Questions on a 6 week old pup

darrenon

Hi al,

I am getting a six week old Lab tomorrow:eek:, just wondering when do they need there needles and how much are they. Also I hear :pac:you can get the things to do it yourself over the counter is this true??? any help or advice would be appreciated.

Thanks,

ISDW

I'd say that 6 weeks is too young. Could you not wait another 2 weeks? Pups can have their first injection at 6 weeks, which is just parvo. Then at 8 weeks they can have their first proper vaccination, and then the second one 2 weeks later. Don't get them over the counter, the vet needs to see the pup and check it out, make sure its healthy and able to have the vaccinations.

Sigma Force

Unless there's a medical reason or the mum has abandoned it 6 weeks is too young for a pup to leave it's mother. If you are buying from a breeder that's selling a pup at 6 weeks, not sure if others would agree, but I would avoid that breeder.

If buying from a breeder the pup should be already fully vaccinated and the pup wouldn't be fully vaxd until it was between 8 and 10 or even 12 weeks of age, people vaccinate at various ages. The general time is first vax at 8 weeks and second vax at 10 weeks. You should not do it yourself, not sure if they sell them over the counter anymore. A small % of animals will have a reaction to their first vaccination so it's important that the vet does it after a full health check to make sure the pup is in full health first. Then you usually wait 10 or 20 mins at the vets to make sure there's no reaction to the vaccine.

star-pants

Ask the people you're getting the pup off what shots they have gotten already and when the pup was last wormed.

It's a good idea to bring the pup to your own vet for a checkup / boosters (which I'm not 100% certain but I know a booster is required around the 8wk/9wk time frame)(my pup did as she'd had her first shot before I got her. Then had to get another booster with me after another few weeks. These were each around the 45-50euro mark)
You probably can get things to do it yourself but personally I wouldn't advise it as the vets are trained and know what they're doing and have reliable shots.
The worming powder you can get yourself or from the vet.


edit - actually just reading the above response, 6weeks does sound rather early, it is usually around the 8week mark.

Rachel 999

darrenon wrote: »

Hi al,

I am getting a six week old Lab tomorrow:eek:, just wondering when do they need there needles and how much are they. Also I hear :pac:you can get the things to do it yourself over the counter is this true??? any help or advice would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Do not take a six week old pup from a breeder. It should only leave as early as 8 weeks. The amount of social skills it will learn in a litter situation between 6 and 8 weeks are essential for a well balanced life. If you leave a litter together till 10/12 weeks they may prefer dog company to human company when they mature. NO GOOD RESPONSIBLE BREEDER WOULD LET PUPS GO AT 6 WEEKS ... BEWARE;););) GO TO VET 4 INJECTIONS.......... GOING THE CHEAP ROUTE WILL COST MORE IN THE END

palaver

OP didn't say anything about a breeder. Could be a neighbours dog had litters or whatever. Darrenon could explain.

Though I do agree that any decent breeder would look after vax at an appropriate age. Six weeks is way too young for anything, methinks.

Anyway, if you get a six week old you have to keep it warm and cosy and SAFE! Which means in the house - in my opinion - and hence no need for early vaccinations. Wait a few months.

A friend of mine did vaccinate his dog himself. But the dog was older, a pound dog, and got the first (!) vaccinations from a vet. It was the boosters he did himself.

I wouldn't recommend it though. If not qualified leave it to the experts.

Vax at the vet's costs about 30 to 60 Euros, depends on vet and all the vaccinations you or rather your dog needs. If he/she has a lot of contacts with other dogs or needs to go to a kennel occasionally (i. e. if you're on holidays), see to it that the dog gets a vax against kennel cough as well.

I got my dog from a pound. She was about 8 months old and got her first vax at one year old. And since then every year. It's worth the expense for peace of mind.

ISDW

palaver wrote: »

Anyway, if you get a six week old you have to keep it warm and cosy and SAFE! Which means in the house - in my opinion - and hence no need for early vaccinations. Wait a few months.

The pup may not go out, but thats not to say that the people in the house can't bring something in. If somebody goes near an infected dog, they could transmit it to the puppy. There are also airborne infections, so when they start to housetrain the puppy, letting it out into the garden, it is feasible that the puppy could catch something.

palaver

You are certaintly right in a way, but all the ifs and whens are sometimes a bit over the top. You can't insure yourself and your pets against everything.
Kids and pets survive without Dettol, did for ages.
Cottonwool is not the answer.

darrenon

its not a breeder, its just a fella that had a mishap with his bitch,thanks for all the advice,,ill be talking to the fella tomorrow and will advice him to try keep the litter together for another 2 weeks....its not a long time to wait...ill let you all know how i get on>>>>>>>>> thanks again

darrenon

palaver wrote: »

You are certaintly right in a way, but all the ifs and whens are sometimes a bit over the top. You can't insure yourself and your pets against everything.
Kids and pets survive without Dettol, did for ages.
Cottonwool is not the answer.[/quot


would you be a hunter by any chance (not trying to insult anyone)
just curious
:D:D:D:D:D:D

ISDW

palaver wrote: »

You are certaintly right in a way, but all the ifs and whens are sometimes a bit over the top. You can't insure yourself and your pets against everything.
Kids and pets survive without Dettol, did for ages.
Cottonwool is not the answer.

