Ed's AKC Miniature
Schnauzers
Care and Feeding
Feeding: What food should I feed my new puppy:
Choose a dry food intended specifically for puppies, avoiding generic foods and those that sell for unusually low prices. We suggest brand name puppy food because it is impossible to distinguish good dog food from poor dog food simply by looking at the ingredient list on the label. Many things that owners look for, such as high protein levels and extra vitamins, are more likely to be harmful than helpful. For example, overfeeding and over supplementation are factors contributing to hip dysplasia. If you have a large-breed puppy, purchase "large breed" puppy food. The actual formula is different, not just the the kibble size, and is better for very rapidly growing puppies.
How often
Offer food to young puppies three times a day. If your puppy isn't hungry that often, reduce the frequency. After ten or twelve weeks of age, feed twice a day. Even adult dogs should have their food split into morning and evening feedings. When fed once a day dogs become overly hungry and are more likely to overeat at mealtime. Let your puppy eat as much as she wants in fifteen minutes and then pick up the food dish. Having food continually available encourages overeating, and chubby puppies are more likely to have hip dysplasia and weight problems later in life. Also, because free-fed puppies never get very hungry, they don't enjoy their food unless given special treats. The combination of special treats and freely available food encourages them to become bored, overweight and picky.
People food
Do not give people food. If you start with a balanced diet and add goodies from the table, you won't have a balanced diet anymore, and your puppy will have more digestive trouble. Treats that are reasonably balanced, such as Milk Bone Biscuits are OK, but since they are not really all that great nutritionally, don't let them become an important part of the diet. Canned puppy food is perfectly all right, but we usually suggest feeding dry food because it is cheaper, easier to use, and better for the teeth.
Shots: When and how often should my puppies get their shots?
Between six and sixteen weeks of age, puppies lose the disease protection they received from their mothers and become able to form their own immunity to disease. Unfortunately, we never know when this will happen, so there is often a brief period when puppies have lost the disease protection they received from their mothers but have not yet developed strong immunity of their own. Fortunately, new vaccines for distemper and parvovirus are much more effective than what we had even two or three years ago, and eliminate much of this problem. Also, since the new vaccines work better we don't have to give as many, which saves money. Until your puppy is four or five months old, try to prevent contact with stray dogs or sick dogs. Avoid boarding your puppy or taking her places like highway rest stops where lots of other dogs go to the bathroom.
Distemper
When we say "distemper shot" we are talking about a combination vaccine (DHLAPPC) which protects against a group of diseases:
Infectious canine distemper (ICD) is a highly infectious viral disease that attacks the lungs and affects the brain and spinal cord in somewhat the same way polio affects people.
Infectious canine hepatitis (ICH) spreads between dogs most often by contact with infected urine. ICH does its worst damage to the liver and can cause loss of vision.
Leptospirosis causes kidney and liver damage and is spread most often via infected urine. The leptospirosis portion of distemper vaccine can cause a reaction if given repeatedly. For this reason, and because Leptospirosis has become a fairly rare disease, we immunize for it only twice during the vaccination series.
Canine adenovirus type 2 (CAV-2) is a respiratory virus that causes a severe form of "kennel cough".
Parainfluenza is another highly infectious respiratory virus that causes coughing.
Canine parvovirus (CPV) attacks the lining of the intestinal tract, and in very young puppies, damages the heart. It remains our most common fatal infectious disease and is the most difficult to protect against. Dobermans, rottweilers and boxer or bulldog type dogs are especially susceptible.
Canine coronavirus (CCV) causes or contributes to parvovirus-like intestinal disease and severe diarrhea. Because coronavirus vaccine is expensive, and since the disease is usually not fatal, many veterinarians omit coronavirus protection from their puppy series or immunize for it separately at additional cost.
Rabies
Spread by animal bites or through the saliva of an infected animal, rabies is always fatal. Because infected pets can give the disease to people, rabies immunization is something you don't want to ignore. Rabies shots are started at sixteen weeks of age, boostered a year later, and every one to three years after that, depending on local laws and your veterinarian's recommendation. Unvaccinated dogs that come into close contact with a skunk must be quarantined or put to sleep. Vaccinated dogs that have skunk contact should be given a rabies booster as soon as possible, regardless of when they were last immunized.
Lyme disease
Spread by ticks, Lyme Disease has become a significant human health problem in El Dorado County, but because the disease is difficult and expensive to diagnose with certainty, there have been few proven cases in dogs. When we suspect Lyme disease, we treat with antibiotics. The dogs usually get better and we are seldom certain whether the condition being treated was Lyme disease or something else. Dogs that roam in brushy areas and get lots of ticks should be vaccinated. Those restricted to their own immediate area and never get ticks probably don't need it. Immunization is given as an initial series of two injections three weeks apart followed by an annual booster.
Bordetella
Bordetella, a common cause of "kennel cough", is a severe but rarely fatal respiratory disease. Because it spreads through the air in confined areas, kennel cough is common even in clean, well run boarding kennels. If your dog will be at the groomer's frequently or periodically left at a kennel, it is wise to protect against the disease. Most boarding kennels require it. For dogs that don't need year 'round protection, the best time to administer the vaccine is two to four weeks before going to the kennel.