This thread is right on time for me - I've just got a new puppy yesterday - am interested to know about the heartworm injection for pups too - I'll be ringing my vet.

Awwww he/she's so cute!

Thanks!!! He is lovely and hes got such a gentle nature. He seems to be quite smart too - I've got him sitting and staying already!!! Bless him!!!

awwwww bless

Should have added that this is what my vet recommended for my dog, who is short haired.

Does anyone know if there is an injcetion for cats to keep them safe from ticks etc, we try and use frontline on our cat every now and then, I say try because usually end up with more of it on me and scratched arms and one annoyed cat!!

I wouldnt be - as long as the vet knows how old he/she is (the dog that is, not the vet ).

iPom - yep, it would work much better on a nice short coat like a GSP, just not on a long coated breed.

Leigh - he's lovely .

ProHeart SR12 is recommended for use from 6 months of age. There is usually a bit of grace given when pharmacuetical companies put an age on products so as long as your puppy has had no ill effects eg: lethargic, vomiting your pup will be fine

other useful options for protecting dogs from tics is the mobile bath service or using the baths at a vets also you can get your back yard sprayed for them. Down south i do not believe they are a problem.

Thanks Mrs D. Digger is my first ever dog, i've been raised with dogs and so has ste but we've never owned one together before, so its a very exciting time. Our boy has wanted a dog for a longgggg time but we've resisted until both our littlies were old enough to take a bit of responsibility and until we moved into our new build.

He's a little cattle x (mum full cattle and dad half cattle / half unknown) and we got him from Yaps (like RSPCA) which we have been visiting on and off with dog food for the past year!!! We're only on a 700 block, so its a good job I like walking on a daily basis!!! Hes very active (between sleeps) already.

I called my vet today to book him in for his 2nd vacination and to check about the heartworm treatment and I was told they won't do it until hes 9 months - tablets until then...

You might be able to help me with something, as i am getting conflicting reports... Yaps were feeding him dry biscuit and dog roll (3 times a day) plus water. I bought him a bag of Hills science diet (puppy recipe) before I collected him from Yaps and the pet shop woman told me he only needed to have one cup of it a day... Yaps said Hills is like eating lettuce and q-cumber - boring!!! and one cup a day isn't enough...

Yesterday and today Digger has had three small meals of Hills and the dog roll, plus water...am I doing the right thing?

Does it have a weight/age chart on the back of the bag? I would say that for his age, about three times a day is right, but it depends on the food and the quantity of the 'scoop'.... My pup at 8 months is meant to scoff 5 cups of the stuff, but just manages 4.
Go with what he'll eat. Puppies tend not to get fat quickly because they stop eating. When he stops, just pick up his food bowl and put it out of the way until you feed him again.
Mrs D prob knows more.

Hi Leigh, yep, sounds like the right thing to me, what dry food did YAPS have him on? By rights they really should have given you a small amount to give him until you could buy some of your own & slowly changed him over. Bad YAPS! He will definitely still be needing feeds 3 times/day (Im assuming he's about 8 weeks old?) probably until hes about 4 or 5 months old when you can cut back to 2. It's a bit hard to guess how big he is, but 1 cup doesnt sound like enough, my sheltie puppy is 11 weeks old & only small (well smaller than a cattle pup would be) & he's on 1 cup of dry/day. Did he eat everything that you gave him yesterday & today? As iPom suggested look on the packet, it should give you a rough idea of how much to feed per day, just divide it into three & take into account the amount of roll he gets as well. Easiest thing to do is perhaps start with what you've been giving him, say 1/3 cup + some roll & feed him that amount for 2 or 3 meals - if he eats it all every time (if he's eaten yesterdays & todays completely take that as a yes), up the amount of dry food until he's leaving just a small amount at each meal. My guess is he will level out at about 1/2 cup + some roll 3 times a day. That way you know he's getting what he needs - as iPom also said, its not likely that he will get overfat - dry food is normally fairly self limiting for puppies, its usually only if people feed too much or too much fatty food as they get older because a dogs metabolism slows down plus they become less active as adults (well normally LOL) . As he gets older he will need more food obviously, but you'll get the feel for it after a couple of weeks.

Just remember not to give him milk unless its the lactose free ones specifically for puppies, keep up his daily heartworm, worm him every 2 weeks until he's 3 months old, make sure he gets his vaccinations & dont take him anywhere that there are other dogs (unless you positively know they are vaccinated or you carry him) until a week or 2 after his last injection.

Easy, eh?

Phew!!! Thank you so much for that! Digger is eating really well - 3 squares a day (hills and roll) and lactose free puppy milk in the am / water the rest of the day. I am a bit annoyed now that Yaps didn't give me some transition dry feed for him but hes seems to be ok with the Hills.

I'll keep a watchful eye on the food intake and up it or down it as required.

You mentioned worming him every tow weeks and yet yaps said he needs worming again at 3 moths old and then every 3 months from there?

I've got him booked in for his 2nd vac. (hes 8 wks old now) and microchip and his de sexing in August ( heart worm jab not until 9 mths and he hasn't had heart worn tablets or treatment from yaps at all - so should I be doing this ASAP?)

He's confined to our house and garden at the moment because of vacs but I'm really looking forward to getting him out and exercising him.

Hes a gorgeous little boy but it reminds me of when our two littlies were babies - can't take your eyes off him for a second 'cos hes so beautiful and worrying about his wellbeing already!

Thanks for the advice.