Dogs

Puppies

Congratulations! You have brought another loving family member into your home with a cute little puppy! This new addition also comes with the responsibility of providing everything necessary for your new pet to live a long, happy, and healthy life. It is crucial that your puppy receives exceptional veterinary care, which we provide here at Central Plains. To start your pet on the road to adulthood it is important they receive all of their "Puppy Shots" commonly referred to as DA2PP. These vaccinations should be given at 6 weeks, 9 weeks, 12 weeks, and 15 weeks to ensure that your pet gains the immunity it needs to remain healthy. The vaccination consists of modified viruses including both types of Canine Adenovirus, Canine Distemper, Canine Parvovirus, and Canine Parainfluenza. At 12 or 15 weeks your pet will receive his or her Rabies vaccination which is vitally important and required by law. When we vaccinate the new member of your family they will also get a thorough examination from one of our veterinarians, a deworming and heartworm prevention to ensure your pet does not have internal parasites, and flea and tick prevention.

When your pet is six months old we highly recommend neutering him or spaying her. This surgical procedure alters your pets reproductive system so that they cannot reproduce. We recommend doing this because it can prevent unwanted behaviors in males, decrease prostate problems in males, and decrease ovarian, uterine, and mammary cancer in females. It will also prevent accidental litters and help decrease the number of unwanted puppies. It is a surgical procedure requiring anesthesia, but with modern anesthetics and monitoring equipment risks are minimal. We recommend doing pre-anesthetic bloodwork, which gives us a baseline on your pets internal health.

Please feel free to consult this comprehensive Puppy Care Guide from Royal Canin.
Royal Canin puppy guide 2014 to go to the PDF file.
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Adult Dogs

Once your puppy reaches a year old he is considered an adult! This milestone, however, does not mean your pet no longer needs veterinary care! Once a year, every year your pet needs to be seen by a veterinarian for a yearly check up and a Rabies vaccination. A yearly Rabies vaccination is required by law in Hale county. Every other year we recommend doing a blood test to check your pet for heartworms and tick borne diseases. Every two-three years your pet needs a booster of DA2PPLC. It is also vitally important that your dog stay on heartworm prevention and flea and tick control. This will help to ensure your pet doesn't get internal and external parasites. Keeping flea and tick prevention on your pet will also help protect you and your family from ticks and the diseases they carry.

Just like in people your dog also needs dental care. Plaque and tartar can build up on their teeth and cause gum diseases such as gingivitis and periodontal disease. You can help prevent this by brushing your dogs teeth either with special dog toothpaste and toothbrush or just with a small cloth. Do NOT use human toothpaste as it can harm your dog. Treats made especially for cleaning your dogs teeth may help, but be sure not to over treat your dog as this can lead to obesity and several other problems! Sometimes even with our best efforts as owners plaque and tartar build up anyway and some dogs are genetically predisposed to having bad teeth. When this happens we recommend doing a dental. In this procedure we sedate your dog so we can properly clean and polish his or her teeth. While your pet is sedated one of the veterinarians also checks your pets mouth for any other problems including any loose or damaged teeth which would need to be removed. It is important to have a dental done before your pet has developed bad teeth as pulling teeth can be painful and will require your pet to go home with antibiotics.

If you are planning on boarding your dogs or of they are going to come into contact with other dogs, possibly at the park, on walks, or at the groomers, then you should consider having us give your pet a Bordetella vaccination. This vaccine helps protect your pet against what is commonly called "Kennel Cough." Kennel Cough is a respiratory disease that is transferred from dog to dog in the air. Some groomers and boarding facilitates require their client's pet to be immunized against this disease before your pet is allowed onto the premises of their facilities.

Senior Dogs

It is important to provide continued care as your pet ages. It is common for more senior dogs to begin to slow down and not be as active as they once were. We recommend starting your senior dog on a pet food that is specifically formulated for seniors to allow easier digestion. Some foods even contain polysulfated glucosaminoglycans and chondroitan sulfates, both of these help to lubricate your pets joints and should help your pet gain back some mobility and decrease the rate of arthritis formation. Omega 3 and 6 fatty acids can also help. If your pet is having any problems at all, schedule an appointment so that our staff here at Central Plains can evaluate and discuss options for keeping your senior happy and healthy! It is a good idea to run some blood work to get an idea of how your pets internal organs are functioning. It is always helpful to catch any problems your pet might be having early so that, if needed, we can begin treatment.