Suburban Animal Hospital Puppy Health

New Pooch Review

We would like to congratulate you on the acquisition on your new puppy. Owning a dog can be an extremely rewarding experience, but it also involves responsibility. We hope this document will give you the information needed to make some good decisions regarding your puppy.

First, let us say that we are grateful that you have chosen us to help you with your puppy's health care. If you have questions concerning any subject related to your puppy's health, please feel free to call our hospital. Our entire professional staff is willing and happy to help you.

Browse this Review:

Puppy Playing

Stimulating play is important during the first week. Stalking and pounces are important play behaviors in puppies and are necessary for proper muscular development. If given a sufficient outlet for these behaviors with toys, your puppy will be less likely to use family members for these activities. The best toys are lightweight and movable. These include wads of paper and rubber balls. Any toy that is small enough to be swallowed should be avoided.

Discipline

Disciplining a young puppy may be necessary if its behavior threatens people or property, but harsh punishment should be avoided. Get involved with a well program to better help you educate yourself about what puppies can do and to give you reasonable goals for achieving a socialized, well-mannered puppy. The sooner your puppy is taught correct behavior and manners, the easier it will be for your whole family. If training is left till later, or for only a single member of a household, bad behaviors may be reinforced, and become habit for a puppy. Early gentle training helps prevent bad habits. Additionally, the smaller a pup's physical size, the easier it is to physically control and guide it.

Vaccinations

There are many diseases that are fatal to dogs. Fortunately, we have the ability to prevent many of these by the use of very effective vaccines. In order to be effective, these vaccines must be given as a series of injections. Ideally, they are given at about 6-8, 12, and 16 weeks of age, but this schedule may vary somewhat depending on several factors.

The routine vaccination schedule will protect your puppy from six diseases: distemper, hepatitis, para influenza virus, parvo virus, Bordatella and rabies. The first four are included in one injection that is given at 6-8, 12, and 16 weeks old. Rabies vaccine is given at 16 weeks of age. Lyme vaccine is given to dogs only on a case by case basis. Ask one of our veterinarians about this vaccination. Please advise us of these needs on your next visit. As of this year the vaccines Leptospirosis, Giardia and Corona are regarded as not to be given.

Why the Series of Vaccinations?

When the puppy nurses its mother, it receives a temporary form of immunity through its mother's milk. This immunity is in the form of proteins called antibodies. For about 24-48 hours after birth, the puppy's intestine allows absorption of these antibodies directly into the blood stream. This immunity is of benefit during the first few weeks of the puppy's life, but, at some point, this immunity fails and the puppy must be able to make its own long-lasting immunity. Vaccinations are used for this purpose. As long as the mother's antibodies are present, vaccinations do not have a chance to stimulate the puppy's immune system. The mother's antibodies interfere by neutralizing the vaccine.

Many factors determine when the puppy will be able to respond to the vaccinations. These include the level of immunity in the mother dog, how much antibodies have been absorbed, and the number of vaccines given to the puppy. Since we do not know when an individual puppy will lose the short-term immunity, we give a series of vaccinations. We hope that at least two of these will fall in the window of time when the puppy has lost immunity from its mother but has not yet been exposed to disease. A single vaccination, even if effective, is not likely to stimulate the long-term immunity that is so important.

Rabies vaccine is an exception to this, since one injection given at the proper time is enough to produce long-term immunity.

Intestinal Worms

Responsible pet parasite control can reduce the risks associated with transmission of parasitic diseases from pets to people. By following a few simple guidelines, pet owners can better protect their pets and their family.

• Practice good personal hygiene.
• Use a preventative flea and/or tick treatment year-round.
• Only feed pets cooked or prepared food (not raw meat).
• Minimize exposure to high-traffic pet areas.
• Clean up pet feces regularly.
• Visit your veterinarian for annual testing and physical examination.
• Administer worming medications as recommended by your veterinarian.
• Ask your veterinarian about parasite infection risks and effective year-round preventative control measures administered monthly.

Tapeworms are the most common intestinal parasite of dogs. Puppies become infected with them when they swallow fleas; the eggs of the tapeworm live inside the flea. When the dog chews or licks its skin as a flea bites, the flea may be swallowed. The flea is digested within the dog's intestine; the tapeworm hatches and then anchors itself to the intestinal lining. Therefore, exposure to fleas may result in a new infection; this can occur in as little as two weeks. Dogs infected with tapeworms will pass small segments of the worm in their stool. The segments are white in color and look like grains of rice. They are about 1/8 inch (3 mm) long and may be seen crawling on the surface of the stool. They may also stick to the hair under the tail. If that occurs, they will dry out, shrink to about half their size, and appear golden in color.

