Wellness

Recommendation:

• Vaccines, Heartworm Preventatives, and baseline labwork.

Preparing for a lifetime by your side

Starting Smart

Congratulations on the new, furry addition to your family! We’re so happy you’ve made the decision to become puppy parents. Puppies can be incredibly fun and entertaining, yet also challenging and frustrating, so get ready for a wild ride! Puppies change and grow incredibly in the first year, so learning proper care and nutrition is important to a lifetime of good health. Luckily, your friends here at Tipp City Veterinary Hospital are here to help you by providing some key information and puppy basics to guide you along the way.

Below, you’ll find the information you need to raise a well-behaved, socialized, healthy, and happy dog. Learn about proper puppy healthcare and nutrition, as well as tips on training, handling, and even bathing. And remember, we’re always here for you if you have any questions. Have fun!

Puppy Handling

Young puppies should be handled regularly, at least a few times a day. In fact, puppies that are handled often are generally quicker to develop, handle stress better, and may even become more social than those who are not handled frequently. Learn more about body handling.

Along with body handling, puppies should be taught expectations on simple things, including their food, bowls, and toys. Check out our guides for helping your pup correctly handle their food and bowls, as well as handling toys.

Microchips for your Puppy

Microchips are a more permanent form of identification that contain specific codes that can be read by animal shelters and other veterinary hospitals. Microchips are harmlessly placed just beneath your pet’s skin, and can be provided during a normal office visit without sedation. We offer 911 Pet Chip IDs for 58.75 which includes lifetime registration.

Pet Insurance

It’s our strong belief that lifelong pet insurance is an excellent way to limit the financial hardship that can be associated with unexpected pet care expenses. Pet insurance provides peace of mind in the event of accidents or illnesses – it relieves a significant amount of the stress so that you can focus on getting your pet back to their best health. Learn More.

Wellness Plans

We believe that wellness care is the foundation for a happy, healthy pet. It also helps us enjoy the most time with our companions and minimize the risk and cost of serious illnesses.

Socialization and Training

Puppies have a socialization period between 8 weeks and 12 to 14 weeks of age, during which time the brain is developing social skills, personality, and temperament. The associations made during this period often last a lifetime; socialization is key to prevention of lifelong behavioral problems such as anxiety, avoidance behaviors, and fear-based aggression. Appropriate socialization involves exposing your pet to a variety of novel people, animals, places and situations without causing fear. Always pair these interactions and experiences with irresistible treats to create a positive mental association. If your dog stops being excited about the treats, this is a sign that the training needs to be adjusted.

You can help your puppy become well-behaved by enrolling in our puppy training classes, ranging from Puppy Kindergarten to Adult Obedience classes. In our training courses, you’ll learn basic commands, housebreaking, proper leash-walking, and much more. Training your puppy is a great way to help them learn the fundamentals of proper behavior, as well as the foundation they need to bring joy and love to your family. Click here to register your pup in obedience classes.

Socialize your pup in other ways by bringing them in for daycare where they’ll have special group playtime with our other lodging and daycare guests! To learn more about daycare, visit TippToTail.com.

Nutrition and Health

Give your puppy a great start to health by feeding them a high-quality and well-balanced puppy diet recommended by your veterinarian. If your pup is of a larger or giant breed (more than 50 lbs when fully grown), we recommend a large breed formula for ideal bone and joint growth. We recommend feeding a puppy diet until at least 12 months of age, but that recommendation may depend on your puppy. Ask us for a specific recommendation based on your dog!

How old is your dog in human years? Use this chart to keep up with their level of growth and development in comparison to human age.

To learn more about puppy nutrition, feeding recommendations, and changing diets, check out our nutrition guide.

Dental Care

There’s no better time than puppyhood to begin practicing good oral health! Help your puppy grow accustomed to having their teeth brushed and mouths handled, which leads to stress-free situations in the future. Proper dental care can help prevent long-term problems as well as frequent dental cleanings.

Be sure to use a toothbrush and toothpaste designed specifically for dogs. We recommend brushing every day.

Dental products that we recommend can be found on our online store.

