Puppy

Some helpful puppy advice from our vets in Shropshire

Vaccinations

The complete vaccination course consists of two injections, given two weeks apart. Vaccinating your puppy is very important as it gives them immunity against 5 top infectious canine diseases:

  • Distemper
  • Canine Hepatitis
  • Parvovirus
  • Canine Parainfluenza Virus
  • Leptospirosis

Vaccines take place from 8 weeks of age and then every year after that. Your puppy will not be fully protected until a week after they have completed the two-course vaccination programme, so it is important that you do not take him/her out in public until then.

Once your puppy is fully vaccinated, they can go out into the big wide world. In order to help them get on with other dogs, we run puppy parties here at the Oswestry and Ellesmere branches, to introduce them to other dogs in a safe environment. They can have fun with other puppies and begin their socialisation training. The BSAVA Puppy Guide provides lots of helpful advice for those important first months with your new puppy.

Boosters

The annual booster vaccinations, especially the one at 15 months of age, are extremely important to boost immunity against disease. Every year, we see cases of diseases that are perfectly preventable by an annual vaccination.

Vaccinations are important if your dog is going into kennels or mixing with other dogs. Many kennels now ask for a specific Kennel Cough vaccination before accepting a dog.

Worms & Fleas

Puppies need to be wormed on a monthly basis until they are four months old and then every six months after that. In order to ensure your puppy gets the correct dose of wormer, we need to know their weight so we advise you bring them in for weighing regularly. This also gets your puppy used to coming to the vets. It’s not such a scary place really!

Here at Brownlow Veterinary Group, we advise that our flea treatments are applied every 8 weeks.

Neutering

If you aren't going to breed your pet, we generally advise neutering them. It has many medical benefits including a reduced risk of breast cancer in bitches and prostate problems in older male dogs.

Neutering of both sexes can be done after they reach 6 months of age.