Puppies make a wonderful addition to any pet lover's home, but with your bouncing baby comes much responsibility. Care of a puppy is not as easy as just making sure she's fed and watered. Puppies need special food, vaccinations, worming and training to help them transition into a healthy and happy member of the family. Proper care of your new puppy is important to prevent illness and for optimum physical development.
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Feeding
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Puppies love to eat. Shoes, furniture, houseplants and your favorite book are all on their menu. Keep his appetite under control by feeding products high in meat content and low in fillers such as corn and wheat. Avoid generic products if possible and provide large breed puppies with food that is specially developed for their growing bones. Large breeds such as St. Bernard's, Great Danes, German Shepherds and others or more prone to hip problems, including dysplasia, and a high-quality large breed formula may help minimize this painful condition. Puppies should be fed three times each day in the early weeks or less if they do not finish their food. At about 12 weeks, feeding can be reduced to twice daily. Don't give your puppy people food or table scraps as they can cause digestive disruptions including diarrhea. Dry food and limited dog biscuits will help keep his teeth clean and the gums healthy.
Vaccinating
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Vaccinations should begin for your puppy at around 6 weeks of age. Important vaccines include a combination of distemper, adenovirus type 2 and parvovirus injections. Distemper and parvovirus are highly contagious, expensive to treat and deadly. Other vaccines needed included leptospirosis, rabies and Bordetella. Bordetella and adenovirus type 2 are viruses that cause kennel cough. Kennel cough vaccinations are required if you plan to take your puppy to a boarding kennel.
Worming
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Worming is very important for the overall health of your puppy and throughout her life. Some worms, including roundworm, hookworm, and tapeworm are not usually life threatening, but heartworm is a killer that is very hard to treat. Heartworm preventative is available in a tablet or treat form and should be given to your pet year-round.
Training
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Train your puppy instead of letting him train you. A puppy is ready to be housetrained at about 5 weeks. Be sure and take him out immediately when you get up in the morning, as soon as he finishes each meal, and just before you go to bed at night. Don't punish or harm your puppy if it takes him a little longer to learn than you expect. Be sure and praise your little pooper when he does his business outside. Training also includes basic commands such as sit and stay. Learning these two commands will help train your dog not to jump on guests and will make him easier to control off a leash.
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