Dogs provide faithful and unconditional love. It has been scientifically proven that owning a dog can improve the quality and health of their owner’s lives. 

However, before getting a puppy it is important to consider what is involved in being a responsible owner and to decide whether you will be able to meet all your dog’s needs for the next 12-18 years. Dogs are wonderful companions but owning one is a long-term commitment, so make sure you are ready.

• Do I want a puppy or an adult dog?
• Can I cover all the financial costs of owning a dog, beyond just the purchase price, including food, bedding, toys and veterinary check-ups and treatment including emergencies?
• Is my home safe, secure and suitable for a dog?
• Do I have time to train and socialise a dog?

Before acquiring a puppy check on the puppies:

• Date of birth
• Vaccination history
• If your puppy has been microchipped
• Worming status
• Current diet
• Any relevant previous medical history

Age + Procedure

2 weeks  →  Worming

4 weeks  →  Worming

6 weeks  →  Worming & 1st Puppy Vaccination (C3)

8 weeks  →  Worming 

10 weeks  →  2nd Puppy Vaccination (C3 +/- Kennel Cough), Worming

12 weeks → Worming & +/- 1st Puppy Proheart Injection

16 weeks → 3rd Puppy Vaccination (C3), Worming

5 months  →  Worming

6 months  →  Worming, Neutering, Dental check, Microchip (if not already done)

9 months  →  Worming, +/- 2nd Puppy Proheart Injection 

12 Months  →  Worming

15 months  →  Annual Health Check & Vaccination, Proheart Injection

Birth to 15 Months 

• Primary course of vaccinations 

• Start Heartworm Prevention (injection) 

• Regular intestinal worming 

• Puppy Preschool 

• Desexing (pre anaesthetic blood screen) 

• Microchip

• Flea & Tick prevention 

• Hills Puppy dry food 

15 Months to 8 Years 

• Annual Health check 

• Annual vaccination 

• Annual Heartworm injection 

• Annual dental check

• 3 monthly intestinal worming 

• Flea & Tick prevention 

• Hills Lifestyle Diet

8 Years & Beyond 

• 6 monthly Health Check  

• Annual vaccination 

• Annual Heartworm injection 

• Annual Senior Health Profile

blood tests, urinalysis & eye check 

• 6 monthly dental checks

• 3 monthly intestinal worming

• Flea & Tick prevention 

• Hills Senior Diet

We will perform a physical examination to check on the health of your puppy. We will look for any congenital abnormalities, check your puppies heart for the presence of murmurs and check for any parasites (fleas, mites and worms).

It also gives us the opportunity to discuss the management and nutrition of your puppy as it develops.

C3 - Distemper, Hepatitis and Parvovirus 

- Puppies should receive 3 puppy vaccinations

• 6-8 weeks
• 10-12 weeks
• 16 weeks of age or older

- A C3 vaccine should be given a year after the final puppy vaccination

- Adult dogs should receive a C3 vaccine either

• Annually
• OR once every 3 years (triennial vaccination)

Kennel Cough

• Required at least once a year if visiting boarding facilities and strongly recommended for those dogs interacting with other dogs (eg. dog parks, dog clubs, dog shows or breeding kennels).
• Farm dogs or isolated dogs are at lower risk of being infected with kennel cough.
• Puppies receive an intranasal vaccine and adult dogs receive an oral vaccination
• Kennel cough vaccinations are given annually

Puppies should be wormed fortnightly from birth to 12 weeks of age. From 3 months, they should be wormed monthly till 6 months of age. After 6 months of age they are considered an adult for worming purposes.

Adult dogs should be dosed with an all wormer tablet every 3 months (Fenpral 1 tablet per 10kg).

Tape wormers are recommended for those dogs that have access to sheep or kangaroo carcasses, to prevent hydatid tapeworm disease, which can be transmitted to humans. Tape worm prevention is given every 6 weeks either with an all wormer or by alternating an all wormer and a tape worm prevention tablet.  

Microchipping is the best way to safeguard your pet against loss or theft. This simple procedure is routinely performed at our hospitals – and it is now a legal requirement for most pets. 

