Looking after a new puppy is a great joy, especially if it’s your first dog and you’re starting out on this journey with a family in tow. While it’s often the case that parents buy a puppy after succumbing to “pester power”, taking care of a dog together can be a very rewarding experience. Owning a pet teaches compassion and responsibility to children. On a more practical note, pet ownership is also reported to lower your child’s chances of suffering immune-system and allergic illnesses such as asthma, dermatitis and hayfever in later life.

Teething problems

While teaching your child how to look after a puppy can be an informative and enjoyable process, it goes without saying that it should be undertaken with care and interest in the puppy’s wellbeing. Puppies are a pleasure to take care of and are playful and energetic, but they can also be messy and take a lot of training. Like most younger mammals, puppies have very different needs than adult dogs and are far more vulnerable to illness in their early years. A few bouts of minor illness are to be expected in even the healthiest puppy.

The majority of health problems in dogs are far more serious in younger animals, meaning that a brush with parasites, an upset stomach or a viral infection that an adult dog might shake off easily can be very dangerous for a puppy. For this reason, it’s important to keep on top of a whole host of necessary puppy vaccinations. Your veterinary professional will help keep you informed of these, as well as telling you at what age your puppy can be allowed to roam outside, mix with other dogs and eat generic dog food rather than specially formulated puppy food.

Puppy love

It is important to do your research, get your puppy vaccinations done on time, and listen to your veterinary care provider. Knowing how to look after a puppy well is important. However, it’s just as important to have fun, and provide plenty of love, play and affection. Remember that puppies’ play, like a child’s play, has an important function. When puppies play at stalking, fighting and socialising they are learning to be adult dogs. In the absence of a pack of dogs from whom to learn, your puppy looks to you and your family to be generous with your playtime.

Lintbells offer a wide range of pet health products designed to help look after you puppy and help them to grow as healthy as possible.

Is your dog is showing a lack of excitement when you arrive home, no longer wagging their tail and jumping up to greet you? Are they laying in front of the fire all day, only to get up when it’s feeding time – or worse still, being fed scraps under the table at family meal times? All those little ‘treats’ can easily mount up and it is possible that obesity or excessive weight gain is the underlying problem. If your dog is looking glum and miserable, and no amount of promises of walks in the park or playtime will rouse his or her excitement, then it’s time to get your dog slim, fit and full of life again.

Obesity in dogs can lead to heart problems, joint difficulty and liver failure along with depression and laziness. It’s possible to spot the signs of a potentiality obese dog by observing their physical and emotional patterns. Taking steps to rectify the problem before it gets out of hand could mean the difference between a healthy, long and active life and an unhappy, overweight pet.

Time for a healthy start

Obesity can be treated easily with the right dog food. There a number of balanced diets along with nutritional treats and snacks to help overweight pets shed those excess pounds. The James Wellbeloved, Pro Plan and Eukanuba range contain healthy and nutritious ingredients with heaps of natural flavours your dog is used to.

When putting the new and improved diet in place for your dog, it’s important to maintain the advised daily food intake and resist feeding him “seconds” or allowing leftovers at family meal time. This can not only devalue the nutritional balance of a regulated diet, but also confuse your dog and lead to problem behaviour such as ‘begging’ for food or irritability. Sometimes, the owners need as much self-control as the pets, so make sure you don’t give in to those ‘puppy eyes’ and spoil your dog to treats he doesn’t need.