Preventive care, on a schedule, with the price attached
Preventive care is the only veterinary spending an owner chooses in advance, and it is the spending nobody publishes a number for. These guides give the protocol — which vaccine, at what age, how often it is genuinely due, what to feed and how much — and then the number, from our own dataset. A rabies vaccination is $25 typical. The full puppy series is $291. An urgent-care visit when something preventable is missed starts at $85, before anyone treats anything.
What these pages do, and what they will not do
They report published guidance and US law as they stand, with the source named. They do not prescribe. Vaccination intervals are set by the product label and, for rabies, by your state’s statute — a three-year rabies vaccine is a one-year vaccine in a state that says so, and no article can tell you which you are in without knowing where you live. Which non-core vaccines an animal needs depends on its age, health and lifestyle: a vaccine an indoor-only cat does not need is not a vaccine it should have.
The same line holds on diet. A senior dog choosing between two supermarket foods is making a preference; a dog on a low-fat diet after pancreatitis, or a renal diet in chronic kidney disease, is on a treatment. Pages about the second kind say so, name the indication, and send the reader to their own veterinarian rather than to a product.
Why a preventive-care page ends on a bill
Because the honest argument for preventive care is arithmetic, and almost nobody shows it. Telling an owner that a booster “protects their pet” asks them to spend money on faith. Telling them what the vaccine costs, and what the illness it prevents bills at when it happens, is the same argument with the numbers in it — and we can make it because we already research US veterinary prices from published fee schedules, teaching-hospital price lists and claims data.
Where a page has no honest cost consequence, it shows no price at all. A litter-box guide is a litter-box guide.
21 guides published. Jump to: Vaccines and parasite prevention (10) · Feeding and diet (8) · Routine care at home (0) · Puppies, kittens and seniors (3)
Vaccines and parasite prevention
Which shots an animal actually needs, at what age, how often the booster is really due, and what the flea, tick, worm and heartworm cover is for. The interval is the question almost every page on this topic gets wrong, because it is set by the product label and by state law rather than by a rule of thumb.
- rabies shot for dogs
What a rabies shot for dogs protects against, who may legally give it, when it is due, and what happens to an unvaccinated dog after a bite or exposure.
If it is missed dog rabies vaccination
How often One dose at 12 to 16 weeks, a booster one year later, then every 1 or 3 years depending on the product label and local law
- dhpp dog vaccine
DHPP, DAPP and DA2PP are the same core dog vaccine. See what each letter covers, why the last puppy dose must land after 16 weeks, and the adult interval.
If it is missed veterinary urgent care visit
How often At least three doses 2 to 4 weeks apart between 6 and 16 weeks of age, a booster within one year, then every three years
- bordetella vaccine dog
The bordetella vaccine comes in three routes and only one needs two doses. See what the shot covers, how often it is due, and why vaccinated dogs still cough.
If it is missed bordetella (kennel cough) vaccine
How often One intranasal or oral dose, or two injectable doses 2 to 4 weeks apart in a naive dog, then annual boosters on every route
- feline rabies vaccine
Feline rabies vaccine is adjuvanted or not, and the first dose lasts a year either way. See the schedule, the sarcoma question, and why indoor cats need it.
If it is missed cat rabies vaccination
How often A first dose at the age your state allows, a booster one year later, then every 1 or 3 years by product label and local law
- tick on dog
How to remove a tick from a dog the way CAPC describes it, why twisting makes it worse, and what to watch for afterwards — including the 24-hour rule's limits.
If it is missed veterinary urgent care visit
How often Remove on sight, check the dog daily in tick season, and keep every dog on a year-round tick product
- deworming cats medicine
Cat dewormers are not interchangeable: roundworm drugs do not treat tapeworm. Which medicine covers which worm, the kitten schedule, and what a fecal misses.
If it is missed veterinary urgent care visit
How often Kittens from 2 weeks of age, repeated every 2 weeks to 4-8 weeks, then a monthly broad-spectrum product year-round, with faecal testing 4 times in the first year and 1-2 times a year after
- cat distemper shot
The cat distemper shot is FVRCP, and it is not distemper. See what the three letters cover, the kitten chart week by week, and the adult interval by route.
If it is missed cat and kitten vaccination series
How often Every 3 to 4 weeks from 6-8 weeks until 16-20 weeks of age, a dose to consider at 6 months, then every 3 years injectable or every year intranasal
- how long does a dog rabies shot last
A dog's first rabies shot lasts one year whatever the label says. See when the three-year interval starts, how often boosters are due, and what overdue means.
If it is missed dog rabies vaccination
How often First dose, booster one year later, then every 1 or 3 years by product label and local law — with no clinical restart required after a lapse
- kitten flea care
Fleas can make a kitten anaemic, and dog flea products can kill cats. See what decides the safe age for treatment, how to check, and what to do about the house.
