Vaccine Protocol For Puppies
Vaccinations are essential for your new pet! Where your pet receives his or her vaccinations is just as important as the vaccinations themselves. What do we offer over mobile or low-cost vaccine providers? Education! A thorough, annual examination is needed at least once a year until 7 years of age, and then twice a year thereafter. During each visit, we strive to provide preventive therapies and a vast amount of education to our owners. Simple at home techniques are discussed and, in many cases, owners can prevent future infections from occurring. One example is pets with chronic ear infections.
We make your pets' health our priority. Veterinary medicine and medical care are always advancing and we provide you with these advancements every year though education. We advise you of what your pet needs. Low-cost vaccine clinics allow the owners, who do not have vast medical knowledge, to make medical decisions for their pets. Workers rarely examine the pet and do not provide pet owners with the required information. At Woodland Springs Veterinary Hospital, we strive to promote healthy pets through highly educated owners.
About Our Vaccine Recommendations
Bordetella - We live in a high-density area in which a large number of families have dogs and cats living next door to each other. Bordetella is a highly contagious respiratory illness and spreads very easily. This is not a core vaccine, but given our location, it is necessary. Bordetella can cause life threatening pneumonia. Vaccination helps decrease the severity of the disease and can prevent it entirely.
Leptospirosis - We recommend vaccinating all healthy dogs once a year. Most dogs are exposed to this organism through direct or indirect contact with wildlife, rodents, squirrels and rabbits.
DAP - We recommend a 3-year vaccine protocol for your pet.
Rabies - We recommend a 3-year vaccine protocol for your pet.
Porphyromonas (dental) vaccine by Pfizer - Recommended for small breed dogs predisposed to periodontal bone loss. Click here for more information about this vaccine.
Age: 6-8 Weeks
- Complete physical exam
- Proguard DAP #1/3
- Bordatella vaccine #1/2
- Fecal analysis
- Prophylactic de-worming for roundworms and hookworms. Two doses two weeks apart.
- Begin heartworm preventative
Very young puppies and kittens are highly susceptible to infectious diseases. This is especially true as the natural immunity provided in their mothers' milk gradually wears off. To keep gaps in protection as narrow as possible and to provide optimal protection against disease during the first few months of life, a series of vaccinations are scheduled, usually 3-4 weeks apart. For most puppies and kittens, the final vaccination in the series is administered when they are 14 to 16 weeks old.
At WSVH we perform a fecal examination and de-worm your puppy at least two times. It is almost always easier and more cost effective to prevent parasites then to treat them once your dog has them. It is also safer for you and your family to have a parasite-free pet. Click here to learn how pet parasites can affect humans. Seventy-five percent of puppies and kittens are born with parasites or obtain them through their mother's milk or their environment.
Click here to learn more about parasites and parasite prevention for your pet.
Age: 10-12 Weeks
- Complete physical exam
- Continuum DAP #2/3
- Bordatella vaccine #2/2 (1 year)
- Heartworm prevention
- Second fecal analysis (if previous parasites were found)
Age: 14-16 Weeks
- Complete physical exam
- Continuum DAP (3yr)
- Rabies vaccination (1 year)
- Leptospirosis #1/2
Age: 18 Weeks
- Leptospirosis #2/2 (1 year)
Age: 4-6 Months
Please have your puppy spayed/neutered! Click here to learn more about spay/neuter advantages and procedures for your dog. The age we spay or neuter your pet depends upon the dog's breed. For large breed dogs this is normally 4-6 months of age. Small breed dogs often retain their "baby canine teeth" and these may need to be removed under anesthesia. Since a dog has all their adult teeth at 6 months of age, we recommend waiting until 6 months which allows easy removal and avoids a second anesthesia to remove any deciduous teeth. There are certainly exceptions to this general rule, so if you have any questions, Dr. Slough or Dr. Loter would be happy to address them for you.