Puppy Stage

The growth stage of a puppy, obviously, begins at the moment of birth and continues until puberty, or until the moment of the first heat, the presence of which, as we've already seen, and take more or less time to arrive, depending on physiological and also genetic factors. During her first stage of life, you must instill into the dog a set of norms related to living together and basic education (recognizing and responding to her name, knowing the difference between yes and no), as is logical, but besides he must pay special attention to her muscularskeletal development (especially in breeds denominated as big or giant, in which growth is spectacular). Plus, you must set up a diet, vaccination, deworming and exercise schedule

Most breeders that I know turn their puppies in to their new owners and around six or eight weeks of age, when they have hardly been vaccinated, which means it is too short a time to really draw out a complete primovaccination and revaccination schedule. Therefore, it's extremely vital to bear this in mind when you buy a dog and go immediately to the veterinarian so he can help you to establish a good schedule. Besides, as long as the puppy is not perfectly protected he can not enter in contact with other dogs in parks, gardens, expositions, etc., and these might be bearers (without there necessarily having to be any symptoms) of diseases that can be deadly for puppies at this age, like coronavirus, parvovirus, distemper, infectious hepatitis, Leptospirosis, adenoviruses, etc.

The ideal thing -- I should repeat IDEAL -- would be that breeders turn in the puppies preferably when they are 2 1/2 months to 3 months of age, benefiting the puppies, of course, with more security conditions because they will already have completed the calendar of vaccination and revaccination, ensuring the well-being of the little one. This, logically, would increase the price of the puppy, but at least it would avoid any undesired complications, which could even be deadly, or at least troublesome and, in most cases, more expensive to treat than if they had waited a little bit longer.

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