Your Puppy’s First Veterinary Exam
May 18
Now that you’ve got your new puppy, you’ll want to take him or her to the vet for the first time so that he or she can get acquainted with your selected vet, as well as, to make sure that your new puppy is as healthy as he or she should be. Your new puppy’s first trip to your veterinarian is almost as much about educating you as examining the puppy. You’ll want to have a list of any questions or concerns that you might have. You should also bring two things with your puppy to this first exam. One should be whatever health information the seller gave you, such as vaccine and worming records, which are included if you’ve bought a Maltese puppies for sale in Ohio and Pennsylvania. The second thing is less fun, but very important: a fresh stool sample. This is examined by the vet or other staff member for the presence of parasites, such as worms.
While answering your questions, your veterinarian will be checking out your puppy. He or she should be doing the following things:
- Weighing your puppy and checking temperature. A normal temperature is 100 to 102.5 degrees Fahrenheit. The puppy’s pulse and breathing rate should also be checked.
- Listening for heart and lung abnormalities and examining other internal organs by palpitating or feeling them.
- Giving your puppy’s ears a look over to ensure they not only look right (formed correctly and no unusual discharge) but also smell right with no infections or parasites.
- Checking the puppy’s genitals to ensure two testicles are present in males, and there’s no sign of discharge or infection in females.
- Going over eyes, nose, skin, and the anal region to check for abnormal discharge or other signs of disease, infection, or parasites.
- Opening the puppy’s mouth to see that teeth and gums are growing correctly, are clean, and the proper colors.
A puppy exam is often one of the best parts of a veterinarian’s job. Your vet should try to keep it fun for your puppy, as well. Your vet should want to set up a positive relationship with your puppy, so that he or she accommodates being handled without fear or aggression. There are several very important things that you can do to assist in this learning process for any puppy, such as a Pomeranian puppies for sale in Ohio and Pennsylvania. Do not encourage shyness or aggression in your puppy by soothing her. Project a positive attitude and be matter-of-fact in all of your puppy’s social interactions with the veterinarian as well as other people and animals in order to raise a confident, secure dog with proper manners.
