Kona Veterinary Service

The following is a list of recommendations to help keep your new puppy safe, happy, and healthy. If you have any questions or need any advice regarding house training, feeding, or anything else regarding your puppy don’t hesitate to call us! Kona Veterinary Service 325-6637

Puppies initially receive three booster vaccines given 3-4 weeks apart followed by a yearly vaccine. Additional vaccines such as rabies vaccine (recommended if you plan to visit the mainland and then return to Hawaii) and bordetella vaccine (commonly called ‘kennel cough’ and required for most boarding and puppy classes) are also given as needed in your situation.
Deworming is an important step in keeping your puppy and your family healthy. Intestinal parasites can cause serious disease in animals and may be transmitted to people as well. We recommend you bring a stool sample to your puppy visits as well as your annual visits. If your dog does have parasites we will help select the right medication to treat the problem.
We recommend that all puppies start monthly heartworm preventative at 8 weeks of age. The products we recommend are Interceptor (prevents heartworms and deworms for hookworms, whipworms, and roundworms), Sentinel (prevents heartworms, deworms for hookworms, whipworms, and roundworms, and prevents flea eggs from hatching), or Revolution (a topical medication that prevents heartworm, kills ear and skin mites, and kills fleas). We are happy to help you choose the right product for you puppy. A heartworm blood test is not required at this time unless your puppy is over six months of age.
We also recommend a monthly flea and tick medication to prevent infestation, skin irritation and infection. These medications will also help prevent diseases that fleas and ticks can transmit. The products we recommend are Frontline Plus (kills fleas and ticks and stops flea eggs from hatching) and Advantix (kills fleas and ticks). Revolution also kills fleas, but may not work as well as the Frontline Plus or Advantix.
Puppy socialization classes and obedience classes will help your puppy learn how to interact with other dogs and help teach basic commands to aid in training. Classes are recommended for every puppy. We recommend Paws University for these types of classes. You can contact them at 325-6436 more information and find out which classes would be best for your puppy.
All dogs should be spayed or neutered between five and six months of age. This prevents pregnancy, helps control many unwanted behaviors, and prevents life threatening diseases of the reproductive tract such as pyometra.
We recommend all puppies receive a microchip for identification. This tiny microchip is inserted with a needle under the skin where it serves as identification. The microchip can be read with a microchip scanner. Most veterinarians and the Humane Society have microchip scanners, which scan the microchip, and then contact you should your puppy ever become lost. A microchip can be inserted at any time during your regular visits or can be done when they are spayed or neutered.