At Artemis Animal Clinic, we recommend that your dog has a health check every year.
During this check-up, we examine your dog from head to tail. We inspect the mouth and teeth, check for any dental issues, and assess whether you should start brushing or taking other measures. There are many things you can do to improve your dog’s oral hygiene.
We check the coat and skin for any signs of itching.
Depending on the season, we discuss whether preventative treatment for fleas and ticks is needed.
What is the dog being fed? Is the stool normal? We assess whether your dog’s weight is healthy. Unfortunately, many dogs are overweight, and there is much you can do to help your dog achieve a normal weight.
We listen to the heart and lungs. Many heart problems are detected during the annual check-up when the vet listens to the dog’s heart with a stethoscope.
Perhaps it is relevant to test your dog for heart and lungworms?
If your dog is older, a blood test may be appropriate to ensure that all organs are functioning properly.
Many older dogs develop arthritis. However, as an owner, there is a lot you can do to alleviate the discomfort for your dog.
We are also happy to discuss behavior, as behavior often reflects the animal’s health condition.
There is much a dog owner can do to ensure their dog has the best possible life.
Some dogs “hide” their issues, and it can be challenging for the owner to identify if something is wrong.
By having a discussion with the vet, we can find out if there are areas where we can improve life for our beloved pets!
Vaccination
As part of the annual health check, we assess the need for vaccination.
In Denmark, we generally vaccinate against the following diseases:
Distemper, hepatitis, parvovirus diarrhea, parainfluenza, and leptospirosis.
The veterinarian customizes the vaccination to each dog’s needs through a discussion with the owner. A vaccine is composed of different components, allowing vaccination against all diseases at once or only some of them.
This means we can tailor the vaccine very precisely to the individual dog’s needs.
The duration (immunity against a disease) of a vaccine varies depending on the disease in question.
Vaccines are divided into core and non-core vaccines. Core vaccines should be given to all dogs in the household, while other vaccines are selected based on lifestyle and assessed risk of infection.
Recommendations for dogs
Core vaccines:
– Distemper
– Parvovirus
– Infectious hepatitis
Non-core vaccines:
– Leptospirosis
– Parainfluenza
– Bordetella
– Borrelia
– Herpes
– Rabies
Puppy vaccination
Puppies are vaccinated with core vaccines starting at 6-8 weeks of age and then every 2-4 weeks until the puppy is 16 weeks or older.
A booster vaccine is given when the puppy is 6.5 months to 1 year old to ensure protection for puppies that may not have responded optimally to the initial vaccines. We call for a check and vaccination when the puppy is around 6.5 months old.
Vaccination of adult dogs
Dogs that have completed their puppy vaccinations are revaccinated with core vaccines at intervals of 3 years or more.
For non-core vaccines such as leptospirosis, parainfluenza, and borrelia, annual revaccination is required to maintain immunity. An adult dog with an unknown vaccination status will be protected after a single vaccination with the core vaccine.
These recommendations follow the guidelines of the Danish Veterinary Association, developed in cooperation with the World Small Animal Veterinary Association (WSAVA).
Kennel cough vaccine
There is a specific vaccine that covers “kennel cough.”
The term “kennel cough” refers to various viral diseases often complicated by infection with the bacterium Bordetella bronchiseptica.
A vaccine is available that protects against the most common form of influenza associated with kennel cough (caused by canine parainfluenza virus-2) and also covers the Bordetella bacterium.
The kennel cough vaccine may be relevant in certain cases and is often required by dog boarding facilities. The vaccine should be administered 2-3 weeks before arrival at the facility. However, it is no guarantee that the dog will never get kennel cough, as there are many viral strains that can cause the disease. The vaccine is given as a nasal drop.