Your new puppy!

Thinking of getting a new puppy? Ask us for advice on breed and suitability for you and your family. We'll be glad to help and look forward to meeting your new pup!

Look out for puppy farms. Unfortunately there are unscrupulous breeders selling puppies that have not been carefully bred, properly socialised or cared for. Check carefully, see the puppies with their mother and try to avoid an impulsive purchase. The Dogs Trust buyer advice is an excellent guide.

General health check and vaccinations

We recommend that a vet carries out a general health check on your new puppy within a couple of days of arrival. It may be possible to combine this with the first vaccination.

Puppies need a vaccination course of two injections, which can start any time from six weeks of age. We normally give the second vaccination four weeks later, with 10 weeks the youngest age the final vaccine can be given. Please don't take your puppy out until after the second vaccination. They can, however, go into your own garden for toilet training and mix with healthy, fully vaccinated friends' and family's dogs in their own gardens.

If you'd like to come to our puppy party to help your dog socialise with other dogs and get used to visiting the vets, this can be done after the first vaccination, provided all puppies are vaccinated to this level. We'll send you and your pup an invitation to the next class!

The most important socialisation time in your pup's life is from 3 to 16 weeks of age, after which they start to become fearful of "new" things. So handle them all over and get them out and about to meet as many people, animals and experiences as you can.

The puppy vaccination course protects against distemper, hepatitis, leptospirosis, parainfluenza and parvovirus. We also recommend vaccination against kennel cough if they will be attending kennels, shows or dog training; this can be given from six weeks of age. Annual boosters are required to maintain your dog's immunity. See our vaccination packages.

Worming

Your puppy should have been wormed against roundworms several times before you collect them. Find out when it was last done and continue with a good worming plan.

• Worm every month until 6 months old.
• After that, routine worming every 3 months, against both roundworms and tapeworms.
• We have easy-to-use scales at the surgery so we can find your pup's weight for the correct dose.

Dog roundworms can affect humans, so a regular worming programme is strongly advised for your safety. Picking up dog faeces helps break the cycle by preventing infective larvae developing.

Fleas and ticks

Most flea treatments are given monthly from 6 to 8 weeks of age, and products are available from 2 days of age if necessary. Some flea treatments are also effective against worms, lungworms and ticks, which avoids treating these separately. Remember to treat your house too, to break the flea life cycle by killing the eggs and larvae.

We are seeing ticks more and more often in animals that have never been outside Orkney.