These are some essential things you need to do for
your dog to keep them healthy throughout their life. 

Vaccination for puppies is the first step in maintaining the health of your four legged friend and an up-to-date. A C5 vaccination record* is vital if you ever want to board your dog or join in at an obedience Club. The first C3 vaccination is usually given before you purchase your puppy around 8 weeks of age and gives an initial, incomplete immunity. The final vaccination is a C5 can be given from 10 weeks and is effective from a week after. These vaccinations are final and only need to be repeated annually. (*C5 vaccinations cover for Parvovirus, Distemper, Hepatitis, Bordatella Bronchiseptica; the “kennel cough” bacteria and flu; C3 vaccinations do not cover these last 2 diseases). 

Desexing is another important aspect of puppy ownership, and gives you a handy discount when it comes time to register the dog with the council office. We recommend desexing your puppy between the ages of 5 to 6 months. Desexing can minimise problems with dog to dog aggression and make your dog an all round better behaved, less dominant individual. There are also many health benefits associated with desexing. For females, it prevents common, fatal uterine infections and if done at the recommended time, completely prevents breast cancer. For male dogs, desexing prevents all testicular problems, including cancers and prevents most prostate diseases. For extra cost, we offer blood tests prior to desexing to check on your pup’s underlying health as an anaesthetic can prove fatal if  there is something unknowingly wrong prior to it and also intra-operative fluids to increase anaesthetic recovery and quality. 

Parasite Control is another important responsibility to consider. Intestinal worms can cause problems such as bloody diarrhoea and anaemia in your dog and when roundworms are contracted by children, blindness can result. Even if you do not have children, dog faeces from untreated animals deposited in communal, public areas can still affect other people’s children, so ethically you should treat your dog for roundworms. Fleas can cause a nasty allergic reaction leading to self mutilation in some dogs, and heartworm is fatal. We recommend the use of Revolution as it is an all-in-one treatment that can be given once a month, by easy application of liquid to the back of your pup’s neck. The only parasites it does not control are worms, but 6 month packs come with free Canex worming pills to give every 3 months. 

Microchips are grain of rice sized implants placed just under the skin between the shoulder blades. They are a permanent form of identification which can be used to reunite you with your dog should they ever wander. Animal charities, the local council and most vet clinics have microchip scanners. Our price includes registering your pet with the national microchip database too! Microchips can be implanted at any stage, although an “M” tattoo (which adds an extra push in the right direction for places to scan for a chip) can only be done in an unconscious animal, eg, during desexing. 

Nutrition is important, especially for growing puppies. For this reason we stock and recommend Hills Science Diet and Advance as they are 100% balanced to produce the optimum results in your pet, having been researched thoroughly and internationally for many years. Feeding canned food is not always the best option as it sticks to the teeth, causing long-term problems and costs more to feed as you are paying for 80% water. Supermarket dry food tends to have a lot of unnecessary fillers, colour and preservatives and may contain 10 times more salt than foods such as Hills, which is very detrimental to long-term health. Feeding raw meat is also not the best idea as it is missing a crucial nutrient associated with growth - Calcium! Conversely, adding extra calcium to diets can also cause problems! Hills has diets formulated for different puppy sizes (after all a Chihuahua has very different needs to a Great Dane!). The Large Breed variety is especially important as it is formulated to make dogs grow, but not too quickly as this can make many genetic conditions worse, such as Osteochondrosis Dissecans (where the bone outgrows the overlying cartilage causing much pain and arthritis). The concentrated goodness of Hills even means drier, more easily picked up and smaller poos; what more can you ask for! Feed your pup a quality dry food, such as Hills Science Diet or Advance and leave diets to the experts. Please ask your Vet for advice if you are unsure. 

Insurance for pets is becoming more popular and is something you should give huge thought to. As with human medicine, vet medicine is constantly changing and new drugs and procedures are constantly coming on the market. Unfortunately cost is often a limiting factor and it breaks our hearts when we have to put a pet to sleep purely because an owner cannot afford treatment. When you consider, even a simple broken leg that can be fixed in clinic costs about $1000-1500 and to refer a dog to a specialist for a more complicated fracture costs from $3000 upwards, you can see that insurance is a must.

 If you would like to know any more information, don’t hesitate to give us a call, we’re always here to help!