Have you recently adopted a new dog? Thinking about adopting one in the near future? Regardless of when you add a new pup to the family, it's important to start them off on the right paw with a physical exam with a veterinarian. Dr. Michele Drake discusses the importance of your pup's first exam and what topics will be covered during the exam to set your pup up for a happy and healthy life.

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So one thing we really want to encourage people to do, whether you get it from a shelter or a breeder or even a pet store would be to come to the veterinarian, come to our office right away and get a physical exam.

Video Transcript:

Hi, I'm Dr. Michele Drake, and I'm here today with Kenzie, one of my favorite patients, to talk to you today a little bit about adopting a new pet. So, I know that sometimes people get new pets over the holidays. They have extra time for spending with the dog, so it actually can be a good time if you have extra time on your calendar, you're off work for a while, to get a new pet. So one thing we really want to encourage people to do, whether you get it from a shelter or a breeder or even a pet store would be to come to the veterinarian, come to our office right away and get a physical exam. The physical exam, checking a stool sample also just to make sure that parasites are not part of what that dog came with would be really a good idea, but also, just all the information we're going to give you on training your particular dog breed.

What's going on with it? What are the exercise needs? Let's see, house training and behavioral training, just so we can just get the best foot forward on making your puppy happy to be in your house, and that you're all happy with having that new puppy because it can be quite an adjustment for the whole family.

So, lots of things we're going to talk about will be parasite control, behavioral training, making a good fit for the puppy, where it should sleep, where it should go to the bathroom. The sort of things that you maybe don't think ahead, make a plan for until you get the dog. And then you're like, "Ah, lots of things to deal with." We've all been doing this for a long time, and we'd love to help you through that experience. So if you get a new puppy, come on in.