Puppy Care Guide

Becoming an owner of a new dog can be a very rewarding experience, but it also carries with it much responsibility.

We have put together this Puppy Care Guide to provide you with some handy hints and tips which we hope you will find helpful.

If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact us on
0499 912709

Our puppies have been carefully nurtured, raised on a healthy diet and well socialised in a happy and loving environment.

We do hope you will continue this work to ensure your puppy remains happy and healthy.

Get your printable version of this guide HERE

Bringing Your Puppy Home

Bringing home your puppy can be an exciting time, however for puppies this can sometimes be a stressful time as they learn to become familiar with their new family and surroundings.

Some of the symptoms you may notice as a result of this stress is loss of appetite, loose stools and diarrhoea. This will usually pass within a few weeks and is not a cause for concern providing your puppy is still active and appears content. However, if you feel concerned at all we prefer you call us immediately so we can advise you accordingly.

Another reason why your puppy may develop diarrhoea can be due to eating too much dry food or has eaten a new food that it has not eaten before.

We recommend you feed your puppy as per our Puppy Diet Guide.

We offer 4 weeks free Pet Insurance with Knose Pet Insurance. Please note there is a 14 day waiting period for any sickness claims.

If you have any concerns regarding the health of your puppy during this time period, please contact us a we have a veterinary surgery on our permises and will be about to treat your puppy should the need arise.

Feeding

Twice a day- a combination of any of the following:

Variety Shapes Dry food (biscuits) - Once Daily

Raw chicken wings or drumsticks to chew on (great for puppy's teeth) To be given once daily after 14 weeks of age

Never give cooked bones as shards of bone can be a choking hazard or cause serious damage to your puppy’s mouth, throat and stomach.

Prime 100 Chicken Roll (Twice Daily - Breakfast and Dinner)

Lactose Free Milk only. Once Daily.

DO NOT feed your puppy cow’s milk as this can cause diarrhoea, vomiting and loose stools.

A printable version of our Puppy Diet Guide can be found HERE.

Treatments and Vaccinations

Worming

Intestinal Worms can be very easily caught so treating your new pet is important.

Worming should be done once a week or fortnight depending on the syrup or tablet; please refer to directions on packet.
Adult worming is necessary every 3 months once the puppy reaches the age of 12 months. (We use Drontal All Wormer/Aristopet All Wormer)

Heart worms can be contracted through mosquito bites and can result in heart failure, organ damage and lung disease

A Heart worming preventative treatment should be commenced before 6 months of age. We treat our puppies with Advocate.
We recommend taking your puppy to a vet to get an annual Heart Worm Preventative Vaccination.

Fleaing

We use Frontline Flea Spray for fleas or Simparica for ticks and fleas once per month. It is recommended to refer to the instructions prior to administering to your puppy.

Vaccinations

Do not take your puppy to parks before the C5 Vaccination and protection after vaccination may take up to 10 days. Avoid contact with unvaccinated animals during this time.

Look after your dog’s limbs and spine!

Please do not allow your puppy to jump on furniture, climb stairs or over exercise as this can cause numerous injuries and issues with your dog’s limbs and spine in the long term.

Toy Warning!

Always keep an eye on your puppy when he/she is playing with their toys. Some toys feature small parts that can fall off or can be chewed off. These can cause choking or serious internal issues should parts be swallowed.

Replace toys as soon as possible if they have parts that appear to be loosening or wearing out. We prefer to use rope toys for our puppies.

Grooming your Puppy

Coats

All different types of dogs with different types of coats will need a different type and quantity of grooming, we recommend taking your new pet to a professional groomer.

Avoid bathing your new pet to often or you will strip their coat of all their natural oils making them more prone to dandruff, dryness and matting.

Buy a shampoo and conditioner specifically designed for dogs, as human grade shampoo and conditioner may irritate your new pets skin causing adverse reactions including dryness, rashes and irritation. We recommend pet shampoos with Aloe Vera and Oil of Rosemary extracts which are natural flea repellents or Petplay shampoo and conditioner.

Nails

If you walk your new pet often it is likely that you will not have to trim their nails often, but it is important to handle your new pet’s feet at regular intervals so that they are used to it anyway. To trim your new pet’s feet you will require nail trimmers specifically designed for dogs. It is important to associate trimming your animals nails with good things such as treats or praise so that it does not become a chore.

Steps:

Pick up your animals paw and handle it for a small period of time.
Taking it slow and easy, gently place the nail clippers over the excess nail and trim. Be careful not to trim too much of their nail.
Repeat this process with each paw until complete.

Remember to praise and/or treat your new pet after each paw or after the entire process is complete.

Ears

It is important to clean your pet’s ears often to avoid nasty infections and/or ear mites. We recommend doing this every two weeks and any time your animal is bathed (at 6-12 week intervals). We currently recommend EpiOtic to clean their ears.

Steps:

Hold your pet firmly, using a cotton tip gentle wipe the inside of each ear (you may need more than one cotton tip).
There are many curves and crevasses inside a dogs ear, insure you get inside all of the curves and crevasses.

Be sure that you do not place the cotton tip too far into your pet’s ear to avoid harm and/or injury. Vet practices and groomers also provide this service, if you are not confident cleaning your pet’s ear it is important that you hire a professional.

Training, Obedience and Socialisation

Socialisation is important for your puppy's development

Commence puppy training from 10 weeks onwards. The training should commence on the first day the puppy is taken to it’s new home. Enrol your puppy into a puppy training school at least 10 days after it has received it’s (C5) vaccination.

Socialisation is very important, make sure that your puppy is well socialised at a young age with other pets, people and environments

For more information read our puppy behaviour and training guide.

Crate Training

We crate train our puppies from 8 weeks of age for 30 -60 minutes per day.

We highly recommend you continue to crate train your puppy for 30 -60 minutes everyday and place your puppy in their crate at night for bed. This will help train them to be independent and prevent separation anxiety.

It is normal for the puppy to cry for the first week as it begins to settle into their new home. Only give your puppy your attention when it is calm and quiet in order to reinforce positive behaviour. Giving attention when they cry will lead to unwanted and disruptive behaviour.

Toilet Training

We recommend taking your puppy outside first thing in the morning and last thing night before bedtime to help prevent any accidents in the crate.

Take your puppy outside frequently during the day, every 1-2 hours and give them plenty of time to roam around outside for toileting.

We hope this guide is helpful and we wish you all the best with your new member of the family.

If you have any questions or concerns please do not hesitate to call us on

0499 912 709.

Thank you, Charlie, Sharron and the Team at Puppies Downunder.