Dogs
Keep your dog healthy with these tips
Brought home a cute puppy? Got a slightly older dog from a breeder? Adopted a dog from the shelter? Together with you, our vets provide the best care for your dog.
Vaccinations
Your dog loves nothing more than to romp around the garden, forest or field. But while they’re out playing, they will inevitably put their nose in all kinds of muck. From time to time, they might also swallow something other than food. And that’s why it’s so important to protect your dog with the right vaccinations.
We recommend protecting your dog against the following diseases:
- canine distemper
- canine parvovirus
- infectious liver disease (canine hepatitis or Carre’s disease)
- leptospirosis
- kennel cough – compulsory if your dog goes a kennel or dog school
Thinking about breeding your dog yourself?
If so, be sure to also have your female dog vaccinated against herpes. It’s also important to worm her properly when she is pregnant.
The first vaccination takes place around six weeks of age. Your dog’s breeder will arrange this themselves. The next vaccinations follow at nine, 12 and 16 weeks, with those at 12 and 16 weeks being the most important to ensure your dog is properly protected. After that, the vaccination schedule is adapted to your pet’s needs, so we may recommend the next vaccination as early as at six months of age, followed by vaccinations during their annual check-up.
Internal parasites
If your dog comes in for annual check-ups, we will check whether they have been wormed. To keep your dog and their immune system in good shape, it is important that they are wormed properly. In growing puppies, it’s best to do so monthly; in adult dogs, worming every three months is sufficient in most cases. Dogs that spend a lot of time outdoors may come into contact with slugs, which may cause them to be infected with lungworm — feel free to discuss this with your vet. If you’re travelling to the Mediterranean, make sure you contact your vet for the relevant advice.
External parasites
If you notice your dog is scratching more often than usual, they may have a parasite on their skin or in their fur: fleas, mites or ticks, for example
In most cases, you can’t spot fleas with the naked eye — but you can spot their droppings. If we see any, we will treat your dog with a flea collar, chewable tablets or a spot-on treatment. It is important that you also treat their surroundings and all other pets in the family.
Ticks are something you can see with the naked eye, but can carry all kinds of diseases, from Lyme disease — which you’re likely to have heard of — to blood parasites. In other words, caution is advised. You should always use a tick remover tool. If you’re not entirely sure how to use one yourself, one of our vets will be happy to help.
We recommend a tick prevention remedy. Lots of products are available on the market these days that protect your dog from both fleas and ticks for several months.
Castration
If your dog has any issues with their prostate, testicular cancer or a perineal hernia (rupture), our vets recommend castration.
Unlike in female dogs, neutering is not necessarily recommended for health reasons. Another reason to opt for castration may be to reduce your male dog’s violent and/or dominant behaviour, as the procedure inhibits testosterone production.
Spaying
If you have a female dog at home, and you have no plans to breed her, you can choose to have her spayed. This procedure not only prevents unwanted pregnancy or bleeding when she’s in season, but it also reduces the risk of uterine infection.
When we spay your dog, our vets remove her ovaries, or in some cases, her uterus. These days, we mainly carry out this procedure using keyhole surgery to reduce the risk of infection and speed up the healing process. This method is also less painful for your dog.