Getting a new puppy can be very exciting, but it brings with it lot of responsibility. Puppy care needs to be thought about and acted upon, to make sure your puppy remains happy and healthy.

There are certain facts you need to consider when taking care of your puppy. They are —

Environment

There are many things a dog owner needs to consider when providing an environment for their puppy. There are three main factors to take into consideration when preparing an environment for your puppy — comfort, safety and amusement.

Comfort: Your puppy’s environment needs to be comfortable. Create a comfortable bed for your puppy to sleep on that is sheltered and warm. Include a blanket if you think your puppy needs some extra warmth.

Safety: Your puppy’s environment needs to be safe. Remove anything that may be harmful to your dog. Remember that puppies are very inquisitive and may get into things that are left lying around.

Amusement: Puppies get bored easily. Include lots of toys and things for your puppy to play with. This is particularly important when you are unable to spend time with your dog. A puppy that is bored may whine, run away or destroy things.

Feeding

Puppies need to eat a balanced diet that is made up of foods appropriate for puppies. There are foods available on the market that are specially made for puppies, and include all the necessary nutrients and foods that a puppy needs. However, it is not essential to buy special puppy food. Puppy owners can give their puppy a balanced, nutritious diet by feeding it natural foods. Some of the good foods for puppies are milk, chicken, chicken heart, oatmeal, vegetables, boiled rice, carrots, and even cheese. If a puppy is not getting enough calcium or vitamins, then supplements will be needed.

Puppies should be fed at the same time and place each day. They will need four meals a day until they are four months old. They will need three meals a day until they are eight months, and two meals a day until they are 12 months old, and then one meal a day after that.

Vaccination

When puppies are born, they may have some protection against diseases if their mother has been vaccinated. The protection comes through in the mother’s milk. Puppies need to be vaccinated at about six weeks to nine weeks of age. Some puppies may not be able to be vaccinated at this age. A veterinary surgeon will be able to tell you the best time for your puppy to be vaccinated. After the initial vaccination, booster vaccinations will need to be given. Generally, these are given three weeks after the initial vaccination.

Different dogs may need to be vaccinated against different diseases. Some of the diseases your dog may be vaccinated against include distemper, parvovirus, parainfluenza, lyme disease, rabies and coronavirus.

When you take your puppy to be vaccinated, ask the vet to perform a routine check-up and discuss any puppy health concerns with him/her.

Prevention of rabies

Rabies is a very serious illness that is transmitted in the saliva of an infected animal. It is very important that your puppy receive a vaccination against this disease. Talk to your vet about the best time to get your puppy’s first rabies vaccination.

Prevention of worms

Puppies need to be wormed at the age of two weeks. They need to continue to be wormed at regular intervals. Puppies are born with roundworms. When puppies are wormed, only a percentage of the worms are killed. When puppies have a lot of worms they may display the following pet illness symptoms eating a lot more than usual, weight loss,

a pot belly, vomiting or

diarrhoea.

Exercise

Every puppy needs to be exercised. When puppies are very young or very small, then this exercise can be done at home. As a puppy gets older, it will need to be walked. Ideally, dogs should be exercised every day. This can be done by playing with your dog, throwing him a ball or otherwise keeping him active. Different breeds will have different exercise requirements. Talk to your vet about the best time of exercise for your dog.

Ideally, you should find

out what kind of exercise your dog needs before you make the purchase and bring him home.

Training for puppies

Dog training should start when your dog is a puppy, as a dog that has not been trained as a puppy is harder to train. Teaching your dog commands and working on its character can start when the dog is around seven months. The trainer should take into account the natural characteristics of the breed of the dog. Use short commands that sound different from each other, and reward your dog with lots of praise and affection.

In order for your new puppy to be happy, he needs to understand his place in the family. He needs to understand who his master is.

Make it clear that you are the master and in a dominant position to him. Puppies are happy knowing who the master is. Submissive puppies will generally be fine once they feel secure in the family. Assertive puppies may need more training in order to show them who the master is. — myhappypets