VACCINATIONS IN DOGS Vaccinations in dogs are an important part of your dog's health. They can help prevent many of the more serious infectious diseases in dogs. We recommend that puppies are vaccinated beginning at 6-8 weeks and are vaccinated every 3-4 weeks until they are 4 months for Distemper, Hepatitis, Leptospirosis, Parainfluenza and Parvo virus. A booster vaccine is recommended annually thereafter for all dogs. This also gives us a chance to perform an annual physical exam. A Rabies vaccine is given at 6 months, boostered in 1 year, then every three years thereafter. Another vaccine to consider is for Bordetella. Bordetella causes Kennel Cough, a severe deep continuous cough that is very contagious between dogs. If your dog is going to a boarding kennel, pet show, groomer, trainer, or any other place where they may encounter other dogs, we recommend a vaccine for Bordetella. Lymes disease can also be prevented by vaccination. We only recommend vaccination for Lymes if your dog will be in a region where Lymes disease is endemic such as the northeast or upper mid-west. If your dog enjoys outdoor activities such as camping, hiking, or hunting in areas where ticks may be prevalent, we recommend vaccination for Lymes. FLEA PREVENTION IN DOGS Fleas are troublesome pests for both our pets and us. In the past all we could do was to treat a flea problem when it occurred with messy insecticidal sprays dips, shampoos, powders, etc. Today the name of the game is flea prevention with safer, less toxic, and easier to use products. Sentinel is a combination heartworm preventative with a flea egg control given orally once a month. Sentinel works by preventing the flea egg from hatching in the pet’s environment, thus effectively breaking the flea life cycle. This is a great product for those dogs that are mostly confined to their home and back yard and not in contact with other dogs or cats. Frontline Plus is a topical spot treatment applied monthly for fleas and ticks. Frontline kills fleas, flea eggs, and ticks on contact and is a great product for dogs or cats that go outdoors or go camping, hiking, or hunting. Revolution is another topical monthly product that controls fleas, ticks, ear mites, and sarcoptic mange as well preventing heartworms. Capstar is a new flea tablet that starts killing fleas in 30 minutes and will kill all the fleas in 4 hours. Capstar is a good product to quickly kill fleas if your pet becomes infested, and can be used in conjunction with the other flea control products. If your pet does become infested with fleas, treat all pets in the household with Frontline Plus, Revolution, or Capstar as well as treating the indoor and outdoor environment. Then using one of the above products monthly can help prevent infestations in the future. Call our office for a flea prevention plan for you and your pet’s needs.