Annual checklist for dog care

It seems only yesterday that your canine friend had its veterinary check-up. But today, once again, you have received that familiar reminder to see the veterinary surgeon. Is another veterinary examination already due?

Here is a checklist of some of the ways you can help ensure your dog's good health throughout the year: you can maintain it round the year and make sure that your dog is healthy and happy.

* Do make an appointment for a veterinary check-up. Even if your dog is not sick, visits to the veterinary surgeon are critical for detecting subtle changes in your pet's physical health. Ideally, dogs should be seen at least once a year, or more frequently if they are elderly or have special medical needs.

* Be sure your dog's vaccinations are up-to-date. Annual vaccinations should include distemper, leptospirosis (new variants of which have prompted development of updated vaccinations), parvovirus and rabies.

* Ask your veterinarian for current recommendations about vaccines against Lyme disease and Bordetella ('kennel cough').

* Whether your dog gets its heartworm preventative year-round or only during mosquito season, its blood should be tested annually for heartworms or their immature microfilaria.

* Discuss flea and tick control with your veterinary surgeon. Products that work against these parasites are updated quickly and frequently. Remember that fleas, or at least their pupae (at the stage between a larva and complete adult), will live year-round in your home and yard!

* Is it time for a dental cleaning, under sedation or anaesthesia, for your canine companion? An annual examination will help determine whether (or when) dental preventative cleaning will be needed.

This is also a good time to evaluate your at-home dental care programme and perhaps demonstrate how you brush your dog's teeth.

* Bring a small sample of your dog's stool to the veterinary clinic, where laboratory technicians will examine it for the presence of parasite eggs. Ask your veterinarian for help with identifying tapeworm (cestode) segments, which are not easily detected in a stool sample.

* An annual assessment of your pet's behaviour will help identify newly emerging problems - perhaps before they become serious. Whether your dog is barking excessively or destroying shoes in your absence, its misbehaviour can usually be controlled if caught in the early stages.

* If your dog is elderly, discuss its special needs with your veterinarian. Just like people, senior dogs may suffer from various organ system problems, osteoarthritis, loss of vision or hearing, and even memory loss or dementia (also known as cognitive dysfunction syndrome).

Luckily, many problems can be successfully controlled with medication or simple lifestyle changes.

Compiled by Janani Amarasekera