New Puppy

Bringing a new puppy into your family is a wonderful time. Turramurra Veterinary Hospital recommends that your new puppy has a complete health check from one of our experienced vets as soon as possible to keep them safe and protected from illness. There is a lot to remember; thankfully our puppy pack, available free with your first consultation, contains all the information you need.

Protection from infectious disease

Life threatening infectious diseases are present in Sydney, such as parvovirus. Importantly, we can protect your pup through vaccination (also called immunisation). Whilst vaccination rates are generally good on the North Shore, there is constant movement of dogs from higher risk areas on the rural margins of Sydney and low socio-economic areas, where there are many farm dogs and strays. Local families travel with their dogs to all parts of the country and many puppies in the Ku Ring Gai region are obtained from rescue shelters, which often struggle to contain disease, so there is constant risk of infection from disease carriers as they enter our region. Thankfully vaccination is almost completely effective preventing the major life threatening infectious diseases. Puppies should be vaccinated at 6-8, 12 and 16 weeks.

Paralysis tick prevention

North Shore dogs are active dogs, and we all love the outdoors, but the Ku Ring Gai region is home to the deadly Australian paralysis tick, particularly areas near parks or bushland. The bite of the paralysis tick contains a potent nerve toxin, similar to snake bite, and a single tick bite can kill a dog within hours if untreated, which can be costly. We strongly advise prevention through year round use of chewable tick control tablets – options are available to be given either monthly or every 3 months. Both offer excellent protection against this deadly parasite. More information on tick paralysis prevention.

Parasite control

Puppies should be wormed with an intestinal all wormer to protect both them and your family against worms and illness. We will be happy to advise precise requirements at your pups first consultation, and we will also check microchip details are correct. Heartworm is another deadly disease we prevent with an annual heartworm prevention injection. The first heartworm prevention injection is normally given at 6 months, during the desexing operation, then once yearly during the annual health check.

Puppy Classes

Puppy classes are available on site at Turramurra Vet, run by senior nurse Katie Bedrossian, who has outstanding knowledge of canine behaviour and development. We recommend Hills puppy food, which is a quality, balanced diet that will help your puppy grow into a strong, healthy member of your family. Turramurra Vet is family owned, so rest assured our advice to you is exactly what we use for our own family dogs.