Care of your New Puppy

Also see Questions.(I have products listed that I recommend for your puppy!)

When your puppy leaves, you can continue to enjoy him or her. Here are some suggestions that work. Don't pick them up when they are winning, this will cause your dog to bark every time since he is getting the attention. Turn your back and walk away, say nothing. When you come home, put up groceries and then pick up your little one. Give them 5-l0 min. so they are not demanding. Don't say "No" all the time, also these little guys are very intelligent so say"No Bite." Whatever your pattern of life style is, they will revolve around you . If you go to bed at l0:00 then play with your puppy before bedtime. It is wonderful to crate train them because you say goodnight and put them in their crate with NO food or water and a toy and towel to sleep on. When you get up take them immediately outside to go potty and feed them and then AGAIN take them outside and reward them with words and a piece of

dog food for a snack. I do not suggest giving them dog biscuits till they are 6 months old and are on a good eating routein You want their organs to grow to the full potential. It is best to give them an ALL NATURAL dog food(see my guarantee for foods) since the preservatives and chemicals cause cancer and tumors. Check your food and make sure it does not contain "Meat .By Products" (dead animals)

Be certain when you bring your puppy home it does not touch other animals nose to nose to pass on diseases till he is fully immunized. When people come into your home please have them clorox their shoes if they must wear them, or leave the shoes at the door. When your puppy goes to the vet always carry them, so they don't pick up diseases from walking into a vets office. When they need to be weighed ask them to put a paper towel under them. If you walk your dogs or take them to the park wait till they are fully immunized. They are like babies they can caught anything.

When you have them spayed or neutered please find a vet that has inhalation anethesia. This will reguate the amount of anethesia and you won't lose your pet. Some are very sensitive or have allergies and this is not a time you want to find out that!

When you take your little one to a groomer, I can't stress enough how important it is to know the groomer, or have a referral. Some customers over the l8 yrs I've been breeding have lost their dogs. Some places give them an anethesia without asking you because they are "problem dogs".

Race Foster, DVM
Marty Smith, DVM
Drs. Foster & Smith, Inc.

What are coccidia?

Coccidia are small protozoans (one-celled organisms) that multiply in the intestinal tracts of dogs and cats, most commonly in puppies and kittens less than six months of age, in adult animals whose immune system is suppressed, or in animals who are stressed in other ways (e.g.; change in ownership, other disease present).

In dogs and cats, most coccidia are of the genus called Isospora. Isospora canis and I. ohioensis are the species most often encountered in dogs. Regardless of which species is present, we generally refer to the disease as coccidiosis. As a puppy ages, he tends to develop a natural immunity to the effects of coccidia. As an adult, he may carry coccidia in his intestines, and shed the cyst in the feces, but experience no ill effects.

How are coccidia transmitted?

A puppy is not born with the coccidia organisms in his intestine. However, once born, the puppy is frequently exposed to his mother's feces, and if the mother is shedding the infective cysts in her feces, then the young animals will likely ingest them and coccidia will develop within their intestines. Since young puppies, usually those less than six months of age, have no immunity to coccidia, the organisms reproduce in great numbers and parasitize the young animal's intestines. Oftentimes, this has severe effects.

From exposure to the coccidia in feces to the onset of the illness is about 13 days. Most puppies who are ill from coccidia are, therefore, two weeks of age and older. Although most infections are the result of spread from the mother, this is not always the case. Any infected puppy or kitten is contagious to other puppies or kittens. In breeding facilities, shelters, animal hospitals, etc., it is wise to isolate those infected from those that are not.

What are the symptoms of coccidiosis?

The primary sign of an animal suffering with coccidiosis is diarrhea. The diarrhea may be mild to severe depending on the level of infection. Blood and mucous may be present, especially in advanced cases. Severely affected animals may also vomit, lose their appetite, become dehydrated, and in some instances, die from the disease.