Puppy to Dog: Your Pet's Life Stages

 As your dog grows from puppy to senior, you will need to regulate how you're taking care of them. Here's what to expect as they move through six stages of life.

Puppies and the way to require Care of Them

Life Stage No. 1: Puppy. Your dog may be a puppy from the time it is a newborn until it's ready to reproduce.

This happens at different ages, counting on the breed of your dog. Small breeds tend to succeed in sexual maturity before larger breeds.

Weaning. Puppies slowly switch from their milk to eating other foods when they're 3 or 4 weeks old. they ought to be fully converted from milk to food by the time they're 7 or 8 weeks old.

Feeding. the amount of feedings per day changes as your puppy gets older:

• 2 to three months old: 4 times each day
• 3 to six months old: 3 times each day
• 6 months old to 1 year old (up to 24 months in larger breeds): 2 times each day

After age 1, feed your dog once or twice each day. Tiny dogs may have more frequent meals.

Dental Care. Dogs may show signs of gum disease by age 4 -- or maybe as early as age 1 in some small-breed dogs -- if you do not take proper care of their teeth. therefore the right time to start proper care is when your dog remains a puppy. to wash your puppy's teeth, use a special toothbrush made for dogs alternatively use a clean piece of gauze wrapped around your finger. you'll make your own toothpaste out of bicarbonate of soda and water or buy one that's specially formulated for dogs. Never use toothpaste that's meant for people.

House training. you'll introduce the thought of house training as soon as your puppy is weaned. they're still developing, though, so don't expect them to find out quickly. By the time they're 4 to six months old, they will usually go without having accidents.

Spaying and neutering. you'll want to possess your puppy spayed (removing females' ovaries and uterus) or neutered (removing males' testicles). These operations keep dogs from reproducing and having more puppies. they're usually done when your puppy is around 6 months old.

Spaying and neutering while they're puppies instead of as adults can help prevent problems like carcinoma and testicular disease once they grow old.

Vaccines. Dogs need several rounds of vaccinations or shots during their first year. ask your veterinarian about which of them your dog needs and when to urge them.