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. . Choose your vet as wisely as you would choose a pediatrician!
Choosing a veterinarian for your new
DK or GSP puppy should entail just as much care as choosing a new pediatrician for your child or a new General Practitioner for yourself. Ask friends for referrals, visit vets in their offices, do research on the web, interview vets by phone, etc. before making a decision.
Pay attention to the demeanor of the vet in question with his or her clients--both canine as well as human. Have they been in practice long? Have a long list of clients? What services can they offer in their office? (Can they do x-rays and labs there, or must your pet be referred elsewhere?, etc.) Is the office clean and updated? Are the "sick" animals kenneled in the same area with the well animals? Does the vet offer boarding in his or her clinic? What type of health care does the vet provide-- traditional, homeopathic, chiropractic, holistic, trauma, etc.? Is the vet primarily a large animal specialist (for cows & horses, etc.), or a small animal practitioner (dogs, cats, etc.) Does he or she breed, show,
judge or hunt? Belong to clubs or
professional affiliations? Does he or she have experience with sporting breeds?
DK's or
GSP's specifically? Versatile breeds
in general? Your DK
or pup should be taken to the vet shortly after he or she arrives for a brief check-up. Take along your health records that the breeder provided you with, which should outline what shots and wormings, etc. your pup has received, and when. Your vet will then be able to recommend a continuing vaccination schedule that's right for you and your pet. While at your first vet visit, ask the vet about microchipping your pup with a Home Again microchip. Once the pup is microchipped, you can register the chip and pet with the AKC Home Again Pet Retrieval system. If your DK
or GSP ever becomes lost or stolen he/she can be identified and returned to you via that microchip. List your breeder and vet as 2nd and 3rd contacts on the form, in the event you have moved or can't be reached.
Your DK
pup will come with a tattoo in
his/her ear for identification
purposes, but there is no national
registry or phone referral, so a
microchip is still an important
method of identification
and we highly recommend utilizing
it. f your
GSP is to be primarily a pet or hunting dog, please consider spaying or neutering early to prevent unwanted pregnancies and to avoid adding to the pet overpopulation problem. Spaying or neutering can be done as early as 8 weeks old, and the health and other benefits are enormous to your pet. Additionally, early spaying and neutering can be convenient to you as well--less leg-lifting, marking, and wandering for males, no messes from heat cycles for females!
If you
are planning on breeding your DK,
please be aware that you will have
to comply with all the breeding
certification requirements of the
German breed club (DKV). Additionally, responsible owners should consider having their dogs' hips and elbows certified by the Orthopoedic Foundation for Animals (OFA) after the dog's second birthday, their hearts checked and certified by the OFA, their eyes certified by CERF (Canine Eye Research Foundation), having their dog's thyroid level checked, checked for Von Willebrand's disease, and if planning on breeding, should have a current brucellosis test, as well.
Use your judgment for when to take your DK
or GSP to the vet--annually for vaccine boosters, quarterly for stool checks, anytime vomiting, fever or diarrhea persists for an extended period of time, when your pet is in an accident, requires stitches, has unexpected weight loss or gain, extraordinary thirst, hunger, etc.
Remember: it's always better to be safe than sorry, and an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. . .
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