Puppy Care
Countryside Kennels strives to deliver a healthy happy puppy to you. You can see by our Purchase Agreement that we require a visit to the veterinarian of your choice to validate that our work has been successful. During your veterinary checkup is a great time to discuss ongoing health care for your new puppy. Some of the subjects should include:
Ongoing vaccinations
We provide you with a record of completed vaccinations which you should show to your veterinarian. You should discuss any upcoming vaccinations needed to maintain your puppies’ level of disease immunity. Also ask about any diseases common to your area that you may need to vaccinate for. Some of which may include Lyme, Coronavirus, Leptospirosis and others. Puppies that leave our kennel may or may not be vaccinated for rabies depending on their age. If your puppy is rabies vaccinated we provide the vaccination certificate and tag.
Parasite Control
External and internal parasites will never be totally eliminated however they are simple to manage. Most of today’s treatments are easy to give oral and topical monthly treatments. Heartworm is the single most devastating parasite if a dog has gone so far as to have a severe infestation of adult heartworms. Heartworm is easily prevented by getting a blood test and then going onto one of many good monthly treatments. Heartguard Plus is our favorite for heartworm and also a monthly dewormer. Products containing Fenbendazole or Pyrantel Pamoate are also good anthelmintics. Frontline Gold is an excellent treatment/preventive for fleas, ticks and lice.
Talk to your veterinarian for guidance as some breeds may not tolerate certain products.
Dental Health
Good dental health is probably the single most important variable to help ensure a dog’s long, healthy life. Poor dental health leads to gum disease, tooth loss, heart valve infections and more. Make tooth brushing a fun time for your puppy at least 2 -3 times a week. Finger brushing with dog toothpaste and dental toys will be a good start. Many dogs have learned to enjoy regular toothbrushes. Annual dentals for your dog should be the minimum requirement needed. Some dogs may need twice yearly dentals to keep teeth and gums clean and healthy.
Food and Nutrition
At Countryside Kennels we feel it is important to feed our adults & puppies a premium dog food that is high in fat and protein. We feed NutriSource brand. We recommend maintaining your puppy’s diet using NutriSource Small-Medium Puppy Food. We recommend NutriSource and Purina ProLine dog foods and none others. These two have consistently shown high standards of ingredients and integrity in manufacturing of food for your new best friend. You have invested time and money in your puppy who will be with you for many years so it only makes good sense to feed high quality and affordable food. ProLine is the only Purina dog food we recommend. NutriSource has a record of no recalls on any of their dog foods.
Your puppy will eat a lot of food since he or she is growing. So up to six months old, they need to eat 2-4 times what an adult dog eats to support their very rapid growth. Your adult small breed dog requires 1 to 1.5 cups of high-quality dog food daily. English Springer Spaniels will require approximately 2 – 2 ½ cups per day. We recommend dividing the recommended amount into two meals during the day. Quality dog food is key when it comes to caring for the puppies. You will find poor coat quality and health issues could arise if you change to a lower quality brand. Contact us if you have any questions regarding food for your puppy. A Countryside Kennels team member will be happy to assist.
Grooming
All of our breeds will benefit from regular grooming. In home coat care is imperative, and professional grooming is recommended when needed. Talk to a local groomer or other dog owners and ask for their recommendations. Home care should include regular combing and detangling of the coat to prevent mats and remove any debris and dirt.
Bathing can be as frequent as every week depending on your pet’s outdoor activity. Be sure to use shampoo made for dogs, as human shampoo can cause severe drying of coat and skin, causing itching problems or worse. Cairn Terriers are the easiest to maintain using only a stripping comb. No professional grooming is required.
House Training
House training your puppy can be the easiest thing you’ve ever accomplished or the hardest. All dogs can be house trained, it just depends on the commitment of the humans doing it. Puppies should have a kennel large enough to lay down and stretch out comfortably. Increase the area as they grow. Dogs will do their best to keep their area clean, so give them a chance to do so by letting them out at regular intervals to have bathroom breaks.
During initial training, you should take them out of the kennel and carry them outside to the area you want them to use. Do not allow bathroom time to become playtime. After your puppy has performed all the necessary tasks be sure to lavish lots of praise and happiness on them!
Behavior and Social Skills
No one likes to visit a house and have the resident dog jump, growl or bark at them. All dogs need to be trained to be friendly and have good manners inside the house and in public.
How many roasts, turkeys, hams and other foodstuffs have been lost to counter surfing dogs? Good manners need to be enforced and reinforced. Cesar Milan is probably the best know human trainer in regards to dog behavior and has produced countless books and videos that will show you the way to becoming a good dog owner. The web is full of free materials you can use. The American Kennel Club has a program called Canine Good Citizen that also will be a big help to those who are willing to commit to improving their relationship with their dog. Check it out at akc.org
Lost and Found
All Countryside Kennel puppies leave our kennel already microchipped. The chip will need to be registered with the new owner contact information. We will supply you with information on how to do that or we can register the chip for you. We recommend AKC Reunite for the microchip registration. Microchip registration is one way of your puppy finding its way home to you.
Another way is Global Pet Security registration. It uses a QR code collar tag which when scanned by anyone using a cell phone camera will be provided your name and phone number. Not your address. It also simultaneously sends you a text that your puppys' tag has been scanned and shows you a map with the puppy’s current location. A touch or two on the phone also gives you driving directions to the puppy location. Subsequently, anytime the tag is scanned you get a location update and the person scanning gets your name and phone number.
The Global Pet Security system also has integrated software for all of your veterinary records, so you have them with you while at your vet, a new vet or when traveling. Pretty great for any emergency situation. We can provide this service for you. Feel free to ask for details.
