Regular visits to the vet are essential for preventive care, early detection of potential health problems, and maintaining your dog’s overall health.

In this article, we discuss the ideal frequency of visits for your dog based on your dog’s age.

Read here to find out about what to do for your dog’s dental care.

Read here to find out about common dog allergies.

How Often Should My Puppy Go to the Vet?

Welcoming a new puppy into your home is one of the most exciting parts of dog ownership, and of course, vet visits are inevitable during these first few weeks. Let’s take a look at the most common scenario, whereby your puppy joins the household at eight weeks of age (and is not yet vaccinated). Your puppy needs to see a vet two or three times (depending where you live) for vaccinations, with each of these vet visits being 2-4 weeks apart. The first vaccination is ideally given at 8 weeks of age, and certainly no earlier than 6 weeks of age.

Your puppy will also need to receive flea and worm treatment at the vet. Young puppies grow fast, so your vet will most likely want to check your puppy’s weight each time flea and worm products are dispensed to ensure the dose is correct for their size.

How Often Should My Adult Dog Go to the Vet?

Healthy adult dogs showing no signs of illness should visit a vet every 6 months. This allows your vet to check for any problems with your pet’s health. Many diseases show only subtle signs in their early stages, so these regular wellness checkups allow your vet to pick up on (and treat) any issues nice and early. Of course, your dog will also need to see a vet at least every 12 months for vaccinations, or (if you prefer) a serology blood test (we’ll discuss this in greater detail in the article ‘What Shot Does My Dog Need Annually?’

Shockingly, only about 40% of dog owners in the United States take their dog for a vet visit one or more times annually [1], despite the fact that regular wellness exams are a crucial component of preventative care for our furry family members.

How Often Should My Senior Dog Go to the Vet?

How often a senior dog need to see the vet depends on the overall health of your furry friend, as well as your dog’s age. As a general rule, small dogs over are considered geriatric once they reach 10 years of age, whereas large and giant breed dogs may be considered geriatric at around 7 years.

Most dogs require more frequent vet visits once they have reached the ‘senior dog’ milestone, as senior dogs are far more likely to experience chronic (long-term) health conditions compared to their youthful counterparts. In fact, increased age is one of the two most important factors that can predict the likelihood of your dog becoming sick (the other being breed) [2].

Senior dogs should receive blood work and urine tests at least annually, but ideally every 6 months. These routine diagnostic tests help identify any underlying health conditions that may not yet be obvious, so that health issues can be addressed as soon as possible.

What Do Vet Checkups Involve?

Annual wellness exams will start with your vet taking a history. This means they will ask you – the pet owner – a series of questions to assess your dog’s general state of health at home; for example, they may ask how and what your dog eats; if they are drinking normally; whether they have a good fitness level during exercise; and what your dog’s behavior is like. Basically, they want to get a picture of your dog’s life from the person who knows them best!

After taking a history, your vet will conduct a full physical examination of your dog, checking them over from nose to tail. Routine wellness exams usually take less than 15 minutes from start to finish, so long as your vet does not identify any possible issues with your dog’s health.

As well as identifying any problems, the annual check up is the perfect opportunity to discuss preventative health care with your vet, and to pick up parasite prevention (flea, tick and worm) medications.

What Does the Average Dog Check Up Cost?

The average cost of wellness exams at a vet clinic will vary depending on where you live, but even more so on the pricing structures of the individual clinic. Bear in mind that even two vet clinics on the same street may offer very different prices!

As a general rule, in the United States the average cost for a vet check-up (not including any treatments or medications) is $60-100 USD. In the United Kingdom, £40-60 GBP is normal, and in Australia you might expect your routine vet visit to set you back $50-100 AUD.

What Dog Vaccinations are Absolutely Necessary?

In the United States, the core vaccinations required to protect your dog are:

• parvovirus

• viral hepatitis

• distemper

• rabies
  

Leptospirosis vaccination is not considered core is the USA, and instead (like the kennel cough vaccine) is given based on your dog’s risk level [3].

In the United Kingdom, the core vaccinations are:

• parvovirus

• viral hepatitis

• distemper

• leptospirosis

Dogs in the UK are not required to be vaccinated again rabies unless travelingc abroad. Kennel cough vaccine is recommended for all dogs, but is not considered core.

In Australia, the core vaccine protocol provides protection against parvovirus, viral hepatitis and distemper only.

Whichever country you live in, leptospirosis vaccination is highly advised for all dogs living in rural or farming areas.

Protection against kennel cough is recommended for puppies, adult and senior dogs who frequently come into contact with other dogs, or who frequently visit places with high “doggy traffic”. It’s worth being aware that the term “kennel cough” does not relate to a specific infection in dogs, but rather can refer to a whole host of different upper respiratory tract (flu-like) infections that our canine friends may encounter.

A bacterium called Bordetella bronchiseptica is a prolific cause of kennel cough, and it’s actually this bacterium that we are protecting against when we give a dog a kennel cough vaccination.

A second common cause of kennel cough is the canine parainfluenza virus; some vaccine manufacturers actually include parainfluenza protection along with the distemper, hepatitis and parvovirus (DHP) vaccine, in which case you will see the vaccine referred to as “DHPP”.

A key point to know as a pet owner is that many kennels and doggy daycare centres will not accept a dog who has not received a Bordetella vaccine, even if they are vaccinated against parainfluenza.

What are the Most Common Dog Vaccines?

The most common vaccinations for dogs worldwide are rabies, parvovirus, viral hepatitis and distemper.

What Vaccines Do Dogs Need Annually?

Traditionally, it is considered that the protection provided by the distemper, hepatitis and parvovirus vaccinations lasts for 3 years (once your dog has had a fully puppy course, and their first annual booster). The protection from leptospirosis and kennel cough vaccinations is considered to last 12 months. Rabies vaccinations last 1-3 years, depending upon the brand and manufacturer.

A key concept which more pet owners are gaining awareness of, is that we are likely over-vaccinating our dogs. Now, vaccinations are obviously a super important part of keeping your pet healthy, and I’m certainly not encouraging you to skip booster shots altogether! Let me explain.

The protection provided by a vaccination lasts a different amount of time, for different individuals. “Dog A” might only be protected for 12 months by a particular vaccination, whereas “Dog B” might stay protected for 2-3 years from the exact same vaccination!

Vaccine serology is a special blood test that is rising in popularity, which your vet can run to check whether or not your dog actually needs to be vaccinated yet, or whether they are still protected from their previous vaccine. So, these days when you visit the veterinary clinic for your dog’s yearly booster shots, you may have the option of serology instead!

Serology blood tests can help prevent over-vaccination of our canine companions. Currently, many pet owners find the price tag off-putting, as blood work is usually more expensive than vaccinations, but there’s certainly hope that as serology testing becomes more commonplace, prices might become more affordable.

Final Words on How Often Does Your Dog Need To Go To The Vet

In conclusion, it is ideal to bring your dog to the vet at least once a year for routine check ups and vaccinations. Saying that the frequency of visits varies based on your dog’s health, age and other specific needs.

Speak to your veterinary clinic and your veterinarian will be able to offer your dog personalized advice on the frequency of visits and what you can do to keep them healthy.

Reference List:

[1] Bir, C et al. Familiarity and Use of Veterinary Services by US Resident Dog and Cat Owners. Animals (2020).

[2] Kim et al. Major medical causes by breed and life stage for dogs presented at veterinary clinics in the Republic of Korea: a survey of electronic medical records. PeerJ. (2018)

[3] Tizard, I.R. Canine Vaccines. Vaccines for Veterinarians. (2020)