Book a demo of the industry-leading marketing program for veterinarians Schedule Here
Book a demo of the industry-leading marketing program for veterinarians

How can I get my puppy to calm down? - The Waggin' Train Veterinary Clinic

Exercise is probably the best bet. Think about a puppy. They play hard for an hour or two just like a child. You look at them and you think, ""Oh my God, where did all this energy come from?"" But then right after that it's lights out and they're going to be asleep for an hour or two.
So with that being said, the best bet with a puppy? Play with him. Give him an outlet for that energy. Take him for long walks. Play fetch if they're old enough to do that yet. Anything that's going to use energy, use their mind, that's that's what they're bred to do. You know, they're pack animals. They’re normally roaming around with other dogs all day long or sleeping. That's not going to change just because you got them and brought them into your home. So they still need those basic essentials. 
Let them be a dog. Let them explore. Take them for walks, do those things to burn off some of that energy. And I will tell you one other thing, too, as far as training goes, the best time to train them is right after you've done that so their energy level is not so high. They’re in a better mental state where they're more relaxed and much more amenable to learning new things.

Contributed by Scott J. Broussard DVM from

Why is my puppy so aggressive? - The Waggin' Train Veterinary Clinic

Hopefully, it's not true aggression that this question would be geared towards. I have seen puppies that are aggressive at a very early age and that's a little bit disturbing. More times than not, it's just playing. They're trying to find themselves in the pack. They're trying to find out who's the alpha and who’s not. What can they get away with? They're learning how to interact with dogs. And if you've ever watched a pack of dogs, wolves, any canine species, that's how they are. It's what they do. So the playfulness/aggressiveness is okay for them to do those things in moderation, as long as it's in play.
If it becomes growling, snarling, pulling, and as if they have to have the last word, that's a problem, and that needs to be addressed straight away. I'm not a trainer so I'm not going to stand here and try to give you this long, drawn out process on how to do it.
But one thing you might want to do is consult with a trainer and see the right methodology on how to break that or steer that energy elsewhere to where it becomes productive and not leading down a not so good road.

Contributed by Scott J. Broussard DVM from

My puppy cries at night—what should I do? - The Waggin' Train Veterinary Clinic

The first few nights of a new puppy coming home are going to be the hardest. I'll tell you that right now. Unless you have an exceptional dog, the first four nights are usually a living hell. Let's just be honest. I am a big fan of kennel or crate training. 
And for me, what that looks like is when I go to bed, I'm the last one to go to bed at my house, so I stay with the dog. I take them outside. And the last thing before it's lights out is I put them in the kennel. I personally do not put food and water overnight. I'm not eating at night when I'm sleeping, nor do they need to eat at night when they're sleeping. It just makes a mess. So I put them in there with no food or water. I'll put a nice bed in there for them. And if I really am kind of worried about how they're going to behave, I might even cover it with a blanket, so it stays nice and dark and cozy in there for them.
It's kind of like raising a child. There are people that will wake up every time the child goes, ""Eh,"" and run to them and pick them up to take them to their bed. You can do that with a dog too, but you're going to be creating a monster. So I normally will kind of let them cry it out within reason, but I will let them do that the first couple of nights. If you stick to your guns, trust me, they will figure it out. The kennel becomes a comfort zone for them. It's just those first few nights. They're away from home. They're away from their mother, their siblings. They're not sure what's happening. I get it. But if you do give in and put them in bed with you, that's fine, but you better get ready to do that for the next 15 years or so.

Contributed by Scott J. Broussard DVM from

How much biting and chewing is normal puppy behavior? - The Waggin' Train Veterinary Clinic

A lot. Let's face it. They are going to bite and chew a lot. Some breeds and some dogs do it more than others and that's fine, but you've got to think about part of it is they're teething. We all know that babies teethe and chew a lot and drool, and their gums hurt and that kind of thing. Puppies do the same thing. They do it a lot more rapidly. The average dog will start to lose teeth (and, therefore, start to grow their new permanent teeth) as early as about four months. And usually by about six to maybe seven at the latest, all their permanent teeth are in.
You've got to think about this in reference to the chewing. They're not doing it just to be disruptive. They might do it because they're bored, but they're probably doing it because their teeth hurt and it feels good to chew on those things. So they're all going to do it to some degree. You just have to prepare accordingly for it and give them the right chew toys and things like that, which we'll cover in a second.

Contributed by Scott J. Broussard DVM from

What are some things my vet will be looking for at my puppy’s first appointment? - Prestige Animal Hospital

Well, at your puppy's first appointment, we make sure they're healthy weight. They don't have any cleft palates or congenital issues, any underlying heart issues that we can hear with our stethoscope, any umbilical hernias. We check to make sure there's no fleas or ticks. As far as examining a puppy, these are the main things that we'll be looking at. But we will be discussing a lot of things like how to get your puppy started on vaccines, heartworm, what that is, and prevention, flea, and tick prevention, and toys and behavior. Just setting them up for an overall good life and helping you get used to these conditions that your puppy will grow into.

Contributed by Sudeep Wahla DVM from

What should I ask my veterinarian at my puppy’s first appointment? - Hudson Animal Hospital

The very first question that you should ask is what kind of vaccine schedule your puppy should have. It really depends on how many vaccines the puppy has received prior to coming to see us. So please make sure to bring all the records that you received from your breeder or adoption place so we can formulate the schedule specifically for your puppy's needs.
Another question to ask is what kind of vaccines your puppy should get. There are some core vaccines that every puppy should get, including rabies and distemper. There are other vaccines we recommend for certain puppies that go outside more often or go to the countryside and potentially get exposed to the ticks. So please let us know what the lifestyle of your puppy will be and we can start to formulate a vaccine schedule catered to your puppy.
You should also ask what kind of heartworm prevention or flea and tick prevention your puppy should get. Also, be sure to mention any training problems that you have, whether it's potty training or biting issues.
Make sure to find out when you should get your puppy spayed or neutered. That's a very good question. It really depends on the breed and size of your puppies, especially large breed puppies. We're starting to recommend that you may want to wait to spay and neuter your dog later because there's a medical benefit from it, but again, it really depends on the size and the breed of your puppy. So of course, please ask us a question about when would be the best time to neuter or spay your puppy.
Oral care is also very important to address, as you need to train your puppy so they can get used to being their teeth brushed. So please ask that question. And let's see, the next question would be, how often does my puppy need to go to the veterinarian? And again, that really depends on how many vaccines they've received before. In the case of distemper shots, we like to see your puppy get the vaccines three to four times, depending on when the first vaccine was started. So depending on that, we'll formulate the schedule specifically for your puppy. It will usually be about two to three times, depending on how many times the vaccine was given to the puppy.
You’ll also want to know what your vet will be examining during the puppy visit. We basically examine everything from head to toe. We're looking for anything that's orthopedic related—are the joints and long bones are they growing nicely? Does the pup have any pain? We make sure the belly feels great. Are the baby teeth coming in nicely? We check the ears, eyes, heart, and, most importantly, we make sure the puppy does not have a heart murmur. So we check everything.
And lastly, oral care—it’s very important to train your puppy so he or she can get used to being their teeth brushed. So please ask your veterinarian about how to best handle your puppy’s oral care.

Contributed by Dr. Kyoko Yoshida from
Subscribe to