The following information is a guide to feeding and general care of your puppy and is supplied to help you and puppy adjust to your new life together.
WORMING your puppy
Heartworm
Begin your puppy on heartworm medication at 12 weeks and he/she will need to be on this for the rest of his/her life.
You will need to consult with your vet at your pups' 2nd vaccination as there are a number of products available & your vet
can help you choose the one which best suits your circumstances.
Hook, round, whip, flea tapeworm & hydatid tapeworm
Your puppy will need to be wormed every 2 weeks until it is 3 months of age and then every month until it is 6 months of age. Drontal or Popantel is recommended & is dosed by weight & can be purchased from your vet.
VACCINATING your puppy
Your puppy has been vaccinated at 6-8 weeks of age with a C3 injection as shown on the accompanying record card. You can discuss upgrading the vaccines with your vet when you take the pup back for his/her booster. Your puppy’s next vaccination is shown on the card.............
N.B. Your puppy will not be fully covered against disease until he/she has had her 2nd vaccination. This means he/she should not be allowed in areas where other dogs have been.
This includes his/her first visit to the vet for the 2nd vaccination. Carry your pup, don’t put them down on the ground or seats & make sure the treatment table has been properly cleaned. Remember, sick dogs go to the vet. It is up to you to protect your new baby.
FEEDING your puppy
It is strongly recommended that you change over to the higher quality Hills Growth Large Breed Puppy biscuits.
It is important not to change your puppy’s diet too quickly. Your puppy’s tummy needs time to adjust to any changes in order to prevent any upsets, eg. diarrhoea, so introduce new things gradually. The change over should be completed over a week. If your pup does have gastric, only feed biscuits & water for a day or two.
If problem persists consult your vet.
If your circumstances do not allow you to provide Hills then stay with the Hi Pro Puppy which can be sourced from your local produce store
or Supercoat Puppy biscuits can be substituted & sourced from your local Coles or Woolworths store.
Your dog needs to stay on this diet for 18 months until his/her skeletal system is established.
Your puppy is used to eating: (*This diet is based on amount given to an 8 week old pup)
Breakfast 1/2 cup (1 full coffee mug) of Hills Large Breed Puppy Biscuits(can be purchased from your vet; & a handful of raw minced Chicken carcass - a great source of natural Calcium. Make sure that there are no big bits of bone for pup to choke on. Mix with little warm water
*Approximately 3/4 biscuits to 1/4 other ingredients as a guide (most of the needed nutrition comes from good quality biscuits)
Lunch 1/2 cup Hills Puppy Biscuits & raw minced Chicken carcass & add any of the following; sm.amount cooked pasta or rice, grated cheese (sparingly), Natural yoghurt (acidophilus), chopped raw vegetables, egg yolk
Dinner: As per breakfast.
As puppy gets older you can introduce raw chicken wings & brisket bones.
A teaspoon of molasses will help their coat.
NB. Please ensure that the raw minced chicken frame, or any other chicken product that you may use eg. necks, is FROZEN FIRST. This will ensure that most of the harmful bacteria that is commonly found in chicken is destroyed.
Never give cooked food to your dog as there is very little nutrition in home
cooked food & your dog will suffer the consequences.
Cooked bones are dangerous as the can splinter inside your dog &/or cause
a compacted bowel.
Always have a fresh supply of water freely available
Serve all food at room temperature
Reduce to two meals per day at around 12 weeks of age. By 6 Months of age one meal per day is sufficient.
Make sure that the pup always has a thin layer of fat covering the ribs.
From around 9 - 12 months of age (at which time the dog will have reached its’ full height & length), it is important NOT to let your Labrador start becoming overweight but a healthy dog will be well covered (i.e. a thin layer of fat over the ribs).
If you do allow your pup to become obese, it will adversely affect the skeletal system & joints irreparably.
Is it recommended that you visit your veterinary clinic every couple of months to keep an eye on your puppies weight.
WEIGHT GUIDE
F 6 months = up to 15kg 12 months = up to 25kg 2 years = up to 35kg
M 6 months = up to 20kg 12 months = up to 30kg 2 years = up to 40kg
FLEA & TICK CONTROL
Advantage Top Spot is recommended by our Kennel for flea control.
Advantix is a new product which covers both Paralysis ticks & fleas.
Alternatively Proban tablets are the most effective product for Tick control but care must be taken to dose strictly by weight as it is an organo-phosphate.
Ticks mostly occur around the face & chest area (check eyelids, lips, inside ears etc) but can occur anywhere on the body including between the toes SO CHECK THOROUGHLY.
If you live in a tick area & your pup goes off his/her food or starts to wobble in the back legs or behaves as if choking GO STRAIGHT TO YOUR VET.
NEVER TAKE THE WAIT & SEE APPROACH. YOU RISK LOSING YOUR PUP.
NB. Never use Proban in conjunction with another organo-phosphate product such as Tick collars or chemical rinses, as you could overdose your puppy with a chemical cocktail.
Once again, it is critical to dose with Proban for the correct weight, so don’t just guess at it. Please discuss this with your vet.
BATHING YOUR PUPPY
During colder whether only bath on a sunny day & in the morning. If your pup stays wet & gets cold you will have a sick puppy on your hands.
Only use Shampoos & Conditioners specifically designed for puppies as human products can cause skin upsets due to different ph levels. Skin problems can cost you an arm & a leg at your vet.
