Puppy Health & Care

Your puppy is a living breathing creature – and is totally reliant on you for its survival. The information on this page aims to demystify the topics of puppy health care, as it is something that can be a part of your daily routine – and a part of your daily bonding and fun with your pup.

Feeding and Exercising Your Puppy

Depending on your puppy's breed, he'll have different requirements for his feeding quantities, his exercise routines and amounts, and even the type of exercises he needs.

Without over-complicating this topic – this simply means that you need to find out how much and what food your dog needs for optimum weight and health. You can get this information from your vet, or the back of the food pack of your dog's food.

When it comes to exercising your puppy – you should consult your vet to find out how often to do it – depending on your dog's breed requirements. Beware that early on, before your puppy has completed its initial vaccinations, you'll probably need to be confined to a private place – like your garden – because of the possibility of your puppy contracting diseases.

You must make sure you feed and exercise your puppy appropriately as obesity in dogs is just as harmful as in humans. Additionally, a dog that doesn't get enough exercise is bound to try alleviate his boredom by chewing on something in your house, and to avoid any other puppy behavior problems…

Practicing Everyday Health and Good Hygiene

You guessed it – just like with humans if you take care of hygiene day-to-day your puppy is less likely to suffer any health problems.

I'm talking about:

  • Brushing teeth 2-3 times a week.
  • Brushing his coat daily if it's medium to long length, to prevent matting.
  • Taking regular baths – for obvious reasons.
  • Making sure his ears are clean.
  • Getting to know his body – so when you run your hands through his coat each day – you can tell if there are any changes – like tics that may have attached themselves during your last walk, or a flea infestation wreaking havoc with his skin, and so on…

The best thing you can do for your puppy's health is to get to know him. What is his usual temperament? Where does he have lumps and bumps on his skin? Does he eat a lot and poo a lot?

I'm not saying this so I can sound weird… Think of it this way – if you KNOW him – you will always be able to to detect if something's not right – then this gives you the chance to tackle any puppy health care problem early on.

Knowing the Routine Treatments & Vaccines

Within the first week of getting your puppy home, you should have a vet appointment set up. Your vet will check him over, and at that stage he'll let you know what vaccinations are a must, what are recommended and what other vaccinations you may want to consider.

Pay attention, and schedule the compulsory vaccinations in advance. That way you play a big part in preventing health problems in your puppy.

As far as routine treatments go – make sure you know when to treat your pup for fleas, worms, tics, and other such parasites. With the advancement in pet health care you can now treat 2 or more of these with a single medication – so you really shouldn't have an excuse for not preventing these regularly.

Bear in mind that if you let them get out of hand – fleas can ruin your house, but more importantly they can cause bad health problems for your puppy – and other household animals you may have.

Using Your Vet

Now – I'm not saying go to the vet every ten minutes, but don't go to the other extreme either. If you have the slightest worry about your puppy take him there, or at least call the vet to ask for advice – they are your best source of puppy health and care information.

Don't get me wrong – I'm not saying that you shouldn't listen to advice like mine (grin), but your vet knows you and your puppy on a one-to-one basis – so for special problems he's your best hope.

Dealing With Emergencies

No one likes to think of accidents and emergencies, but you'd be silly to just bury your head in the sand and pretend you don't live in the real world.

Make sure you have your vet's emergency telephone number, or the number of another vet that's available. Have some basic knowledge about what to do in an emergency – this will help you help your pet if he needs you.

Keep the emergency number somewhere handy – don't leave things to chance.

Pet Insurance Made Easy

Ah – and another 'happy' topic… OK, the truth is, no one like to spend money on insurance either, but in this day and age it's almost a necessity.

Dogs need care, and although routine procedures and vaccinations may cost, the real big chunk of money can be spent in emergencies, or chronic illnesses your pet may have the misfortune to develop. What you also need to take into account is any genetic diseases your dog is likely to encounter in it's lifetime.

Dog breeds like Bulldogs can sometimes suffer from hip problems later in life, other breeds have different ailments – so make sure you're covered.

You have two choices (well three if you count not getting pet insurance) – you can either go for a fully comprehensive insurance – where you just don't have to worry about a thing – but it costs a pretty penny…

Or you could go for a modest coverage that will make sure your pet is covered for emergencies and more serious operations. Obviously that one costs considerably less.

Either way – you should have a clear idea of what to look for in an insurance and be careful to pick the right one for you. I have an extensive checklist of things to look out for and things to make sure you have in your dog's health plan. You can get it for free here >>

Generally speaking, your puppy's health care should be a priority for you. The best way to tackle this task, is to make a list of the thing you need to do, and create a little routine with your pup.

Have fun, and take this time to bond – it will just enhance your relationship.