Tag Archives: puppy

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Puppy care- feeding, vaccinating, worming, and training

Cavalier King Charles puppies

 How to care for your puppy:

 

Make sure that you have suitable transport for your new puppy.  Puppies may be put in a collapsible cage in your car, which ensures they are safe during a journey. Be sure to have them on a lead/harness so that they can’t run away. Also before your puppy has its first vaccinations it is imperative that your puppy does not touch the floor outside (other than your garden) and is only introduced to dogs that are vaccinated.

 

  • Night Time:

     

    Your puppy may whine about being left alone for the first few nights. Soft toys can be good company. If you are planning to train them to use a crate you can cover the crate to make them feel more secure. Leaving a radio station on (eg. Classic FM) quietly in the background can also help them to feel more secure. Sometimes a ticking clock can provide some company. A covered hot water bottle may also be a very warm friend (care though- it should be hand hot only – any hotter can cause burns).

 

 

  • Training:

     

    Make sure to train and handle your puppy from an early age. Plenty of handling will make them comfortable with human contact. Reinforcing good play behaviours with treats is also recommended. When doing any training always give verbal praise first, and immediately after give a little treat. Eventually your puppy will be happy to receive the verbal praise alone. Get the puppy used to being checked over (like at the vets). Lift and handle the ears, try getting a dog toothpaste and brushing their teeth, with a finger brush. Lift and handle the paws. Be sure to expose your puppy to as many different people as possible whilst it is developing. This can include a person in uniform (eg. A postman), someone wearing a hat, someone with a beard even! Puppy classes are a great way to socialise them. Other puppies will help to teach your puppy how to behave in social situations.

 

 

For further tips on training your puppy see our other puppy and dog training blog post here

 

 

  • 1st Vaccinations: 

     

    This can be done on the first vet check between 8-10 weeks of age. The 2nd vaccination is 2-4 weeks after. Until a week after the 2nd vaccination it is imperative that you keep the puppy away from un-vaccinated dogs and do not place him/her on the floor in public spaces where viruses could be on the ground.

 

 

  • Worming and parasite control–

     

    Puppies will need to be wormed as most will have picked up worms from their mother. This can be done with either tablets, or with a spot on treatment, which will treat other parasites such as fleas and lungworm. Your vet will advise on the most appropriate treatment.

 

 

  • Exercise:

     

    Puppies do not need long walks – they only have little legs! Puppies aren’t considered fully grown until 6-18 months of age (larger breeds mature more slowly). It is then that a good exercise plan can be implemented. Larger breeds especially may be prone to bone and joint problems, and should not be over exercised, when growing.

 

 

  • Food:

     

    Little and often. A puppy’s tummy is very small and so their food intake needs to be split between 3-4 meal times. Find out what your puppy has been fed on at the breeder’s and try to maintain that regime for continuity. If your puppy has diarrhoea, give them boiled chicken and rice. Introduce any new puppy foods gradually over 3 days, as a sudden change in food will often cause a digestive upset.

 

 

  • Play: 

 

Puppies like to chew a lot especially during teething between the ages of 3 and 6 months, when they will lose all of their milk teeth.  Provide rubber Kongs or rope chews. Avoid bones as they can crack their milk teeth on these.  Play is an important way of learning for your new puppy and can be a lot of fun too!

 

 

Finally enjoy playing with your puppy – they grow up much  too fast, and send your cute pictures to our facebook page here !

 

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A case of Tetanus in a puppy

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Upright ears in a case of tetanus

Upright ears in a case of tetanus

tetanus

tetanus

A case of Tetanus: This is Barney Barnard a 6mth old Border Collie puppy. When Barney was 3mths old he came to us showing some very unusual signs. He was unable to eat properly, his ears were erect, lips pulled back and he walked with very stiff front legs. After some tests and research Barney was diagnosed with Tetanus and started on intensive treatment. We are all very pleased that after a long 3mths of treatment Barney appears to have made a full recovery. The pictures  show Barney with signs of Tetanus and as he is recovering.
Tetanus is an uncommon disease in dogs. Tetanus is caused by a bacteria called Clostridium Tetani, which is found in soil. Dogs can get Tetanus if the bacteria gets into wounds or from chewing sticks. This bacteria produces a toxin which causes paralysis. Cats can also get this disease but they are more resistant to it. The signs for Tetanus start appearing 5 – 18 days after the infection.
The main clinical signs we look for are:
*Stiff legs and a short, shuffley walk,
*Elevated tail,
*Contraction of the muscles in the face so it looks like the dog is smiling.