Pets are registered with the NSW companion animal registry and the Australian Animal Registry and we will give you the required paperwork to allow registration with Yass Valley Council.

We recommend all dogs are neutered (spayed or castrated) at around 6-9 months of age, unless owners intend to breed with them.  

Neutering reduces the incidence of some unwanted behaviours and sex hormone related diseases (infections of the uterus, some tumours, prostate disease and perineal hernias).

MORE INFORMATION

Annual vaccination time or annual health check time is a good opportunity for us to perform a comprehensive examination on your pets. One dog year is equivalent to seven human years, so many issues can develop in a relatively short period of time.

It’s surprising the number of potential or existing health problems that can be detected during a thorough physical examination – behaviour issues, ear infections, dental disease and sore teeth, heart murmurs, bumps and lumps, anal gland impactions, arthritis or skin diseases and hormone imbalances such as diabetes.

It’s also an ideal time to talk about nutrition and ideal body weight.

Senior dogs (over 7 years) should receive a full health check once every 6 months.

Fleas are a common parasite that are often challenging to treat once they have established in your home. Adult fleas may be seen on your pet, but the majority of the flea’s life cycle is undertaken in the environment. This means that to break the life cycle, we need to treat both the pet, any other animals at home as well as the environment.

Prevention is better than trying to treat flea infestations. We recommend flea prevention for both cats and dogs, especially if they interact with other pets or travel.

There have been recent reports of paralysis ticks being found on dogs in the ACT and surrounds though these cases are still rare. Paralysis ticks are not generally found in our area. We regularly treat dogs that have visited the coast in the previous week and have picked up a tick while visiting. Paralysis tick intoxication can be a life-threatening condition requiring extended intensive care.

Dogs that travel to the coast from our region should receive a treatment for prevention against Paralysis Tick before they travel. It would also be a good idea to consider tick prevention as part of a routine precautionary health care program for your pet. 

Occasionally we will see other ticks that may attach to your pets but these ticks are not usually associated with disease. These ticks can be killed by the same medication that kills paralysis ticks.

Heartworm is a serious disease and prevention is much easier and better than cure. The incidence of heartworm disease is very low in our region but increases dramatically in warmer areas where mosquitos are more prevalent (as these spread heartworm disease).

All dogs that are not on a preventative program need to be tested before treatment commences. In young dogs we recommend monthly chews. Once a dog has reached its adult weight, we recommend yearly preventative injections (Proheart) that can be timed with an annual health check or vaccination. 

Proheart can also be used in puppies from 12 weeks of age but requires a second injection at 6-9 months of age before progressing to annual injections from 15 months of age. This is because the dose rate of Proheart is based on weight and a puppy’s weight increases dramatically from 3 months to 15 months of age.

We can discuss your pet’s nutritional requirements and recommend the best diet for your pet and your situation (whether that be a natural diet or a premium commercial diet).

We recommend and stock Hill’s Science Diet as it is one of the three premium pet food brands in Australia. Hill’s Science Diet has a range of diets tailored to life stage, energy levels and medical conditions, while providing a balanced and complete diet to your pet.

The Hills Puppy Range conveniently comes in different size kibble and different sized bags to suit all breeds of puppies.

Maintaining good dental health is such an important part of keeping your pet happy and healthy. Dental disease is a very common and often unnoticed condition in our pets. We can provide advice on dental health and check that your puppy’s teeth are developing normally. 

Occasionally we need to remove persistent puppy teeth that crowd the mouth, trap food and cause infection and prevent normal adult tooth eruption. This can be conveniently and efficiently done at desexing time.

Consider organising a quote online for pet insurance. Pet insurance is a great way to give you peace of mind as a pet owner. It’s impossible to predict when a pet may become ill, have an accident or need surgery. We are happy to talk to you about your options but cannot make recommendations on providers. 

Unfortunately, our beloved pets do not live for ever. At Yass Valley Veterinary we offer compassionate and caring end of life services either at our hospitals or in the familiarity of your home. This is an emotional time and we understand that it is a particularly difficult as you say good bye to your pet.

We offer aftercare options for your pet's body with the following companies:

Paws to remember: pawstoremember.com.au

Eden Hills: edenhills.com.au