Visits to the doctor are the most important part of preventive care, even for healthy four-legged friends. But how often does a dog need to go to the dog veterinarian? Here is the most important information!
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Of course, one would like the visits to the veterinary office to be as infrequent as possible. However, even the Federal Animal Protection Act stipulates that dog owners are even obliged to seek veterinary help if necessary.
to take. But how often does a dog need to see a veterinarian?
"If an animal shows signs of illness or injury, it must be properly cared for without delay, if necessary by calling in a veterinarian," it says on the part of the Austrian legislature.
In addition, experts agree that regular visits and the associated examination at the veterinarian are also important in terms of maintaining health and early detection of possible diseases. Therefore, after a short acclimatization period, one of the first ways with the new four-legged friend should be that to the vet. During the first examination, the state of health is determined. Possible congenital diseases (e.g. joint or heart diseases) can be determined under certain circumstances, first treatment steps can be discussed, or also the first precautionary measures for the preservation of the health can be set.
For healthy dogs up to 10 years of age, at least one health check should take place per year. At the latest from the age of 12 years, two controls per year (every six months) make sense.
Dog owners are responsible
The owner can do a lot for the preventive health care of his dog. Regular parasite elimination and close observation of behavioral changes help to prevent diseases or to detect them at an early stage. Recognizing the most important symptoms and simple manipulations for examining ears, eyes, paws, and teeth can be easily learned by dog owners. If a dog tolerates these manipulations without problems, he will also have much less stress during the examination. Veterinary medicine today is highly developed and allows for far-reaching treatments and elaborate surgical methods. Therefore, it is also important to consider the possible costs.
What preventive measures make sense?
Preventive measures also include vaccinations against dangerous infectious diseases. Modern vaccines usually provide protection against several of these diseases. The best known of these are distemper, parvovirosis, kennel cough, leptospirosis and rabies.
The necessity of these vaccinations is discussed again and again. In general, it is clear that the risk of infection with these diseases has increased significantly with the large number of imports of dogs from countries where usually only a few animals are vaccinated. The high vaccination rate in Austria and Germany has contributed significantly to the fact that cases of the mentioned infections (especially rabies) have become very rare in our latitudes or do not happen at all anymore.
no longer occur.
Protective vaccinations are therefore important and consist of basic immunization, usually in the eighth, twelfth and sixteenth week of life, and regular repeat vaccinations. Your veterinarian will be happy to provide you with more detailed information.
As part of the vaccinations, the subject of parasites is always addressed. Both
various worms, which are mostly found in the digestive tract of dogs, as well as pests such as fleas, ticks or mites, which are found on the skin and coat, can cause considerable trouble for their "hosts". Whether roundworm, hookworm or tapeworm: not least for hygienic reasons, a regular fecal examination should be carried out for detection and deworming for removal of the parasites.
How frequently does a dog need to go to the vet - for parasites?
Flea control is carried out when there is an actual infestation but is then often not limited to the affected dog alone, but must be extended to the entire home.
Ticks are particularly feared because of their role as disease vectors (e.g. of Lyme disease) and can now be found almost everywhere in Europe. During the warm season, therefore, one of the many prophylactic options for the coat of the dogs should be chosen, so that it does not even come to an infestation.
However, the owner can do much more beyond that to maintain health. Have your veterinarian show you how to care for and check teeth, ears, eyes, and paws regularly yourself! Once your dog is accustomed to these procedures, it will be easier for him to be examined by the vet, and it will also be less stressful.
Feeding, grooming, and vet visits are all part of responsible dog ownership. Especially for "dog novices" it is sometimes difficult to judge whether there is a disease and the vet should be visited. This is not least also individually dependent on the dogs. So there are so-called "hard" dogs that do not show pain or discomfort clearly.
Signs of illness - what to pay attention to?
Some symptoms can still provide valuable clues: Excessive fatigue, reluctance to eat for more than a day, shaggy coat, increased or decreased body temperature, diarrhea or vomiting, and violent coughing, for example, are possible signs of illness.
In addition, excessive thirst and frequent urination over a longer period should be clarified by a veterinarian. Today, veterinary medicine has almost the same diagnostic possibilities as human medicine. Starting with comprehensive laboratory tests, effective but expensive drugs, up to surgical techniques with massive technical effort, many things are part of the veterinary everyday life today.
Therefore, consider already at the time of purchase that the effective fight against serious diseases and injuries is often possible, but may be associated with high costs. To take financial precautions here saves in the case of the case headache.
Moreover, a later castration should be considered already in the puppy age. While in the male dog a medical justification is rarer, the reasons for such an intervention in the female dog are clearer. Neutering is usually obligatory and verifiable for dogs from animal welfare. In bitches, this prevents purulent uterine infections and mammary tumors. A prudent veterinarian will inform you about the right time, advantages and disadvantages.
Health care for dogs
The fact that our dogs are getting older and older is also related to the ever-increasing possibilities of veterinary medicine. But also with the consciousness of the dog owners that regular attendance of the veterinary ordination and prophylactic measures opposite pathogens contribute much to recognize possible illnesses early. This also includes regular vaccinations, which are recommended by experts and have led to the fact that many of these diseases have become rare in Austria and Germany today. However, increased imports of dogs from countries with sometimes massive incidences of dangerous infectious diseases make these vaccinations more important than ever before. In connection with vaccination against rabies, special attention should be drawn to the legal basis of the regulations in European travel.