It is very important that you understand some basic facts about how
to protect your new puppy from diseases that can be deadly!

Everyone of our puppies are thoroughly examined at our vets office
prior to going to their new home.   Dr. Pray, Dr. Westfall, Dr. Higgins
or Dr. Caccimise, from the Batavia Animal Hospital,  will carefully
check over each individual puppy to make sure that there are no
surprises.  The important things that they look for are for problems
like heart murmurs, serious eye cataracts, loose joints,
undescended testicles etc... the things that are not readily seen by
our family.

The vaccination that we generally use is: Galaxy DA2PPv (modified
live) which includes protection against the following diseases:
  1. Canine Distemper
  2. Adenovirus Type 2
  3. Parainfluenza
  4. Parvovirus
This vaccine is administered around the 6th to 7th week, and is only
the first in a series of 4 vaccines.

IMPORTANT:
ALTHOUGH YOUR 8 WEEK OLD PUPPY HAS HAD HIS FIRST
VACCINATION AND THIS VACCINE DOES INCLUDE DISTEMPER
AND PARVOVIRUS - YOUR PUPPY
IS NOT PROTECTED AGAINST THESE DISEASES - AND OTHERS,
UNTIL HE HAS HAD AT LEAST TWO IN THE SERIES AND IN SOME
CASES ALL 4 VACCINATIONS.

Knowing this means that you must give your puppy extra protection
until he is completely vaccinated.

Here are some basic things that you should do to protect your
puppy:
  1. Do not allow your puppy around any other puppies until they are fully
    vaccinated
  2. It is generally said that if you have a family member, neighbor or
    friend with a dog that has been vaccinated and is known to be healthy
    that it would be alright for your new puppy to socialize with this dog. It
    would still however be better to wait until your puppy has had at least
    two vaccines - this is generally done around 9 to 10 weeks of age.
  3. Do not walk your dog where other animals frequent. If you take your
    puppy for a walk keep away from areas where others may have gone
    to the bathroom. Areas like this are a great way for them to pick up
    contagious disease as well as parasites.
  4. Probably one of the riskiest places to take your puppy, while it is not
    fully protected, is to the vets office. This is because people take their
    sick animals there! Proper veterinarian care is absolutely essential
    and cannot be avoided! Knowing this - it simply means that you must
    offer your puppy extra protection during his visit. When you arrive -
    never allow your puppy on the grass or concrete outdoors or on the
    floor inside the building. Dogs with every parasite and sickness could
    have passed through that lawn or walked across that floor and many
    diseases and parasites can stay active in the soil for months or years.
    Make sure your puppy has enough time before leaving home to go to
    the bathroom in your own yard and make him wait to go again until
    you return home.
  5. Do not allow your puppy to play with or sniff any other dogs at your
    visit - you do not know what they might be there for!
  6. Place a blanket or towel down on the exam room table if possible.
    Veterinarians and the technicians do disinfect the tables in between
    visits - but if you read the bottles of many of these disinfectant
    cleaners they often advise that the product must stay in contact with
    the surface for 10-20 minutes in order to kill many of the contagious
    canine disease that are deadly. Most vet offices simply do not have
    the time to follow these directions according to the label directions.
    They will spray the table and wipe it down thoroughly to clean it well,
    but the really important disinfecting has not taken place.
  7. Puppy obedience classes are highly recommended - but would be
    best to wait to begin until your puppy has had at least his second
    vaccine in the series that he requires. The other puppies in your class
    will have had to show proof of vaccination prior to joining the class -
    so this environment is probably less risky than a walk in the dog park!
  8. YOU MUST ALWAYS BALANCE THE PROTECTION OF YOUR
    PUPPY WITH PROPER SOCIALIZATION! YOU MUST NOT
    SECLUDE YOUR PUPPY SO MUCH THAT IT DOES NOT HAVE
    THE OPPORTUNITY TO MEET NEW PEOPLE, SEE NEW PLACES
    AND EXPERIENCE NEW THINGS! PROPER SOCIALIZATION IS
    OF VITAL IMPORTANCE TO DEVELOPING A WELL ROUNDED
    ADULT DOG.
  9. You should ask your veterinarian after your puppy has received his
    second vaccine if he feels that your puppy is fully protected or not.
  10. Do not take your puppy to Pet Stores that allow puppies to visit.


THE MOST IMPORTANT ADVISE IS SIMPLY TO GIVE YOUR NEW
PUPPY SOME BASIC PROTECTION WITHOUT NEGLECTING HIS
SOCIALIZATION!
NOW GO TO SECTION NUMBER FOUR
HAZARDS IN YOUR HOME