Simple gestures – Hygiene and maintenance

Looking after your puppy requires making a few regularly gestures that will ensure him a good hygiene and enable you to discover what could prove to be abnormal signs, warning you of a disease.

Indispensables outings

Outings are indispensable, not just to learn housetraining . The fact is that the dog is a sociable animal that needs to meet others and explore a territory. Whether he lives in an apartment or a house, he cannot content himself with a five-minute outing in the morning and in the evening or even with staying in a garden. A young dog needs many short-length outings in locations which do not offer too many risks for him. Walking on a leash and recall, for your puppy to come back to heel without arguing, should be learned at an early stage. Leash-free walks are reserved for open spaces and the countryside.

His nose

It should be moist and fresh all day. However, it may get dry during sleep. It must then be moistened again when the puppy wakes up. Any presence of crusts, cracks, significant or discharges is the sign of ailments that the veterinarian must examine.

His teeth

They should be white and his gums pink: any red line on the edge of the teeth is abnormal and reveals a painful inflammation which may cause a loss of appetite in the dog. You should get the puppy used, at a very early age, to having his mouth checked and his teeth brushed with a brush and toothpaste specially designed for him. This very effective means of preventing the appearance of tartar should be used every day. There are also teeth-benefiting dry foods and "dental bars," effective if they are used every day.

His eyes

The eye should be bright and moist, with pink mucous membranes. No discharge should be visible in the inside corner.

His ears

Floppy ears are to be checked more often: as it is, closure of the external auditory meatus by the pavilion does not allow for proper ventilation. Floppy ears may be cleaned once/twice a week and upright ears every fortnight. To do so, you should use a solution suitable for dog ears.

His legs and claws

You should regularly check if his pads are damaged and that nothing got stuck into a pad while walking.

There are two types of claws: dewclaws and finger claws.

His coat

Depending on the type of hair, maintenance will differ. Care should be provided as follows: a rubber brush once a week for very short hair, a carder passed the wrong way and next a bristle brush passed in the direction of hair growth every two days for short and hard hair, daily brushing for long hair after careful untangling.

In summertime, after a bath in seawater, you would better rinse the young dog to remove any deposit of irritating particles.

External and internal antiphrastic

Fleas and ticks reappear regularly, especially in springtime. Many products are available on the market such as sprays, spot-on and collars. They enable to fight effectively against the detrimental effects on the animal’s health of these parasites that can also affect our health. It is important to also treat the area where your animal stays as flea eggs could be around.

As for worming the puppy, it should be systematically and regularly performed according to a protocol defined by the veterinarian, because the choice of the product depends on the animal’s size, age, lifestyle as well as other criteria.