What do I need for a new puppy?

Before your new puppy arrives, you should have a few essentials ready. This includes a safe, quiet space for them to sleep; a comfortable bed; non-toxic food and water bowls; a complete and balanced premium puppy food; chew toys to keep them entertained; and a collar with an ID tag that includes your contact details.

How do you house train a new puppy?

Developing a consistent routine is the key to housetraining your puppy. To minimise accidents, take them outside first thing in the morning, after every sleep, after being left alone, after each meal, and just before bedtime. Watch for signs like circling or sniffing the ground. Never punish a puppy for an accident. Instead, when they do the right thing outside, praise them enthusiastically—a tasty treat is a perfect reward.

What is a week-by-week guide for puppy care?

At 6-8 weeks, your puppy needs their first vaccinations and should start a deworming schedule. From 8-12 weeks, focus on positive socialisation and independence training, as this is a sensitive 'fear period'. From 12 weeks to 6 months, your puppy will have their final vaccinations, can be desexed, and should continue with reward-based training classes.

What vaccinations does my puppy need?

Vaccinations are vital to your puppy's health. The standard vaccination schedule is: - 6 to 8 weeks old: Distemper, Hepatitis, and Parvovirus. - 10 to 12 weeks old: Distemper, Hepatitis, Parvovirus, Parainfluenza, and Bordetella. - 14 to 16 weeks old: A final booster for Distemper, Hepatitis, Parvovirus, Parainfluenza, and Bordetella.

How often should I worm my puppy?

Puppies should be wormed every two weeks until they are 12 weeks old. After that, they should be wormed every month until they are six months old. From six months onwards, worming your pet every three months will maintain effective prevention.

Your Ultimate Puppy Care Guide: The First Weeks Home

Welcome to the family! Bringing home a new puppy is an exciting journey, and this guide for new puppy owners will help you get started on the right paw. Greencross Vets is your partner in pet care, and we’ve created this new puppy guide to cover everything you need, from preparing your home to their first vet visit.

How to Prepare for a Puppy: A New Puppy Checklist

Before your furry friend arrives, it’s essential to have a few things ready. By ensuring you’ve got everything on our checklist below, you’ll make your new puppy feel safe and comfortable from day one.

A Safe Space: A quiet, warm area for them to sleep, like a laundry room or sectioned-off space.
A Comfortable Bed: Soft, warm bedding is crucial. A ticking clock or warm water bottle can simulate their mother and littermates for the first few nights.
Food and Water Bowls: Choose non-toxic bowls that can’t be easily knocked over.
Appropriate Food: A complete and balanced premium puppy food is essential for their growth.
Chew Toys: To keep them entertained and prevent them from chewing on things around the house (like getting into your shoes and socks!).
Collar and ID Tag: With your contact details included.

The First 24 Hours: Bringing Your New Puppy Home

A new puppy brings a lot of excitement and joy to the family unit. It is often an eagerly anticipated event, and it can therefore be tempting to show off your new family member to everyone you know. Our best advice is that your puppy should have total peace and quiet in the first 24 hours. Try to encourage all family members to handle the new arrival quietly and gently, and allow them adequate periods of rest by themselves.

Week by Week Puppy Care Guide

6 to 8 Weeks

First Vaccinations: At 6 to 8 weeks old, puppies should receive their first vaccination for Distemper, Hepatitis, and Parvovirus.
Start Worming: Puppies should be wormed every two weeks until they are 12 weeks of age.
House Training Begins: The breeder or previous owner should have already started toilet training so it’s important to keep this up and reinforce good habits.

8 to 12 Weeks

The Fear Period: From 8-10 weeks, puppies are very sensitive. During this time, it is critical to focus on positive reinforcement and avoid harsh punishments or isolation, as they can retain fear for a person, animal, or object.
Socialisation: Expose your puppy to a wide range of positive experiences with different sights, sounds, smells, people, and other healthy, fully vaccinated animals. Enrolling in a reward-based puppy school is an excellent way to socialise them safely.
Second Vaccinations: Between 10 to 12 weeks, your puppy needs a follow-up vaccination for Distemper, Hepatitis, Parvovirus, Parainfluenza, and Bordetella.
Independence Training: Begin leaving your puppy alone for very short periods to help prevent separation-related behaviour from developing.

