Rarely will a pet parent feel as great an emotion as that felt with the arrival of a puppy home. All the love you are willing to give him, which will be a lot, must be accompanied by specific care. The first months of a dog's life are very important for their development and your role will be crucial for them to have a good quality of life. Start by welcoming him by adopting this essential care guide for your puppy.
There are several key moments in the life of a puppy. At birth, he will not have developed senses of sight and hearing, and his ability to thermoregulate will also be very limited. At this stage they are very vulnerable to sudden changes in the environment, but also to fasting and stress. The mother is responsible for keeping the puppy at a good temperature and feeding it with colostrum, the first milk that contains the antibodies and nutrients necessary for its growth.
After 14 days, your puppy will begin to open his eyes, although vision will develop more slowly. During his first two weeks of life, your puppy will basically eat and sleep, and it will be the mother who stimulates him to relieve himself. By the third week of life, he will begin to develop the sense of hearing and the intensity of the noises to which he is exposed will have to be controlled. Around the third and fourth week he will react more and more to sounds and visual stimuli in the environment, and will begin to take his first steps.
Most puppies arrive at their new families around eight weeks old. At this time, your learning capacity will already be much more developed. We must be attentive and give them a lot of affection, always thinking about their behavior and ensuring that they do not acquire bad habits. Furthermore, the puppy will be in the middle of the socialization stage and will have to be exposed in a gradual and controlled way to the different stimuli that will be part of its adult life: other people, animals, places, sounds, objects... By then, you should know that he will have all his baby teeth, which will help him chew and complete weaning. Afterwards, the baby teeth will fall out to make way for the permanent ones.
During the first three weeks of life, your puppy's defenses will depend on the first breast milk, but these antibodies will lose effectiveness over the weeks and, therefore, you must protect him with vaccination. There are three serious infectious diseases, with worldwide distribution, against which all dogs should be vaccinated: parvovirus, canine distemper and infectious hepatitis. Furthermore, in some Autonomous Communities, the rabies vaccine is mandatory and there are situations in which it is advisable to carry out other vaccinations, such as leptospirosis.
Specialists recommend vaccinating it from 6-8 weeks of age, and repeating the vaccination every 2-4 weeks until completing the schedule determined by the veterinarian. In addition to vaccination, before the puppy turns three months old, the veterinarian must identify it using a microchip and register it in the companion animal registry of the corresponding Autonomous Community.
Vaccines are not the only measure to take care of your health. Puppies should also be protected from external parasites such as fleas, ticks, lice and mosquitoes, and internal parasites such as flat and round worms and protozoa. At 2-3 weeks of age, you should start deworming it internally every 2 weeks until weaning is complete. Afterwards you will have to do it once a month until he is six months old: from this moment on, internal deworming will be every three months.
How to rid it of external parasites? There are many antiparasitics and in different presentations: pipettes, collars and tablets, sprays and shampoo, but you will have to wait until the puppy is at least two months old to start deworming him. If you detect external parasites before, you should go to your veterinarian.
As you can see, the deworming and vaccination plan is based on dates, so mark them on the calendar from the beginning to have everything under control.
Before it settles into your home, you must prepare your home to make it a safe environment, avoiding possible dangers within its reach. You will have to check the house for objects that it could chew or even swallow, such as electrical cords, toxic shoes and clothing or plants, sharp objects, toxic products or others such as garbage or dangerous dog food and children's toys. You should also limit his access to small spaces where he can get stuck and keep a close eye on him when he goes out into the garden or another outdoor space.
Then, the house must meet your main needs. Puppies spend many hours sleeping, so their bed will have to be very comfortable. It will not only be the place where you rest, but also a space that will feel like your refuge. A bed with raised edges will help you sleep curled up, while flat ones are perfect for sleeping stretched out and those that are cave-like, as if they were a hiding place, will shelter you in case of drafts. In any case, it is recommended that it be easy to wash.
In addition to the bed, provide him with a bowl of fresh, clean water daily so he has easy access to it whenever he needs it. Keep in mind that puppies are big chewers, so it is also advisable for them to have toys to unleash their desire to chew and help them distract themselves or play with you. Remember that his toy cannot be too small, because there is a risk of him swallowing it, that it does not have parts that can be easily torn off and that it is not made of a toxic material.
Depending on his age, your puppy will not have yet learned to relieve himself in the street nor will he be able to go out for a walk because, despite wearing an identification tag and having his harness and collar ready, he will not yet have all his vaccines. Therefore, you will need an absorbent base that will serve as a sink for a few weeks. You can use pads or newspapers. Do not rule out that sometimes, more than once, you do not arrive in time to use that particular sink. You will have to be patient and get an enzymatic cleaner and disposable absorbent paper to clean up the urine in case of a "mistake."
If you have to play the role of mother and your puppy is not yet weaned, you should bottle-feed him. There are several complete and balanced foods that can replace breast milk that are reconstituted and administered with special bottles and teats. At first you will have to be patient so that it adapts to the change, in addition to following the preparation instructions and the number of meals per day to cover its nutritional needs.
You should know that their digestions are short and they are hungry frequently, so they will need a bottle every three hours. Remember that during the first three weeks of life you will have to help him do his business after eating food. Later, when he can urinate and defecate on his own, the important thing will be that, once he has finished eating, he has his sink nearby.
Weaning will begin naturally from 4-5 weeks and the transition to a solid diet will coincide with the appearance of their first teeth. At first, you can give him soft or wet food or dry foods that can be moistened with warm water to make chewing easier. Don't forget this maxim: food should be complete and balanced, and always adapted to their life stage.
When you begin to tolerate the new food, the milk will be withdrawn little by little. In general, at 6-8 weeks puppies already enjoy a varied diet. It will then be when you will have to divide their daily ration into 4 or 5 meals a day and maintain the same schedule. Later, daily intakes may increase to 2 or 3. Always pay attention to the instructions that include the chosen product and do not leave food available for them to eat what they want and when they want: it is more difficult to detect changes in consumption. of food that could alert us to the presence of a disease. In addition, the puppy could overeat, something that needs to be avoided especially in large breed puppies. If your puppy gains the right weight and grows healthy, it will mean that you are doing very well.
Keep in mind that your puppy depends on you. Knowing the physiological changes that await him and what he will need in the coming weeks and months will help you be prepared so that he grows up healthy and happy. Remember that in this delicate and fundamental stage for his development, you must go hand in hand with your trusted veterinarian. He will not only give you guidelines, but will also resolve doubts. After taking care of him, you will only have one thing left: have fun with him, see how he discovers the world and strengthen your bond.
*Sources used to create this article:
Guidelines for your puppy's first days at home
Guide: How to prepare your house for a puppy
Guide: How to make a health plan for your puppy?
When to start feeding puppies?
