General Health:
Your Golden Retriever puppy will have be building its immune system from its mother's milk from day one. This will provide a base for a very strong and healthy puppy. There are a few vaccinations that the mother cannot provide. We provide highly recommended vaccinations before you take your pup home, but ultimately, this area is where your veterinarian takes over.
Vaccinations administered by us to help it build up immunity to certain diseases generally start with their 1st Parvo-only one at 5 weeks old and then a 5-way vaccination is given at 7 weeks. Your pup will have a similar, 5-way or 7-2ay vaccination administered by your vet every 2-3 weeks after that, after you've taken your newly adopted pup to your home.
These vaccinations will be a series of 3-4 (at least) shots until the puppy is around 16 weeks old. The last round of shots should be given when the puppy reaches the 14-16 week mark, subject to your veterinarian's recommendations. The shots that we give them at 5 & 7 weeks are the Parvo-only modified live virus; and, the Duramune Max 5 and prevents Canine Distemper, Adenovirus Type 1 (Hepatitis), Adenovirus Type 2 (Respiratory Disease), Parainfluenza, Parvovirus (Modified live virus)
WARNING!!!!! ..... Until your pup has its last puppy shots, around 16 weeks, keep it essentially "quarantined".
While the pups are here, they are not allowed outside their kennel / whelping area, or where the other adult dogs are. It is important that you maintain something fairly similar as pups, especially goldens, love to pick up everything in their mouths. Twigs, bark, leaves, branches, thread, fuzz, dryer lint, (anything!) is best kept our of reach - similar to what you would do with a newborn baby. If they do get ahold of some of these things, in rare circumstances it can lead to symptoms worse than some of the viral and parasitic diseases! Yes, enjoy your pup, but for the first 16 weeks or so, DO treat them like a newborn baby - they are!
Do NOT let it out where other animals have been on lawns, dirt, parks, stores, etc.. Keep it away from strange dogs or cats. All this is to reduce the risk of your puppy becoming infected with diseases, especially the Parvovirus.
If you have another dog in the home or know of another dog that you are certain has all of its shots and is free of any diseases, then you can probably let your new Golden Retriever puppy play and become aquatinted with them. The same goes with humans. You should tell anyone who wants to hold or touch the new puppy to wash their hands before interacting. This is important because the new puppy is just building up its immunities and can catch a virus very easily. After 16 weeks, you can start to let your Golden Retriever puppy interact on a more normal basis.
Worms & Parasites - worms and worming are usually fairly well-known to adoptees and are generally easily treatable. But parasites, such as giardia and coccidia are also fairly common to pups and moms. We have taken webinars from Dr. Don Bramlage, DVM with Revival Animal Health, in this case, one on worms and parasites, to help try to prevent your pup from experience the effects of these.
Parasites are virtually impossible to get rid of, but they can be easily managed. They are present in the moms, generally in a dormant state in the form of eggs; and, get transferred to the pups during whelping and nursing in various ways. We treat both mom and pups to help manage this. Generally parasites will present / cause diarrhea; with the addition of some blood in the case of coccidia. As any honest breeder will tell you, they virtually always have a pup or two in a litter that may have worms and / or giardia, coccidia.
This is why we treat them for all of these, even though they may not (and usually don't) have any of them. Just the stress of going to a new home can activate these parasites as well. We have been fortunate in usually only having a few cases a year once the pups are in their new homes, even despite treating the pups as recommended by the vets we work with. It is important that your vet "be proactive" with this; and, to that end, we recommend the pups be treated for the basic parasites early on by your vet, even though they may not show signs of them. This can be likened to given them the vaccinations through 16 weeks. Most of our litters are free of anything, and it usually is not a concern, but MUST be watched by you and your vet. The sooner you can get your pup to a vet for its check-up and more preventative medicine, the less chance of anything becoming more serious.
Typical Shot / Worming Schedule:
Verify with your Vet on this schedule. You pup has had its 1st shot at 6 to 7 weeks
Worming occurs with Nemex 2 (for general) and Panacur/ Safeguard (for giardia & whipworm) at 3 weeks, 4 weeks, 6 weeks, and as needed. Treatment to help keep in check any coccidia with Albon is given over a 10-day period starting at approximately 5-6 weeks old.
5 weeks - 1st shot - Parvo only modified live virus
7 weeks - 2nd shot - 5 or 7 way shot and worming
9 weeks - 3rd shot - 5 or 7 way shot & following treatment by your vet for worming and parasites
12 weeks - 4th shot - 5 or 7 way shot
14-16 weeks - Their final puppy shot(s)
Neutering ... NOT so soon per UC Davis study:
UC Davis has done a recent study with findings on neutering Labs and more importantly Golden Retrievers and the increased health risks to joints and cancer risk when both males and females are neutered too soon. We provide this article that summarizes UC Davis' study for reference and so you can discuss with your vet. You will need to determine what is best for you and your pup / Golden, but generally they have found that when males or females are neutered too soon, there is almost TWICE the likelihood of problems with joints and with occurences of cancer. It seems to point to the problem that the natural hormones that are produced prior to neutering, go a long ways toward helping prevent joint problems (and properly developing the joints) as well as helping to prevent occurrences of cancer.
