Now that you are about to get or have gotten a new pet, what can you expect them to need?

This all depends on the age of the pet, so we will do this by age groups and type of procedure or care.

VACCINES:

Young pets (puppies and kittens):

Younger pets need vaccine boosters from about 8 weeks to 16-20 weeks. These sets of vaccine boosters are done every 3-4 weeks until they are between 4-5 months old. This helps bolster their immune system as they are slowly weaning off of the antibodies they received from their mothers. Always plan on getting their vaccines boostered no matter where they came from.

We would also include young adults in the need to booster vaccines. Young adults can be anywhere between 6 months to 4 years old, but each pet will need to be catered to based on their health by your veterinarian. These vaccine boosters will likely only happen once 3-4 weeks after their initial vaccines to make sure that they are adequately immunized.

Middle Aged or older (for that breed):

Middle age can vary from breed to breed and species to species. This is a call your veterinarian will have to make with your after examining the pet and going over their history on whether or not the vaccines need to be boostered or if the “initial” vaccine will be sufficient to keep them protected.

HEARTWORM TESTING:

This is generally done at 7 months of age initially, even if they have been on heartworm prevention and then a second confirmation test 6 months later. This protocol is the same for all pets, no matter their age when they are first tested. Once they are consistently on prevention year round and after the second confirmation test, then the testing can be done yearly.

If your pet tests positive for heartworms the treatment protocol and testing is different than what is outlined above.

SPAY/NEUTER:

If your pet has not already been spayed or neutered, no matter their age, this should be done as soon as possible to keep them from getting diseases like mammary tumors and prostate cancer. This also helps with behavioral issues, like escaping the yard and preventing unwanted pregnancy.

BLOODWORK:

Baseline bloodwork is nice to have on every age of pet so that if there is a case of acute illness there are normal values to compare to and to keep track of treatable values like those of the liver and kidney. If we catch early onset of kidney or liver disease there are ways that can slow progression of disease.

GENERAL PREVENTATIVE CARE:

It is always a good idea to have your veterinarian check them as soon as you can get them, no matter where you’ve gotten them from. There are illnesses that can manifest even 2 weeks after they were exposed as well as intestinal parasites that can be passed from animal to animal (and even people).

Another important preventative care measure is to keep your pet on a flea and tick preventative from your veterinarian year round. These products are different from over the counter medications because they are backed by the manufactures who know that the products are properly stored and that we are keeping track of the frequency of your purchases so they know you are using the product correctly. This same principle is also applied to heartworm preventatives. The manufactures cannot back any product you can get from non-veterinary vendors in store or online. There are also a lot of different products out there and your veterinary team can help you determine which type of prevention fits with your lifestyle.

Your veterinarian can also give you tips on how to keep your pets healthy in general with things that you can do at home such as dental care and nutrition. They can teach you ways to slow tartar build-up so that we can minimize dental procedures and keep your pets teeth healthy for as long as possible (and hopefully avoiding extractions). Nutritional needs also change as your pets age, so it is important to know the best diet for your pets health.