Success In Bringing Your New Puppy Home – Information Cheat Sheets
Vaccines:
Your pup will get a 5 in 1 before leaving me at approx. 7.5 weeks of age – it contains[1]Canine Distemper, Adenovirus Type 1 (Hepatitis), Adenovirus Type 2 (Respiratory Disease), Parainfluenza, Parvovirus. The 2nd vaccine is required 3-4 weeks after the first vaccine is given. The 3rd is 3-4 weeks after the 2nd dose. Then they are fully covered. Rabies is safe at 6 months or later given alone. This should be all the vaccines your pup needs in the first year. For subsequent years, a titer test can be performed to see if more DAPP needs to be administered.
Flea treatments:
By adopting a puppy from me you are agreeing also to never under any circumstance even with a vet prescription give oral flea medication ie: NexGard, Trifexis, Bravecto, Comfortis, Capstar, Simparica Advantus or any other new or unlisted oral medications that have or may come out. They are like ingesting raid, dangerous and potentially deadly and may cause symptoms like extreme scratching for no reason, losing ability to walk, irregular breathing, seizures, uncontrollable bowels, hair loss or even death within hours to days of taking the medications and can take up to 3 months to fully leave the body. Even a dog who doesn’t react the first couple of times it is given, can have an adverse reaction on a time later on.
If flea meds are necessary during the warmer months, my first choice would be something all natural like DE or apple cider vinegar, as far as prescription drugs I would likely choose Revolution or Sentinel
Crates/Pens:
I recommend that you get an X-pen or IRIS USA Indoor/Outdoor Plastic Pet Pen or some kind of safe puppy enclosure for when you are away from home or around the house but puppy is not being supervised. It’s important that your puppy has times of rest during the day so he/she wont get over stimulated. I have a puppy pen with a little room to play, have a potty area at one end, bed food water bowls at the other end. You would be surprised at what trouble a puppy can find if they are left roaming the house. I also firmly believe that all dogs should be crate trained you should get a medium sized crate 28″. Keep the crate inside the enclosure to sleep and do not lock your puppy in it until they can sleep through the night without having to potty.
Please dont leave a puppy on a couch, bed or piece of furniture that your puppy is unable to jump up on himself. If your puppy can jump up on the furniture on their own they are strong enough to jump off on their own. Toy breeds especially are prone to injuries more than larger breeds when it comes to jumping up and down off things. The wear and tear it can save on your dog’s leg muscles and joints can be well worth the effort once they reach their geriatric years.
If you have a lot of wooden flooring, I recommend adding rugs that are washable in your washing machine throughout the common areas your puppy will walk through. This will help give them better footing. Bad footing over a prolonged period of time, especially during the growing period for a puppy could have a huge impact on their structural development and cause slipped patellas which is a common disorder in toy breeds.
Teeth:
Dogs need at least weekly brushing daily is best a finger tooth brush or even a paper towel works fine. small pups dont need toothpaste until they get adult teeth 6 months or so but I use a paper towel starting as a puppy just so they can get used to having the inside of their mouths touched.
Eyes:
Some beagles and cavaliers develop tear staining under their eyes. These marks can be unattractive and may produce an odor if not maintained. I use unfiltered apple cider vinegar in their water just a capful to prevent this your puppy will be used to drinking it, you can add it to their food with some probiotic powder. You can also create a 1:1 apple cidar vinegar: water solution and wash the eyes with that.
Grooming/Nails:
They should be clipped or filed frequently. I do my dogs weekly on Sundays so they don’t get long. Long nails can impact the way your dog walks and cause back pain. Grooming is an essential part of your dogs health. Beagles should have a bath and brush once a month (2 at most). Cavaliers need minimal brushing mostly the ears, the chest and armpits, every other day or as needed. I like to give my cavaliers a bath and full brush out every month.
I use a metal wide tooth comb for grooming my cavaliers. I do not recommend having them shaved them down to the skin in extreme hot or cold weather. Their coat provides protection for them. If long hair is hard to maintain, then I would recommend a “puppy cut” where the feet, legs and ears are trimmed shorter.
Spay/Neuter:
We recommend waiting until your puppy is over 18 months to spay or neuter. There are a lot of health and behavior dangers associated with spaying too young. It is best to wait until 18-24 months when all the growth plates have closed. It is the sex hormones that tell bones how to grow and when to stop growing. A little bit of inconvenience now will give your puppy a longer, healthier life.
Umbilical Hernia
Many CKCS puppies will have a little bellybutton hernia. This is minor and not a health issue and can be fixed when your dog is spayed/neutered.
Dangerous Foods for dogs to avoid:
Chocolate, Onions, onion powder, Garlic, Grapes or raisins, Cooked or small pointy bones, citrus oil, sugary foods, Hops or alcoholic beverages, tomato plant leaves, Persimmon seeds
Cleaners:
My favorite cleaner is a natural product called “angry orange”. For pee/poop cleaning, I use “Furry freshness” as it kills the enzyme. Pinesol, Lysol, bleach can be toxic to dogs. Vinegar is great non toxic cleaner and can be added to the wah for antibacterial cleaning of material.
Parasites
Our puppies have had regular de-worming every 2 weeks since birth. Coccidia are small protozoans that live in the intestinal tracts of dogs and cats. It is seen most commonly in puppies and kittens less than six months of age, in adult animals whose immune system is suppressed, or in animals who are stressed in other ways (e.g.; change in ownership, other disease present, giving birth). As a puppy ages, he tends to develop a natural immunity to the effects of coccidia. As an adult, he may carry coccidia in his intestines, and shed the cyst in the feces, but experience no ill effects. It is not transferable to humans. Fortunately, coccidiosis is very treatable. Drugs such as Albon can be given. We sometimes have bouts of Giardia as we live near birds and water and now make it routine to de worm with Fenbendazle starting at 6 weeks and again at 8-9.Stagnate water a pup may get on a walk, dog parks, birds, dirty shoes and other infected animals are usually the cause of it. All of our pups get preventative treatment which is also a broad spectrum dewormer (safeguard) at least 3 times before coming home.
Training / socialization:
Even if this is not your first dog, I highly recommend (and reward) you going to socialization classes and training classes together. Not only does this provide bonding with your new pet, but also provides a foundation for a lifetime of good dog behavior.