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Preventative health care for your puppy

Vaccination

Canine 3 (C3):

  • Parvo Virus
  • Distemper virus
  • Canine adenovirus (hepatitis)

Canine 5 (C5):

  • Above (C3) plus:
  • Canine/Kennel Cough (Bordetella bronchoseptica and parainfluenza virus)

Puppy Protocol

  • 6-8 weeks: C3
  • 10-12 weeks: C5
  • 12-14 weeks: C5

Annual Vaccination and Health Check

  • Given each year following puppy vaccinations

Intestinal Worming

What are intestinal worms?

  • Roundworm
  • Hookworm
  • Whipworm
  • Tapeworm

What do I treat with?

A general intestinal all wormer tablet such as Fido’s Allwormer

Puppy Protocol

  • Give every two weeks starting at 2 weeks of age until 12 weeks
  • (2 weeks, 4 weeks, 6 weeks, 8 weeks, 10 weeks and 12 weeks)
  • Then give every month until 6 months old.

Adults

  • Give every three months

Heartworm

What is a heartworm?

  • Is spread by mosquitos and is a worm that lives in your dog’s heart and blood vessels.

Why is it important to prevent it?

  • If your dog gets heartworm it will have actual worms living in its heart and major blood vessels. These worms can kill your dog and treatment of these worms can be deadly too.
  • Prevention treatments usually started around 10-14 weeks of age.

Options:

  • Annual injection called Proheart SR-12
  • Monthly tablets such as NexGard Spectra

Fleas and ticks

  • Fleas can easily spread between dogs and from different environments.
  • Ticks can spread diseases to your pet.
  • Usually, start 10-14 weeks of age:

Options

  • Bravecto Spot-on
    • 6-month protection so only need to apply twice a year
  • Bravecto Chews
    • 3-month protection
  • Nexgard Spectra chews
    • monthly

Other things to discuss with the vet

  1. Desexing
  2. Puppy preschool and Obedience Training
  3. Pet insurance
  4. Nutrition
  5. Wellness Plans

10 questions every puppy owner should ask

1. Why do we vaccinate?

  • Vaccinations protect your pet from highly contagious and often fatal diseases.
  • Diseases such as parvovirus rapidly spreads around local communities and dog parks.
  • These diseases are really serious and even with appropriate treatment can be fatal. In addition, treating your pet can be very expensive.
  • Kennel cough is a very contagious disease, and vaccination is essential if your dog is socialising with other dogs.

2. Why do we give flea prevention?

  • Prevention is easier than eradication
  • All pets are susceptible to catching fleas.
  • Fleas lay +50 eggs per day that develop into larvae, that can survive living in the household environment for a long time, making it difficult to remove the fleas from your house and garden.

3. Why do we give intestinal worming prevention?

  • The intestinal worms we treat are contagious to other dogs and people and are spread by eating or drinking contaminated sources.
  • Hookworm, roundworm, tapeworm, and whipworm invade the intestinal lining causing discomfort, weight loss, and diarrhoea in your pet
  • Hookworm is also spread through milk to feeding puppies, and by invading paw pads or feet and entering the blood stream. Once they reach the intestines they attach to the lining and suck your pets blood causing anaemia.

4. Why is heartworm prevention important?

  • Heartworm involves worms living within your pet’s heart, and travelling to the lungs causing blood vessel blockages, and sometimes sudden death.
  • It is easily spread by mosquitoes between dogs and on rare occasions to people.
  • Prevention is best, as a treatment against heartworm disease is risky as dead worms can also obstruct the major blood vessels causing death.

5. Do you need pet insurance?

  • Pet insurance is a safety net to protect against unexpected costs related to your pet.
  • Pet insurance covers veterinary bills along with loss and theft of your pet, treatment for behavioural problems, death by illness or injury, and liability cover.
  • The best time to start insurance is when your puppy is young and has no pre-existing conditions. Insurance companies do not cover your pets pre-existing conditions.
  • We can sign you up to a 4-week free insurance plan with Petplan. This will get your pet covered while you look at insurance options and decide which insurance provider suits your needs. Ask our friendly nurses to sign you up today.

6. What is a Wellness Plan and how will it benefit you and your puppy?

  • Our wellness plans have been designed by vets and provide complete preventative treatment for your pet at lower upfront costs.
  • The plan provides you with peace of mind that your pet is protected for a whole year, and takes the confusion out of your dog’s health care.
  • Our plan covers a physical examination and consultation, vaccination (C5), heartworm, intestinal worms, fleas and ticks.

7. Do you need to neuter your pet?

  • Neutering is important to reduce unwanted breeding and to control animal populations within the community.
  • Neutering can reduce some aggressive and free-roaming behavioural problems.
  • Neutering can have health benefits by lowering the risk of prostatic, testicular, and mammary cancer.
  • The best time to neuter your pet is:
    • Small & medium breeds 6 months – 12 months of age
    • Large breeds from 12 – 18 months of age

8. Why is a good quality diet important for my pet?

  • All puppy’s must be fed a well-balanced diet formulated for puppy growth.
  • A poorly balanced diet can affect growth and bone formation leading to various health problems.
  • Individual breeds have variable growth rates and nutritional needs. It is important to discuss this with your vet to find your pet’s appropriate diet.

9. Does my puppy need puppy preschool and training?

  • Early socialisation and training is essential to ensure your puppy is well-behaved and manageable
  • Your first step is puppy preschool which will cover early socialisation in a safe and clean environment
  • After that, there are various obedience classes available from independent providers.
  • Puppy pre-school is available at The Pet Practice for $120.00 for 4 weeks. This includes early socialisation, training, veterinary advice, plus lots of free samples. We keep our group sizes small so you and your pet get individual attention.

10. What ongoing health care does my pet need?

  • At least every year a complete health check is required for your pet to ensure it remains healthy throughout its life
  • This includes a thorough veterinary examination, a blood test to monitor organ function, vaccinations, parasite control, and advice on dental care.