans, please speak to the vet). If the Puppies are thriving find out from the previous owner what he or she has been feeding the puppies. Start with this. Puppies cannot cope with sudden changes in diet, even within the same brand; more often than not they will get diarrhoea. We recommend premium growth formulas such as Hills, Iams, Proplan or Pedigree Professional. Four daily feeds from 6 - 12 weeks followed by three daily feeds at 3 - 5 months, then two meals twice daily of the Adult Formula. Water should always be available. Dogs fed exclusively on dry formulas have a higher water intake than those fed on fresh or canned formulas.

Puppy School is an educational class for both puppies and owners aimed at giving you more understanding, socialisation and control of your puppy. The classes are run by well-known dog therapists from BarkBusters and are usually run over 4 weeks.

Parasite Contol

Dogs suffer from a variety of internal and external parasites. Regular grooming will help you spot the early signs of infestation. Even some internal parasites leave telltale signs on the fur and skin. Particular vigilance is needed with puppies, which can inherit parasites from their mothers, and in warm weather when parasite populations explode, making all dogs prone to attack.

Worms: Puppies should be wormed every 2 weeks until 10weeks of age for roundworms and hookworms, with Pyrantel Pamoate. At 12 weeks they should receive a broad spectrum wormer such as Drontal or Paratak Plus and thereafter should be wormed every three months throughout the dogs life. For our current range in dewormers click here.

Fleas

Fleas are the most common external parasite. They leave their eggs and larvae in carpets, which must be treated to prevent infectin to your dog. Fleas are the intermediate host for tapeworm, they can cause intense irritation to the dog and owner therefore it is essential to keep them under control. There are several excellent products on the market at the moment such as Advantage, or Frontline. These products are an easy once a month application to the neck.

Vaccinations

Puppies are vaccinated at 6, 9 and 12 weeks against Parvovirus, Distemper, Hepatitis, Kennel Cough and Leptospirosis.

Parvovirus A highly contagious and deadly disease which cause sudden vomiting and diarrhoea in clinically infected dogs with the disease being most severe in the young. Despite intensive treatment, severe dehydration and death may follow. The virus is passed in the droppings, is very resistant and remains live for long periods in the environment. Like all othe viruses, antibiotics will not cure this diseases. Therefore, vaccination, it is essential for preventing parvovirus disease.

Canine Distemper Distemper is a highly contagious and deadly disease caused by a virus similar to the human measles virus. It is very widespread and nearly all dogs will be exposed at some time during their lives. Dogs may suffer coughing, vomiting diarrhoea and other symptoms followed one to three weeks later by death.

Canine Hepatitis Another highly infectious, contagious virus disease which is spread through infected dog urine and exposure can mean anything from mild infection to sudden death without any previous signs of ill health. Puppies are at most risk from the disease, clinical signs include fever, gut pains and intestinal bleeding.

Kennel Cough Technically known as infectious tracheobronchitis Kennel Cough is an upper respiratory infection thats hows as a persistent hacking cough that may last up to ten weeks. Kennel cough can be caused by a complex of organisms, canine parainfluenza virus, canine adenovirus type II Bordetella bronchiseptica bacteria are most frequent. Vaccines are available to protect against these three bugs.

Canine Leptospirosis Leptospirosis is a disease that has only recently been diagnosed in dogs in the northern part of New Zealand and is limited to small numbers of animals in the northern areas where dogs are in contact with the brown rat which carries the bug. The disease causes liver and kidney damage and many dogs die despite treatment. We recommend those living in the Aucland region have their dogs vaccinated against this disease.

Desexing

The ideal time to desex dogs (both male and female) is 5 - 6 months of age. Females are sexually mature at 6 months. From this time onwards cycle(come”on season” or “on heat”) about every six months. During this time your bitch will attract male dogs from many kilometres away, and she has a good chance of becoming pregnant. Castration of male dogs tends to improve or removed undesirable traits such as roaming in search of females, pack formation with other dogs, urine ;marking;, some types of aggressive behaviour and undesirable sexual behaviour. Neither males nor females need a litter to mature. Over population is a problem with dogs, so part of responsible ownership is to have them spayed or castrated.

Pet insurance

Financial worries should not should not compromise the medical care that your pet recieves. Taking out insurance with an experienced company will buy you considerable peace of mind.For further information click on this link.

Training

It is important to start training your puppy as early as possible. Start as you mean to go on.

Kong have some very helpful tips on suitable toys and things you can be doing to satisfy your puppies curiosity and energy whist begining that important training at the same time. Click here for kong information. If your already aware of the benefits of these well designed tough puppy toys Click here to go directly to our our kong toy range.