Vaccination is one of the few things in medicine that reliably prevents disease rather than treating it. But not every pet needs every vaccine, and a good plan starts with a conversation about where your pet goes and who they meet.
Dogs
Core: rabies (required by Washington law), and the DHPP combination covering distemper, hepatitis, parvovirus, and parainfluenza.
Lifestyle: leptospirosis, which matters more here than in most places given our wildlife and standing water; bordetella for dogs who board, attend daycare, or visit groomers; canine influenza; and Lyme for dogs who travel to endemic areas.
Cats
Core: rabies, and FVRCP covering feline viral rhinotracheitis, calicivirus, and panleukopenia.
Lifestyle: feline leukemia, which we recommend for all kittens and for any adult cat who goes outdoors or lives with a cat who does.
Puppies and Kittens
The first-year series runs every three to four weeks from around six to eight weeks of age until sixteen weeks. The spacing matters more than most people realize: antibodies from the mother interfere with the vaccine, and finishing the series is what closes that window.
Those first appointments are also where a young animal decides what the vet means, so we keep them light: treats, time on the floor, and handling that stops well short of anything a puppy or kitten finds frightening. It’s the cheapest preventive medicine we have. A pet who is comfortable being handled is a pet we can examine properly for the next fifteen years.
Titers
If you’d rather test than automatically re-vaccinate an adult pet, we can run antibody titers and talk through what the results mean.