What’s the Best Time for Veterinary Check-Up in Massachusetts?
Scheduling an appointment for a veterinary check-up can be a stressful experience for some pets. Knowing when a check-up is required with your local Southeastern Massachusetts veterinarian can help you to prevent unnecessary visits. Our South Coast veterinary clinic offers a wide range of services, including preventive veterinary services, check-ups, advanced dentistry, ongoing treatments for diagnosed conditions, and we even serve as a Dartmouth emergency vet for urgent situations.
If you have concerns that your pet might be sick or injured, you should schedule an appointment. Otherwise, regular veterinary check-up visits should be planned with your veterinarian. New pet check-ups, annual appointments, and preventive services can be arranged based on the age, lifestyle, and health status of your pet. Very young animals often require more frequent visits to keep up with vaccination schedules, and senior pets will typically require twice-a-year exams to ensure that they are not experiencing any mobility issues or age-related conditions. Your local veterinarian can help you create a schedule that works best for you and your pet to provide the very best in pet care services.
New Pet Veterinary Check-Up
Puppies and kittens should be brought in to see your Southeastern Massachusetts veterinarian right away. If you have other pets in the home, you will likely want to bring them in before bringing them to your house or introducing them to other cats and dogs. The first vet trip is an important step in a lifelong approach to caring and preventive services. Puppies will usually require a first veterinary check-up between eight and ten weeks of age, which is when a full exam can be conducted to determine their overall health and for the pup to receive their first round of vaccines for things like rabies, parainfluenza, distemper, parvo, and much more. Kittens usually see the vet between six and eight weeks for a complete check-up, deworming program, and initial vaccinations to prevent illness and internal parasites.
As you can imagine, all of these preventive treatments provided at your South Coast veterinary clinic are essential to the health and wellbeing of your new pet, existing pets, and all of the people in your home. Some diseases and conditions can transfer between pets and people, including parasites like fleas, ticks, and some worms. There are many responsibilities when you adopt a new pet, regardless of the species or the age of the animal itself. Start every new pet relationship off with a veterinary check-up at Anchor Animal Hospital, your local Dartmouth emergency vet, and preventive care clinic. We can provide advice for first-time pet owners and offer valuable services for those who are more experienced. Grooming, diet, training, pet-proofing, and more can all be discussed at that essential first appointment.
Ongoing Check-Up Schedules
Your Southeastern Massachusetts veterinarian will provide you with a suggested schedule for future veterinary check-up appointments based on the health and unique needs of your pet. However, for healthy pets, the typical program after the initial puppy or kitten check-up has more to do with vaccines than anything else. Visits every three to four weeks until your new pet is 16 weeks of age or more, depending on when the first vaccination was started, should be expected. After that, a six-month check-up to ensure good health and to answer any questions about behavioral issues, training, and diet should also be scheduled.
From the first year on up to about ten years of age, your pet should visit the South Coast veterinary clinic once each year. This will help them to stay up on any required booster vaccines, such as rabies or bordetella, depending on legal and lifestyle requirements. Some pet owners strategically schedule these appointments based on the change of season so they can get a prescription for preventive treatments or around planned vacations and other events to ensure that their pet is protected. Once your pet is ten years of age or older, your veterinarian may suggest that you make appointments more frequently to stay on top of health issues or any age-related conditions that your pet has developed.
Contact Anchor Animal Hospital in Dartmouth
Whether you have a new pet, are thinking about adopting a new pet, have existing pets in your home, or you are just ready to make a change to a new Southeastern Massachusetts veterinarian, contact Anchor Animal Hospital. Since 1975, we have provided quality care and services to pets and pet owners throughout Southeastern Massachusetts and Rhode Island. We offer a wide range of services, including working as a Dartmouth emergency vet for urgent situations, such as surgical needs, advanced dentistry, ongoing treatments, and more. Give us a call at 508-996-3731 to speak with one of our team members about scheduling an appointment for a veterinary check-up.