Worms can be painful to dogs, depending on the number they have. Roundworms and hookworms can cause discomfort in puppies or kittens, often resulting in a pot-bellied appearance. Whipworms can cause bloody diarrhea in dogs, and tapeworms can lead to an upset stomach and weight loss as they compete for nutrients.

Dogs and cats can get roundworms and hookworms from their mothers either through the placenta before birth or through milk while nursing. As adults, they can ingest the larvae of roundworms and hookworms from grass or when they lick their feet. Dogs can also get whipworms by ingesting their larvae. Both dogs and cats can get tapeworms either from ingesting a flea or eating a small mammal like chipmunks, mice, moles, squirrels, rabbits, and the like.

Yes. Vaccines prevent deadly diseases such as feline leukemia in cats, canine flu, leptospirosis, parvo in puppies, distemper in dogs, and heartworm disease. These diseases are all preventable and treatment can be very affordable. It's important to do the best you can to prevent these avoidable diseases in your pets.

Always. It's a cliché saying, but an ounce of prevention is indeed worth a pound of cure. Any preventive measure you take today will be beneficial in the long run.

No, not unless it includes flea and tick medication. It's important to understand that there are a lot of ineffective, generic products on the market. Products that actually work are best recommended by a full-service veterinarian. You may have to pay a bit more, but for the best preventive care, you should get the best available products at the best price.

Certainly. Preventive care is a broad and vital subject. It includes vaccines and prevention against parasites, which are the basic services we provide at Carolina Valley Pet Care. The vaccines prevent diseases like rabies, distemper parvo, leptospirosis, flu, and bordetella in dogs, and distemper, rabies, and leukemia in cats. These are debilitating, and in some cases, life-threatening diseases that can be easily prevented with a proper vaccine program.

Apart from vaccines, we also need to consider issues with heartworms, fleas, and intestinal parasites in both dogs and cats. However, I believe one of the most important preventive measures is proper nutrition. Every time you feed your pet, you are making a biochemical change in their body which can impact them significantly over time.

It depends on what age the vaccines are started for your puppy. Ideally, puppies should start getting vaccines at six weeks of age, but often we see them at different ages. They need to get vaccines up to the point where they're 16 weeks of age. If a puppy is older than 16 weeks, they just need one vaccine, depending on what we're vaccinating against. If we see them before they're 16 weeks of age, then for the distemper parvo, yes, they will need to get a booster. And for leptospirosis, they need a booster regardless of any age. It really depends on the vaccine and the age at which we start.

Titer testing measures the body's response to vaccines. For instance, if a dog is given a rabies vaccine and is going to be traveling overseas, they would have to get a vaccine titer. The titer tests the body's response. However, there is a limitation with titers. They only indicate that your body has responded to the vaccine, not if your body remains protected against the disease you vaccinated against.

Yes, it is safe. Vaccines stimulate the body's immune system. There is no evidence that administering vaccines individually for dogs is any more beneficial than giving them simultaneously.

There are around four or five different vaccines, including three core vaccines for dogs. The frequency of vaccination is based on your dog's lifestyle and varies depending on the vaccine, as each has a different schedule. Once your dog has received its initial vaccines, it's typically about a year before it needs any more. The type of vaccines administered will determine how often they are needed.