No, you're absolutely right, of course you can't, but then why take a risk that you don't have to. You're not saying don't vaccinate the pup, just leave it for a few months, so you obviously don't have an issue with vaccination, I don't understand why then you wouldn't have the pup covered as soon as you can. Unfortunately, we've had a few rescue pups die before they were vaccinated, and I for one would never take a chance that I didn't have to.

cotton

Try to get the fella to wait for a few weeks if you can.
I took Elliott, my doberman x at 6 weeks old (we had decided to take him weeks before then but they lied about his age & were giving them out to all & sundry) He missed out on so many social skills that he should have learnt with his littermates & 4 years later, he's still paying for it.
Whilst I vac my own dogs now, they were done properly at a vets when pups. Initial parvo first, then the vacs at 9 & 12 weeks. They absolutely cannot go outside until a week after their final vac.
For the sake of a few weeks, it's well worth it. One of mine was a rescue that had parvo when we got her, it's a nightmare I wouldn't wish on anyone & you'll be lucky if the dog survives it.

palaver

Darrenon, I'm certainly not a hunter, though I have a beagle, rescued from the Ennis pound, dumped there for being a bad hunter. But that is another long and very funny story - gosh is she bad in hunting... alway sniffing around, always running after an intereesting scent and never catching anything ...:D

ISDW, it took me six months to get my rescue beagle to get used to me, that is letting her close to me. She was a terrified little thing and run away as soon as I let her out of the house. But she stood close in the garden (food !). I was more concerned about building up her confidence and trust than getting her vaccinated. And it payed off big time!

ISDW

palaver wrote: »

ISDW, it took me six months to get my rescue beagle to get used to me, that is letting her close to me. She was a terrified little thing and run away as soon as I let her out of the house. But she stood close in the garden (food !). I was more concerned about building up her confidence and trust than getting her vaccinated. And it payed off big time!

I totally understand that, we had a litter of pups from a bitch that came from the pound heavily pregnant. One of them had pneumonia, so couldn't be vaccinated when he should have been. The pups had been hand reared, and after discussions with my vet, we decided it was more important for him to be socialised with another adult bitch and take a risk, than wait for him to be vaccinated before meeting her. But I still stand by my point that with the pup the OP is discussing, I see no reason why the pup shouldn't be vaccinated as soon as possible, at 6 weeks for parvo if possible, then at 8 and 10 weeks. My vet won't give the 2nd all in one vaccination before 10 weeks.

darrenon

ISDW wrote: »

I totally understand that, we had a litter of pups from a bitch that came from the pound heavily pregnant. One of them had pneumonia, so couldn't be vaccinated when he should have been. The pups had been hand reared, and after discussions with my vet, we decided it was more important for him to be socialised with another adult bitch and take a risk, than wait for him to be vaccinated before meeting her. But I still stand by my point that with the pup the OP is discussing, I see no reason why the pup shouldn't be vaccinated as soon as possible, at 6 weeks for parvo if possible, then at 8 and 10 weeks. My vet won't give the 2nd all in one vaccination before 10 weeks.

I changed my mind on the pup and decided to go for 2 nine month old labrador bitches.. beautiful placid and well looked after dogs..my daughter loves them and we hope to have many happy years with them..they have all there vacinations all ready but maybe you can help with another question!
how much does it cost to spay? and do you recommend it?
:D:D:D:D:D

spiderdog

hi......yes, spaying is def the way to go and your bitch will be healthier!
as for taking on two nine month old bitches......its very hard to train two such young dogs and they must be given a lot of individual time each, or else they will become dependant on each other etc.
also, in the future they may have issues with each other (depending on temperments etc)
it would be much better just to take one of these girls but if you decide to take the two, be prepared to put in a lot of work with them and you`ll have two happy well adjusted girls:)

palaver

darrenon wrote: »

how much does it cost to spay? and do you recommend it?
:D:D:D:D:D

Again, depends on the vet. My vet charged 180 Euros. But be prepared to look after them properly after the spaying. It's a major operation for the dogs. The wound needs to be kept clean and covered for at least a couple of weeks.

And yes, I would recommend it. You don't want to fight off male dogs twice a year and having blood drops on the floor (if they are indoor-dogs), and it's supposed to have health benefits for the bitches. Even if it's not cheap it's worth the money in the long run.

ISDW

Taking on two litter mates isn't a very good idea, they tend to rely on each other more than they do their humans. You will really need to work hard with the pair of them, take them out for walks individually and train them individually for a few months so that they look to you, not to each other.

Definitely get them spayed. Its usually around €140 here and they get over it very quickly, stitches will come out after 10 days.