If your pet is a regular at day care, grooming facilities, or the dog park, those shots every 6 to 12 months to prevent canine infectious tracheobronchitis (kennel cough) may be inconvenient. But the vaccine against Bordetella is important in protecting your pet from the hacking cough and snotty nose brought on by the easily contracted bacteria that causes the highly contagious disease in dogs.

Heartworm disease is a serious, potentially fatal illness. This is why it is important to proactively protect your dog. Infection is possible wherever there are infected mosquitos. Dogs that spend a lot of time outside during mosquito feeding periods may be particularly at risk. However, even dogs that are mostly indoors are at risk. Changes to the environment and natural climate conditions, as well as animals moving from high-incidence states to other locations, have increased the potential for heartworm infection in more areas around the country. Unprotected, virtually 100% of dogs infected with heartworm larvae develop adult heartworms.

The feline leukemia vaccine is not necessary for an indoor cat. An indoor cat won’t come into contact with FeLV + cats, so the vaccine is considered unnecessary. Rabies, on the other hand, is a different story. Even indoor cats need the rabies vaccine. Indoor cats can be exposed to rabies if a bat gets in the house. And if you live in an area where there actually are rabid animals, if your cat bites someone and they don’t have a current rabies certificate, animal control can impound your cat and quarantine them for 10 days, at your expense. So the general recommendation is that a rabies vaccine is necessary, the leukemia vaccine (and the ones for FIV and FIP) are not.

Does your dog love drinking from puddles? It is scary to think that a fun stroll through the woods or swim in a favorite watering hole can lead to a terrible illness, but it can - for you as well as your dog. Leptospirosis is caused by a bacteria spread through soil, water, and the urine of infected animals, and if not caught early, it can be deadly. There is a vaccine available for the most common subtypes of the bacteria that infect dogs, but it’s not always a recommended part of the routine vaccination protocol. Ask your veterinarian if the leptospirosis vaccine is right for your dog.