Prevention is better than cure, we humans are constantly told, but it is just as valid for our dog friends. Therefore, below we are going to try to detail our recommendations for caring for a dog that must be carried out each year.
Table of Contents
Annual vaccination for dogs
For more details on vaccines for dogs read Dog Vaccinations. You should have your dog vaccinated annually to avoid serious diseases.
Recommended vaccination reminders
- 1 x Polyvalent (Tetravalent if administered alone or Hexavalent together with Rabies)
- 1 x Rage
- 1 x Leishmania (or Leishmaniosis/Leishmaniasis)
In addition to these general recommendations, we must take into account other factors that may lead to the need to administer other vaccines:
- Travel: The legislation of other countries or even some diseases may require the administration of other vaccines. Inform yourself beforehand and consult your veterinarian if you have any doubts.
- Kindergartens: If you are going to have to leave your dog in daycare centers, it is recommended and even in many cases it will be mandatory that you vaccinate your dog against kennel cough (rhinotracheitis or infectious tracheobronchitis)
- A lot of contact with animals of other species: In these cases it is prudent to consult the veterinarian since some species are carriers of viruses that do not affect them but can make your dog sick
Deworming
Internal deworming
We must use a specific antiparasitic for their age and breed.
Every year we will deworm our dogs every 2-3 months (there may be variations depending on where they live, what walking habits they have, family members with vulnerable health…)
External deworming
There is a wide range of antiparasitics but in any case our animal must be covered against:
- Fleas
- Ticks
- Sandfly
In addition to causing itching, they transmit serious diseases such as Leishmaniasis, Ehrlichiosis, Anaplasmosis, among others.
These parasites are not seasonal, so they must be protected all year round.
We have many types of antiparasitic such as collars, pipettes, chewable tablets and sprays. There is none better than another and choosing one or the other will depend on the size, type of life and activity (dogs that often bathe, bite their collars…), type of hair, animals with which they live…
Your veterinarian is the one who can best advise you. This advice is included in our annual care plan for adult dogs.
Review and Analysis
After prevention, the best way to avoid admissions for serious illnesses is early detection. For this reason, we recommend carrying out an annual review with the following analyses:
- Urine
- Feces
- Blood (in the case of elderly dogs we will carry out a Geriatric Panel to control indicators that do not need to be controlled in younger dogs)
Follow-up
Finally, we want to detail a series of actions that will help us detect possible diseases in time:
- Watch for changes in behavior or mood swings. Very often they are related to some ailment.
- Pay attention to your appetite and report if the lack of appetite lasts more than one meal.
- Keep an eye on his stool and notify the vet if an episode of diarrhea lasts more than 1 day.
- Periodically check the skin for lumps, wounds, or other abnormalities.
- Check the recent wounds that you detect daily to ensure that they do not become infected
For this follow-up and in case of illness, our annual care plan for adult dogs includes the annual vaccinations & analysis, one visit and 5 video consultations and recipes
IMPORTANT: all these are general guidelines but each animal and each family is a world. That is why we recommend that if you have any doubts, contact a veterinarian.