Luckily it is a very rare condition, so we hope we don’t see another case for a long time !
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Tips on – How to choose a puppy

puppies-labrador-retriever west london vet

“Dogs are a man’s best friend”

Getting a puppy is a very important and exciting decision. A puppy can add so much joy and companionship to your life. We love seeing puppies here at Young Veterinary Partnership and enjoy, even more so, helping you to look after them as best as possible. When you decide to get a puppy you have to be sure that you can commit time towards exercising it, keeping it company and socialising/training it so it becomes a well-mannered adult dog.

Choosing your puppy:

The Breed: Choosing the appropriate breed for you is critical. A smaller dog breed may be more appropriate for your lifestyle. Seeing both parents of the puppy can help you assess possible future temperament (and future size). Some breeds may be more ‘highly strung” than others, some need more exercise, some need more coat care and grooming than others.  Although most puppies are healthy, certain breeds may have  an increased incidence of specific medical problems. This information is readily available these days on sites such as Wikipedia, specific breed websites and the kennel club. Taking out insurance at as soon as you get your puppy is a good idea.

The Breeder: Make sure your puppy comes from a reputable breeder where the mother is up to date with her vaccinations. The puppy should have also been wormed regularly throughout their first few weeks and may have had a flea treatment before being re-homed. Ideally the puppy should be around 8 weeks old before bringing them home. Keeping mother and puppies together upto 8 weeks, has been shown to reduce the risks of behavioural problems developing later. From April 2016 all puppies should be microchipped.

Charities: A great way of you re-homing a puppy. As a policy the puppy has usually had its first vaccinations and is microchipped for you. The charity may even have neutered them, if he/she is old enough. Charities often ask for a small donation towards adopting the puppy. Dogs Trust and Battersea dogs home may have suitable puppies or young dogs for rehoming.

Make sure that your puppy is fit and healthy when you choose it:

Hips/Elbows/Eyes: The parents of some pedigree litters have to undergo compulsory scoring of their hips (for hip dysplasia), elbows (for elbow dysplasia) or eyes (for cataracts and retinal problems). This reduces the risk of the puppies developing these problems (but doesn’t eliminate the risk), by only using parents with good scores for breeding. Make sure that the parents’ scores are of an acceptable standard for their breed. Visit www.thekennelclub.org.uk for more information.

Eyes: Bright wide eyes. No discharge.

Nose: Wet nose. No discharge.

Mouth & Teeth: No teeth out of place. Fully erupted. Milk teeth are usually bright white and look shiny.

Weight: A healthy weight where you can feel the ribs but not see them. Make sure the puppy doesn’t have a pot-belly as this could indicate a worm burden. This can be easily rectified by a wormer from a vet.

Appetite: A good appetite indicates a healthy puppy.

Toileting: Normal urination and defecation. This should be normally formed, no blood in it and not watery. Sometimes you can see evidence of worms in the faeces, if this is the case he will need worming by a vet.

 

 

 

Further information about different dog breeds can be found at www.dogstrust.org.uk

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Choosing your puppy

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New research published in the Veterinary Record has proved the importance of seeing your pups’ parents when choosing a puppy.
Owners who had seen neither parent are 4 times as likely to need to take their dog to see an animal behaviourist. Owners who had seen just one parent (usually the mother) are 2.5 times as likely to have behavioural problems with their dog than owners who had seen both owners.

Seeing the mother allows you to assess the mother’s temperament, its condition and the puppies rearing environment. Ideally your puppy should not be separated from its mother until 8 weeks of age, which also reduces the chances of future behaviour problems. We recommend an eight week health check up with your vet, when the first vaccination can be administered.  See www.youngvets.co.uk for  contact details of your nearest surgery in Ealing, Brentford, Chiswick or Hounslow.

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Breeding a litter of puppies

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Many people will decide to let their bitch  have a single litter of pups. Most bitches will have a healthy litter of pups without needing any medical intervention. The following is some pointers about the processes involved, and an indication of what is normal.

The mother should be up to date with vaccinations before she is mated.  Bitches ovulate around 12 days after the onset of the season, and will normally stand to be mated once the blood spotting has stopped. Two matings 2 days apart at this time are ideal. Once pregnant a monthly treatment with a  spot on wormer (Stronghold) will reduce transmission of any  worms to the puppies.

