Bavarian Mountain Hound Vaccinations and worming

Owning a puppy brings a great deal of pleasure and whilst you will want yours to have a long, happy and healthy life it is almost inevitable that your puppy will need regular vaccination boosters throughout life, and regular worming and flea treatments.

Puppies need to be taken to a vet for a health check and to be registered with the practice. Your vet will advise you on vaccinations, worming and health issues. Puppies can receive their first vaccination from approximately eight weeks. This will vary depending on the normal practice of your vet.

Your vet will start your puppy on a course of vaccinations against the four main infectious diseases: Canine Distemper, Hepatitis, Parvovirus and Leptospirosis. All of these diseases can be fatal, so after its first course of vaccinations, it will need re-vaccinating annually.

Keep the vaccination certificates safe as you may need to show them at boarding kennels, dog- training classes or if you take your dog abroad.

Until your puppy is fully vaccinated, you should not take it anywhere where it might come into contact with dogs or ground that may be infected, but you can take it out in your arms or the car to get it used to different places and situations.

Your puppy will also need regular worming and treatment for fleas and ticks, so follow the advice of your vet.

It is highly recommended that your dog is microchipped and registered with Petlog, the largest pet reunification scheme in the UK, as this can prove extremely effective in locating a lost pet. The Petlog Premium Lost and Found service can alert local vets and dog wardens when an owner reports where their pet was lost. This can be done by telephone, SMS text message or via the Petlog website. However, it is vital to the effectiveness of this service that owners keep their records up to date, informing Petlog of any change in circumstances.

You may also want to have your puppy vaccinated against Kennel Cough. Your vet can advise you on this.

Health checking

You need to check your puppy’s body regularly for lumps, swellings, rashes, cuts, grass seeds etc. You will also need to keep a check on its teeth, gums, limbs, nails, dew claws, eyes, ears and for testicular or mammary lumps, so get your puppy used to being gently touched all over and examined on a daily basis.