All our Australian labradoodle puppies will be wormed with us at 3, 5, and 8 weeks using Panacur paste. Your pup will need to be wormed again at 12 weeks and then we recommend you worm your puppy every 3 months, or as recommended by your vet.
We give our puppies their 1st core vaccinations while they are with us. It will then be up to you to arrange their 2nd vaccinations with your vet. This is usually done 4 weeks after the 1st vaccinations. We will give you the date of the 1st vaccinations and any other relevant information when you come on viewing day.
We vaccinate our puppies with Nobivac DHP and Lepto 4.
After your pup has had its puppy vaccinations we recommend titre testing them rather than continuously vaccinating them year on year. Dr Ronald Schultz – one of the world’s leading professors of veterinary immunology – suggests his studies have shown immunity can last as long as the whole life of your dog and a minimum of 7 years. Over vaccination is sometimes practiced by vets for profit, with some vets even suggesting you start the course all over again if you have missed your appointment by a month or so.
There is also evidence to suggest over vaccinating our dogs is contributing issues such as allergies, skin conditions and other health issues.
You may have heard someone say “dogs didn’t have allergies back in my day” which also begs the question of what is contributing to this rise in allergies and skin problems?
To be clear we are not anti-vaxxers as we do think the puppy vaccinations are very important but we are anti-over vaxxers. We urge our families to do their own research into vaccinations and to titre test where possible.
We do not personally recommend regularly flea treating your dog. As flea treatment is a pesticide that enters the blood stream it can be harmful and in some cases it can cause very adverse side effects. If your pup does pick up fleas we recommend treating with frontline.
Please stay away from products such as NexGard and Bravecto. These products contain an ingredient called Isoxazoline which according to the FDA has been “associated with neurologic adverse reactions, including muscle tremors, ataxia and seizure in some dogs and cats”.
Dogs in general are more prone to ear infections than humans due to the narrow shape of their ear canals. The ears can harbour dirt, pests and cause ear infections.
Cleaning your labradoodles ears should be an important part of you routine. We recommend Peake Pet Care’s soothing ear cleaner and Thornit power. The ear cleaner disinfects and helps to remove dirt and wax from the ears. It also creates an environment which is hostile to bacteria and yeast which prevents common ear problems.
Thornit Powder can be used to ease irritation and eliminate the wax caused by ear mites. Sometimes it may be necessary to pluck excess hair form your labradoodles ears to create an air flow through the ear canal in order to keep the ear as dry as possible.
It is important that breeders hip and elbow score breeding stock. Dogs young or old can sometimes suffer from stiff and painful joints.
Breeders should only breed from parents that have lower than average hip scores. The average hip score will vary depending on the breed. It is important that breeders continue to health test breeding stock, to maintain the Labradoodles vibrant health status.
Here at Tora’s we always health test all our breeding stock.
A common occurrence in the Australian Labradoodles in that of base narrow canines in puppy teeth. We find this is primarily something which affects puppy teeth and does not normally go on to affect the adult teeth. Breeder’s are working to correct this but currently don’t have a DNA test that will let us know which dogs are affected. Ethical breeders will aim to only breed from stock with the best teeth however, genetics are not always that simple and even when breeding two dogs together who have perfect teeth, some pups may still have base narrow canines. If the puppy has any teeth issues when they are spayed/neutered by our vet, they will remove them while under aesthetic. If you choose not to have your puppy spayed/neutered the teeth will not be removed. The purpose of removing the baby teeth is that it allows the adult teeth lots of space to come through. We do not discount or refund for dental issues.
In the first year of your puppy’s life the amount of on-lead or “forced” exercise they have should be limited. Their bones and joints are still developing and over exercise can lead to hip problems later in life. They can have as much free play as they like (this is running around the garden/park off lead). Take care to avoid situations where your puppy might be running up or down the stairs on a regular basis or regularly being on slippery floors.
Equally, they should also be maintained at a healthy weight. We recommend that your puppy should be more on the lean side of their healthy weight range – once again in order to prevent any unnecessary strain on growing bones and joints. You should be able to easily feel their ribs but not see them.
We are a family run, fully licensed breeding programme, set in the Scottish countryside. Our mission is to breed happy, health Australian labradoodle puppies suitable for both family homes or therapy work.
