How often does my puppy need to go to the veterinarian?

That really depends on, I think I said how many vaccines they've received before. Common distemper shots, commonly we like to see your puppy get the vaccines three to four times, depending on when the first vaccine was started. So depending on that, we'll formulate the schedule specific for your puppy. Let's see. But usually I would say about two to three times, depending on how many times the vaccine was given to the puppy.

That would depend on what age you bring your puppy in for the first visit. Generally, we recommend bringing your puppy in right away, and then we'll let you know how often you need to come. If you, for example, bring a four to six-week-old puppy in, we'll probably be seeing you every three weeks until they're current on their vaccinations. If you bring maybe a six-month-old puppy in, we might be seeing you two to three times after that to get them caught up and discuss lifestyles.

It's critical when you get a puppy to come in right away, and then every three weeks until they're four months. We’ll also recommend that they come in for a six-month visit. Between four and six months, many things go on, and we hate to miss that six-month visit because we have behavioral and diet changes, and exercise recommendations. Most importantl is the behavioral aspect of things. We want to make sure that your dog is meeting the right guidelines. We're going to make certain behavior is correct, or we're going to help you to find the best way to redirect that behavior.

Your puppy will need to come in for their booster series. A booster series is several different vaccines; generally, they're known as parvo vaccines or distemper parvo vaccines. Those are going to be something that we give about every three weeks. And so, during that period, usually that's from about 6, 9, 12, and 15 weeks old, they're going to be getting vaccines each of those times. And then after that, it's yearly unless they're coming in for spay/neuter or getting a weight check or anything along those lines.

We strongly recommend having your puppy vaccinated every three to four weeks when they're still young. These vaccinations include distemper, parvo, hepatitis combination, and kennel cough. When the puppy is old enough, they'll receive a rabies vaccine. Typically, we continue these vaccines until the puppy is about 18 to 20 weeks old, at which point they'll get the rabies vaccine and then they're covered for a year.