The "convenience" downside is that you might have to put up with a few more hormones in both the male and female due to waiting a bit longer may mean going through at least one "heat" with both (yes, a male actually comes into "heat" too!
Read on ..... !
Neutering health effects more severe for golden retrievers than Labradors
July 14, 2014
Labrador retrievers are less vulnerable than golden retrievers to the long-term health effects of neutering, as evidenced by higher rates of certain joint disorders and devastating cancers, according to a new study by researchers at the University of California, Davis, School of Veterinary Medicine.
Results of the study now appear online in the open-access journal PLOS ONE. [click on "Results of the study" to see the actual study abstract]
“We found in both breeds that neutering before the age of 6 months, which is common practice in the United States, significantly increased the occurrence of joint disorders – especially in the golden retrievers,” said lead investigator Benjamin Hart, a distinguished professor emeritus in the School of Veterinary Medicine.
“The data, however, showed that the incidence rates of both joint disorders and cancers at various neuter ages were much more pronounced in golden retrievers than in the Labrador retrievers,” he said.
He noted that the findings not only offer insights for researchers in both human and veterinary medicine, but are also important for breeders and dog owners contemplating when, and if, to neuter their dogs. Dog owners in the United States are overwhelmingly choosing to neuter their dogs, in large part to prevent pet overpopulation or avoid unwanted behaviors.
This new comparison of the two breeds was prompted by the research team’s earlier study, reported in February 2013, which found a marked increase in the incidence of two joint disorders and three cancers in golden retrievers that had been neutered.
Health records of goldens and Labradors examined
The golden retriever and the Labrador retriever were selected for this study because both are popular breeds that have been widely accepted as family pets and service dogs. The two breeds also are similar in body size, conformation and behavioral characteristics.
The study was based on 13 years of health records from the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine for neutered and non-neutered male and female Labrador retrievers and golden retrievers between the ages of 1 and 8 years of age. These records included 1,015 golden retriever cases and 1,500 Labrador retriever cases.
The researchers compared the two breeds according to the incidence of three cancers: lymphosarcoma, hemangiosarcoma and mast cell tumor. They also calculated the incidence for each breed of three joint disorders: hip dysplasia, cranial cruciate ligament tear and elbow dysplasia.
The researchers also noted in these cases whether the dogs had been neutered before the age of 6 months, between 6 and 11 months, between 12 and 24 months or between age 2 and 9 years of age.
Neutering and joint disorders
In terms of joint disorders, the researchers found that non-neutered males and females of both breeds experienced a five-percent rate of one or more joint disorders. Neutering before the age of 6 months was associated with a doubling of that rate to 10 percent in Labrador retrievers.
In golden retrievers, however, the impact of neutering appeared to be much more severe. Neutering before the age of 6 months in goldens increased the incidence of joint disorders to what Hart called an “alarming” four-to-five times that of non-neutered dogs of the same breed.
Male goldens experienced the greatest increase in joint disorders in the form of hip dysplasia and cranial cruciate ligament tear, while the increase for Labrador males occurred in the form of cranial cruciate ligament tear and elbow dysplasia.
“The effects of neutering during the first year of a dog’s life, especially in larger breeds, undoubtedly reflects the vulnerability of their joints to the delayed closure of long-bone growth plates, when neutering removes the gonadal, or sex, hormones,” Hart said.
Neutering and cancers
The data also revealed important differences between the breeds in relation to the occurrence of cancers. In non-neutered dogs of both breeds, the incidence of one or more cancers ranged from 3 to 5 percent, except in male goldens, where cancer occurred at an 11-percent rate.
Neutering appeared to have little effect on the cancer rate of male goldens. However, in female goldens, neutering at any point beyond 6 months elevated the risk of one or more cancers to three to four times the level of non-neutered females.
Neutering in female Labradors increased the cancer incidence rate only slightly.
“The striking effect of neutering in female golden retrievers, compared to male and female Labradors and male goldens, suggests that in female goldens the sex hormones have a protective effect against cancers throughout most of the dog’s life,” Hart said.
Funding for the study was provided by the American Kennel Club Canine Health Foundation and the Center for Companion Animal Health at UC Davis.
Other members of this UC Davis research team are Lynette Hart and Abigail Thigpen, both of the School of Veterinary Medicine, and Neil Willits of the Department of Statistics.
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