Why are Annual Vet Visits Important?

Yearly vet visits can be critical to the health and well-being of your dane. During a yearly visit, your vet should:

• perform a general physical exam of your pet. She should run her hands over your dane, open his mouth, look in his ears etc.
• test for heartworm, lymes and Ehrlichia
• talk to you about any changes you've noticed
• perform blood tests, if applicable
• provide vaccinations, if applicable
  

Please Note: Vet teaching hospitals are now recommending a vaccine schedule of 3 years or more for many vaccines that have previously been administered yearly. You should request a 3-yr rabies vaccine for your dane, and consider moving to a 3-year schedule for all vaccines, if that. Here is the UC Davis VMTH vaccination protocol>> Here is more information from Dr Jean Dodds about vaccines>>

If your vet insists on yearly vaccines or on vaccinating when your dane is not feeling well, insist right back! Vaccine manufacturer guidelines specifically note that vaccines should not be given to dogs who are not well. The 3-year protocol has been adopted by every teaching hospital in the US--this is not a revolutionary new idea and you are not taking a risk. Also consider finding a new vet--if your vet is not aware of the new vaccine information that has been published, what else is she/he unaware of?

It is also a good idea to have a baseline of normal values for bloodwork once your dane reaches adulthood. Consider getting CBC and Superchem bloodwork completed on your adult dane. Should your dane become sick, you can use the baseline to compare values.

Looking for a dane-knowledgable vet?

It's a good idea to find a vet who is familiar with great danes and has treated several danes in the past. Your vet should be familiar with bloat, HOD, OCD, Wobbler's Syndrome and other common problems for great danes. If your vet isn't familiar with these problems and notices something amiss with your dane, he/she should be able to recommend you to a specialist for more information. Check with the rescue for recommendations for good vets in your area OR recommend your vet to the rescue so that other dane owners can benefit!