New Puppy Checklist for Trivandrum: Your First 30 Days as a Dog Parent

Keep the first shop simple. The American Kennel Club's new-puppy list covers the essentials, and a few additions help in Kerala:

• •A harness and a lightweight lead. A harness avoids pulling on a young neck.
• •A flat collar with an ID tag showing your phone number.
• •A properly sized crate or a gated play area, so your puppy has a safe resting spot and fewer accidents.
• •A washable bed or mat. In humid months, a mat that dries quickly is easier to keep fresh than a thick cushion.
• •Steel food and water bowls.
• •The same food your puppy has been eating, enough for at least two weeks.
• •Puppy chew and teething toys, rotated to keep interest.
• •Small, soft training treats.
• •Poop bags and an enzyme cleaner for accidents.
• •A soft brush, a fine-toothed comb for tick checks, and two old towels for drying after baths and rain.
• •A cool place in the house to rest, away from direct sun, with good airflow.

The first week is about calm routine and a health baseline.

• •Book a vet visit within the first few days. Take any vaccination card, deworming record and food details from the breeder, shelter or previous owner.
• •Ask the vet for a written plan covering vaccinations, deworming and tick prevention, with dates. Save it on your phone.
• •Ask about microchipping and whether your vet recommends it.
• •Keep meals the same as before. If you want to change food, ask your vet how to switch gradually over several days.
• •Keep visitors few and calm. Let your puppy sleep; young puppies sleep a lot.
• •Start toilet routine on day one (see below).
• •Note anything that worries you. Vomiting, diarrhoea with blood, refusing food or water, weakness or a swollen belly in a puppy are reasons to go to a vet now, not tomorrow.

Vaccines and deworming are the backbone of the first months. The World Small Animal Veterinary Association's 2024 guidelines recommend that puppies receive core vaccine doses every two to four weeks, with the final dose at 16 weeks of age or older, followed by revaccination at or after 26 weeks. The same guidelines treat rabies vaccine as core wherever rabies is endemic, which includes India, and describe leptospirosis vaccine as core where the disease is a risk.

That is the framework; your vet sets the actual schedule, products and deworming intervals for your puppy. Our puppy vaccination schedule guide for Kerala explains the usual stages in more detail.

Keep the vaccination card safe and photograph every page. You will need it for the dog licence, for puppy classes, for boarding and for travel.

Pet dogs in Kerala are licensed by the local body where you live: the city corporation, a municipality or a grama panchayat. Proof of rabies vaccination is usually part of the application. Rules, fees and online steps can differ between local bodies and change over time, so read our Kerala dog licence guide and confirm the current process with your own local body before you apply.

Sudden food changes are a common cause of upset stomachs in new puppies. For the first one to two weeks, feed exactly what your puppy was eating before, at the same times.

After that, decide with your vet whether to continue a complete commercial puppy food, move to home-cooked meals, or mix the two. Puppies need the right balance of protein, calcium and other nutrients while they grow, which is easy to get wrong with home cooking. Our guide to home-cooked food for dogs in Kerala covers what to discuss with your vet.

• •Feed small meals several times a day, as your vet advises for the age.
• •Keep clean water available at all times, more so in summer.
• •Do not share spicy, salty or sweet household food.

Ticks are a constant concern for Kerala dog owners, especially in grassy, damp and shaded areas. Researchers at the Kerala Veterinary and Animal Sciences University have reported that the brown dog tick is widely prevalent among the state's dogs, with a high prevalence of tick-borne Babesia and Ehrlichia infections.

• •Ask your vet which tick prevention is safe for your puppy's age and weight, and when to start.
• •Run your fingers and a fine comb through the coat every evening, checking ears, between the toes, armpits, groin and under the collar.
• •Wash bedding weekly and keep the sleeping area dry.
• •Fever, weakness, loss of appetite, pale gums or dark urine after a tick bite need a vet promptly.

House training works best with a predictable routine and rewards, never punishment. The PDSA advises taking puppies out first thing in the morning, after meals, after waking and after play, and every two to three hours during the day; very young puppies may need to go more often. Use the same spot and a cue word, reward immediately, and clean accidents with an enzyme cleaner without scolding.

Socialisation matters just as much. The American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior describes the first three months of life as the most important period for socialisation, and says puppies can start classes as early as seven to eight weeks if they have had at least one set of vaccines a week before the first class and a first deworming.

In Trivandrum, that means controlled, positive experiences: meeting calm, vaccinated dogs you know; hearing traffic, pressure cookers and mixer grinders from a safe distance; being handled by different family members; and short car rides. Keep your puppy away from areas used by many unknown or free-roaming dogs until your vet says it is protected. Our puppy training page covers structured help, and dog training in Trivandrum explains options for older dogs.

Start grooming as handling practice, not a big event. Touch paws, ears and mouth for a few seconds each day and reward calm behaviour. Brush for a minute or two, more often for long coats.

Bathe only when needed and with a dog shampoo, and dry your puppy fully afterwards; in Kerala's humidity, damp coat close to the skin can lead to smell and skin trouble. Ask your vet when a first professional groom is appropriate, especially if your puppy is still completing vaccinations.

Trivandrum is warm for most of the year, and young puppies, flat-faced breeds and thick-coated dogs overheat quickly. The RSPCA advises testing hard ground with the back of your hand before a walk, choosing grass where possible, and recognising the signs of heatstroke: heavy panting or difficulty breathing, excessive drooling, lethargy or lack of coordination, collapse or vomiting.

• •Walk early in the morning or after sunset, never in the midday sun.
• •Never leave a puppy in a parked car, even for a few minutes.
• •Carry water on every walk.
• •Any sign of heatstroke means stopping, cooling your dog with water and going to a vet now.

In the monsoon, keep walks short, towel dry your puppy after every outing, and avoid letting it drink from puddles or wade through floodwater, which can carry leptospirosis. Ask your vet whether leptospirosis vaccination is part of your puppy's plan.

Most new owners do not think about travel until a wedding, a work trip or a family emergency comes up. Plan early, because a young puppy cannot be left alone for long and usually cannot board until its vaccination course is complete.

• •Ask a family member or neighbour to learn your puppy's routine as a backup carer.
• •Check what boarding providers require before you need them. At Neolokam, for example, dogs need up-to-date core vaccinations (rabies, distemper, parvovirus and leptospirosis) with proof, tick prevention applied within three days before arrival, and a trial visit before the first stay.
• •Book that trial visit once your vet confirms vaccinations are complete, so you are ready when travel comes up.

Neolokam is a dogs-only, cage-free farm near Malayinkil, east of Trivandrum city, where dogs are grouped by temperament after the trial visit. Our travel guide covers the other options.

• •Days 1–3: safe sleeping spot, same food, toilet routine started, ID tag on.
• •Days 3–7: first vet visit; written vaccination, deworming and tick plan.
• •Week 2: daily handling and short calm socialisation; tick checks every evening.
• •Week 2–3: apply for the dog licence once the vet paperwork is ready.
• •Week 3: decide long-term diet with your vet.
• •Week 3–4: next vaccine and deworming dates kept; consider puppy classes.
• •Every day: walks only in cool hours, water available, coat dried after rain.
• •By day 30: a backup carer briefed, and boarding requirements noted for when vaccinations are complete.