Tapeworm segments do not pass every day or in every stool sample; therefore, inspection of several consecutive bowel movements may be needed to find them. We may examine a stool sample in our office and not find them, then you may find them the next day. If you find them at any time, please notify us so we may provide the appropriate drug for treatment.

Heart worms

Heart worms are important parasites, especially in the Washington area. They can live in your dog's heart and cause major damage to the heart and lungs. Heart worms are transmitted by mosquitoes so your dog does not have to be in contact with another dog to be exposed. Fortunately, we have drugs that will protect your dog from heart worms. These drugs are very safe and very effective if given regularly. Sentinel and Interceptor, are tablets that are given only once monthly. Be aware that having a long haircoat or staying primarily indoors does not protect a dog against heartworm infection.

Heartworm preventatives are dosed according to your dog's weight. As the weight increases, the dosage should also increase. Please note the dosing instructions on the package. These products are very safe. You could overdose your dog by two or three times the recommended dose without causing harm. An additional benefit of Interceptor / Sentinel will greatly reduce the chance of your dog acquiring roundworms, hookworms and whipworms. Sentinel offers additional protection against fleas. If the Interceptor/ Sentinel is purchased through us, and your dog out grows the pill, we will take back all unused medication and provide you with the correct dose at no additional cost. We also guarantee that the Interceptor/ Sentinel we provide will prevent heartworms, and if your dog were to contract heartworms while on the medication we will treat for free.

Food for Puppies

Diet is extremely important in the growing months of a dog's life, and there are two important criteria that should be met in selecting food for your puppy. We recommend a NAME-BRAND FOOD made by a national dog food company (not a generic or local brand), and a form of food MADE FOR PUPPIES. This should be fed until your puppy is about 12-18 months of age, depending on its size. We recommend that you only buy food that has the AAFCO certification. Usually, you can find this information very easily on the label. AAFCO is an organization that oversees the entire pet food industry. It does not endorse any particular food, but it will certify that the food has met the minimum requirements for nutrition. Most of the commercial pet foods will have the AAFCO label. Generic brands often do not have it.

Feeding a dry, canned, or semi-moist form of dog food is acceptable. Each has advantages and disadvantages. Dry food is definitely the most inexpensive. It can be left in the dog's bowl without drying. The good brands of dry food are just as nutritious as the other forms. As a rule, most veterinarians will recommend dry food for your puppy. Semi-moist and canned foods are also acceptable. However, both are considerably more expensive than dry food. They often are more appealing to the dog's taste; however, they are not more nutritious. In addition, the semi-moist foods are high in sugar.

Table foods are not recommended. Because they are generally very tasty, dogs will often begin to hold out for these and not eat their well-balanced dog food. If you choose to give your puppy table food, be sure that at least 90% of its diet is good quality commercial puppy food. People enjoy a variety of foods in their diet. However, most dogs actually prefer not to change from one food to another unless they are trained to do so by the way you feed them. Do not feel guilty if your dog is happy to just eat one food day after day, week after week.

In addition to table foods, it is also important that you not give certain other things to dogs. Bones of birds (chicken, turkey, etc.) are hollow and splinter easily producing very sharp pointed pieces of bones. These can easily pierce the esophagus, stomach, and intestines resulting in peritonitis and death. Dogs often will crack their teeth when chewing on hard cow bones. Chocolate is poisonous to dogs along with grapes and onions.

Feeding Schedules

There are several "right" ways to feed puppies. The most popular method is commonly called "meal feeding." This means that the puppy is fed at specific times of the day. A measured amount of food should be offered 3 times per day for 2 - 6 month old puppies. What is not eaten within 15 minutes is taken up. If the food is eaten within 3-4 minutes, the quantity is probably not sufficient. Puppies fed in this manner generally begin to cut themselves out of one of those meals by 6 months of age. If a meal is ignored for several days, it should be discontinued.

Housebreaking

Housebreaking should begin as soon as your puppy enters his new home. How long the training must continue depends on both the puppy and you. Some pups learn sooner than others. Your dog wants to please you. But a puppy's memory is short, so your patience is important. A home with a badly trained puppy is not a happy home for you or the puppy.

Most puppies eliminate shortly after play, eating, drinking, and sleeping. At these times, the puppy should be taken to its selected elimination area and rewarded with praise, play or food rewards when it eliminates. It can also be extremely valuable to train the puppy with a cue word for elimination. By pairing the elimination-reward sequence with a word just as the puppy begins (e.g., hurry, potty time), many dogs soon learn to associate these words with elimination and will eliminate when the cue word is given (if the timing and place is correct). If the elimination is reinforced each time at the same location, the odor, location, and substrate will attract further elimination at the site. In fact, some dogs may learn to signal at the door to be taken out to eliminate because of the reinforcement and consistency of using the location.

