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care sheet
How to care for your new puppy:
1) Diet from eight weeks:
Morning: ½ a cup puppy chunks soaked with hot water mix with ¼ tin puppy food (Hills/Husky/Pedigree/Nutriphase).
.
Lunch and Dinner : Same as mornings
Points to note:
Puppies do not find it easy to eat or digest dry dog cubes, so soften well.
Always provide fresh, clean water during the day.
Mince,
chicken (no bones), fish (fresh or canned), liver or kidneys may be
substituted for the canned dog food. Liver and kidneys only once a week.
NEVER give chicken or meat bones!!!!
Food should be given at room temperature, not straight from the fridge.
Add cooking oil to your dog's food to prevent a dry skin. Efazol or Mirra-Cote, which
is available from your vet, is a better alternative.
When
working in a new food, do it gradually, as the puppy may get a runny
stomach. If this occurs stop all milky food and feed the puppy on
boiled rice or pasta and chicken for a couple of days. Should this
not improve, please take your puppy to the vet immediately.
- Should your puppy still seem hungry increase amount of puppy chunks.
- INCREASE AS PER FEEDING INSTRUCTIONS FROM THE MANUFACTURER
2) Diet from six months:
Cut down feeding to two meals a day, mornings and evenings.
3) Worming:
Breeders will have your puppy
dewormed at 2 weeks and again at four and seven weeks. Continue to do so
regularly in consultation with your vet. Have your dog dewormed at
least once every six months, but even every 3 months.
4) Inoculations :
Breeders
will have your puppy inoculated (the first inoculation) at four weeks and again at seven weeks.
Further inoculations will be required as indicated by the inoculation
certificate or per your vet's instructions. It is suggested that you do
not expose your puppy to an environment other than your home until
it's immunity has build up sufficiently. This is usually after the
third inoculation.
5) Micro-chipping
As per new KUSA regulations (2011) all puppies
registered needs to be micro-chipped by the breeder. Lurasia breeders
has their puppies micro-chipped at 7 weeks of age by our vet when
inoculations are done. Microchips used are of high standard and
approved by KUSA.
It is recommended that you as the new owner transfer your puppy onto
your details, as this will ensure that your puppy will be safely
returned to your care, if your puppy were to get lost.
6) Fleas and ticks:
Keeping
your puppy free from fleas, keeps them free from tapeworm. “Frontline”, "Fiprotec" or “Advantix” (only from 8 weeks of age) are excellent for both fleas and ticks. You can use "X-Spot" immediately. Dips that can be
used are "Vets Own" and "Amitax". All of these products are available at your local vet. Do not dip your puppy before
six months of age! Tick and flea collars are not recommended for
Golden Retrievers as they are chewers by nature and will get poisoned
if these collars are ingested.
New products on the market are "Bravecto" and "Nexgard". These are chew-able treats and last up to three months. Use this in consultation with your vet.
7) Exercise:
Playing in the garden is
sufficient exercise for the first four months. If you want to take
your puppy for a walk, start with 15 minutes and gradually increase
lengths of walks. Do not over exercise your young puppy this may
affect the hips, elbows and joints.
8) House Training:
Take
your puppy out immediately after waking up before bedtime, after meals
and after having a drink, this will establish a good habit. Your puppy
is used to newspaper close to its bedding and knows what it is for.
Avoid letting puppy sleep or spend too much time in your carpeted area
while not house trained.
9) Toys
Provide
your Golden with lots of different toys to play with unless you want
your shoes, socks etc. to become playthings. When choosing your new
puppy before collection, bring along a soft toy for your puppy to grow
attached to. You will be given this toy upon collection (nice and
smelly) with mom's and litter mates smell for comfort.
10) Training
Taking a puppy to doggy school is the best bond that you can form with
your puppy. This can be done from four months of age, when their
inoculations are up to date. Most doggy schools will start your puppy
off in a puppy socialization class which is very important. This will
teach your puppy to get on with people and other dogs. It will also
build self confidence. Contact your vet for the name of a reputable
doggy school in your area, the breeder can also assist. Golden Retrievers are very intelligent
and enjoy the stimulation of training if not stimulated they can become destructive. A well trained dog is a pleasure
to have.
11) General information
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Don't let your Golden slip
and slide on tiled surfaces, as they can hurt their hips and
elbows.
-
Do not play tug-of-war with your puppy as aggressive behaviour can
be enforced and you can hurt their sensitive gun-dog mouth.
-
Your Golden will respond to gentle, positively enforced training and
discipline, but can be destructive if given insufficient exercise and
stimulation.
-
Goldens are excellent with children. Please ensure that children are
made aware of not disturbing a puppy while it is sleeping or eating.
Ensure that children are taught the correct way of picking up and
carrying a puppy. Never turn it on it's back as they tend to
wiggle and are often dropped - distressing for both parties.
-
Goldens love water and can swim from a very early age, however
they are unable to climb out of the pool, dam, fishponds etc. A
few bricks placed on the step will help puppy get out of the pool.
Do not leave your puppy unattended while swimming, as they can drown
-
Remember Golden Retrievers are "people dogs" and need to be included
as much as possible in your family life. Give lots of love and
affection.
- Grooming is recommended. Try to brush your puppy at least
once a week, to help with shedding. You can bath your puppy once a
month with approved products.
Remember a Golden is not
only a pet but also a member of the
family.
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