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Puppy care: the first weeks, vaccinations and a shopping list

Updated

A puppy at home: the first weeks, socialisation, house training, the vaccination plan, what the law requires and what to buy in advance.

Puppy shopping list from 18,20 €

The first weeks at home

A puppy that has just left its mother and littermates finds everything new, so the first days are about calm and routine. Give it a quiet corner with a bed where nobody disturbs its sleep, and it will sleep a lot. Feed it at the same times and, at first, the same food it had at the breeder's; change food gradually, over several days.

Before bringing the puppy home, walk through the house at its eye level: tidy away cables, shoes, medicines, household chemicals and houseplants, because anything within reach will be explored with teeth. Keep the same rules from day one, such as whether the sofa is allowed: a puppy learns a routine that never changes more easily.

Socialisation

The first months of life are when a puppy is quickest to accept new people, sounds, places and animals. What it meets calmly and without fear now, it will not be afraid of later, so show it something new every day: visitors, children, the car, the stairwell, street noise. Keep it short and pair it with praise or a treat, and never push a frightened puppy closer.

Let it meet other dogs only once your vet says its vaccinations allow it, and start with calm, healthy, vaccinated dogs. Puppy classes with an experienced trainer are a safe way to meet others of its age.

House training

A puppy cannot hold its bladder for long yet, so take it outside after every nap, play session and meal, as well as first thing in the morning and before bed. Go to the same spot and, when it does its business, praise it or give a treat at once: it will soon understand what you want.

Accidents indoors will happen. Do not scold or punish, as the puppy only learns to hide. Clean the spot so no smell remains, and watch more closely for the signs: sniffing and circling.

Get it used to being handled

Every day, briefly touch the puppy's paws, ears, muzzle and teeth, then praise it. A dog used to this from an early age stays calm when its nails are trimmed, its coat brushed and the vet examines it.

In the first weeks, brush with a soft brush and trim the nails only a little at a time. Get it used to the collar, the lead and the carrier too: for short spells, at home, when all is quiet.

Vaccinations and vet visits

The antibodies a puppy gets from its mother protect it only in the first weeks and can also stop a vaccine from working, so puppies are vaccinated several times. The core vaccinations protect against distemper, parvovirus and infectious hepatitis, and rabies vaccination is compulsory in Lithuania. Below is a general plan by age; your vet draws up the actual one.

  1. On arrival The first vet visit In the first days at home, take the puppy to a vet, who will examine it, check the microchip and the register entry, look at the vaccinations already given and draw up the rest of the vaccination plan.
  2. up to 4 months Microchip and register The law requires a puppy to be microchipped within four months of birth and before it goes to a new owner, so it should come from the breeder already chipped and registered.
  3. from 12 weeks Rabies vaccination Compulsory in Lithuania for dogs older than twelve weeks. Only a microchipped puppy can be vaccinated, and when it is repeated depends on the vaccine maker's instructions.
  4. from 16 weeks The last of the core vaccinations Against distemper, parvovirus and infectious hepatitis a puppy is vaccinated several times, every two to four weeks, because the antibodies it got from its mother can stop a vaccine from working. The last of the series is given at sixteen weeks of age or later.
  5. from 26 weeks The booster International guidelines advise repeating the core vaccinations from twenty-six weeks of age, so that puppies in whom the earlier vaccinations did not yet take are protected too.
  6. Every year The yearly health check Once a year a vet examines the dog and decides which vaccinations need repeating. Whether to vaccinate against leptospirosis and kennel cough depends on where and how the dog lives.

This is a general plan based on international veterinary guidelines. Your vet draws up the actual vaccination plan, taking your pet's health, lifestyle and earlier vaccinations into account.

Food by age

A growing dog needs more energy and different nutrients from an adult, so choose a food whose pack says it is for puppies. Large-breed puppies have food of their own, because they grow for longer and growing too fast does their joints no good.

How much to give follows the table on the pack and the puppy's weight, and when to move to adult food depends on size: small dogs finish growing sooner, giant ones later. If in doubt, ask your vet.

Puppy food

New puppy shopping list

What you will need in the first days. Each line shows the cheapest offer on sale today in the shops we compare; prices are updated every night.

Total from 18,20 € The sum of the cheapest offers on sale today, covering 9 of 9 lines on the list.

The list is our editorial suggestion and the price the cheapest offer available today, not a recommendation to buy that product. Which size of bed, collar or carrier you need depends on your pet.

When to see a vet urgently

See a vet straight away if the puppy is vomiting or has diarrhoea, especially with blood, refuses food and water, is listless, struggles to breathe, has a seizure, has swallowed something dangerous or is injured. A puppy weakens faster than an adult dog, so do not wait.

Sources

This is general information, not a consultation with a vet. Every animal is different: if your pet is unwell or you are unsure, ask your vet.