Puppies

Here is a quick guide to help your care for your new pet. If you have any concerns about the health of your puppy please call us.

We are more than happy to help you choose a puppy and breed that will suit your lifestyle. When searching for the right dog to join your family, remember that most long-haired breeds require a daily grooming routine to prevent their coats from getting matted. We suggest that you acquire any new pets from a registered breeder, through personal recommendation or from a registered re-homing organisation. We do not recommend purchasing puppies from market stalls or pet shops.

Here at Bruton Vets we can help you with every aspects of caring for your new puppy. Contact us to arrange a puppy health check or for a Puppy and Kitten Clinic. We look forward to meeting your new fluffy friend!

Puppies have very specific dietary requirements to help them grow into healthy adults. Feed a high quality diet especially designed for puppies. A wide variety of diets and formulations are available and we can advise and provide you with all your puppy’s dietary requirements.

The amount fed will vary with the type of food and the individual dog, but in general, should only be as much as the puppy can consume in five to ten minutes at a given meal. Puppies are usually fed three times daily when between six and twelve weeks old, two times daily when twelve weeks to six months old, and may be fed one or two times daily when older than six months. For certain large breeds of dogs, we may recommend that several smaller meals be fed rather than one large meal.

Young puppies are highly susceptible to infectious diseases so it is important to vaccinate them, especially as the natural immunity from their mother’s milk wears off.

When you purchase a new puppy always book an appointment with us here at Bruton Vets for a health check. A series of vaccinations are usually scheduled two weeks apart. The first vaccination can be given as early as eight weeks with a second vaccination two weeks later. After the second vaccination, you will need to wait a further seven days before taking your puppy out for walks, to ensure that he or she is fully covered. After this, a booster vaccination is required every year.

Not every type of vaccination needs to be given every year, and we can advise on this.

Call Bruton Vets to book for our Puppy & Kitten Clinic.

Fleas can seriously undermine the health of your puppy, create skin reactions and pass on tapeworms. We can guide you on flea control for puppies, as there are special treatments for puppies under twelve weeks old.

Puppies can be infected with roundworm before they are born through the eggs they swallow in their mother’s milk. Puppies need treatment from two weeks old until they are fully weaned, and then every three months. Ideally their nursing mothers should be treated too.

A roundworm infection in young animals can cause a noticeable swollen stomach, little overall weight gain and stunted growth. It can also cause vomiting and diarrhoea, bad breath, a poor, dull coat and coughing.

Call Bruton Vets to make an appointment for us to check the health of your puppy.

Start by brushing puppies teeth on a regular basis so they learn to accept this as part of their daily routine. We can provide you with an appropriate pet toothbrush and paste and show you how to do this.

The correct diet can help keep teeth clean too and Bruton Vets can advise you on this too.

Some long-haired breeds need regular grooming, especially as they grow up to avoid the distress and discomfort of matted fur. Start by brushing your puppy gently every day so they get used to this procedure.

Grooming also gives you an opportunity to check for parasites such as fleas and worms.

Our veterinary nurses can discuss with you issues associated with toilet training, territory marking, socialisation and behavioural issues.

Be watchful of your puppy in the company of children until they get to know how to handle them properly. Young children sometimes can’t tell how roughly they are handling a small puppy.

Bruton Vets has a range of food, training aids and other accessories for puppies and dogs.