6 weeks old & vet checkup!

Today the pups took their first trip to the vet for a full health checkup & their first set of vaccinations. Tomorrow they will each get their first heartworm pill! And, its deworming day again. (Although the pups had a negative fecal test, we want to make sure it stays that way so we'll continue to deworm them every two weeks!).

What we eat

Well, I'm actually going to tell you about what we feed our dogs! Lou and Bear regularly eat Biljac. When Lou was pregnant, we switched her to Royal Canin puppy food. Its important for pregnant mamas to get puppy food because it has a higher fat content and helps to better nourish the pups. This continues while Lou is nursing, and once she had the pups and began nursing she has food available to her at all times. She reminds me of myself as a postpartum, nursing mom, in that her appetite is huge! Lou also gets a small wetfood treat once a day (usually Science Diet puppy food), along with her calcium supplement. We didn't start giving her calcium until after the puppies were born, because some research has linked puppy health problems to calcium supplements. She of course also has water available to her at all times. At around 4 weeks, the pups will begin weaning. They'll also get Royal Canin but will get babydog food to start.

Deworming

The pups turned two weeks old yesterday, so they (along with Lou) got their first deworming. We use Nemex 2.

Veterinary Care

We were thrilled that Lou's delivery went so smoothly and she didn't need emergency veterinary care! However, we made sure to get her into the vet (about 24 hours after the last puppy was born) for a postpartum checkup asap. She checked out perfectly! The puppies will see the vet at around 6 weeks for their first round of vaccines. We deworm them at home. They will have full health checks and be up to date on vaccines before they head to their forever homes.