Puppy Care Timeline

Ensure your puppy gets the best start in life

Welcoming a new puppy to the family is a truly exciting time for any household, but owners shouldn’t underestimate the hard work and dedication that raising a puppy can take. To help you through those first months we’ve put together this puppy advice page, featuring a handy timeline and some frequently asked puppy questions.

If you’ve recently adopted a puppy you’ll be pleased to know that you can benefit from a range of health benefits by signing up to our Puppy Gold Start plan.

// Puppy Plans //

Our Puppy Head Start Plans

Puppy - Head Start

£55

Does your Puppy need their first injection?

If so you may be interested in our Head Start which includes:

*applicable to pets under six months of age, subject to a veterinary examination confirming they are in good health.

Puppy - Head Start Lite

£40

Has your Puppy already had their first injection?

If so you may be interested in our Gold Start Lite which includes:

*applicable to pets under six months of age, subject to a veterinary examination confirming they are in good health.

// honest, tailored care //

Your Puppy Care Timeline

Whether you’re new to puppy ownership or not, there’s so much to take on board in the first month’s of their life that it’s often difficult to keep track. That’s why we’ve put together this puppy care timeline, to help chart the key events for you to look forward to in the first month’s of their life. We hope this ensures that you give your puppy the best possible start in life.

Getting your puppy off to a healthy start

Welcoming a new puppy into the family is a very exciting time for everyone involved. Before you adopt your puppy it is important to ensure you do plenty of research as a family into both the type of breed that suits your lifestyle and into the breeders or rescue centres that are able to offer you a puppy.

In order to help you make a positive decision, we’ve answered some key questions that you should be asking when you meet your prospective pet.

At what age can a puppy come into a new home?

It is really important that a puppy stays with their mother for a minimum of 8 weeks. During the first few weeks of life, mum is feeding the puppy and ensuring the milk she gives primes the puppy with antibodies to protect the puppy from some infections they can obtain from the environment.

The pups will learn to eat solid foods and develop certain behaviours such as grooming, play and other social behaviours whilst with their mother. Leaving home too early can impact on a dog’s well being and behaviours for the rest of their lives.

What is the mother like and the rest of the puppies in the litter?

When selecting a puppy it is really important to ensure that you can see the mother and puppies together interacting. It is advisable to visit a litter before they are ready to come home so that you can see all of the puppies together, there is no reason why you shouldn’t be able to meet the mother.

During this visit you will be able to see how well the mother and puppies are cared for and what kind of start they have had in life. It is important to assess some of the following things: –

What condition is the mother in – does she look well cared for, bare in mind mothers can lose weight whilst suckling large litters of puppies but they should not look too underweight.
Look at where the puppies are being raised and what they are being socialised to – a puppy needs to learn the way of the world and this starts at a young age, early exposure to the sights and sounds of the world is important. Often puppies reared in barns have not been exposed to household noises such as the vacuum cleaner and door-bell and can take longer to settle into a house environment.
Watch the puppies interact together, they often demonstrate some of their character traits at this young age, the boisterous puppy is likely to be confident in a new home, the quietest might suit a calm home.
Be cautious of picking the smallest puppy, frequently the smallest puppy can develop health problems.

What worming and flea treatments has my puppy already had?

Puppies should be wormed from a young age as there is potential for the mother to transfer worms prior to, or at birth. If the puppies have not been wormed regularly they can fail to gain weight, develop chronic diarrhoea and develop long term complications.

Puppies should be wormed at 2 weeks old, this is usually repeated every 2 weeks until 8 weeks old and then monthly until 6 months old.

Puppies also need flea prevention treatments, especially when socialising with other dogs, it is important to discuss this with your vet as some adult products are not suitable for young dogs.

Has my puppy been vaccinated?

Some breeders like to ensure the puppy has had either their first vaccine or a full course of vaccinations prior to entering a new home. It is important to discuss with us what vaccines your pup has already had as well as the timing of this injection so that we can ensure your puppy has all of the protection required to safely go out and explore the world.

Is my puppy microchipped?

Microchipping is a permanent form of identification, by law, every puppy should be microchipped by the age of 8 weeks so it is important to ensure you have the documents for this and ensure that the microchip company hold your details on record.

There are some small breed puppies that have not been microchipped by 8 weeks old as a veterinary surgeon has deemed this procedure to be detrimental to the puppies health. If this is the case the puppy must be issued a veterinary exemption certificate from a veterinary surgeon and you must ensure you have this documentation.

Collecting your puppy

Although an exciting time for you and your family, it can be very overwhelming for your puppy to be leaving their familiar surroundings and moving into your home. When bringing your puppy home bring a comfortable dog carrier, a comfy blanket (as well as spares in case your puppy has an accident) and food and water in case it is a long journey home.

Make sure you have already puppy proofed an area at home and are set up ready for the puppy. Try to minimise exposure to loud noises for the first few days and do not plan for lots of visitors to meet the puppy until it is settled and has formed a bond with you.

Take your time and be patient with your new puppy, you have a lifetime together but the first few weeks are the most important of their life. You need to ensure you take the time to bond and don’t rush the process particularly with a nervous pup.

First puppy health check

Your vet will take plenty of time to get to know your puppy and for your puppy to build confidence with them. A full clinical examination will be performed to check your puppy is fit and healthy and to discuss the best care for them.

Need help with training?

Training your puppy requires hard work, dedication, and above all else discipline. It’s important that you maintain a rigid training schedule in the first weeks that your puppy joins the family. Even the most experienced dog owners can struggle with aspects of their puppies early development and learning. In these instances, it’s always worth seeking expert help to try to fix any issues whilst young, ensuring you have a sociable and well-behaved dog for the rest of their life.

To help new owners in the local Cheshire area, we provide a Puppy Training Workshop. These hands on group sessions are attended by both dog and owner and are run by our team under the Kennel Club Good Citizen Dog Training Scheme. They allow us to work together alongside fellow pet owners to teach you the basics and discuss problem areas to help you address them.

Find out more on our Puppy Workshop page.