12 Weeks to 6 Months

Final Vaccinations: The final puppy vaccination is given between 14 to 16 weeks to complete the initial course. After this, they can be socialised more widely outdoors.
Desexing: The optimal time for desexing is around five to six months of age.
Ongoing Training: Continue with reward-based training classes. Keeping training sessions short and fun is important, as puppies tire easily.

The A-Z Of Puppy Essentials

Diet and Nutrition

Complete and balanced nutrition is important, particularly during your dog’s growth period in the first one to two years of life, depending on the breed. Please ask our healthcare team for advice on feeding your puppy, as a complete and balanced diet is essential for a long and healthy life. Learn more about choosing the right food for your puppy and make sure that you:

Choose Puppy Food: Adult dog food formulations do not provide the optimal nutrition for a growing puppy and there are plenty of delicious options available specifically created for puppies.
Feed Small, Frequent Meals: Puppies have small stomachs and need small, frequent meals. They should be fed three to four times a day.

Parasite Prevention

Worming: Puppies should be wormed every two weeks until they are 12 weeks of age, then every month after that until they are six months old. From then, depending on the product, worming your pet every three months will maintain effective worm prevention. Worming should be performed regardless of whether worms are seen in droppings or not, as many are too small to be seen with the naked eye. A high-quality all-wormer should be used and is available in a variety of forms. Speak with your Greencross Vet for more information about worming.
Heartworm: Heartworm prevention can be started from 6 weeks of age (depending on the product), increasing the dose as your dog gets heavier. Annual injections, tablets or spot-ons are easiest. One of the easiest ways to protect from heartworm in via injection. This can be given from 12 weeks of age. If your dog misses their medication for any period of time, please phone your local Greencross Clinic for advice. Learn more about heartworm.
Fleas: All pets will be exposed to fleas at some stage of their life. Regular preventative treatments are the best way to keep infestations at bay. There are a number of prevention treatments available, such as tablets, monthly topical applications, flea collars and rinses. Contact your local Greencross Vet to discuss the options best suited for you and your pet.
Ticks: Paralysis ticks are found around bushes, scrubland and riverbanks mainly on the east coast of Australia. Traditionally, tick season is August to January, however ticks can be present at any time of the year. If you and your pet live in a tick-prone area, you should thoroughly check them for ticks every day. Prevention can be difficult, so ask your veterinarian for more information as treatments vary depending on your pet’s level of exposure. No method of tick prevention is 100% effective, so you still need to manually search your pet on a daily basis.

Training & Behaviour

How do you house train your new puppy?

Developing a routine will assist you in housetraining your puppy. To minimise accidents, take them outside first thing in the morning, after every sleep, after being left alone for a long period of time, after each meal, and just before bedtime. Some obvious signs that your puppy needs to go to the bathroom include walking around in circles, sitting or whining at the door, and sniffing at the ground.

Of course, accidents will happen, but if you catch your puppy in the act, take them outside immediately. Never spank your puppy, rub their nose in accidents, or reprimand them after an accident has occurred. Just remember to praise them whenever they do the right thing – a tasty treat is a perfect reward.

Puppy School

Getting a new puppy is exciting, but it can also be a challenge due to the high levels of care and attention they need. Puppy school is a fantastic way to train and socialise your new pet and learn techniques on how best to raise a respectable pooch. Greencross Vets has got you covered.

Vaccinations

The diseases that vaccinations protect against are contagious and infectious and often hard to treat. Vaccinations are vital to your puppy’s health. Complete protection can only be achieved if all vaccines are given, and your dog is kept away from public areas and other pets until after their 16-week vaccine.

6 to 8 weeks old – Distemper, Hepatitis and Parvovirus
10 to 12 weeks old – Distemper, Hepatitis, Parvovirus, Parainfluenza and Bordetella
14 to 16 weeks old – Distemper, Hepatitis, Parvovirus, Parainfluenza and Bordetella

Learn more about vaccinating your puppy.

Healthy Pets Plus

Healthy Pets Plus is our preventative wellness annual membership program that gives you peace of mind and confidence that your pet is healthy and happy. Benefits include all standard veterinary consultations in clinic, access to WebVet 24/7, your pet’s annual vaccinations as recommended, 20% off pet food and parasite prevention in-clinic and much more!