How often should my dog or cat visit the vet for health and vaccines?

After the initial pet veterinary visits as a puppy or a kitten (when the pet is seen every 4 weeks or so for vaccines), a dog or cat should have a veterinary check up at least once a year. For an older pet without many health issues, two checks a year are often recommended.

Hello and welcome to Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. For a new puppy visit a vet will do a physical exam looking for any congenital abnormalities (heart murmurs, cleft palate, etc.). They will also look at body condition and if the abdomen seems bloated. At 6-8 weeks of age they will start the vaccine process. Your vet will also talk to you about deworming and diet. For a 3 year old dog the visit is similar, a physical exam and questions about history to make sure nothing is going wrong, as well as vaccines and deworming that is required. You should also discuss with your vet about desexing both April and your puppy. Around the age of 5 your vet might start talking to you about bloodwork to look for underlying disease. Best of luck with April and your new puppy.

Hi, Vaccination as an adult cat who is not strictly indoors is annually so if she had her shots in Sep she is covered till Sep 2019 . Deworming is recommended every 3 months so she may be due that by now from her vet. And anti flea treatment is also recommended routinely, the frequency of application depends on the product used. Hope that helps and thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

Congratulations! What a beautiful kitten! Most vets start a vaccine series between 6-8 weeks of age, and will also deworm or check stool samples at the first visit. Following that, they typically need a visit/booster every 3-5 weeks until they are a few months old. The exact vaccines schedule will be individualized by your vet. They may also recommend parasite prevention or routine dewormers. Other things you can do at home include feeding a high quality kitten food, checking their urine and stool output and getting them used to being handled. Becoming well socialized is very important! Make sure they have plenty of vertical space like a cat tree, handle him gently and frequently - get him used to having his nail trims, etc. Don't let him bite you:) It looks like you are off to a great start!

Hi there! Congratulations on your new pup :) If she hasn't had anything done yet, she will need a vet visit for her first DAPP vaccine (for distemper, adenovirus, parvovirus, and parainfluenza) as well as a general wellness check-up. She should also have a fecal exam for parasites, and should be dewormed if any are found. She's also old enough to start on heartworm prevention if this is a problem in your area - the vet should be able to advise you if this is needed. After that, she will need to have her DAPP vaccine boostered every 3-4 weeks until she's 16 weeks or older. She will also need a rabies vaccine at 16 weeks. Other vaccinations, such as Lyme disease, leptospirosis, or Bordetella (kennel cough) may also be recommended depending on what is common in your area and her risk of exposure. Your veterinarian should discuss this with you at her check-up visit, and will let you know if any of these vaccines are needed.

Hello! We very routinely perform vaccines as well as give dewormers at the same visit. This should not be a problem as long as your puppy is healthy. We typically recommend 3 sets of vaccines (at 8, 12 and 16 weeks) and deworming every 2 weeks until they are over 4 months of age. Good job taking care of your puppy to keep him healthy!

It is recommended to have a yearly physical examination with animals. Ideally they would be seen every 6 months. This is because animals age a lot faster then people and catching diseases and behavioral problems earlier is beneficial. Regarding vaccinations the first rabies vaccination is good for 1 year. After that it is good for 3 years. The Distemper vaccination after the first series should be repeated in a year. Depending on Kaya's lifestyle then I would recommend doing it every 1 or 3 years. If there are a lot of dogs or Kaya goes to a daycare/dogpark/kennel then I would give it every year. If she is a house dog that doesn't come in contact with any other animals then every 3 years is ok. Thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.