Petcare Info
Caring for your puppy
DIET
The ideal basis of of the diet should be on commercial dry food, rounded out with raw bones (eg, mutton flaps, brisket bones, vertebrae, pelvis). Our favourite is the long cut sheep neck. Table leftovers may be added; however, avoid an excess of carbohydrate or starch (rice, pasta, or potatoes). We recommend Royal Canin dry until desexing, and then change to the "Neutered" Junior range for the correct breed size as Royal Canin recognise that desexed pets tend to need less calories to maintain weight than non-desexed dogs. Progress to "Neutered Adult" once growth is complete. Avoid dense hard bones such as the leg bones of sheep, pig or cattle (shanks and cow femurs split longitudinally) as they may crack teeth. Calcium supplementation is not required in any breed if the diet is balanced.
TEETH
Feeding raw, meaty bones (eg long cut
lamb necks) will ensure dental calculus
and gum disease is minimised. This is
especially important in small breed
dogs. Please avoid dry food marketed as
"Small Breed Dry", as this food is more
swallowed whole than chewed. Royal Canin
is recommended as it has a shape and
content which is optimal for calculus
prevention. Some pups will not shed
their temporary canine teeth by 5-7
months of age & the permanent teeth will
emerge adjacent to them. Please phone us
if you think this has occurred, and if
unsure please let one of our vets or
nurses check it early rather than later.
Some dogs will require ultrasonic
scaling and polishing under anaesthesia
on a regular basis to prevent
periodontal disease and eventual tooth
loss.
VACCINATIONS
Erina Hts Vet Hospital follows the World
Small Animal Veterinary Association
guidelines (see
www.wsava.org for full details) with
expert advice on protocols based on the
latest research. Pups are now vaccinated
at 6-9wks, and 10-14 wks with the core
vaccine; & then at 16-18 wks with the
parvovirus vaccine. And adult dogs are
vaccinated every three years after 15
months for the core diseases (distemper,
hepatitis & parvovirus) and annually for
non-core diseases (Canine Cough
comprising of parainfluenza &
bordatella). The recent change in puppy
vaccination protocol is the trade-off of
having a more effective parvovirus
vaccine. In short, stronger levels of
bitch derived protective antibody has
meant a later cutoff time for the final
puppy parvo vaccine at 16-18weeks.
Canine Cough (formerly termed Kennel
Cough) is mandatory if planning to board
your dog but it is a non-fatal disease.
MICROCHIPPING
It is now illegal to own an unregistered
and unmicrochipped dog. Your puppy
should be microchipped by the person who
gave/sold it to you. If this has not
been done, let us know so we can perform
this minor procedure. Council
registration (lifetime) is required from
six months of age, and is less costly if
your dog is desexed. We can provide a
desex certificate for presentation to
council prior to registration once your
dog is desexed. If delaying desexing
(see reasons below) then this conflict
with local council age limits may mean
paying the higher lifetime registration
fee!
WORMING
Puppies should be wormed to prevent
intestinal worm infestation every 2
weeks, until 12 weeks of age. You should
continue this treatment monthly until 6
months & then every 3 months for an
adult dog if using a pure intestinal
wormer. If using a combination
intestinal wormer/heartworm drug such as
Interceptor or Milbemax, then this is
dosed monthly long term.
HEARTWORM PREVENTION
This is required from three months of
age. There are monthly or yearly
treatments available.). Combination
products (eg. Interceptor and Milbemax)
are very convenient as they cover
intestinal worms as well as heartworm.
For those not keen on oral medications
there is a topical (applied as a small
volume of liquid to skin over the upper
neck region) monthly combination
available called Revolution which kills
fleas and provides heartworm prevention.
For those of us who are forgetful (and
that probably applies to most of us) an
annual heartworm injection is available,
and is usually begun at six months of
age (called Proheart SR-12).
FLEAS
A severe infestation can KILL a pup
purely through blood loss. Best products
for flea control on the dog are now oral
chews or tablets with 30 day duration
after a single dose (Comfortis). It is
rapid acting and safe and useful in dogs
requiring frequent bathing or those
swimming often. Combination flea and
tick tablets/chews (Nexgard or Bravecto)
are recommended if ticks are also a
threat. It is important to understand
that no flea product will be effective
if the environment is also infested.
This includes both the house and the
yard and these may need to be treated
separately, with products designed to
kill the immature flea stages (eggs,
larvae, and pupae) eg Coopex.
TICKS
Generally, most tick
problems occur from July to January. No
method of tick prevention is 100%
effective so you must search your dog
daily during the tick season. Current
best recommendations are Bravecto or
Nexgard as tab/chew presentation.
Collars such as Preventic or Scalibor
are useful, but these lose effectiveness
if the dog swims or is bathed
frequently. Permoxin spray/rinse used
weekly kills fleas and ticks and is
economical. Advantix applied as a
"spot-on" fortnightly is available for
hard to tab dose patients.
DESEXING
At EHVH we have reviewed our advice on
the recommended age of desexing in dogs
after evidence of increased risk of
orthopaedic disease (cruciate disease &
developmental bone disease) and soft
tissue tumours in those desexed before
maturity. The extra 3-6 months delay
beyond the previously recommended age of
6 months may make a difference for your
pet. With females, there is always the
risk of pregnancy, so you as the owner
need to make the decision on the optimal
desex age based on your individual
circumstances.
All male & female
desex surgeries include intravenous
fluid & IV catheters, individual sterile
packeted sutures, intradermal (or
hidden) skin sutures which means no
removing of sutures two weeks after the
operation & no visible sutures for your
pet to chew, minimising complications;
pre & post op narcotic analgesia and
post op NSAID type analgesia at home,
along with standard anaesthestic
monitoring expected of our practice.
A reversible under-skin implant
(Suprelorin) lasting six months is an
option for those undecided about
breeding into the future. Desexing males
reduces the problems of aggression to
other dogs (and perhaps people),
mounting behaviour and roaming, and
medically it benefits the dog by
reducing prostatic disease seen in older
males.
PET INSURANCE
Many companies now offer health
insurance for pets. This can help you
cover the cost of medical bills. Pets
statistically are afflicted by illness
and injury more frequently than their
owners. It makes sense to plan for this
risk. Check our links for insurance
contacts.