How do I care for my new 4-week-old puppy as a first-time owner?

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Poor baby! I would have Billy dewormed and a stool checked for parasites. At 7-8 weeks you need to start his puppy vaccines (DHPP). At this time he should eat canned puppy food and you can add puppy formula for a week or 2. I do not think he needs to be bottle fed at 4 weeks. Good luck

Congrats on your new addition! Ideally, she should be physically examined by your veterinarian within 3 days of arriving home to confirm good health or to diagnose and treat any preexisting conditions. At the very least, she will likely need to be dewormed. Vaccines can start around 6 weeks of age and will continue every 4 weeks until about 16 weeks of age. Discuss monthly parasite prevention with your vet to protect against worms, fleas, ticks and heartworm. Feed a good quality puppy food. Look for brands such as Canidae, Acana or Merrick. You can feed according tot the directions on the bag, just know that each puppy is different and you may need to adjust the amount if Coqueta is gaining too much weight or not enough weight. Avoid store or discount brands as these may contain low quality ingredients and more fillers. Puppies typically need to go about about 20-30 minutes after eating, sleeping or playing. Expect accidents, they are going to happen. Since dogs thrive on routine, start a consistent schedule for potty breaks; first thing in the morning, midday, evening and before bedtime to begin with. Choose one spot in the yard and use it for bathroom training. She can have a short walk or playtime after she does her business. Praise and reward her each time. Avoid areas with other dogs and dogs of unknown vaccine status until she has at least 2 rounds of vaccines. Visit the PetCoach Educational Center for additional information. https://www.petcoach.co/article/the-first-week-with-a-new-puppy-what-to-expect https://www.petcoach.co/article/puppy-101-everything-you-need-to-consider/ https://www.petcoach.co/article/everything-you-should-know-about-pet-vaccines/ https://www.petcoach.co/educational-center/

Hello and welcome to Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. With Moonlight, I recommend you take him to the vet for a check-up. Your vet will likely recommend vaccines and deworming, along with flea and tick prevention. You can also ask your vet what the best food to feed Moonlight is, as this will vary from location to location. You should also get Moonlight neutered at 4 months of age. Best of luck with Moonlight!

Hi, thanks for using PetCoach! Congratulations!! Bruno is adorable! Bruno needs to start his puppy vaccines. He should receive a DHPP (distemper, hepatitis, parvo and parainfluenza) vaccine every 3-4 weeks starting around 7-8 weeks of age until he receives two past 12 weeks. He should get his rabies vaccine between 12-16 weeks. He can start being dewormed as well. Having him dewormed and Rabies vaccination will protect your family. Keep up with his vaccinations into adulthood as they do have expiration dates. Deworm yearly. I recommend puppy food until 1 year of age. I like Purina proplan, hills science diet and Royal Canin. As a puppy his energy level is like a new born. Play for a bit then sleep. Around 4 months they are awake more. So playing with him when awake and 2-3 walks a day are appropriate. Distance can increase with age and endurance. See below for links on training. I wish you and Bruno the best! https://www.petcoach.co/article/basic-dog-puppy-training-rules/ https://www.petcoach.co/article/rewards-are-necessary-when-training-dogs-and-puppies/ https://www.petcoach.co/article/training-fitness-for-sporting-dogs/ https://www.petcoach.co/article/interacting-with-your-pet/ https://www.petcoach.co/article/5-obedience-commands-every-dog-should-know/

Congrats! I would just schedule a wellness visit with your vet soon so they can make sure he is healthy and no obvious issues. I would make sure he is on a large breed puppy food and that he is eating 2-3 times per day. I would go ahead and start crate training him if you are planning to do this to help house break him. See link below for tips. If his 1st set of shots were given before he was 6 weeks old, then there is a good chance your vet may want to repeat his 1st set of shots simply because any shots given before 6 weeks technically don't count. I hope this helps! https://www.petco.com/content/petco/PetcoStore/en_US/pet-services/resource-center/new-pet/Puppy-and-Dog-Crate-Training.html

Thanks for visiting Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! She is not too young to be away from mom if she is 5 weeks of age. Pets are vaccinated as early as 6 weeks of age, and are usually weaned off of mom at this age. Since you have another pet in the home that does go outside, it is best to start vaccines for this pup once she is 6-8 weeks of age. Intestinal worms usually don't make pets too sick, but it can cause loose stool and potential vomiting. They still will eat well and do well as long as the worms are treated in a timely fashion (within 1-2 weeks), so this is an easy fix if you do encounter this. If your other pet is on a monthly heartworm prevention, then it has a natural intestinal dewormer in it as well that can protect your pet against 2 types of worms (hookworms and roundworms), which are the most common types of worms seen in puppies. But again, if you do happen to encounter a worm problem, this is easily dealt with with the appropriate dewormer, so keep an eye out for any loose stools. I hope that this helps and best wishes deciding on if you want to adopt this new pup. Take care. : )

Thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach and congratulations on your new puppy! I recommend having Abby seen by a vet - they can administer Abby's vaccines, deworm her if necessary, recommend a good quality puppy food, and flea/tick/heartworm prevention. At her young age, I recommend keeping Abby somewhat confined to an area of the house where she cannot get into trouble/eat things she shouldn't. She should also not go outside before she is fully vaccinated. I hope this helps and wish you luck with your new puppy!