A Few questions
Hello we took our 8wk year old puppy to the vets for his first booster and get the feeling they are always trying to sell you something here are my concerns.
1..The vaccines include Lepto2 but not Lepto4 they say cases in UK too rare to justify but also admit that many dogs may have had it but never diagnosed. I also read dogs suffering adverse reactions from Lepto4 vaccine. Is it worth getting it done as an add on?
2..They want to sell me a puppy pack which includes vaccines,worming,flea treatment etc. My issue is that the wormer and flea treatment is an all in one and given every month. It sounds excessive I intended to flea treat as and when they will not be difficult to spot on an all white dog. Is it worth getting the wormers separately?
3..At the moment he is on Royal canin Junior but will start introducing raw. I intend to still include a bit of kibble as roughage and I have read not to mix the 2 due to different digestion rates.
My personal opinion is that this is a load of nonsense mixing kibble and other foods together is not a new concept and has never caused issues with my dogs In the past but wanted your thoughts.
Many thanks for taking the time to read I'm sure that I will be picking you brains again over the coming weeks/months.
Many thanks for taking the time to read I'm sure that I will be picking you brains again over the coming weeks/months.
Comments
2. Monthly flea and worm prevention
This one REALLY depends on the area you are living in.
For example, back in Germany we de-wormed our dog once every six months and that was perfectly fine. Here in Florida, Djamila gets flea and (heart)worm prevention on a monthly basis, plus a routine round of de-worming every six months with fenbendazole (for everything not covered by the monthly).
It really depends on the parasites that are around. In Florida, the heartworm prevention is mandatory for all I know.
If you are not sure what's appropriate for your area, do a little research, talk to other dog owners in your area or if you don't want to ask your own vet, call another one.
3. Feeding raw and kibble together
Just my own experience:
I have read the same thing. The times for digestion allegedly are significantly different. I think about 4-6 hrs. for raw food and twice as long for kibble.
Under the impression that Djamila seems to get hungry before time a lot, although she is getting enough (calorie wise) food each day, I have switched to split her food into three different meals a day (also following this kibble-raw-advice): one part of the raw in the morning, one part of the raw around noon and a small serving of kibble in the afternoon. She seems to do fine this way and the kibble is digested over night long before she gets the next meal. We never had problems feeding kibble and raw in a mix before - no upset stomach or such - so I can't tell, if the way I feed her now does have any different impact on her digestive system. But I don't find it too hard to match that rule with my own everyday life.
The breeder we got him from is very respected on the assured breeders scheme etc and trust there advice. But the vetinary nurse appeared to smirk at all the advice we had been given. I was doing my best not to say anything. But you know everything they say is b#**#&@t as the moment they give their piece of advice it's quickly followed up with a price list.
I would go to a new vets but they carried out surgery several times on my previous mastiff and saved her life so trust there skills with a surgeons knife.
We started to introduce some raw mince to his diet the last few days but it's upset his stomach a bit so back to kibble only for a few days.
2. I also have never heard of wormer and flea treatment to be administered together. When she was a pup she got dewormed at the vet, and even now I don't give her any kind of tablets. She only gets it when she goes for checkups which is maybe one a year. I didn't start her on flea and heartworm medication right away at the advice of the vet because she was little. Now though she has to have her blood tested occasionally for heartworms and then will continue on her way.
Unfortunately can't speak on 3 as I am a kibble only feeder!
Best of luck with your new pup.