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Preventive Care Schedule

The year-round preventive schedule — heartworm, flea/tick, vaccine boosters, dental, and wellness exams — with the region myth corrected.

Computed from your inputs · sources shown · estimates labeled · risky questions go to a vet.

Your dog
Example answer — An adult dog
Routine decision
You can act on this at your own pace.
Heartworm prevention — year-round, everywhere
Fact
monthly, + test yearly
The American Heartworm Society recommends year-round prevention in all regions (not seasonal or by region), with an annual heartworm test.
Flea & tick
Fact
monthly, year-round
Core vaccine boosters
Fact
DAP every 3 years; rabies per law
After the puppy series and 1-year booster, core DAP is boosted every 3 years. Non-core (Bordetella, Lyme, lepto) are annual by risk.
Dental
Fact
yearly oral exam; ideally daily brushing
Wellness exam
Fact
at least yearly
Adults need an annual minimum; seniors move to every 6 months.
7 sources · figures differ across sources
⚠ Heartworm Preventives: AHS recommends year-round universally, NOT region/season-dependent; contradicts any seasonal-by-region framing
⚠ 2022 AAHA Core and Noncore Vaccines for Dogs (Table 2): 2024 update moved leptospirosis from noncore to core; original 2022 listed it noncore
How this was decided — all 7 sources, tiers & dates
Rules fired: heartworm year-round, flea/tick monthly, DAP 3yr, dental, wellness exams

Why this answer

Dogs need year-round preventive care in every region: monthly heartworm prevention with an annual heartworm test, monthly flea/tick prevention, core DAP vaccine boosters every 3 years (rabies per law), a yearly dental exam with ideally daily brushing, and at least an annual wellness exam — every 6 months for seniors. Heartworm prevention is year-round everywhere, not seasonal or region-dependent.

When this doesn’t apply

  • A diagnosed condition may add its own monitoring on top of this baseline.
  • Non-core vaccines (Lyme, Bordetella, lepto) are added by local risk and lifestyle.

What changes the answer

  • Age — seniors move from annual to twice-yearly exams.
  • Lifestyle and region change non-core vaccine and parasite risk (but heartworm prevention stays year-round everywhere).
  • Boarding or daycare may require Bordetella.

Sources

Common questions

Is year-round heartworm and flea/tick treatment really necessary?
Yes — the American Heartworm Society recommends year-round heartworm prevention in all regions (not seasonal), plus an annual test. Flea/tick prevention is also monthly, year-round.
How often does an adult dog need vaccines and checkups?
Core DAP boosters every 3 years (rabies per law), plus at least an annual wellness exam — every 6 months for seniors.

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