House Training:
          A puppy is a delightful addition to any family, but can present basic problems with respect to his or her cleanliness while in the home. Here are several suggestions that may help you and your pet reach an understanding about how basic body functions should be carried out properly.
  1. You can begin to teach your puppy at five weeks of age.
  2. Never give your puppy free roam of the house! Keep him or her confined to a crate or small area.
       Most puppies will not urinate or defecate if they have to step in it.
  3. As soon as you get home, carry the pup outside to the same place and tell the pup to go to the
       Bath room.
  4. Do not play with the puppy after they go outside. Congratulate them and carry them back inside.
       Your puppy might think they are outside to play and not associate it with taking care of business.
  5. If you are at home and can watch your puppy, let them play inside but take them out to do their business
       at least once an hour in the specified area.
  6. Scheduled feedings help to regulate bowel movements. A puppy will usually go to the bathroom after
       Eating.
  7. Patience will teach a puppy much faster than impatience. Spanking is useless and usually hinders the
       situation.
  8. It typically takes two weeks before a puppy becomes proficient at using the bathroom outside ,as
       long as you are consistent! Consistency is the most important point to remember.
  9. Feeding a high quality diet like hills/science diet will decrease the amount of food needed for proper
       nutrition, and also decrease the frequency and amounts of bowel movements.
 

Vaccinations:
                             
           All puppies, kittens and ferrets should be vaccinated.  This applies whether the animals are kept inside/outside or come into contact with other animals. Animals that are less that one-year of age are more susceptible to most infections. We vaccinate puppies and kittens multiple times.  e.g. at 6 weeks, 9 weeks, 12 weeks, and 16 weeks.  In general we vaccinate every three weeks until 4 months of age.  This is to help protect the young immature animals from these common diseases.  Most puppies and kittens are not borne with immunity to these diseases.  They receive this immunity from their mother (maternal immunity) during the first few days of life.  The mother passes immunity in the form of antibodies to their offspring through the first milk or colostrum.  This immunity is designed to last only long enough for the young to make their own antibodies. Because this maternal immunity is short-lived, we must vaccinate to fully protect these young vulnerable pets.  However, we never know how long the mother's immunity will last.  This is determined by many factors, including how much immunity the mother had to pass along and how much the puppy or kitten nursed during the first two days of life. This "borrowed" immunity may last anywhere from 6 weeks to 16 weeks after the animal is born. Usually after the initial series, yearly vaccination is enough to prevent the diseases being vaccinated against.
 

Dental Disease:

Dental disease is a serious threat to our dogs and cats. Periodontal disease is very common - affecting over eighty-five percent of the mature dogs in the United States.  Periodontal disease is a preventable and treatable disease that threatens the life of the pet. Because the mouth has an abundant blood supply, bacteria from the infected gum tissues are spread to the entire body, "showering" the liver, kidneys, heart, joints and other tissues with infection.  In humans, the most common cause of valvular heart infection is dental disease. So it is very important to care for your pets teeth by brushing and having them cleaned as needed. If brushing is not possible we offer several other dental aids to help with dental disease.