These usually occur at 6-8 weeks of age, 12 weeks of age, and 16 weeks of age but can vary depending on your location and they type of vaccine your vet uses. Typical vaccinations for puppies involve 3 injections spaced approximately 4 weeks apart. To find out more about whether your dog needs to be registered contact your local council. Note that council registration often requires a microchip number but does not happen automatically when your pet is microchipped. If your pet is ever lost, this may be the only means of getting them safely back to you! Registrationĭepending on where you live, your dog may also need to be registered with your local council or you could receive a fine. If you change phone number, address, or email, always remember to update the database. Microchips can be scanned with a special hand-held device at any vet clinic, pound, or shelter.ĭon't forget - your dog's microchip is for life. This number gets recorded a central database, where your contact details are then stored. The microchip only contains one piece of information - a 12 digit number. It gets inserted under the skin via a needle, in the area between the shoulder blades or lower neck. The microchip is a small metal chip the size of a grain of rice. In Australia, microchips are used for lifelong identification. In fact, most states require all pets to be microchipped prior to rehoming by law. Your puppy should already be microchipped before you adopt them. For more information on how to do this, check out Introducing a New Dog to Your Family. Introduce your puppy carefully to any existing pets in the house to help get their relationship off on a positive footing. Also be mindful that your pup will need to have fully completed all their vaccinations before it is safe to take them to areas at higher risk of parvovirus like the dog park or beach. There's no set age when it is or isn't safe for a puppy to go outside into the backyard, but make sure your pup is confident on their own and can easily get to food, water and shelter before you leave them outside for longer periods of time. As your pup's confidence levels grow you can begin to allow them to explore more of the house and yard. An Adaptil Collar or Adaptil Diffuser can be really helpful here too!Ĭonfine your puppy to a small, safe area of the house to begin with so that they don't get lost or hurt themselves and can easily access their food, water and bed. When you bring your new puppy home, try to bring some unwashed bedding from their previous home with them so that they can smell their littermates and old familiar environment during this time of adjustment. Puppies gradually wean off their mother's milk and begin to be able to eat solid food from about 8 weeks of age, so this is considered the minimum acceptable age for them to removed from their mother. Want to know more? Read Choosing Toys for Your New Puppy for more inspiration.īack to top 2. When viewing a puppy, ask the breeder for evidence of their microchipping and vaccination status, check how often they have been wormed and ask if any screening (such as hip and elbow scoring or genetic testing) has been performed on the pups or their parents. Not only will meeting the parents and pups give you a better idea of their temperament, it will also allow you to gauge the kind of environment your pup is being bred and raised in. Wherever possible if you are considering purchasing a pup from a breeder, ask to come and visit and meet them and the parents in person. Good breeders also screen dogs for any known inherited defects prior to breeding to avoid passing these on to the puppies. They ensure that the dogs and pups are fed a good quality diet and kept up to date with all healthcare needs. Puppy farms are run purely with a focus on profit at the expense of the dogs' wellbeing and are widely condemned by veterinarians and animal welfare groups.Ī responsible dog breeder will put the health and wellbeing of their breeding dogs first. A puppy farm is a large scale breeding operation where large numbers of dogs are kept in inhumane, intensive conditions (eg. Despite tougher regulations puppy farms still operate in Australia and should be avoided at all costs. If you choose to go down the route of obtaining your pup from a breeder, be selective about who you contact. Purebred dogs in particular can be predisposed to a number of genetic health conditions and it pays to be well informed before you bring one home.įor more tips read How to Choose a Dog Breed That's Right for You. If you have your heart set on a particular breed of dog, be sure to do your research before you commit. When choosing a breed, think about your home and lifestyle to determine what size and type of dog may be the best fit for you.
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