The Basics of Puppy Care

The day you bring your puppy home, it is the most wonderful feeling that you can ever experience. To have a cute, cuddly puppy to hold in your arms is truly one of the best feelings to feel. Not just for you, but the entire family gets to enjoy this memorable time as they care for and love the new puppy. Understanding the beauty of this special time in your life, we at Zigly,  want to give you the best information related to puppy health so that you can plan a great start for your new puppy’s life. The initial months of love and care lead to 12 to 15 years of cemented relationship with your bundle of joy.

The first visit to the vet

Once you have your puppy in your arms, you first need to plan a trip to the vet. The vet will perform a proper physical examination of your puppy to get a clear picture of your puppy’s overall health. When you have your first interaction with your vet, you must try to gather all the relevant information about puppy care and puppy health that you need. This will help you be an informed, responsible and loving pet parent to your puppy. Mentioned below are a few topics that you must discuss with the vet:

• The right diet for your puppy
• Vaccination plan and schedule
• Any sign of illness
• The right options for diagnosing parasites both internal and external.
• Potty training

Whatever advice the vet will give you will be based on your puppy's breed, age, and the lifestyle that you lead. The vet will help you in deciding how you should take care of your puppy tailored around your puppy’s needs.

Get quality puppy food

One of the most crucial parts of puppy care is understanding puppy food. This is because your puppy’s body is growing in ways that will impact his or her quality of life for many years to come. Therefore it is very important that you choose a puppy food that has been specially formulated for young and growing puppies. One of the strongest principles of puppy care includes giving your puppy a proper diet. You must also take care that the puppy food you choose meets or exceeds your puppy's nutritional requirements. Mentioned below are a few important points to be kept in mind:

• Small to medium-sized dogs can be weaned off puppy food and can be started with adult dog food when they are between 9 to 12 months of age.
• All large breed dogs should stick to puppy food until they attain 1 year of age.

You must also ensure that your puppy has clean and fresh water to drink. This will help them break down food easily and also help them stay hydrated. It is one of the most crucial aspects of how to take care of a puppy. You must also set a proper walking schedule for your pooch as it helps tremendously in potty training. Puppies don't take much time in learning and enjoying a proper routine. It is also a great idea to stick to a proper feeding routine for your puppy. It is helpful to discuss the feeding schedule you want to set for your puppy. However, the typical feeding schedule for your puppy is mentioned below:

• Between age 6 to 16 weeks: Only 4 to 3 meals per day (4 meals are meant for very small breeds)
• Between age 3 to 6 months: Only 2 to 3 meals per day
• Between age 6 to 12 months: Only 2 meals per day

All experts strongly advise that you should not give your food leftovers to your puppy. It is often seen that puppies beg for food when they see their owners eating, it may seem tempting for you to give them small amounts of food but you should not give in to the temptation. The best thing to do is to stick with a proper schedule and diet for your puppy. You must begin to train your puppy early on how they should behave when you are eating. This is one of the most crucial aspects of puppy training that you need to follow.

Beginning with potty training

The importance of potty training your puppy cannot be emphasized enough. You must begin with potty training from the moment you bring your canine companion to your home. One of the easiest ways of doing this is taking your puppy to a place or corner where you want them to relieve themself and reward them with praise once they are done.

It is critical to keep in mind that your puppy will not do potty inside the house on purpose but because they do not know any better. Therefore, if you stick to patience and persistence, you will win this and have a potty trained puppy!

To avoid accidents you can also purchase dog diapers.

Scheduling puppy vaccinations

Puppy vaccinations need to take place every 3 to 4 weeks until your puppy is 16 weeks of age. And then they have to continue with booster doses throughout their adulthood. Puppy vaccinations are divided into core and non-core categories. Your vet will help you decide which vaccination is important for your bundle of joy. A general vaccination schedule is mentioned below:

• 6 to 7 weeks: DHPP, Bordetella
• 9 to 10 weeks: DHPP, Bordetella, Leptospirosis
• 12 to 13 weeks: DHPP, Leptospirosis, Canine Influenza, Lyme Disease
• 15 to 17 weeks: DHPP, Rabies, Canine Influenza, Lyme Disease

If you want to be a responsible pet parent you have to be up to date with their vaccinations. Your puppy deserves every chance to stay healthy and happy and this is one way to ensure it.

Socialising your puppy

Early socialisation is very important for good puppy care. However, you must make sure that your puppy has safe and varied socialising in their growing up phase. You should also make them interact with different people. Dogs that lack socialising skills tend to react in an aggressive manner or with fear when they come across new or unknown people. The earlier you start with socialisation in your puppy, the better it is.

We hope we have been able to answer any questions that you had related to how to take care of a puppy. Book your online vet consultation with Zigly, our vets are just a woof away!