The normal gestation period is 63 days (9 weeks), but the time from mating to giving birth can be 63 days +/- 1 week.  Providing a warm bed in a quiet and draft free region of the house is a good idea. The mothers rectal temperature will normally drop  1-2 degrees C within 24 hours of giving birth.  Once second stage labour has started, and the mother starts strong contractions, a puppy should be produced with 30 minutes.  Veterinary attention should be sought if strong contractions have been seen for more than 30 minutes, or if weak straining has been seen for more than 4 hours, or if fetal fluids were seen more than 3 hours without a puppy being produced.  Puppies can be produced at intervals ranging from 5 minute to 2 hours. The mother should break the umbilical cord instinctively and lick the puppy clean which stimulates the puppy to breath. If the mother is not doing this then the face should be cleaned of  fetal membranes with a towel , and then  the towel is   used to rub the puppy gently but briskly for 30 seconds, to dry them off and stimulate breathing.

The temperature in the puppy area should be kept warm – around 30 C at birth. Infra-red lamps can be ideal to provide this heat.

Puppies normally feed every 2-3 hours for the first few days after birth. The first milk produced in the first 24 hours is called colostrum, and boosts the immune system. Thus is is very important that all puppies suckle this early milk. They should gain 5-10% of their body weight each day and should weigh double their birth weight by day 10-12.

They should be lifting their heads by 3 days and crawling by 7 days but are usually unable to stand until the end of the third week. They will spend 80% of their time sleeping.  Body temperature is lower (35-37C) in new born  puppies than an adult dog. The normal breathing is 10 to 20 breaths per minute at birth, increasing to 15-40 breaths per minute by 7 days old. (the smaller the breed the higher the rate).

The puppies eyes are closed at birth and normally open at 2 weeks, and the ears are also closed at birth and open at 14-16 days. There is normally no discharge from the eyes or nose.

Worming can be started from 3-4 weeks of age, and repeated every 2 weeks with panacur. Solid foods can be started from 3 -4 weeks of age by mixing a good quality complete puppy food with some powdered formula bitch milk ( lactol),  four times daily.

See www.youngvets.co.uk for contact details for your nearest vet surgery in west london.

 

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Puppy toilet training tips

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Puppy toilet training should begin as soon as you get them home.

Newspaper training

  • Place  newspaper on the kitchen floor, and after each meal pick him/her up and put them on the newspaper. If he urinates or defaecates on the paper reward him with attention such as “good boy!” and give him a little treat with one of his puppy biscuits.  Do this after each meal and he will soon learn that he is praised and receives a treat each time he does this.
  • If you come in and find that he hasn’t used the newspaper, do not tell him off, just ignore him for a few minutes. Being ignored is the best way of disciplining a puppy, as he really wants your attention.
  • Once he starts using the newspaper regularly, reduce the amount of paper put down and move it near to the back door.
  • When he is using this newspaper regularly, put some lightly soiled newspaper outside the back door and start placing him on this after each meal.
  • Once he has the hang of this remove the newspaper and start placing him further into the garden after each meal. It can help to put him on different surfaces so that he doesn’t develop a preference for doing it only on one surface. try concrete surfaces, grassed areas, areas with and without trees.
  • Finally you can start to vary the routines and vocal cues, so that he doesn’t become too habitual. This can help avoid problems in the future if his circumstances are changed, such as if an unfamiliar person is caring for them.

Crate training

Your puppy is introduced to a plastic crate or cage, by being fed in it, having toys thrown into it and eventually being closed in for short periods.

  • The crate should be large enough to turn around in, but should not be too large or your puppy may rest at one end and toilet in the other end.
  • After a few days you should be able to keep your puppy in the crate for a few hours.
  • You can work out the length of time between toileting for your puppy by using the number of months age, plus one if a small breed, or plus 2 if a large breed. Thus a 2 month old labrador can wait 4 hrs, but a 2 month old pekinese 3 hours.
  • The puppy should be taken outside to eliminate  and should be praised and then given a treat if it does so. It should also be taken outside after each play session and meal, but should be kept in the crate at all other times.

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Puppy and dog training tips

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Puppy training tips

 

Puppy and dog training is  essential for all, and time taken early on with the basics will go a long way to prevent behavioural problems developing later in adulthood.

 

 

  • Remember that there are only two basic training techniques-

 

 

  1. 1- reward  for good behaviour, and
  2. 2- being ignored if badly behaved.

 

 

  • Always reward your puppy/ dog with verbal praise FIRST and a small treat such as a dog biscuit SECOND, for any good behaviour. It is important that you consistently keep this order so that the dog can learn that verbal praise is likely to be immediately followed with a treat.  Treats should ONLY be given as rewards for good behaviour not just for being “cute and cuddly.”

