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Dear New Client & Patient,
Thank you for choosing Happy Tails Animal Hospital for your pet care needs. We are excited to meet your new family member and can not wait to show you all that we have to offer. Getting a new puppy can be very exciting and also daunting when you start to think about what they may need at their first veterinary visit. Please see our other blogs on puppies that help cover many new puppy questions and concerns. Such as Spaying & Neutering, Microchipping and Vaccines. At your puppy’s first visit with us we will go over the provided packet of information as well as address any questions or concerns you may have. We will also look over any vaccination records that your puppy came with and let you know what vaccines your puppy may be due for. Puppies start their vaccine series at 6-8 weeks of age. Many breeders will start the Distemper vaccine while the puppies are in their care. The Distemper vaccine is given every 3-4 weeks until around 16 weeks of age. The rabies vaccine is given typically between 12-16 weeks of age. During this time we will also discuss your lifestyle and recommend other vaccines based on your pets disease risk. What vaccines your puppy will be due for depends on their age and previous vaccination history. If your puppy has had vaccines done by the breeder they will not be due for more vaccines until 3-4 weeks after that vaccination was done. Even if vaccines have been done recently we still recommend having the puppy seen for an exam within a week of bringing them home. This is to make sure that you got a healthy and happy puppy! During this first visit the doctor will do a thorough exam from nose to tail. We want to make sure that everything looks and sounds normal. We will booster any vaccines that are needed and discuss your pets vaccination schedule. We will also start your pet off on a dose of Flea & Tick Preventative as well as a Heartworm Preventative. Once the exam is completed we will let you know when to return for the next set of vaccines and preventatives. Before your puppy’s first visit with us we do request that you email us a photo or copy of any vaccination records you have received. This helps give us more time to focus on your puppy during the first exam. We also recommend bringing in a fresh stool sample to your puppy’s first visit. A stool sample should be checked even if your puppy was previously dewormed by the breeder, because not all dewormers cover all intestinal parasites. We look forward to meeting your new family member! Sincerely, The Staff at Happy Tails Animal Hospital  Surviving puppyhood is not hard. Puppies are predictable. They chew everything, urinate and defecate everywhere and get into trouble every time they are out of sight. This is normal! Surviving puppyhood with some semblance of calm begins by planning for puppies to behave like puppies. Here are some hints:
Supervise: When your puppy is loose, he must be in sight. Treat him like a human toddler. You would never leave your toddler unsupervised. Don't leave your puppy either. Entertain: Puppies have active minds as well as active bodies. Get several safe toys and rotate them so your puppy doesn't get bored. Don't give them all the toys at once. Variety helps to keep them interested. Educate: Your pup is learning every day he is with you. Start teaching him manners right away. Use short sessions with lots of praise and food rewards (freeze dried liver is a great training treat). Even seven-week-old puppies can learn to sit, stay, and come. Educate yourself as well. There are many books and videos available to help you successfully raise a puppy. Prevention: Put things away. Close cabinets and doors. Coat electrical wires with an anti-chew product (gold Listerine in a spray bottle works well for many pups). Confine: Confine parents use cribs and playpens. Puppy owners use crates and kennels. Small room with baby gates can be used but remember; a puppy can strip wallpaper, chew the ends of cabinets, or bite holes in drywall. Therefore, our preference is to always use a crate or kennel. Enjoy: Your puppy is exhausting, frustrating, and demanding. He is also charming, innocent, adorable, eager, smart, and wonderful. Enjoy him every day. By 4 months of age your puppy should be well on his way to becoming a well-mannered member of the family. To help him achieve this goal, we outline some major "expectations" you should attempt to achieve. Your pup should:
Benefits of spaying your Dog
Spaying (ovariohysterectomy) is a procedure that involves removal of your dog's ovaries and uterus. This surgery may be performed at any age but the preferable age is between 4-12 months. There is NO medical evidence to suggest that your dog will benefit in any way from going through a heat cycle or having a litter prior to being spayed. Spaying can provide you and your dog with the following benefits:
There are many good reasons to have your dog spayed early in life. Unless you are convinced that you would like to show or breed your dog, we recommend spaying at the earliest convenient time. Benefits of Neutering your Dog
There are many good reasons to neuter your dog early in life. Unless you are convinced that you want to show or breed your dog, we recommend neutering at the earliest convenient time.  KONG Recipes & Stuffing Techniques
Kong toys are uniquely shaped, extraordinarily durable rubber toys with a hollow center which can be filled with food or treats. Un-stuffing Kongs can become a very important and popular activity for your puppy or dog because it can keep him or her content and busy for long periods of time while they crunch up and lick out the food nuggets and treats stuffed inside. Using the KONG in this fashion helps direct your dog's natural desire to chew toward something that is acceptable to your dog and desirable to you. We much prefer that your dog chews on the KONG than the leg of your kitchen table or your favorite pair of shoes! Suggestions for KONG stuffing include:
