One of the most important responsibilities you have as a dog owner is to insure that your dog is in optimal health. Keep in mind that the first round of vaccinations must be done when the dog is six weeks old. Before this, it’s vital that your dog be dewormed at twenty days of age. This is extremely important because if a puppy or dog has parasites, his body will not respond to the vaccinations in the correct way; he will also be more at risk of getting gastrointestinal disorders, which is common for puppies, and this will interfere with the normal development and it will be an open door for many severe diseases and illnesses that could end up taking the dog’s life. Remember that deworming a puppy should always be indicated by a veterinarian according to the age of the dog, his weight, if he lives with other pets, as well as the coat and skin situation of the dog. It’s best to do a feces analysis beforehand to be able to confirm if the dog has parasites, and in the event that he does, find out what type to be able to de-worm the puppy in the most effective and rapid way possible.
Another factor to think about is that there are some parasites that can be passed on to humans – especially to children, who in many cases have a lot of contact with their pets. Therefore deworming is extremely important. Dogs must also be de-wormed of external parasites such as, fleas, ticks, and lice since these can severely irritate your dog’s skin and coat because they feed off of the dog’s blood, another down side to these parasites is that they also cause animals to lose weight, damages their coats, and causes a lot of allergic reactions. Even though most external parasites are not contagious to humans, there is one and this can be transmitted to humans and cause the same type of lesions on humans.
Just as deworming is done at six weeks of age, your veterinarian will start at around that time with the correspondent vaccinations for your dog to protect him from some of the most common and dangerous diseases such as:
- Coronavirus
- Hepatitis
- Leptospirosis
- Parainfluenza
- Parvovirus
- Rabies
- Bordetella or kennel cough
The plan and method that your veterinarian decides on will depend on the health of your dog at that moment, and of course he will examine how your dog’s dermatological situation is doing, as well as the type of vaccination, the age in which the dog needs the first dosage etc.
Remember: :Whenever getting your dog vaccinated the vaccination must always be registered and you should receive a legal certification that has been signed.