A puppy's health and care

When the dog has been at the house for one or two days, get him to the nearest veterinarian for a general checkup to avoid any health issues later on. If the worst scenario should come, a critical illness may be discovered, in which case you might be able to locate the breeder and return the puppy. If the animal has a bad experience in it's first visit to the veterinarian, it may be harder for you to get your dog there the next time due to some resistance from the dog. The veterinarian should take care of tranquilizing the animal, but it would also help if you took some of your pet's favorite goods, such as crackers or even a toy, to help your dog overcome some of the initial fear. Get help on puppy health care on the great chat board.

Preventing diseases: The veterinarian may possibly start giving the first vaccines to prevent infectious diseases, or you may be requested to get an appointment for next week in order to have some time to prepare all the necessary procedures. Normally the first set of vaccines are given between the four and eight weeks of the puppy, and later on there is usually a reinforcement of these same vaccines once or twice in his development. The animal will not be protected against the infections until a week later the last vaccine has been placed, and until then you should not allow your dog to wander on his own around the streets. The veterinarian will give you a certificate of vaccination, in which you could see all the vaccines that have been given to your pet for future reference. As well, the veterinarian will probably recommend a full treatment to get rid of internal parasites. Practically all puppies have worms in their stomachs. These are transmitted through their mother's placenta before birth, as well as through maternal milk. If the worms are allowed to proliferate, your pet may become very ill, and only a special treatment from the veterinary would work to help and find a solution. Puppies need to be cleaned of parasites every two weeks until their twelfth week of age, and every month from that moment until their sixth month. Ask your veterinarian to recommend you some efficient treatment against fleas. If your puppy is scratching frequently and you find dark spots on his skin, it means that it has become infected by parasites. Fleas can reproduce very quickly, hence an even quicker start to help your dog get rid of such is necessary. If there are any other domestic animals in your house, you should get them through the same cleaning process to avoid an infection. Check your puppy's health daily, clean its bed regularly, and check carefully the interior of its mouth and inside the ears for any possible anomalies you may find. Carefully slide your hand going against its fur to check for fleas, and raise your dog's tail to check that the area surrounding the animal's anus is clean. By doing all of these motions, the puppy will become accustomed to being manipulated and you will always be able to check for problems beforehand. Don't forget that it is recommended to brush your dog's fur on a frequent basis.