Hello, new puppy people! :-)  Before I forget, I want to point out a section on our Site Map page that is for our puppies' new owners. It has links that might be of interest in these last days/weeks before your puppy comes home. The Site Map page is at http://www.crbeagles.com/misc/contents.htm , and the new owner section is toward the bottom. Some of the more important links (such as feeding, health care, etc.) are here:

Health Tips and Registration Info

REGISTRATION INFO

Generally, about 2 or so weeks after you get your puppy, I'll have the registration paperwork and will be sending that shortly to you. I often have it before you get your puppy, but sometimes hold it to make sure your puppy adjusts and that you don't find you have to return your puppy (such as due to a family member being severely allergic to dogs). Be thinking of what you want to name your puppy, and if you will go ahead and register that name. As I check records, I can see that most people don't follow through on the registration of the puppy name, and just keep the puppy's registration application as record of his/her birth and parentage. We pay to register the litter, and then you can decide if you'll proceed further with your individual puppy. You can do it if you want (and we do encourage it), but it isn't required unless you want to show or breed.

VACCINATIONS and DEWORMING

A gentle reminder that puppies need a series of vaccinations and dewormings that generally last until they are about 4 months old. After that, they will require one booster vaccination annually, and deworming as recommended by the vet. At the completion of this series, your puppy will also get his/her first rabies vaccination. Ask your vet for enough dewormer to continue deworming your dog orally for the remainder of the year. You can buy deworming medicine also at discount stores (such as Wal-Mart), but I am not as confident in their coverage as the liquid oral dewormer your vet will give you. You can save yourself a TON of money by deworming on your own, rather than going to the vet. I know of someone whose vet charged $28.50 for 50 cents worth of dewormer, plus charged for the office visit. That was a $50 bill that could have been 50 CENTS. Ouch!

HEARTWORM

SPAYING AND NEUTERING

Veterinarians seem to now prefer to spay/neuter puppies before 6 months of age, and some even do so shortly after 8 weeks. Talk to your vet now to see when he/she wants to do that. I don't know what your spaying/neutering will cost, but I've heard it can be hundreds of dollars, depending on the area in which you live. Our vet charges about $60 to neuter, and $80 to spay an average-sized beagle between 5 and 7 months of age. But I know of a vet near Lincoln, Nebraska that charges over $200, so it may be higher than that even in really urban areas. It is generally less costly to spay/neuter early, as most vets have a sliding scale by weight of the dog.

VET BILLS

I also want to encourage you to feel free to contact me any time you have a question about your puppy/dog's health. I am constantly amazed at how much veterinary bills are in the urban areas compared to our rural location, and also at the extent that many vets go to for treating simple situations. I've seen vets do every test in the book on puppies that simply overate a new food offered by their new owners and as a result, threw up. Hundreds of dollars in vet bills, preventable by not offering the puppy unlimited access to a new food (and worse yet, canned instead of dry).

Please, any time you have a health concern and don't feel it is an emergency, contact me. If it's an emergency, I'd rather you rush to the vet. But if it's just "a concern," feel free to contact me first. I don't know all the answers, and am not a vet. But sometimes, 1/2 cc of Pepto Bismol can prevent a $200 vet bill.  Or, $10 cents worth of Ivermectin could take the place of a 6-week treatment of expensive dips at the vet (and the side effects those cause) for demodectic mange. There are options city vets won't tell you that my vet will share with me. 

I hope you didn't fall asleep reading this book!  :-)

Toni