Taking Care of Your Puppy's Health

Just like you, your new puppy needs high-quality health care on a regular basis. Ask a number of friends and your local humane society to recommend a veterinarian, then choose one with these factors in mind:

• Education and experience. Find out how long the veterinarian has been practising and if he or she is a graduate of a well-regarded veterinary college.
  
  
• Speciality. In urban areas, it may be possible to find veterinarians who deal exclusively with the special problems of dogs and cats.
  
  
• Location. This factor should not override the areas of education, experience and speciality, but should nevertheless be taken into consideration. A drive across town during a medical emergency can be frustrating and delay needed treatment.

Schedule a visit and interview

Once you've narrowed down your choices, visit the veterinary clinic. Inspect the facility and talk to the veterinarian about your new puppy. If you like what you see and hear, arrange a time to bring your puppy in for an initial examination. We recommend a visit to the veterinarian within the first three days after you bring your puppy home to make sure he's in good health. The veterinarian may want to check the following things:

• Stool. A faecal exam will reveal the presence of internal parasites.
  
  
• Body. A thorough physical examination includes inspecting your dog's coat and feeling his body for abnormalities, as well as checking the eyes, ears, mouth and heart and examining the anus for signs of intestinal parasites.
  
  
• Once an exam is completed, your veterinarian can schedule vaccinations and advise you on the importance of spaying and neutering.

Spaying or neutering your new puppy is the right thing to do if you're not planning on breeding. For most pet owners, the expense, time and expertise involved in breeding dogs responsibly is beyond their reach. Here are some advantages to having your puppy spayed or neutered:

• For females, there is no mess to deal with during their 21-day heat cycles, which occur every six months-the heat cycle begins in females sometime after six months of age.
  
  
• Spaying a female before her first or second heat cycle will reduce the chance of mammary tumours or uterine diseases.
  
  
• Neutered males tend to be less aggressive than unneutered males.
  
  
• With a neutered male, the urge to mark territory may lessen.
  
  
• A neutered male is less likely to want to roam in search of potential mates.

When to spay or neuter

Dogs should be spayed or neutered by the time they are six months old. Both operations are performed under general anaesthesia and may require an overnight stay at the veterinary clinic. Recovery time is quick, with most dogs resuming normal activity in a few days. Spaying (for females) consists of an ovario-hysterectomy. Neutering involves the removal of the testicles.

When you bring your puppy to the veterinary clinic for his first thorough examination, have the vet explain the operation in detail and set up a time to have the procedure done.

At one time or another, most dog owners will have to deal with fleas. The common flea not only causes your dog discomfort, it also can transmit disease, pass on tapeworms and cause anaemia, especially in vulnerable puppies and older dogs. Regularly inspect your dog for any signs of fleas. Intermittent scratching, biting and gnawing, plus evidence of flea dirt between your dog's back legs or on top of his rump, are telltale signs of fleas. If your dog is constantly biting and gnawing himself or you can actually see fleas, you've got a full-blown infestation. To check out your dog for fleas, stand him in a bathtub and vigorously rub your hands through his fur. If little dark dots fall on the tub floor, they're likely either fleas or flea "dirt" (excrement). You'll know you've got fleas if the "dirt" turns red when you rub it into damp tissue or cotton wool.

Flea Control Myths

• Garlic and onion repels fleas? Although feeding garlic or onion will give your dog bad breath, it will have absolutely no effect on fleas. On the contrary, feeding large amounts of onion to dogs can produce toxic reactions.
  
  
• Brewer's yeast repels fleas? There is no evidence that feeding your dog brewer's yeast repels fleas.

Prescription flea-prevention products

These products work by preventing fleas from biting or reproducing. Available only by prescription from your veterinarian, these products are administered in either oral or topical (external) treatments once a month to break the flea's reproductive cycle:

• The oral treatment is usually packaged in pill form and will not kill adult fleas already present on the animal. However, usually within 60 days of initiating treatments, the life cycles are broken and fleas do not reappear.
  
  
• The topical treatment will kill adult fleas and provide almost immediate relief in addition to preventing eggs from hatching. This is the flea control method of choice, and when used as directed, most owners report dramatic improvements in their pets' condition.