Preventive Care
Preventive care is the quiet, regular work that prevents emergencies and catches change early. Knowing your dog's normal makes any change easier to spot.
Routine preventive care
Vaccination, parasite control, dental care, weight monitoring, ear checks, skin checks, nail and foot care, mobility monitoring, routine veterinary examination, medication review, senior screening, reproductive-health discussion, insurance or financial planning, and microchip and identification details.
Know your dog's normal
Learn to recognise your dog's normal appetite, drinking, toileting, breathing, gait, sleep, energy, behaviour, body condition and gum colour.
Change is easier to recognise when you know the dog's individual baseline.
Puppy Vaccinations, Boosters and Titre Testing
Why puppies receive a course
Puppies can receive temporary antibodies from their mother. These maternally derived antibodies decline at different rates and can interfere with an early vaccine response. This is why puppy vaccination normally involves a course rather than assuming one early dose protects every puppy. The exact schedule depends on the vaccine product, age, health, exposure risk and veterinary plan.
This page does not prescribe a schedule for an individual puppy. Owners should not change or delay vaccination without discussing it with their vet.
Core vaccines
Current WSAVA guidance identifies core canine vaccination against canine distemper virus, canine adenovirus and canine parvovirus. Leptospirosis is a serious zoonotic disease and vaccination is strongly recommended where relevant to local risk and available products.
Do not omit leptospirosis based on internet claims. Discuss the appropriate vaccine plan with your vet.
Puppy timing
Current WSAVA 2024 guidance advises that multiple core vaccine doses are generally recommended every two to four weeks during the puppy course, the final puppy core dose should be given at 16 weeks of age or older, and revaccination at or after 26 weeks is advised to reduce the immunity gap in the minority of puppies whose maternal antibodies interfered with earlier vaccination.
UK licensed-product instructions and the treating vet's recommendation matter. Individual schedules differ. Owners should not change or delay vaccination without discussing it with their vet.
Socialisation during the vaccination period
Early development cannot simply be postponed until after the full course. Encourage veterinary risk assessment and low-risk socialisation such as safe observation of everyday life, being carried where appropriate, controlled contact with healthy, appropriately vaccinated dogs, clean private environments, careful exposure to sounds, surfaces, handling and travel, and avoiding high-risk contaminated dog areas until the vet advises otherwise.
No environment can be promised to be disease-free.
Boosters
Different vaccines provide different expected durations of immunity. Some components may require more frequent revaccination than others. Product authorisation, health, lifestyle, travel and local disease risk all matter. An annual health review is not the same thing as automatically receiving every vaccine every year. The vet should create an individual preventive-health plan.
Titre testing
A titre test measures circulating antibodies to specified infections. Serology can help assess response or likely protection for some core viral diseases. Current WSAVA guidance supports serological testing for canine distemper, adenovirus and parvovirus in appropriate circumstances. A positive result can help inform decisions about some core revaccinations. A negative result does not always mean the dog has no immune memory, but it may lead the vet to recommend vaccination depending on the circumstances.
Titre testing does not assess every vaccine-preventable disease. It should not be presented as a universal alternative to all boosters. It is not generally treated as a dependable replacement for leptospirosis vaccination. It does not automatically replace legally required rabies vaccination or travel documentation. Interpretation belongs with a veterinary professional.
Boarding and titre certificates
Official statutory guidance for licensed dog boarding in England says that an up-to-date vaccination record must generally be seen. A veterinary certificate of a recent protective titre test may be accepted instead of a booster vaccination, but acceptance is at the licence holder's discretion.
Ask the boarding establishment before relying on titre results. Obtain a signed veterinary certificate. Do not assume every kennel, daycare or activity provider must accept it. Distinguish legal licensing conditions from an individual business's stricter contract terms.
What is not an alternative
Homeopathic nosodes are not titre tests. A titre test is not a vaccine. Homeopathic vaccination should not be represented as an evidence-based substitute. England's licensed-boarding guidance states that homeopathic vaccination is not acceptable.
Rabies and travel
Rabies vaccination is subject to legal travel rules. Microchipping must occur before or at the same time as the rabies vaccination for the relevant travel rules. Required waiting periods and documentation apply. A general core-vaccine titre test is not a substitute for legally required rabies documentation. Some journeys from specified countries require a particular rabies antibody blood test under travel law; this is a separate legal process.
Vaccine records
Retain: vaccine name, date administered, batch details where recorded, veterinary practice, next review or due date, titre-test report, certificate interpretation, adverse-event information, and travel documentation where relevant.
A fully vaccinated dog cannot be guaranteed never to contract or transmit disease. Vaccination reduces risk; it does not eliminate it.
Parasite Prevention
Parasite prevention means reducing the risk of fleas, ticks, roundworm, tapeworm and lungworm through a plan tailored to your dog's environment, lifestyle and travel — not a single universal product or frequency.
- Fleas and ticks: Risk depends on environment, season, wildlife exposure and lifestyle. Discuss appropriate prevention with your vet, and check your dog regularly.
- Roundworm and tapeworm: Regular worming plans are tailored to the dog's risk profile. Dogs that scavenge, hunt, or have access to raw meat may need a different approach.
- Lungworm: In some regions lungworm (Angiostrongylus) is a significant risk. Discuss regional risk with your vet.
- Travel-related parasites: Travel may expose dogs to parasites not present at home. Discuss travel plans with your vet in advance.
- Faecal testing: Where advised, faecal testing can inform whether worming is needed rather than treating blindly.
- Veterinary risk assessment: The right product, dose and frequency depend on your dog's weight, species (never use cat or livestock products on a dog), health and individual risk. Your vet is the right person to advise.
- Never use another animal's medication. Record doses so you know what has been given and when.
Prevention and treating an established infestation are different things. If you suspect your dog has parasites, seek veterinary advice rather than assuming a preventive product will resolve it.
Some dog parasites have zoonotic relevance — they can affect people as well as dogs. Regular preventive care, hygiene and veterinary guidance reduce that risk.
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