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the crown st veterinary hospital building

Registered small animal veterinary hospital
Located on the corner of Crown and Gilmore Streets, plenty of parking on Gilmore street.
Afterhours emergency vet service, phone 02 42283777 and follow the directions
Convenient hours 8am until 7pm weekdays, 8am until 6pm Saturdays, 9am until 1pm Sundays and some public holidays. Please phone for an appointment.
Cat boarding facility, best to book early!
Boarding for small dogs, rabbits, rats, birds, etc.
Saturday morning hydrobath dog wash 8:30am until 12pm. No appointments necessary.

Caring for puppies

The Staff at Crown Street Veterinary Hospital have put together this page to help answer some common questions you may have about your new puppy.

Please do not hesitate to phone or call in and speak to one of our staff who will be happy to answer all of your questions.

Puppy preschool

Puppy preschool is a great way to get your puppy socialised with other dogs. If pups are not exposed to other dogs when they are young they do not learn how to interact normally with other dogs and this can lead to aggression, anxiety and barking problems later in life. At puppy preschool your pup will interact with other puppies in a fun environment. They will love coming to play and will also get to interact with other people.

As well as getting socialised we show you how to teach your pup come, sit, drop, heel, stay and stand. We also discuss basic health care, covering topics such as nutrition, heartworm prevention, dental care, worming, fleas, ticks, amongst others. We cover behavioral problems such as to toilet training, biting and chewing, jumping and any other problems you wish to discuss.

Puppy pre-school is run on weekday evenings from 7.30pm—8.30pm. The course duration is 4 weeks in total so be early to book in.

Vaccinations

Your puppy needs to be vaccinated against Canine Infectious Hepatitis, Canine Distemper Virus and most importantly Canine Parvovirus. Vaccinations against Kennel Cough are also available and are a requirement for all dogs attend training schools and boarding kennels. Your puppies first vaccination is due between 6 - 8 weeks of age. The usual vaccination protocol is:

6-8 weeks old C3 vaccination (hepatitis, distemper and parvovirus)
10-12 weeks old C5 vaccination (hepatitis, distemper and parvovirus and kennel cough)
14-16 weeks old C5 vaccination (hepatitis, distemper and parvovirus and kennel cough)

Worming

Dogs are often affected by worms which live in the stomach and intestines. These worms are called Tapeworms (including Hydatids), Roundworms, Hookworms, and Whipworms. Many puppies are born with worms as they are passed across the placenta from the mother. Puppies should begin on regular worming at 1 week of age. Roundworm and Hookworms can cause severe malnutrition and anaemia in young pups.

We recommend Drontal Worming suspension, tablets or chews for puppies and dogs.

Worming schedule:

1-12 weeks of age: worm every 2 weeks
12 weeks until 6 months old: worm monthly
6 months plus: worm every 3 months with an allwormer. (If you live on a property and your dog roams and or has access to carcasses such as sheep, kangaroos or deer you should be worming with a tapeworm tablet containing praziquantel every 6 weeks to prevent hydatids. Never feed dogs offal- this is where hydatids come from.)

Flea control

Fleas are a parasite which can cause severe irritation to your dog. Your pup gets a flea infestation from the environment. Each flea lays thousands of eggs while on your pet and as the pet walks around the eggs fall of the coat into the environment. They develop through a larval stage into a pupa in the environment and then wait for a host to come past. When they detect a host they quickly hatch, and jump on and the cycle continues again.

You can reduce the number of fleas by treating your pet for fleas and also treating the environment that they live in. To treat the environment you need to clean away as many eggs and pupae as possible. This can be done by vacuuming carpets, washing bedding, and sweeping hard surfaces such as concrete and floorboards.

There are now a wide variety of treatments available to kill the fleas on you pets. It is important to treat not only your new pup but also any other animals in the environment. To help you select a product that will work best for your situation and in your environment you can speak over the counter to one of our veterinary nurses who are trained and qualified to give flea control advice, alternatively ask the vet during your visit about flea control. There are products available which can be safely used on very young pups and it is important that young pups are kept free of fleas.

Paralysis ticks kill!

Paralysis ticks are very common in the Illawarra region. They are a small 8 legged parasite which attaches to many animals including dogs and cats. The paralysis tick buries its head into the animals skin and sucks on their blood. As it sucks it also injects a toxin which causes paralysis.

The signs of tick paralysis vary but might include: vomiting, inappetence, wobbliness, voice change and difficulty breathing.

It is essential that you check your pets EVERY DAY from head to toe and back for ticks. This can be easily done by feeling all over and investigating any little lumps.

Tick preventions are also available such as Frontline Plus and Advantix. They should not be used as a substitute for daily checks but act as a safegaurd. Please note that these products need to be applied more frequently for tick prevention compared to using them as flea control. Come in and see one of our trained nurses who can give you further information and get your puppy started on a flea and tick control program.

Feeding you new puppy

You should feed your new puppy on a complete and balanced diet. It is very difficult to produce a balanced diet using homemade foods for a growing pup and as this is a critical period in you pups development we recommend feeding a commercial food which is produced especially for puppies. This is the safest way to feed you pup to ensure he/she grows normally.

If you have a large breed such as a Labrador, Golden Retriever or German Shepherd you should feed them a food which is specifically formulated for growing large breed dogs such as Hills science diet large breed growth food. These foods have been show to significantly reduce the chances of these breeds developing hip dysplasia and other joints problems. They do this by slowing down the rate of growth.

Hill’s Science Diet Puppy range is specially formulated to give complete and balanced nutrition to all puppies, whatever their breed or size. It contains extra protein, minerals and energy to help puppies grow up strong and healthy.