How to ensure a new dog stays clean and healthy with young children?

Congrats on your new dog, Peppen is so cute. You need to make an appointment with a vet to get her vaccines (she will need her DHPPi combination shot (distemper, hepatitis, parvo, parainfluenza) as well as rabies), and the vet can prescribe flea and deworming treatments. You can talk to the vet about training classes you can enroll her in, and you do not need to bathe her more than once a month unless she is very dirty.

This situation is generally fine! The main things to make sure you do is keep her up to date one vaccines and her heartworm prevention. Ask you veterinarian about a vaccine called Leptospirosis which is commonly found in rats and can be transmitted to humans. Keep her on a monthly heartworm prevention will also deworm her once monthly (although it may not get all kinds of worms). You won't get worms from sharing the bed with Miku but you could wake up to an unpleasant surprise. Lastly, keep her up to date on her flea prevention so you don't get that in your bed. Otherwise you should be fine. I hope this is helpful and please feel free to post any additional questions.

Make sure she has vaccines including DHPPi (distemper, hepatitis, parvo, parainfluenza) and rabies. Depending on her age, the vet the can tell you her vaccination schedule. Spay her before she goes into her first heat (around six months of age) to significant reduce the risk of her developing mammary tumors and eliminate the chance of her developing a pyometra later in life. Put her on a good flea and tick prevention program, make sure to deworm her, and give her heartworm protection. I would have your pup seen by a vet this week to start all of these things to keep her healthy :-)

Drako is adorable! I'm so happy for you that you can now bring him indoors. First thing to do is make sure he is up to date on his flea treatments. You don't want him to bring fleas into the home. You will likely have to train him not to go potty in the house, as he will be used to going to the bathroom whenever he wants outside. I will put a method below that I recommend for potty training puppies, but it can work for Drako as well. You will need to make sure he has a water and food bowl, and you can get a bed for him to sleep on inside. Enjoy having him indoors, I'm sure he will love being around you all the time! Potty training: Start by keeping Drako on a regular feeding schedule, and taking away his food between meals. Take him out to potty first thing every morning, and once every two to three hours at first. As he gets better with going outside, you can let him out every four to five hours, but never let him go more than eight hours without going outside to potty. Always make sure he goes out after meals, first thing when he wakes up from a nap, last thing before bedtime at night, and right before you leave the house. Take him to the same spot each time to go potty. His scent there will encourage him to go. Stay with him outside each time he goes to potty, at least until he is fully house trained. When he goes outside, praise him and give him a treat.

Great question! One thing I would strongly recommend is having Coco spayed. Dog who are intact are prone to developing a pyometra, which is an infection of the uterus that is fatal without treatment. It makes dogs very sick. Unfortunately spaying her now won't lower her risk of mammary tumors, but at least it takes away the risk of the pyometra. Feed her a healthy diet, don't give her human foods, and plenty of exercise daily. Keep her up to date on her vaccines, heartworm treatment, flea and tick treatments, and deworming treatments. Finally, have her seen by a vet yearly for a health check, taking her in sooner whenever she is sick. I hope this helps!

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!

Hi there! Congratulations on your new puppy, Genisis. I would first start by having Genisis in to have a vet visit. This way, the veterinarian can make sure Genisis appears healthy, doesn't have any heart murmurs, or other abnormalities that need monitoring. Puppies can start with their distemper vaccine at about 8 weeks, which also includes an inoculation for parvovirus, which is a very dangerous and contagious gastrointestinal virus that puppies can acquire. Depending on the recommendations for the number of boosters in your area, your vet will let you know how many of these vaccines Genisis will need until being able to be safely let out into the environment to walk around outside and socialize with other dogs. Until he is fully vaccinated, I'd definitely keep him inside, and away from other animals, especially those with unknown vaccine histories. Your veterinarian will also recommend de-wormings and a fecal test at some point to make sure that your new puppy is parasite free. All puppies will have roundworms, and these worms can be transmissible to people, so I always recommend using good sanitary practices - ie wash hands after handling feces, and avoid kisses on the mouth and face. There is also the bordetella vaccine for kennel cough, and the canine influenza vaccine for the influenza virus. I will usually recommend those in my area. What isn't very prevalent in my area, is the leptospirosis bacteria, but I think in Arkansas it can be an issue, so I'd definitely ask the vet about that. Aside from that, I recommend a small breed puppy food for the first year of life - nutro, nature's recipe, royal canin, science diet, or purina are great brands. And I would also have Genisis neutered around 6 months of age to avoid health issues later in life, like an enlarged prostate. I'd look in your area too and see if there is a reputable dog trainer who can come to the house to start some puppy classes for you as well! I hope you find this information helpful! Best of luck!