Puppy Care

Keeping Your Puppy Happy and Healthy

We’re excited to support you in giving your puppy the best start in life. That’s why we’ve prepared this information sheet, packed with everything you need to know to keep your puppy happy and healthy. We would love to help you keep your puppy happy and healthy so we have prepared this information sheet that has all the necessary things you need to know.

VACCINATIONS

Vaccinating your puppy is essential to protect them from several common and potentially life-threatening diseases. Many of these illnesses are entirely preventable with timely vaccinations.

Puppies typically require a series of three vaccinations during their early development to safeguard against:

Your veterinarian will advise on the specific vaccines and schedule based on your puppy’s individual needs. Generally, the vaccination timeline is as follows:

6–8 weeks of age: Parvovirus, Distemper, Hepatitis / Adenovirus, Parainfluenza

10–12 weeks of age: Parvovirus, Distemper, Hepatitis / Adenovirus, Bordetella Bronchiseptica, Parainfluenza (Kennel Cough)

14–16 weeks of age: Parvovirus, Distemper, Hepatitis / Adenovirus, Parainfluenza

Following this schedule helps ensure your puppy builds strong immunity during their most vulnerable stages.

WORMING

Regular worming is essential to keep your puppy healthy and free from gastrointestinal parasites. Following a consistent worming schedule helps protect your puppy during their most vulnerable stages of growth.

Recommended Worming Schedule:

It’s important to use high-quality worming products to ensure effective protection. Your veterinarian can recommend the best options based on your puppy’s needs.

DE-SEXING

If you don’t plan to breed your pet, de-sexing offers several important health and behavioural benefits. It significantly reduces the risk of conditions such as:

Dogs can be safely de-sexed from six months of age. If you have any questions or concerns, your veterinarian will be happy to discuss the procedure and dispel any myths surrounding de-sexing.

HEARTWORM

Heartworm is a serious and potentially life-threatening condition that differs from common gastrointestinal (GI) worms. It is transmitted through mosquito bites and affects the heart and lungs of dogs.

Unlike GI parasites, heartworms live in the bloodstream and can cause severe damage to the cardiovascular and respiratory systems. Prevention is key, and your veterinarian can recommend effective heartworm prevention products to keep your puppy safe year-round.

DENTAL CARE

Just like humans, dogs need regular dental care to maintain healthy teeth and gums. There are several effective ways to help keep your dog’s teeth clean, including:

You can also brush your dog’s teeth using a finger brush and dog-friendly toothpaste, available in flavours like beef and chicken. Starting this routine early helps your puppy get used to the process and makes dental care easier as they grow.

DIET

There are many products available, but to help your puppy grow healthily, we recommend high quality diets such as Hill’s Science Diet, Royal Canin, Advance or Eukanuba. Many supermarket diets are nutritionally inferior and are not ‘complete and balanced’ nutritionally, although they may claim to be. It is important while your puppy is growing to feed him or her a puppy food specifically for their breed type. For example, large breed dogs such as Great Danes will require a large breed puppy food, and small breeds such as Chihuahuas will require a small breed puppy food. This is to help them grow at the correct rates for their size, and prevent musculoskeletal problems in the future. Ask your veterinarian if you are unsure. Although these premium diets are more expensive, your puppy will require less of the food due to its superior quality. As the old age saying goes, “you get what you pay for”.

FEEDING

Puppies require feeding multiple times a day. When they are young, begin with 3x a day feeding in set portions, and as they get older, change this to 2x a day feeding with set portions. Smaller ‘toy’ breeds will require smaller portions, but more frequently, up to 4 or 5 times a day if able. As a puppy transitions into adulthood, we recommend keeping feed times to set portions for their weight, to prevent overeating and potential weight problems.

TOXIC FOODS AND FOODS TO AVOID

Most dogs love to eat what their owners eat, however it is important to realise that what is good or nice for us to eat can cause serious health issues to your pet.

TOXIC FOODS

FOODS TO AVOID

PUPPY PROOFING YOUR HOME

Puppies, like all babies, love to explore things and get into things around the house that they shouldn’t. Keep electrical cords, houseplants and household chemicals out of reach of your puppy. Human medications, vitamins, tobacco, household cleaning products, car products and toxic houseplants are common things we see sick puppies for in the vet clinic.

BEHAVIOUR, SOCIALISATION AND TRAINING

It is a sad truth that the leading cause of dogs being surrendered to the pound or RSPCA, or being dumped is because of bad behaviour. You can begin training your puppy immediately. There are many different ways to train your dog but we prefer a positive approach with a reward based training program. Sophia Yin has a book we recommend, called “The Perfect Puppy in 7 Days”. It has detailed instructions on crate training, working for your food, leash training, toilet training and many more.

Puppies have a window of opportunity called the ‘golden period’ for socialisation. This is 6-12 weeks for puppies. During this time it is important that you socialise your dog in a safe and controlled environment with other pets. To do this safely, we recommend puppy preschools and dog obedience clubs, rather than dog parks or friend’s dogs, remembering that your dog is not fully protected from deadly Parvovirus at this time.