Even if the puppy learns where to eliminate, it is likely to attempt to eliminate in other locations until it has consistently used the proper (rewarded) elimination area consistently for several weeks. Therefore when indoors the puppy must be supervised at all times so that attempts to eliminate indoors can be immediately interrupted, at which point the puppy should be taken immediately to its appropriate elimination location. A long leash can be left attached to prevent wandering away and as an immediate tool for disruption and leading the puppy to the elimination area. If the puppy has the urge to eliminate indoors, has not yet learned to signal to go outdoors and begins to learn that the owner will sharply pull and disrupt any indoor elimination, the puppy may start to show signals such as circling, whining or other forms of anxiety, trying to sneak away, or heading toward the elimination exit door.

When the puppy cannot be supervised it should be confined to a safe, comfortable crate, pen, or playroom. The goal is to use the puppy's den instincts to avoid elimination until the owner returns. This will only occur if the puppy has been properly trained to consider the area a sleeping area or den, and if it is small enough that the pet does not eliminate away from its sleeping location. In addition, the puppy should not be confined to this area until after it has eliminated and had sufficient exercise and social interaction (i.e., when it is due for a sleep, nap or rest) and should not be confined for any longer than it can control elimination, unless paper training techniques are being used. Most puppies can control elimination through the night by four months of age. During the daytime, puppies four months or less usually have a few hours of control, while puppies five months and over may gradually be able to last longer between eliminations. If the puppy reaches a point where it might only eliminate indoors in a few selected locations, that complete confinement may not be necessary. Instead the owner might be able to prevent access to the area or place booby traps to deter entry to the area.

If urine or stool is found on the floor after the puppy has eliminated, do not consider any form of correction as the puppy will not associate the correction with the elimination. To remove the odors that might attract the puppy back to the spot, use of the products that have been specifically designed to eliminate pet urine odors (chemical modification, enzymes, bacterial odor removal), and follow the label directions.

While it's best to skip paper training and immediately train the pup to eliminate outdoors, this approach is sometimes necessary for apartment dwellers or when it's not practical to take the puppy outside frequently enough. For paper training the puppy should be confined to a room or pen with paper covering the floor except for a sleeping area (or a puppy litter product). The puppy should be confined to this area while the owners are out, or when the owners cannot supervise. Paper training can be combined with outdoor training so that the puppy learns that there are two appropriate places to eliminate. The crate could be used for confinement for shorter departures and the papered area for longer departures. Once an elimination area has been established and there have been no accidents for several weeks, the puppy can be tested without supervision (assuming it does not chew or destroy) for short periods of time after it comes indoors from elimination, and if elimination is not yet due again for several hours. The time spent unsupervised can then be very gradually increased.

Socialization of Puppies

The Socialization Period for dogs is between 4 and 12 weeks of age. During that time, the puppy is very impressionable to social influences. If it has good experiences with men, women, children, cats, other dogs, etc., it is likely to accept them throughout life. If the experiences are absent or unpleasant, it may become apprehensive or adverse to any of them. Therefore, during the period of socialization, we encourage you to expose your dog to as many types of social events and influences as possible.

Three Curious Things about Puppies

1. Puppies may be observed to make unusual sounds or movements during their sleep. This is called "activated sleep." It probably occurs because your puppy is dreaming and trying to participate in the dream. This behavior lasts a few months but rarely continues into adulthood.
2. Puppies also have "puppy breath." There is a characteristic smell about a puppy's breath. It is not particularly offensive or desirable. It is much like the smell of a new car. It is present a few weeks then disappears.
3. Puppies also frequently have episodes of hiccups. They may occur for 10-20 minutes at a time then spontaneously disappear. They are probably related to swallowing of air when eating and do not produce any significant distress to your dog. They will stop as your puppy gets a little older.

Flea Control

Fleas do not stay on your puppy all of their time; occasionally, they will jump off and seek another host. Therefore, it is important to kill fleas on your new puppy before they can become established in your house. Many of the flea control products that are safe on adult dogs are not safe for puppies less than 4 months of age. Be sure that any flea product you use is labeled safe for puppies.

There are two products that are given only once per month; some can be used in puppies as young as 6 weeks. Advantix and Frontline , are the monthly products that kill adult fleas and kills ticks. They are liquids that are applied to the skin at the base of the neck. If you are taking your dog to the mountains or high tick area then an Amitraz tick repellant collar should be used as an additional protection in conjunction with either Advantix or Frontline.

Chewing

One of the characteristics of puppies is chewing. Puppies are trying their new teeth so chewing is a normal behavior. The puppy's baby teeth are present by about 4 weeks of age. They begin to fall out at 4 months of age and are replaced by the adult (permanent) teeth by about 6 months of age. Therefore, chewing is a puppy characteristic that you can expect until about 6-7 months of age. It is important that you do what you can to direct your puppy's chewing toward acceptable objects. You should provide items such as rawhide chew bones, nylon chew bones, and other chew toys so other objects are spared.

