New Puppy Care Guide
Giving Your Puppy the Best Start in Life
Congratulations on your new family member! Bringing home a new puppy is an exciting milestone, and we’re here to help you every step of the way. Our puppy care guide covers everything you need to know, including feeding, vaccinations, parasite prevention, desexing, microchipping, and preventative healthcare, helping your puppy grow into a happy, healthy dog.
Introducing Your New Puppy to Their New Home
Bringing home a new puppy is an exciting time, but every puppy needs time to adjust to their new surroundings. Create a quiet, safe space and allow your puppy to explore at their own pace. If you have existing pets, introduce them gradually and under supervision, using positive interactions to help build confidence. With patience, routine, and plenty of reassurance, your puppy will soon feel safe, settled, and at home.
Puppy-Proofing Your Home
Puppy-proofing your home is an important step in keeping your new puppy safe. Puppies are naturally curious and love to chew, making them more likely to swallow toys, bones, clothing, or other household items. In young dogs, intestinal foreign bodies are a common cause of emergency surgery.
Before bringing your puppy home, check your house and garden for potential hazards and remove anything they could chew or swallow. Always supervise your puppy during playtime and provide plenty of safe, appropriate chew toys to encourage healthy chewing habits and help protect both your puppy and your home.
Puppy Vaccinations
Puppy vaccinations are one of the most important ways to protect your puppy from serious and potentially life-threatening diseases. Vaccines safely stimulate your puppy’s immune system, helping build immunity before they are exposed to infection.
At Avonhead Veterinary Clinic, we use the Nobivac DHP vaccine to protect against canine parvovirus, distemper, and infectious hepatitis. Puppies can receive their vaccinations from 10 weeks of age, or if they have already had their first vaccination at 8 weeks, they will require a final puppy booster vaccination 3-4 weeks later. We may also recommend the Nobivac KC or Canigen KC vaccine to help protect against kennel cough. To maintain lifelong protection, we recommend a booster vaccination at 1 year of age, followed by ongoing vaccinations every 1-3 years, depending on your dog’s lifestyle and vaccination schedule.
As part of our preventative puppy healthcare, all puppy booster vaccinations are eligible for a FREE Bravecto Chew at the time of their appointment. Bravecto Chew provides up to 12 weeks of protection against fleas, ticks, ear mites, and demodex mites.
Parasite Control
Flea Treatment
Flea prevention is an important part of your puppy’s preventative healthcare. Young puppies can quickly become affected by fleas, and heavy infestations may lead to serious health issues such as anaemia caused by blood loss. Fleas are also one of the most common external parasites affecting dogs and can spread throughout your home if left untreated.
At Avonhead Vets, we offer safe and effective puppy flea treatments and can recommend the best parasite control plan based on your puppy’s age, weight, and lifestyle. Our team is here to help keep your puppy healthy, comfortable, and protected from fleas all year round.
Worming Treatment
Protecting your puppy from intestinal worms is an important part of their preventative healthcare. If left untreated, worms can affect your puppy’s health, cause digestive issues, and impact their growth. We recommend puppy worming treatment with a broad-spectrum wormer at 2, 4, 8, and 12 weeks of age, then every three months throughout their life.
Our team can recommend the best worm prevention plan for your kitten based on their age, weight, and lifestyle. Some parasites can also be passed from pets to people, so encourage children to wash their hands after playing with animals and handling pets.
Feeding Your Puppy
Puppy Nutrition & Diet
Providing the right puppy food is essential for healthy growth and development. Puppies have different nutritional needs than adult dogs, requiring higher levels of energy, protein, vitamins, and minerals to support growing bones, muscles, joints, and a healthy immune system. Feeding a high-quality, specially formulated puppy diet provides all the nutrients they need during this important stage of life.
Young puppies should be fed small meals throughout the day to support their growth and energy needs. A balanced puppy food will provide complete nutrition, so additional supplements are usually not necessary.
As your puppy grows, you can gradually reduce the number of meals each day, following your veterinarian’s recommendations. Most dogs can transition to a suitable adult dog food at around 12 months of age (or later for large and giant breeds). If you have any questions about puppy feeding, nutrition, or choosing the right diet, our team at Avonhead Veterinary Clinic is here to help.
Registration
All dogs over three months of age must be registered with their local council in New Zealand, including the Christchurch City Council if you live in Christchurch. Dog registration helps identify your pet and supports responsible dog ownership. Registration fees vary, so check with your local council for the latest information and requirements.
Microchipping
Protecting Your Puppy with a Microchip
Microchipping your puppy is a quick, safe, and permanent way to identify your dog if they ever become lost. A microchip, about the size of a grain of rice, is implanted just under the skin and contains a unique identification number that can be scanned by veterinary clinics, animal shelters, and the SPCA.
In New Zealand, all dogs being registered for the first time (excluding working farm dogs used for stock control) must be microchipped before registration at three months of age. Microchipping is a simple procedure performed during a consultation, giving your puppy the best chance of being reunited with you if they ever go missing.
Desexing Your Puppy
Puppy Spaying & Neutering
Desexing your puppy is an important part of responsible pet ownership and can provide long-term health benefits for your dog. At Avonhead Veterinary Clinic, we perform spay (ovariohysterectomy) and neuter (castration) procedures to help prevent unwanted litters and support your puppy’s ongoing health and wellbeing.
Desexing female dogs can reduce the risk of mammary (breast) cancer and uterine infections, while neutering male dogs removes the risk of testicular cancer and can help reduce prostate-related issues. It may also help reduce behaviours such as roaming, fighting, and some hormone-driven behaviours.
All puppy desexing procedures are performed under general anaesthetic by our experienced veterinary surgeons. Your puppy is closely monitored by our qualified veterinary nurses throughout the procedure using advanced anaesthetic monitoring equipment in our dedicated sterile surgical theatre. After surgery, your puppy will receive personalised pain management and be cared for in our warm, comfortable recovery area until they are ready to go home.
Pet Insurance
Pet insurance is an important part of planning for your puppy’s future healthcare needs. While we hope your puppy stays happy and healthy, accidents, illnesses, and unexpected veterinary expenses can happen at any stage of life.
Having dog insurance can help make the cost of veterinary treatment more manageable, giving you peace of mind that your puppy can receive the best possible care when they need it most. From emergency visits to ongoing health conditions, pet insurance can provide valuable support for your puppy’s health and wellbeing.
Our friendly team at Avonhead Veterinary Clinic can provide information about pet insurance options and help you understand how insurance can support your puppy’s lifelong preventative healthcare.
Puppy Preschool
Puppy Training & Socialisation Classes
Give your new puppy the best start with early puppy training and socialisation. Puppy preschool classes provide a safe and positive environment where puppies can learn important skills, build confidence, and interact with other dogs and people.
While we don’t run puppy preschool classes at Avonhead Veterinary Clinic, we recommend the following trusted local providers to help support your puppy’s development, behaviour, and lifelong wellbeing:
High Five Puppy Skills
Run by Margaret van Oosten.
highfivepuppyskills.co.nz
0274 239 696
Petiquette
Run by Susan Morton at Hornby Vets
petiquette.co.nz
0274 771 281
petiquettedogs@gmail.com
