Dog Health

Dog
Health

Puppy Health
Our puppies are born in the “birthing suite”, a small demountable set up specifically for the birthing of our puppies. It is temperature controlled, has surveillance cameras so we can keep an eye on the whelping girl at all times and the puppies once they are born. We use super dry matting to keep mother and babies dry and the room is cleaned every morning and night.

Puppies are wormed every 2 weeks. We have a mixed diet of rehydrated Advance puppy dog food mixed with anything from sardines, yoghurt and chicken mince. As the puppies get older they love to chew on a raw chicken neck. Never suddenly change what you are feeding your puppy, it should always be a gradual change, mixing current and new food together and slowly increasing the quantity on new food to avoid stomach upsets.

At 6 weeks of age puppies are microchipped and registered on the National Database, given a C3 Nobivac vaccine which protects against parvovirus, distemper and hepatitis. It is recommended when you get your booster shot at 10 weeks to get the C5 vaccination as this includes kennel cough. Puppies are checked by the Vet for any physical abnormalities at the 6 weeks vaccination visit.

We would love you to come and visit our property and meet the puppies and their mother and ourselves and see where the puppies are being raised. This generally happens once the puppies are 6 weeks old. At this age they have developed their own looks and little personalities. (We live 31/2 hours north of Melbourne). If you cant get here for a visit I can send lots of photos and videos for you to choose you puppy.

Dog Health
Our girls are exercised regularly and have a large kennel run when not running around with me. They love to chase rabbits and kangaroos, swim in the dams and channels and love to chase a tennis ball or two! They all get on very well together and love to play and tumble around. They are wormed and fleaed every 3 months and vaccinated annually. In the Dog world Golden Retreivers are generally a very healthy breed; however they do suffer from some genetic disorders. As part of our health program we test to cover the 5 main areas of concern. These include:

  1. Hip Dysplasia – Currently we (Breeders) use the Australian National Kennel Council’s Hip and Elbow Dysplasia Scheme which grade the level of dysplasia in dogs. Through a series of 32 x-rays a dog is given a numerical score. The lower the better.
  2. Elbow Dysplasia – as for hips
  3. Eye Problems – PRA – Progressive Retinal Atrophy. Our girls are tested every 18 months by an opthomologist.
  4. Heriditary Heart Disease – Canine subvalvulvar aortic stenosis – a congenital heart murmur. Our girls are checked annually for heart murmors.
  5. Genetic Testing – Golden Retreiver Full Breed Profile. This is a new test that has been developed by Orivet Genetic Pet Care. All our girls are tested. It will test for:

  1. Degenerative Myelopathy
  2. Dystrophic Epidermolysis Bullosa
  3. Generalised PRA 1
  4. Generalised PRA 2
  5. Ichthysis A (Golden Retreiver)
  6. Osteogenesis Imperfecta
  7. Progressive Rod Cone Degeneration
  8. Skeletal Dysplasia 2
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