Health Record, Birth to 16 Weeks

Birth day:  On this day I get all the paperwork straight.  Puppies are put in the day book so I know what is supposed to happen from day 1 to 16 weeks old

Day 3:  This day I remove dew claws

2 weeks old : Puppy toenails are trimmed and I give them one cc of pyrantel orally to treat for roundworms.  The product for human round worms is 50mg/cc so you need less.

4 weeks old:  Puppy toenails are trimmed again and another dose of pyrantel is given.  Neopar

is injected subcu and is antibodies to parvo virus.  the puppy also gets antibodies to parvo from his mother but this is extra protection until the puppy can start developing his own immunity from his first 6 week shot.

6 weeks old:  Nobivac 1-DAPPv is injected subcu,  Intra-trach is given intranasally with a 1 cc syringe.

This is the day I microchip all the puppies for positive indentification.  At this age they are starting puppy kindergarten and having group activites with other puppies.  I also begin 5 days of panacur given orally

8 weeks old: 3 days of panacur is started.

9 weeks old:  Nobivac 1-DAPPv injected subcu, Intra-trach intranasal is repeated, and a single dose of panacur.

12 weeks old:  Nobivac 1-DAPPv given subcu.

16 weeks old:  Novibac 1-DAPPv given subcu.  At this age they can also get a Rabies shot from a vet.

                                                                                    VACCINES

Novibac 1-DAPPV is a vaccine that prevents parvo virus, distemper,adenovirus type 2, and parainfluenza.

I don't recommend Leptospirosis vaccine until the puppy is 16 weeks and it is most effective if two shots are given at least 2 weeks apart covering 4 different strains of lepto.  The  1-DAPPV covers your puppy for the dread diseases that occur most frequently.

Once your puppy is 16 weeks old and has had multiple vaccines, he should be adequately immunized to go out in the world.  Before that vets recommend keeping the puppy away from highly trafficked areas that dogs use such as public dog potty areas and dog parks.

                                                                      WORMERS

Pyrantel is a dog wormer that covers round worms.  All puppies get round worms from their mother's milk.  The mother then cleans her puppies and gets reinfected with round worms, which become dormant until the next litter, when they travel to the puppy's gut through the mother's milk.

  This is a good time to decrease worms in both puppies and the mother by frequent worming.  I use

Panacur (Fenbendazole) after the puppies are 6 weeks old.  This wormer covers round worms, hook worms, whipworms, and tape worms.  Tapeworms are carried by fleas and the other worms mostly come from the ground, other dogs and their feces.  Round worms are the worms most often encountered in puppies and are big white things that resemble spaghetti and are easily seen in the puppy's stool.

These worms can rob a puppy of its nutrition and become so numerous in the gut that they can cause obstruction and death.

Round worm medication is available over the counter if you see actual worms in your puppy's stool or your vet may give you a wormer.   I prefer to use the Fenbendazole which is available as a horse wormer

sold in a tube that will worm 1200 lbs.  its very concentrated and takes only a small dab to be effective.  Its not possible to accurately calculate a dose for dogs using the horse wormer so the vets dont like it but its cheap, available over the counter, has a high safety margin and is convenient.