Only use mild products containing pyrethrins as other chemicals will be toxic to your puppy. Aloveen Shampoo & Conditioner is a lovely product based on oatmeal.
Do not use harsh metal brushes on your pups’ tender skin. He/she is only a baby.
Do not over bath your puppy or you will wash out all the naturally occurring oils.
Only bath in lukewarm water & be careful not to get water/shampoo in ears & eyes.
Dry off well, especially around face, behind & inside ears, under arms to prevent chills.
Have fun, keep talking to him/her, reassure the pup that all is well. Never scold the pup.
PUPPY PRE SCHOOLS, run by reputable veterinary clinics, are strongly encouraged.
This not only provides basic training but also continuing socialisation skills which are so necessary to your pups’ overall welfare & to become a valued member of your family.
It is also a lot of fun for you!
EXERCISE RESTRICTIONS
As joints of growing pups are easily injured, until your pup is at least 18 months of age:
1. Never let your puppy jump from a height higher than it’s own shoulder height.
2. Be careful of stairs. A pup can easily break a leg if he/she falls off or through a
staircase.
3. Never let your puppy jump into or out of a car or trailer.
4. Do not run your puppy ragged. Just a little walk or run is fine.
5. Never pick up your puppy with his/her front legs. Place one hand under rump &
the other under the pups’ chest.
6. Avoid repetitive play that causes your puppy to run & brake (such as fetching a ball) as
this can cause repetitive strain injury to your pups’ tender joints & damage them for
life.
7. When taking the dog to the park or beach etc. ALWAYS have the dog on a lead to prevent him/her bounding around unrestrained.
Keep you pup off the soft sand as it gives way under their feet & can cause straining on the joints. Wet sand is ok.
Puppies are like toddlers, they have lots of energy but can easily get themselves into difficulty, so it is up to us to be responsible for their
development & safety.
BITING OR MOUTHING BEHAVIOUR
If your puppy begins a habit of biting or mouthing the hand etc of a particular family member, use strong vocal discipline, ie. Short, loud, gruff, deep ‘NO’. This can lead to dominance behaviour as the pup gets older if not dealt with early.
If the pup does not respond to this consistent vocal discipline, a responsible adult should firmly turn the pup over on it’s back on the ground, which is natural act of submission for the dog &, with a disapproving tone of voice, ‘rough’ the pup up.
This is not to be seen as playtime by the pup but a disciplinary measure & should be done consistently until the biting/mouthing behaviour is controlled.
The earlier this behaviour is dealt with the better as the dog will soon become too big to be easily placed in this submissive position manually.
Make sure that no member of the family is counteracting the discipline by encouraging the wrong type of play & sending the pup mixed messages.
MICROCHIP PAPERWORK
will be sent to the Animal Registry on your behalf & you will then receive a fresh set with the dog legally in your name.
This fresh set of paperwork should be taken to your local council before the pup is 6 months of age so that the pup is registered.
This is a legal requirement.
DESEXING YOUR PUPPY
We strongly recommend that you desex your puppy, we advise that this be done at 5 months of age.
You can then take the sterilisation certificate received from the vet, along with the fresh microchip paperwork to the council & it will be much cheaper to register the dog.
YOUR PEDIGREE PAPERWORK
will be posted to you when it it processed by the Canine Council.
We would appreciate a call from you within the first few days of taking your new
Puppy home so that we know he/she is settling in well for you.
If you have any concerns, please contact us or your vet.
PROBLEMS WITH THE PLUMBING
ie. Toilet training
Often the first question we are asked when clients bring a young puppy for training is 'What is the secret of successful house training. They have tried smacking the pup when it wets in the house, rubbing its nose in its droppings, and putting paper down on the laundry floor all to no avail. There are no magic remedies, but there is a simple and effective teaching process which will bring about speedy results.
The need to urinate or defecate is as natural a function for dogs as it is for humans. It takes a long time to toilet train a baby, yet puppies are expected to know what to do almost immediately! At eight weeks old a puppy has little bladder or bowel control but it will develop them rapidly over the next couple of months. To teach or condition a puppy to eliminate in a correct area we need to know two things, that is, the natural behaviour of wolves and dogs.
Remember that if we reinforce or reward a response such as urinating outside with something which is important to the puppy such as a piece of food, then the puppy will tend to respond by urinating outside again when it is stimulated by a full bladder.
House training should start the moment you arrive home with your puppy so that you avoid having any 'accidents' right from the beginning. We suggest that you start before you even enter the house by taking the puppy to the area you want it to use. Let it explore the area and, if it obliges buy urinating or defecating, praise it and give it a small piece of food. Incidentally the spot that you choose for the toilet area should not be too far from the house as you wouldn’t want to walk too far on cold wet nights!
Now take your pup inside and follow these instructions:
1. Set your watch or alarm clock to ring in one hour. When the time is up, walk your puppy outside to 'the same area' and stay there for five minutes or so. If it urinates or defecates, praise it and give it a small piece of food, then take it inside and set your alarm for another hour, and so on. If your puppy does not oblige during the five minute period, take it inside but go out ten minutes later and keep doing this until your patience is rewarded. You will quickly work out your puppy's own rhythm.
2. Also, take the puppy out as soon as it wakens from sleep, after eating or drinking and when it has been chewing on a toy or after prolonged play.
3. Watch its body language carefully for any signs which may indicate a need to go out. Circling and sniffing are often signs that it wants to go to the toilet.
* REMEMBER - PERSEVERANCE IS THE KEY ….. NOT INTOLERANCE
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