Trimming Toenails

Puppies have very sharp toenails. They can be trimmed with your regular finger nail clippers or with nail trimmers made for dogs and cats. If you take too much off the nail, you will get into the quick; bleeding and pain will occur. If this happens, neither you nor your dog will want to do this again. Therefore, a few points are helpful:

1. If your dog has clear or white nails, you can see the pink of the quick through the nail. Avoid the pink area, and you should be out of the quick.
2. If your dog has black nails, you will not be able to see the quick so only cut 1/32" (1 mm) of the nail at a time until the dog begins to get sensitive. The sensitivity will usually occur before you are into the blood vessel. With black nails, it is likely that you will get too close on at least one nail.
3. If your dog has some clear and some black nails, use the average clear nail as a guide for cutting the black ones.
4. When cutting nails, use sharp trimmers. Dull trimmers tend to crush the nail and cause pain even if you are not in the quick.
5. You should always have styptic powder available. This is sold in pet stores under several trade names, but it will be labeled for use in trimming nails.

Ear Mites

Ear mites are tiny parasites that live in the ear canal of dogs (and cats). The most common sign of ear mite infection is scratching of the ears. Sometimes the ears will appear dirty because of a black material in the ear canal; this material is sometimes shaken out. The instrument we use for examining the ear canals, an otoscope, has the necessary magnification to allow us to see the mites. Sometimes, we can find the mites by taking a small amount of the black material from the ear canal and examining it with a microscope. Although they may leave the ear canals for short periods of time, they spend the vast majority of their lives within the protection of the ear canal. Transmission generally requires direct ear-to-ear contact. Ear mites are common in litters of puppies if their mother has ear mites.

Ear infections may also cause the production of a dark discharge in the ear canals. It is important that we examine you puppy to be sure the black material is due to ear mites and not infection. Please do not ask us to just dispense medication without having the opportunity to make an accurate diagnosis.

Spaying Females

Spaying offers several advantages. The female's heat periods result in about 2-3 weeks of vaginal bleeding. This can be quite annoying if your dog is kept indoors. Male dogs are attracted from blocks away and, in fact, seem to come out of the woodwork. They seem to go over, around, and through many doors or fences. Your dog will have a heat period about every 6 months.

Spaying is the removal of the uterus and the ovaries. Therefore, heat periods no longer occur. In many cases, despite of your best effort, the female will become pregnant; spaying prevents unplanned litters of puppies.

It has been proven that as the female dog gets older, there is a significant incidence of breast cancer and uterine infections if she has not been spayed. Spaying before she has any heat periods will virtually eliminate the chance of either. If you do not plan to breed your dog, we strongly recommend that she be spayed before her first heat period. This can be done anytime after she is 6 months old.

Neutering Males

Neutering offers several advantages. Male dogs are attracted to a female dog in heat and will climb over or go through fences to find her. Male dogs are more aggressive and more likely to fight, especially with other male dogs. As dogs age, the prostate gland frequently enlarges and causes difficulty urinating and defecating. Neutering will solve, or greatly help, all of these problems that come with owning a male dog. The surgery can be performed any time after the dog is 6 months old.

Breeding

If you plan to breed your dog, she should have at least one or two heat periods first. This will allow her to physically mature allowing her to be a better mother without such a physical drain on her. We do not recommend breeding after 5 years of age unless she has been bred prior to that. Having her first litter after 5 years of age increases the risk of problems during the pregnancy and/or delivery. Once your dog has had her last litter, she should be spayed to prevent the reproductive problems older dogs have.

Pet Identification

The latest in pet retrieval is micro chipping. The HOME AGAIN chip is implanted with a needle so the process is much like getting an injection. Our scanner can detect these chips; humane societies and animal shelters across the country also have scanners. A national registry permits the return of micro chipped pets throughout the United States and Canada. We recommend it. The HOME AGAIN chip is ISO 9001 compatible thus it is recognized world wide.

Emergency Tips

There are several emergency situations that are common. The following recommendations could be valuable for you to know.

Hit by car: Let your dog stand up by itself. If it cannot, transfer it to a hard board for transporting. Apply pressure to wounds with soft gauze. Keep your dog warm to prevent shock. An injured dog may bite, even people that it knows very well. Use caution for the safety of both you and your dog. Seek medical attention quickly.

Overheating: If you suspect your dog has collapsed from heat stress, start to cool it down with a cool water bath, fans, cold compresses, or ice packs. Seek medical attention immediately.

Minor Burns: Treat with cool water and seek medical attention.