 

 

  • Over time you should start rewarding good behaviour with praise only sometimes, and do not give a  treat every time, but this will only work if you have followed the guidance above regarding the order of rewards.

 

 

  • You should still follow praise with treats often enough to make the good behaviour for praise only, worthwhile to your dog. The combination of praise plus treat , and praise only, for good behaviour is more effective as a training method than giving a treat every time.

 

 

  • DO NOT shout or try to tell your dog off if badly behaved. They will think the attention they are getting is a reward, so your effort will be counter-productive.

 

 

  • If your puppy or dog is badly behaved, they should be ignored, and you may want to put them out of the room, or if using a crate you could put them in the crate.

 

 

  • Dogs behave like pack animals, and in any pack there will be a leader. The leader receives the most attention.

 

 

  • As your puppy grows into adulthood, sometimes they may try to become higher up your “family pack” and become dominant over one or more people in the house.

 

 

  • Male dogs can be prone to this type of behaviour. To prevent this happening it is important not to give immediate attention when they want it particularly when returning to the house or first thing in the morning.  I would suggest you make a drink and wait a few minutes for your dog to calm down and THEN turn around and greet the dog.

 

 

  • In this way attention is always given on your terms, and this reinforces the fact that your dog is the lowest member of your family pack. It is important that ALL family members follow this advice.

 

 

  • Finally puppy classes are excellent and important ways to socialise your puppy with other dogs and people and are best done at 10-16weeks of age.
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Choosing your puppy – top ten tips

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Choosing your puppy from a large litter of cute pups can be difficult-

miniature schnauzer puppies

My top ten tips are as follows

  1. Make sure that the puppy is lively and responds to your stimulation.
  2. The puppy should have clean bright eyes, clean nose and a clean coat, without excessive scabs or scaling. There may be occasional scabs around the head or neck which can be caused by rough play with littermates which is fine.
  3. The puppy should be eating solid foods well  and generally be more than 6 weeks old.
  4. Ask to see the mother and if possible the father of the pup. This will give you a good guide of the temperament of the parents which is likely to be passed to the pups. It will also give you a guide to the adult appearance and size of your puppy.
  5. If a pedigree puppy, ask if there are any screeening schemes that the parents have been through. These may include hip scoring for hip dysplasia (lower score is better, but there is an average score for each breed -generally less than 20), elbow scoring for elbow dysplasia (possible score is 0-3 where 0 is normal and 3 is severly affected), eye testing for genetic eye diseases (categorised as affected or unaffected) . If they have been screened ask to see a copy of the screening results. If you are unsure how to interpret these, make a note of them and speak to your local vet. Further information is available at http://www.bva.co.uk/canine_health_schemes/Canine_Health_Schemes.aspx
  6. Ask when the puppy was treated for worms. They should generally be treated from the weaning age at around 4 weeks of age, and then every 2 weeks. All pups will be born with some worms and so will require treatment, often with  a liquid wormer such as Panacur to start with . It is a good sign of a caring and responsible breeder if they have been regularly worming the pups.
  7. Try to see where the puppies and mother are actually kept. If they are kept in a dirty barn with many  other different breeds of puppies, there is an increased risk of transference of diseases between the pups. The commonly seen diseases include skin problems such as mange, gastrointestinal diseases such as parvovirus, and giardia, and respiratory diseases such as kennel cough. Look for excessive scratching of the puppy, diarrhoea, or coughing which can be a sign of disease.
  8. Look in the mouth to check the jaw is not overshot or undershot (ie that both upper and lower jaws are the same length and meet normally). This cannot be corrected surgically, but is usually only of cosmetic consequences.
  9. Feel the belly to check for sign of umbilical hernia , which is a soft fatty swelling under the skin in the middle of the belly, in  the region of the umbilical cord. This is caused if the  hole that the umbilical cord came through does not close completely after birth, leaving a small hole that fat from inside the belly can pass through. If present this may require surgical correction at a later stage.
  10. If the puppy is male you may want to check the scrotum for 2 testicles. The testicles normally descend shortly after birth, and are normally visible in the scrotal sac when a puppy is bought at 6-8 weeks of age. If there is only one testicle present, it is possible still that the other testicle will descend a little later, but not guaranteed. If the testicle(s) has not descended by 6 months of age, this is called cryptorchid and your vet will usually recommend that the dog is castrated, to reduce the chances of testicular cancer developing in later life.