Does my senior dog need vaccinations and preventive care?

Absolutely is my answer to that one, although there are certain vaccinations that may be able to be slowed down or not given with as much frequency perhaps as the dog ages. For instance, I'm not really worried about Parvo in a 13-year-old Labrador as I would be in a 13-week-old Labrador. Your veterinarian will use their discretion to decide if those things are still necessary or not. Preventative care, absolutely. I consider preventative care to be things such as routine blood work, heartworm prevention, flea control, and other things like that.

Yes, you certainly know that an older dog can still get Lyme disease. A tick is going to get on an older dog just as much as a younger dog. A mosquito can bite them the same, whether they're old or young. So they still need to be on heartworm prevention. They still need to be on flea and tick preventatives. They still need their vaccines. They need to be protected, even by law, against rabies. And particularly they need to have a physical exam every year so that we can identify problems like whether they can see and hear, and what their teeth look like, if their heart and lungs are normal, if they have a murmur, and if they’ve gained weight. So we can talk about these things together and make a plan so that they be healthier throughout their golden years.

I would recommend it unless there's some reason why not to do so in their history. It's always good to have that immunity on board, especially for our older patients if they can tolerate the vaccines. It’s beneficial for them to have that extra immunity against diseases.