Puppy!

[sigmadiva]

My dachshund puppy just turned one. I got him when he was 9 weeks old, so I've experienced all the joys and not so joys of puppyhood.

Do everything that has been suggested!!!! This is really great advice.

I keep my little dachsie in a very large crate during the day when I'm out and at night when I am sleep. This gives him a corner to sleep, one to eat and one to poop if I don't make it home in time. Now, this logic is counter to what a lot of books and people will tell you, but since I can't make it home during the middle of the day to let him out, he can get some relief if I don't make it home in my usual time.

Another point that someone mentioned is to de-flea your home. That means the dog, all carpets and the yard. DO IT!!!!!

Puppies are very playful and have lots of energy!!! No matter how tired I am and if the weather is nice I take my dog for a walk everyday in the evening and let him out in the backyard to run around for about an hour in the morning.

Oh, and take lots of pictures!! I took a picture of my dachsie the day I brought him home. He was half the size of my shoe. Now he is so much bigger.

[DSTRen13]

Originally Posted by sigmadiva

Another point that someone mentioned is to de-flea your home. That means the dog, all carpets and the yard. DO IT!!!!!

I definitely do NOT want any fleas! I've been using spray for my carpets and an occasional treatment for my cat (have to find one for the dog), but how do you treat a yard?

[cheerfulgreek]

Originally Posted by DSTRen13

I definitely do NOT want any fleas! I've been using spray for my carpets and an occasional treatment for my cat (have to find one for the dog), but how do you treat a yard?

I don't know how you could treat the yard. I'm sure there are some pesticides for outside. Hopefully you won't get any fleas in your house though. If you do, be on the look out for what looks like flecks of pepper at the base of the dogs hair and also can be found on the back just in front of his tail. Those pepper things are flea excrement. If you're not sure whether what you're seeing is flea feces or dirt from outside, comb some of it out of the fur with a fine tooth flea comb, press the dirt on a wet paper towel, and wait a minute. If the paper towel turns red around the specks, you've got fleas. Flea feces contain blood, so when it gets wet it bleeds red. I know that's gross, but if you don't see the fleas 1st, you'll see the feces.

[AOII4ME]

You may already know about monthly treatment for fleas and ticks, (frontline, plus). And HeartGuard, monthly preventative for heart worms. I would imagine the puppy is already on these products, since he is a rescue. Frontline is great and even works after the dog is wet.

[cheerfulgreek]

Originally Posted by AOII4ME

You may already know about monthly treatment for fleas and ticks, (frontline, plus). And HeartGuard, monthly preventative for heart worms. I would imagine the puppy is already on these products, since he is a rescue. Frontline is great and even works after the dog is wet.

Heartgard is ivermectin which has been used for a once a month heartworm prevention for decades. Heartgard Plus is ivermectin plus pyrantel. The pyrantel protects dogs from picking up new infestations of roundworms and hookworms, but some dogs are more sensitive to ivermectin than other dogs, which is why I wouldn't recommend Heartgard. Probably the best one to use would be Revolution. It's the most expensive of the heartworm/flea/tick combo meds, but it's less expensive than buying separate products to protect against heartworms, fleas and ticks. Another good thing about it is, it's applied to the dogs skin rather than given by mouth. It still has to be used once a month like the pills in order to prevent heartworm infestation though. Unfortunately Revolution does not kill deer ticks. Another good one to use is Sentinel, which is a flea growth regulator. It's like a flea birth control. It doesn't stop the biting or adult fleas, but it does prevent the eggs from developing into adult fleas.

[aggieAXO]

Originally Posted by cheerfulgreek

Heartgard is ivermectin which has been used for a once a month heartworm prevention for decades. Heartgard Plus is ivermectin plus pyrantel. The pyrantel protects dogs from picking up new infestations of roundworms and hookworms, but some dogs are more sensitive to ivermectin than other dogs, which is why I wouldn't recommend Heartgard. Probably the best one to use would be Revolution. It's the most expensive of the heartworm/flea/tick combo meds, but it's less expensive than buying separate products to protect against heartworms, fleas and ticks. Another good thing about it is, it's applied to the dogs skin rather than given by mouth. It still has to be used once a month like the pills in order to prevent heartworm infestation though. Unfortunately Revolution does not kill deer ticks. Another good one to use is Sentinel, which is a flea growth regulator. It's like a flea birth control. It doesn't stop the biting or adult fleas, but it does prevent the eggs from developing into adult fleas.

reading the veterinary boards, it seems that some vets have noted failure of revolution to prevent heartworms in dogs (according to one vet it may be an absorption problem with dogs skin, seems to work ok in cats). I would use something else especially if you are in an area with lots of mosquitoes like Texas or Louisiana. The puppy in the picture does not look like a collie type so heartgard should be ok but again check with your veterinarian. If your dog is on revolution and gets heartworms, Pfizer should cover the treatment. If your vet wants to know my source of info tell he or she to look on VIN.

[sigmadiva]

Originally Posted by DSTRen13

I definitely do NOT want any fleas! I've been using spray for my carpets and an occasional treatment for my cat (have to find one for the dog), but how do you treat a yard?

The best way to treat the dog is to use a product like Frontline or Advantix. There is another called Sentinel. I know that for Frontline it is a monthly application. It comes in a liquid that you apply to the dog's skin. Just separate the hairs and apply it directly on the skin.

The best product that I've found to treat the carpets is called Flea Stoppers. Basically it is 100% boric acid. You apply it to the carpet as you would a carpet powder, let it sit for about 5 days then vacuum. This will kill any fleas that are already in the carpet and the application should last one year. I did it last June and have not noticed any fleas on the carpet.

To treat your yard, go to any home and garden store like Home Depot or Lowes and they have a variety of pesticides to apply to the yard. The one I use is made by Bayer, but I can't think of the exact name now. There used to be a great product called Diazinon (?sp) but that was taken off the market becuase it contained organo-phosphates, a toxin. Usually these yard treatments are spread like fertilizer and they may also kill other yard pests like ants, grubs and such.

When I treat my home for fleas I try to do it all in the same week for the yard and home.