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New puppy: Ticks, scratching, shots. Should I see a vet now?

Updated on September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Dog | Golden Retriever | Male | unneutered | 2 months and 25 days old | 12 lbs

Hello, we recently got a puppy from a breeder and we are realizing now that we probably didn't ask enough questions before buying them. The breeder claims that he has had 2 rounds of shots already (puppy is 9 weeks), how can we verify that? I have also noticed a few ticks on him and he scratches a lot. We got him some frontline and applied that, should I be doing anything else? Flea bath? We have an appointment with a vet in 3 weeks, should we be going sooner?

1 Answer

Most Helpful Answer

Answered By Ricardo Fernandez, DVM

Veterinarian, Veterinary Oncology Resident

Published on June 26th, 2018

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Sorry you are going through this. It sounds like they started the vaccination earlier than usual. Usually the second round of vaccines is applied at around 10-12 weeks. However, you should be ok as long as you continue the vaccine schedule as recommended by a veterinarian. The next step is having them provide you with a vaccine record. If you have recently started using Frontline, then it is fair to give it a few weeks to see if it helps. If you see ticks it is important to remove them. If you see more fleas, I recommend a product called Capstar which can help kill a lot of fleas at once. I do think that it would be best to have Teddy evaluated by a veterinarian sooner than 3 weeks as he is likely due for the next round of vaccines. Good luck and have a great day!

1Pet Parents found this answer helpful

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