If it is missed veterinary urgent care visit
How often A licensed product as soon after birth as the label allows, then year-round for life, with every pet in the home treated at the same time
- felv vaccine for cats
The FeLV vaccine is core for kittens and noncore after one year. See the test that has to come first, the two-dose schedule, and how to decide for an adult cat.
If it is missed cat and kitten vaccination series
How often Two doses 3 to 4 weeks apart from 8 weeks of age, a booster at one year, then annually with regular FeLV exposure or every 2 to 3 years where exposure is less likely
Feeding and diet
What to feed, how much, and when a diet stops being a preference and becomes part of a treatment plan. Some of these — the low-fat diet after pancreatitis, the renal diet in kidney disease — are prescription indications, and those pages say so instead of reading like a shopping list.
- bland food dog
The bland diet a veterinary nutritionist actually recommends: the rice-to-chicken ratio, how long it is safe to feed, and when it is the wrong answer.
If it is missed veterinary urgent care visit
How often 2 to 3 days on the bland food, then a transition back over at least a week
- dog diet for sensitive stomach
Sensitive stomach is a symptom, not a diagnosis. The three diets veterinary nutritionists actually use, which signs point at which, and how to run the trial.
If it is missed routine vet checkup (wellness exam)
How often One approach at a time; 3 to 4 weeks per trial for digestive signs, with nothing else changed
- low fat dog food pancreatitis
Merck sets a specific fat ceiling for dogs with pancreatitis — under 20 g per 1,000 kcal. What that means on a label, and why it follows the diagnosis.
If it is missed veterinary urgent care visit
How often Fat restriction from diagnosis onwards; whether it stays permanent depends on a blood triglyceride result, not on the diagnosis alone
- bernese mountain dog diet
There is no Bernese-specific nutrient requirement. The one AAFCO statement that changes what you feed a Berner puppy, and why the growth charts run out.
If it is missed dog hip dysplasia surgery
How often A large-breed growth diet until skeletal maturity at 12 to 18 months, with weights taken monthly to 6 months and every 2 to 3 months after
- dog anal gland supplement
There is a single published trial of a fibre supplement for anal sac impaction in dogs. Its numbers, its three limitations, and what Merck recommends instead.
If it is missed routine vet checkup (wellness exam)
How often Nothing before a rectal examination; if fibre is used it is a daily, long-term measure, introduced gradually over days to weeks
- dog fiber diet
The fibre number on a dog food label leaves out soluble fibre entirely. What the two kinds of fibre do, the grams per tablespoon, and the published dose range.
If it is missed routine vet checkup (wellness exam)
How often Introduce gradually over days to weeks, then hold one dose long enough to judge it; many dogs are later reduced or weaned off
- taurine cat food supplement
Taurine deficiency really does cause blindness and heart failure in cats. Why a complete cat food covers it, and why grain-free DCM is a different problem.
If it is missed veterinary urgent care visit
How often No routine supplement for a cat eating a complete-and-balanced diet; supplementation for a diagnosed deficiency is set and monitored by a veterinarian
- low sodium diet dog food
The ACVIM cardiology consensus stages dietary sodium restriction. A dog with a murmur but no heart enlargement is told to change nothing — here is why.
If it is missed routine vet checkup (wellness exam)
How often Set against the disease stage and reviewed at every recheck, with weight and body condition recorded each visit
Routine care at home
The husbandry an owner does between appointments: pulling a tick off properly, nail and ear care, the litter box, weight. Small things, each of which has a version that ends in a visit when it is done wrong.
Nothing published in this group yet.
Puppies, kittens and seniors
Puppies, kittens and seniors, where the schedule itself is the subject. The first six months and the last few years are when preventive care changes fastest, and they are the two windows where an owner is most likely to be following last year's plan.
- puppy vaccination calendar
A puppy vaccination calendar from the 2022 AAHA guidelines: which shots at which week, why the last dose lands after 16 weeks, and which doses are optional.
If it is missed veterinary urgent care visit
How often A core dose every 2 to 4 weeks from 6-8 weeks until after 16 weeks, rabies at 12-16 weeks, then a booster within one year
- senior dog diet
There is no legal definition of senior dog food, and the nutrient spread between brands is enormous. What the evidence says an older dog actually needs.
If it is missed routine vet checkup (wellness exam)
How often Reassess calories and body condition at every visit; twice-yearly exams once a dog is in its senior years
- senior cat diet
Older cats digest protein and especially fat less well, so many need more of both, not less. What a study comparing 31 senior and 59 adult cat diets found.
If it is missed routine vet checkup (wellness exam)
How often Weigh and body-condition score at least twice a year from 7 onwards, with bloodwork and blood pressure on the same visits
If something is already wrong
This section is the before. When an animal already has a sign — vomiting, straining, limping, a lump — the page you want is in conditions and treatment, which leads with triage rather than with a schedule. If the question is whether something they ate is dangerous, that is food safety, which leads with the dose. And if the problem is behaviour rather than medicine, the protocols are in training.