Carrollton West Pet Hospital provides complete immunizations for all stages of your pet’s life. Immunizations help protect your pet and family from very serious disease and illness that can be debilitating and in some cases lethal. We provide vaccinations for dogs, cat and ferrets. While we have general guidelines for disease prevention we adjust our protocol to meet your pet’s individual health and life style needs. If this is your pet’s first visit here, we ask that you please bring any vaccination history you have so that we can give your pet just what it needs.
As part of each vaccination visit your pet will receive a complete physical exam. An exam is necessary to give the doctor a chance to assess your pet’s general health. This allows us to make sure your pet does not have any health issues that would make it inadvisable to give vaccinations to your pet as well as allowing us to have something to compare to if your pet has a vaccine reaction.
Puppies and kittens begin with their first set of vaccinations at 6-9 weeks of age. They are given a series of 3 to 4 sets of vaccinations that are repeated at 3 week intervals. Some vaccinations should only be given after a certain age and must be repeated at particular intervals. Their little bodies need frequent repeated exposure at a young age so that their immune systems can learn from the vaccination how to protect them from disease. If vaccinations are not given at the appropriate time or interval it may leave your pet open to disease. The frequent exams associated with these vaccinations also help us to monitor your pet’s growth and development. At the first visit, we will perform a fecal (stool) analysis to look for intestinal parasites and give appropriate deworming medication. When you bring your puppy or kitten in for his/her first exam, we will make sure the protocol is appropriate for his/her age and vaccination history.
Adult dogs and cats require certain vaccinations every year while others may be given less frequently if the pet has received a full contingency of puppy/kitten vaccinations. We will always perform a physical exam to make sure it is appropriate to vaccinate your pet. We will also take into consideration your pet’s individual life style and potential exposure to disease to make sure your pet gets only what it needs.
Canine vaccines
For adult dogs the core vaccinations needed in our geographical area are rabies, distemper, adenovirus, parinfluenza, parvovirus, leptospirosis, and bordetella. Rabies is required by law to be given every 1 or 3 years. Distemper, adenovirus, parainfluenza, and parvo are generally given as one injection every 1 or 3 years. Leptospirosis is needed every year in our area. Bordetella (kennel cough) is given once yearly, however, some boarding facilities require it to be boostered every 6 months and we are happy to accommodate this protocol. For dogs we are also able to provide Lyme disease vaccination, influenza vaccination, and rattle snake vaccination if their life style indicates the need.
Feline Vaccines
For adult cats, the core vaccinations include rabies, rhinotracheitis, calici virus, panleukopenia and feline leukemia virus. Research shows that a small percentage of cats may get a tumor at the site of an injection occurring anywhere from 3 weeks to 13 years after the injection. Our cat vaccinations are all non-adjuvanted vaccines; they are produced in a way that will hopefully decrease the odds of this occurring. While Texas state law does allow for every 1 or 3 year rabies vaccinations of cats our non-adjuvanted vaccine is a yearly vaccine. Rhinotracheitis, calicivirus and panleukopenia virus are generally given as one injection every 3 years in indoor only cats and annually in cats that go outdoors. Feline leukemia vaccinations are given annually but usually only to cats that go outdoors and/or have potential exposure to other outdoor cats.
For all dogs and outdoor cats, we recommend annual stool checks for intestinal parasites. Dogs also need an annual blood test for heartworms. Only 1 heartworm can kill a pet so we recommend year round heartworm prevention for all pets. Given our geographical location, we also recommend year round flea and tick prevention
Ferret Vaccines
Adult ferrets require rabies and distemper vaccinations. These vaccinations must be approved for use in ferrets. For more information on ferret vaccination recommendations please click on the small mammal window.
Timely, effective and appropriate vaccinations and preventative care can be a lifesaver for your pet. If you have any questions regarding our recommended vaccinations please call. We are happy to have a personal conversation with you to ensure your pet gets the care he/she needs and deserves.