Your New Pet - All The Routine Stuff

So, finally the day has arrived, and a new pet has joined the household! So where do we go from here? In many cases this will be a young puppy or kitten, and the following article is based on that assumption. For older pets, or pets of other species, parts of the suggestions below will also apply

1. Routine Health Check: It is very sensible to have a new pet examined by your veterinary surgeon within the first day or so. This will mean that any unexpected problems can be picked up at the earliest possible stage, and dealt with accordingly. It also means that your vet can advise specifically on future treatments, as provided by your own practice. There is always some variation in approach to vaccinations, worming, neutering etc.

2. Worming: All puppies and kittens need treatment for roundworms - also known as Toxocara. Hopefully the breeder will have started this (any time from 3 weeks of age onwards) but worming is ongoing & you must continue the regular schedule. Puppies & kittens acquire these worms from their mother in almost every case. In addition in puppies, we now want to prevent them from contracting the lungworm Angiostrogylus vasorum, the nasty one which is spread by snails and slugs. Doses of wormer are measured according to the pet's weight, and as the pet grows, so will the required dose of wormer. Your vet will tell you the specific details of his recommended worming schedule, but commonly you will need to worm the puppy/kitten monthly until 6 months of age, then every 3 months thereafter. Suitable products for puppies and kittens include PANACUR which is available as a syringe paste. For puppies, we then move on to using the spot on POM preparation ADVOCATE which is active against a range of internal and external parasites, including roundworms, Angiostrongylus, fleas, ear mites, sarcoptes, and others. It is also a useful product for kittens, although DRONTAL CAT tablets can also be used. If Advocate is used, it is not effective against tapeworms, so treatment for this must be considered if there is a risk of their presence.

3. Vaccination: This will require at least 2 injections in the primary course, followed by an ANNUAL single booster injection. Normally for puppies vaccination protects against distemper, infectious canine hepatitis, parvovirus and 2 forms of leptospirosis. Exact timing of the injections vary but commonly would involve a first injection at 8 to 10 weeks of age, followed by a second one 2 weeks later. For kittens vaccination normally includes Feline enteritis virus, various cat flu viruses and Feline Leukaemia virus. Again 2 injections are involved, the first often at 8-9 weeks of age and the second one 3-4 weeks later. Don't worry if the pet is older than this when it arrives - you just start the vaccine course that little bit later. AND adult unvaccinated pets need their vaccines just the same! Once the vaccine course finishes, your vet will tell you to wait 1 to 2 weeks before you allow your young pet to mix with others in the outside world - the second injection does need this length of time before it will be effective. All pets require further single vaccinations on an annual basis. And dogs should also be vaccinated against Kennel Cough using an intranasal vaccine given at least 5 days prior to going into kennels. This vaccine usually lasts for around 12 months.

4. Flea control: Yes it's important! Please read our flea article!

5. Neutering: Again you'll need to discuss this with your vet. Cats of both sexes are commonly neutered at 5-6 months of age. As for puppies - well opinions vary greatly regarding the best time to spay females - so discuss with your vet the best time to do it for your puppy. Some prefer to spay at around 5-6 months, before the first season. Other vets prefer to wait until after the first season (or the next season, if the bitch is older), and if so, the operation is usually carried out 3 months after the end of the previous season.  And for male pups - castration may or may not be advisable - so discuss that one also.

6. Training: Start training classes as soon as they will take you! Early socialising of new puppies is so very important.

7. Diet: Well we could write a book on it. My personal favourite? The Vet’s Pet Food Puppy Complete and The Vet’s Pet Food Kitten Complete ! In most cases they can be fed on an ad lib basis.

8. Microchip: Do think about having your pet microchipped. Once done it's there for life & all the details are registered on a national database.

9. Pet Health Insurance: Protect yourself against those unexpected Vet's bills by insuring NOW! It really is a good idea.