Dr. Elisa Mazzaferro: Hi! I am Dr. Elisa Mazzaferro with AAHA. Today, we're going to talk about how to care for a puppy. We're going to discuss how to choose a veterinarian for your puppy.

When choosing a veterinarian, if you don't already have one, you can always go to healthypet.

com. And choose a veterinarian accredited by AAHA. Secondly, you can also ask your friends, ask your family and ask people who you trust and respect for their recommendations about whether or not they have a preference on which veterinarian you choose.

Once you make a choice, you can then go to that veterinarian and make an appointment. I would recommend bringing your puppy in for a general health visit shortly after you take that puppy home. Bring with you any vaccine, history, as well as deworming history and bring that to the veterinary appointment, so that your veterinarian knows when and which vaccines and deworming your puppy has already received. Bring with you a sample of your puppy's poop, so that your veterinarian can test it for internal parasites. Don't be grossed out, it's very, very common for young puppies to have internal parasites. But your veterinarian can help you get rid of those in your puppy.

So at your first appointment, your veterinarian is going to do an overall wellness visit and a general health check to determine the health needs of your puppy. They will determine their overall health status, check the fecal examination and deworm them for internal parasites. Then they will schedule vaccinations in a series over the course of several months to provide your pet with the immunity that he or she requires to protect them from the diseases that are infectious in your community.

Finally, your veterinarian will determine the best time to schedule a spay or neuter for your pet. If spaying and neutering is not an option, for example, if you choose to breed your pet then they can determine when is the best time to start breeding your puppy and if you are not choosing to breed your pet, then really the most healthy thing for that puppy's longevity and to spend a nice long healthy life with you is to spay and neuter at an early age.

Next, we are going to discuss how to introduce your puppy to a new environment.