Remember to use any stuffing ingredient in moderation. Items such as peanut butter can be fattening. Also, some foods may not "agree" with your dog's stomach so be aware of potential stomach upsets. This is not usually a problem with the previously mentioned stuffing suggestions. Also, remember that it may be necessary to reduce the portion size of your dog's regular meal if you are using lots of food inside KONGs to keep your dog occupied and happy. Some recipes may become messy as your dogs licks and chews out the contents of the stuffed KONG so be aware of leaving your dog in an area such as a crate, outside in the yard or on an easily cleaned floor while he or she enjoys the KONG. You may periodically need to place the KONG in your dishwasher to clean and sanitize the inside cavity. **** Please make sure to use the appropriate sized KONG toy that is recommended for your pet's weight. The company makes guidelines to avoid injury. If a smaller sized KONG toy is offered to your dog, instead of the appropriate recommended size, then problems can arise due to ingestion of the toy or it can become a choking hazard. If either one of these situations arises, then please contact our office if it is during normal business hours, or the local emergency clinic (PETS at 717-295- 7387).  Annual Comprehensive Wellness Examination
An annual comprehensive physical examination is the basis for your dog's health program. Senior dogs (over 8-10 years of age) will greatly benefit from semi-annual health check-ups. Since our dogs age so much more rapidly than we do, health problems may arise in seemingly short periods of time. By 6 months of age, your puppy is the equivalent of a 3-4 yr. old child and by 8 yrs. of age your dog is the equivalent of a 55-65 yr. old person! You have probably heard it said that diseases such as high blood pressure, diabetes, and heart ailments in people might be SILENT KILLERS. This is because often times there are NO obvious clinical signs until severe illness or death occurs. Likewise dogs have many "silent killer" diseases that afflict them. There is NO immunity to silent killers like heart, kidney, and dental disease. EARLY DETECTION through comprehensive anal or semi-anal examinations is the key to your canine companion's well being. Vaccinations Puppies should begin their immunization series at 6-8 weeks of age. Vaccinations are boostered every 3-4 weeks between the ages of 6 weeks and 16 weeks of age. Once the initial vaccination series has been completed, booster vaccinations will be recommended every 1 to 3 years based upon your dog's assessed disease risk. “Core” vaccinations are those vaccinations that are currently recommended for ALL DOGS. These include canine distemper, hepatitis, parainfluenza, parvovirus, and rabies. Other vaccinations, like leptospirosis, infectious tracheobronchitis (bordetella), lyme, and influenza vaccines are recommended based on your dog's lifestyle. Intestinal Parasite Control The Center for Control (CDC) recommends that ALL puppies be routinely de-wormed for roundworms and hookworms, at least 2-3 times, whether or not eggs for these parasites are found in a stool sample. These parasites may infect the puppy by traveling across the placenta of the mother dog to the unborn puppy prior to birth. Additionally, the puppies may be infected with these parasite by migration of the immature worm in the mother's milk. Not only are these parasites dangerous to the health of the puppy, but the immature worm is capable of infecting people (primarily children) as well. It is for this reason that the CDC makes it recommendation. Annual fecal exams are necessary to check for a variety of intestinal parasites that may affect your dog. Heartworm Prevention ALL puppies and adult dogs should be maintained on heartworm preventive medication on a year round basis. Heartworms are parasites that are transmitted by the bite of an infected mosquito. The parasites live in the heart and lungs of infected dogs and are capable of causing heart failure. An annual blood test is recommended to assure that your dog is heartworm free. Flea & Tick Control These parasites are capable of causing extreme skin irritation to you and your dog as well as transmitting potentially dangerous diseases. Lyme disease is transmitted by the bite of a tick, and is VERY COMMON IN THIS AREA. It can cause lethargy, fever, joint pain, and even kidney failure if left undetected and untreated. The recommended yearly heartworm blood test also screens for Lyme disease. However, beyond just screening for Lyme disease, the best thing is to PREVENT lyme disease. The best way to do this is to use a good flea and tick control product that will protect your dog from the bite of a tick. It is recommended to use flea and tick control all year long, for the life of your dog. Dental care The mouth is the gateway to the rest of the body. A healthy, clean mouth helps to insure a healthy body. Tarter and plaque on teeth harbor a wide variety of bacteria that may cause infections elsewhere in the body such as in the heart, liver, or kidneys. The practice of home dental care should be started with your puppy to get him/her used to having its teeth cleaned at an early age. Brushing is the most effective method of home dental care, but if this is not possible, other options may be beneficial such as the feeding of a specially formulated diet or offering treats impregnated with an enzyme that helps remove plaque. Regular dental exams along with professional dental cleanings are an important part of your dog's good oral hygiene. Spaying and Neutering Dogs may be spayed or neutered at any age, but the preferable age is approximately 6-12 months of age. It is of no health benefit to allow your dog to go through a heat cycle or to breed once prior to being spayed or neutered. Spay and neutering prevents annoying sexual behavior, prevents certain cancers and infections, and generally leads to a happier, healthier dog. |
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