Initial Treatment Program for Puppies Less Than 6 Months

A veterinarian should be consulted. The following is a guide only of our standard treatment for a puppy less than 6 months who comes newly under our care and for whom we have no history. Based upon the health of the puppy it may not be appropriate or adequate.

Generally! Any puppy should be observed, dewormed, treated for fleas and vaccinated. A puppy should be observed for health for 7 to 10 days before receiving its first vaccination. Signs of illness include lack of appetite, shivering, listlessness, vomiting, pale gums, diarrhoea and skin conditions. A newly found puppy should not be mixed with other puppies or dogs who are not adequately vaccinated. As soon as possible, take the puppy to the vet. Puppies should be fed only puppy food or as advised by a veterinarian.

If a puppy is “at risk” of being in contact with viruses it may be better to immediately vaccinate the puppy even without waiting the 7 to 10 day incubation period. An unvaccinated puppy has no protection from viruses and must be kept in a safe and clean area.
Puppies and Leishmaniasis: We do not test puppies under 6 months for leishmaniasis. Protection for a puppy against leishmaniasis (such as pulvex) should be used.
Puppies and Heartworm: We do not test puppies under 6 months for heartworm. While a puppy may have microfilaria (initial stage heartworm) it generally takes 6 months for microfilaria to develop into adult heartworm. The advised treatment, as outlined below, should kill any microfilaria of the blood. This is also why we advise the below treatment be followed for at least 3 to 6 months – even if the puppy then travels to a northern climate.
Puppies and Tickfever: Testing puppies for tick fever can be effective but is also very expensive as there are over 5 types of tick fever to test for. The general health of puppies should be observed for signs of tick fever. Whenever possible, we will look at the blood of a puppy under the microscope for signs of tick fever, but even if no signs of anomaly are found this does not mean it is an absolute negative. As the puppy grows signs of tick fever include signs of general ill health, stiffness of the joints, pale gums, lack of appetite, and temperature. If these signs are seen please consult your veterinarian. Further treatment or testing can be made for tick fever.

Also visit useful links for veterinary websites providing further information.

Vaccinations

A puppy should receive its vaccination as soon as possible and as advised by your veterinarian.
We advise against the use of the vaccination VANGUARD DP on puppies. We believe this vaccination is too strong for puppies and may cause a puppy to get sick.
A puppy should receive a vet approved course of vaccinations. Beginning at anywhere from 4 to 6 weeks of age, these vaccinations should be repeated every 21 to 28 days until the puppy is fully vaccinated. Dependent upon how young the vaccination program starts, this may involve up to 3 to 4 vaccinations. Until adequately protected by consecutive vaccinations a puppy should not be put on the ground in public areas or exposed to areas where it may contract diseases.
At 3 months of age a puppy should receive a rabies vaccination and microchip as required by Portuguese law.

Treatment against Parasites

If no other skin conditions are present, at 3 weeks of age a puppy can receive its first pulvex spot on treatment against flees and other parasites. This treatment should continue every 28 days.

Generally:

Worming puppies is very important. Most puppies have worms. Even pedigree puppies born with a well cared for mother are given proper wormers. If you do not believe your puppy has worms and it has never been dewormed before, it is most likely you are wrong.

We advise worming with a mixture of milbemax and panacur or caniquantel plus. On young puppies or very wormy puppies we use a softer wormer to start such as vithaminthe or drontal puppy.

The mixture of deworming products targets killing different types of worms. If your puppy is with us for rehoming do not use a substitute without first contacting us and we will help put a deworming program in place. We always take the advice of a veterinarian, and if you are worming a puppy please use the below only as a guide and speak with your own veterinarian.

Constantly check the toilet of a puppy for signs of worms and in the event worms are seen alternate the treatment as advised by a veterinarian. Do not over worm without consulting a veterinarian as this can also cause problems.

If a puppy travels abroad we strongly advise keeping the puppy on milbemax for 3 to 6 months after its arrival to its new country.

If a puppy remains in Portugal we strongly advise keeping the puppy on life long protection against heartworm. And should receive an alternate form of worming every 4 to 6 months

Treatment Against Worms and Heartworm (For puppies More Than 6 weeks of age)

For a puppy who is in moderate to good health

Day 2: 3 days of Caniquantel Plus or Panacur
Plus 2 weeks: One day of Milbemax
Plus 2 weeks: One day of caniquantel plus or panacur
Plus 2 weeks: One day of Milbemax
Plus 1 month: One day of Milbemax

Treatment Against Worms (For puppies Less Than 6 weeks of age)

2 weeks of Age: 1 day of vitaminthe or Drontal Puppy
4 weeks of Age: 1 day of vitaminthe or Drontal Puppy
6 weeks of Age: 1 milbemax
9 weeks of Age: 3 days of caniquantel plus or 3 days of panacur
12 weeks of Age: 1 day of milbemax

Additional Worming – very wormy puppies! ( For puppies More Than 6 weeks of age)

If a puppy appears to be infested with worms killing off the worms with an extremely strong wormer can cause significant health problems. In these situations we advise as follows but a veterinarian should be consulted:

Day 2: 1 day of Vitaminthe or Drontal Puppy
Day 4: 1 day of Vitaminthe or Drontal Puppy
Day 6: 1 day of Vitaminthe or Drontal Puppy
Day 8: 1 day of Milbemax
Plus 3 weeks: three days of caniquantel plus or 3 days of panacur.
Plus 1 month: 1 day of Milbemax
Plus 2 weeks: 1 day of caniquantel plus (only if worms seen)
Plus 4 weeks (from date of last milbemax): 1 day of Milbemax