Puppy Health Information
After 30+ years of breeding, you can imagine I’ve seen it all and heard it all… so I am sharing all of this based on that experience, plus the experience of other seasoned breeders who have even more experience than I do!
If you breed any number of years, have dogs come to your kennel for stud service, send your dogs to dog shows, and let your dogs enjoy the outdoors (and pick up things in their mouths that they shouldn’t!) there are certain things you can never get away from entirely. And that is the case with parasites and worms. Now, all of our pups are raised indoors, the mother is dewormed and treated before she whelps, and when pups are born their puppy box is disinfected every day. Bedding is changed daily or more if needed. Pups are wormed starting at 2 weeks of age and are wormed every 2 weeks after that. Two stool samples are taken to ensure the fecal float is negative. I STILL recommend that you take your pup to the vet for a “well puppy visit” when you get home because puppies CAN infest themselves in even the most sterile environments as ours (they don’t exactly watch where they walk!), or a visitor can walk into my house with eggs or spores on their shoes and it can be transferred to the pups. Some spores are airborne, some are in animal fecal matter outdoors (think rabbits, deer, etc), some are in rain water, some are in puddles outside in the yard. This is why we are proactive in every way we can be, and also ask you to be as well.
Certain parasites, such as coccidia or giardia, may not even show up in a stool sample, and can lie dormant for years even. BUT when a pup comes under stress… these organisms then shed from the intestinal lining and that is when they show up on a fecal test or cause symptoms in the pup. It is not due to neglect or unsanitary conditions on the part of the breeder… these are animals, and these things happen. Our dogs have fresh water available at all times, and we have rigorous cleaning routines. But I refuse to keep my pups and dogs cooped up inside, as this is not a good or natural environment or life for a dog. We like them to be involved with our family, indoor life, and outdoor exercise on a daily basis! So it’s a give and take with giving them that outdoor socialization.
All of our adult dogs are treated on a monthly basis to prevent intestinal worms and any intestinal bacteria.
Unfortunately, some people expect their puppy to be 100% perfect, and expect them to be 100% free of anything. We are dealing with living things in a world that is not free of germs or diseases.
With that said, let me also stress that although we vaccinate our puppies, there are STILL viruses out there that do NOT have a vaccine available for them. This is why we recommend the NuVet supplement.
NuVet has several ingredients that strengthen the immune system, and over all health of your dog, making it less vulnerable to viruses, germs and other common dog illnesses than other, less cared for dogs are prone to. NuVet will provide this protection THROUGHOUT the dogs lifetime, I warn people about ever taking their dog off this supplement…would you suddenly stop taking YOUR supplements on a daily basis? I’m sure you wouldn’t, and your family canine member deserves no less…
Facts: Surveys show that 100% of kennel dogs , 50% of pups, and 10% of other well-cared dogs carry giardia at some time in their life. This can be picked up from water, the air, or transmission from human to dog, or dog to dog.
Coccidia lies dormant in a dog’s intestinal lining and when under stress, it then sheds. Even when it does not show itself on a fecal float, it can appear suddenly after a pup goes home, due to puppy stress in the new environment.
Roundworms – are transferred through the mother, all pups are born with them…sometimes (very rarely) not… this is why we treat starting at 2 weeks old!
Hookworms, whipworms – common intestinal worms, although my pups rarely, if ever, have them.
Just some things to be aware of, as we try to educate our clients as much as we can before bringing their new pup home! We wish you many years of health and happiness with your new labby family member! 🙂
