Puppy Care Timeline

This is the age that worming should begin for puppies. It’s important that you check with the breeder before purchase that your puppy has had the correct amount of worming treatments. Most dogs are born with worms and it’s a normal part of their healthcare but without wormer it can cause serious illness. Your puppy will have to be wormed at 4, 6, 8 and 12 weeks of age before worming every three months.

By 4 weeks any puppy should have had 2 worming treatments. Check before you adopt to be sure.

If adopting at 7 weeks of age, ensure that your puppy has had 3 wormers to this point. If not you’ll have to administer one yourself.

Once your puppy reaches seven weeks of age they’re ready for bringing home to socialise with their new “human” pack. This is considered the optimal time to remove your puppy away from the litter and begin training it now that it’s old enough to survive without its mother.

Leaving a puppy longer than this period can lead to your puppy developing unwanted dominant or submissive traits as things get a little competitive in the litter. It can make training just that little more tricky.

When you first adopt your puppy the first phase of their development and training should be centred around developing a strict routine. This is important as it ensures that your puppy can learn to understand how its needs will mould into your life rather than the other way around. The key aspects you’ll need to teach are when it’s time to eat, toilet, play and sleep. You’ll need to keep the routine as rigid as possible at first in order to help them learn.

You’ll also be teaching them their name throughout this period, which is important. To do this you call their name and when they look at you tell them they’re a “good boy” and reward them with a treat.

Knutsford Vets hold regular puppy workshops which help give you a reassuring hand when you’re training your new pet. Find out more about these on our Puppy Workshop Page Here.

Your puppy will be ready for its first round of vaccinations at 8 weeks of age. Vaccinations are an important part of your puppy’s preventative healthcare as they can protect them from some very serious and life threatening illnesses. At Knutsford Vets we vaccinate against: –

• Kennel Cough
• Canine distemper virus
• Leptospirosis
• Parainfluenza
• Parvovirus
• Canine adenovirus

Find out more about the vaccination service offered by Knutsford Vets on our Dog Vaccinations Page or get all of your dog’s vaccines covered in our Gold Start plan.

If you adopt your puppy at 7 weeks of age, you’ll need to administer their fourth wormer at 8 weeks of age. We can discuss wormers with you at your first puppy health check or when they have their vaccinations administered to ensure that you choose the one that’s the correct dosage for your new pup.

Puppy health checks are included in our Gold Start Plans or you can book a standard appointment.

Microchipping can be performed at any age in dogs, but it’s generally considered more comfortable to perform it from 6 weeks of age. It’s worth remembering that by 8 weeks of age all dogs must be microchipped by law, so make sure to book your appointment before this date.

You can find out more about our microchipping service on our Microchipping Page.

From 8 weeks of age you can begin protecting your puppy against troublesome fleas. This can be especially important if you have multiple dogs in your household as they fleas can easily spread. Ask about the correct flea treatment for your pet at your first veterinary consultation.

Now that those first two weeks of teaching your pet a strict routine are out of the way and they now know their name, it’s time to begin lead training and teaching your pet to sit and getting them used to the lead.

Remember, our Puppy Workshops will help ensure your training is going to plan.

At 12 weeks old administer your puppy’s fifth worming treatment. After this one they will only need to be wormed every 3 months.

Although it’s perfectly safe to perform castration older than 4 months of age, it’s generally accepted that 4 months is the optimal age. By this point their testicles have developed enough for the operation to be straightforward, whilst they’re yet to develop unwanted behaviours that can develop when they get closer to puberty.

Find out more about male castration here, whilst you can read about our Dog Neutering service here.

From 6 months of age you can worm your dog once every 3 months to protect them.