Bathing and Cleaning your Puppy

It’s important to bathe your puppy regularly, depending on their habits or where you live. However, bathing too often can cause skin dryness and flakiness. We recommend bathing your pooch when they smell bad or become oily. Below are some tips to help you keep a clean pup.

Bathing

When giving your puppy a bath, make sure to use lukewarm water and a mild or gentle pet shampoo (with aloe or oatmeal). Human shampoos tend to irritate the skin, so avoid using those. Make sure to rinse well, and dry them off in a warm area. After bathing, always dry the face, eyes, and ears thoroughly, and use a pet ear cleaner with a drying agent, if needed.

Face Cleaning

The face is often neglected when bathing, so make sure to clean your pup’s face daily or weekly, depending on the breed. While cleaning, take the time to look at and around the ears, eyes, and teeth. Doing so can help prevent any medical issues from worsening.

Nail Trims

If not trimmed, long nails can become painful for your pup. That’s why it is important to practice handling your puppy’s paws often to help nail trims become a far less stressful and traumatic experience.

If you are uncomfortable bathing your pet or trimming their nails, or you’re looking for a special haircut or grooming session, we offer a variety of Grooming Services right here at Tipp City Veterinary Hospital’s Tipp to Tail Pet Resort.

Recommendation:

• Annual physical exam and vaccines
• Heartworm test and Fecal evaluation annually.
• Heartworm Preventatives – year round
• Flea and Tick Preventatives – year round (lyme is most commonly spread from Nov to Feb in Ohio)
• Comprehensive baseline labwork every other year

Caring for the dog you love.

Healthy Aging

We have a genuine affection for our adult and senior pets. We understand that they have special needs as they age. The problem is that often people attribute a lack of energy, alertness, and mobility problems to aging, when sometimes these are disease processes that can be reversed. We are constantly finding treatable conditions in our older patients that respond very rapidly to medications or other treatment modalities.

Dental Needs

In so many adult and senior dogs, we find significant disease that is causing unknown pain. Dental problems in pets commonly lead to heart conditions. This is because of the bacteria in their mouths coursing through the blood and infecting the heart valves. Preventive dental care is one of the most significant life extenders for our older pets!

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Therapy Laser

A therapeutic K-laser is part of our treatment options. This is a totally non-invasive, non-painful way of helping eliminate both chronic and acute pain in pets. It is very affordable and our clients enjoy being right there with their pets to help with the treatment. The sessions average 6 minutes per site.

Recommendation:

• Same as adult but Comprehensive baseline labwork annually and blood pressure testing annually

Your Dog’s Senior Profile

Often, our older population has hidden disease that can be helped if detected early. We recommend a senior profile. We recommend twice a year exams, regular bloodwork and x-rays if the have a murmur. These tests are packaged in an affordable discounted bundle of services. Whether your old dog or cat has been with you for just a few years, or their entire life, if you feel their health is declining we can take steps to make their waning years more healthful and productive.

What is a Senior Profile?

• Urinalysis
• Chemistry profile, checking for kidney, liver, cancer, diabetes and other diseases
• CBC – complete blood count to look for hidden infections, cancer, and anemia
• T4 – Thyroid test – Our aging dogs have a higher incidence of low thyroid hormone. Our cats have too high of levels.

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Regenerative Medicine

We use regenerative medicine for young and older pets. The use of platelet rich plasma in degenerative arthritis, tendon, and joint problems has been a great addition to our practice. All of our doctors are credentialed for using platelet rich plasma. We have seen the majority of our platelet rich plasma cases respond extremely well.

Recommendation:

• Same as Senior but twice a year physical examinations

Your Dog’s Senior Profile

Often, our older population has hidden disease that can be helped if detected early. We recommend a senior profile. We recommend twice a year exams, regular bloodwork and x-rays if the have a murmur. These tests are packaged in an affordable discounted bundle of services. Whether your old dog or cat has been with you for just a few years, or their entire life, if you feel their health is declining we can take steps to make their waning years more healthful and productive.

What is a Senior Profile?

• Urinalysis
• Chemistry profile, checking for kidney, liver, cancer, diabetes and other diseases
• CBC – complete blood count to look for hidden infections, cancer, and anemia
• T4 – Thyroid test – Our aging dogs have a higher incidence of low thyroid hormone. Our cats have too high of levels.

Request Appointment