Protection starts
with a plan.
Vaccination is an important part of preventive veterinary care. This guide explains why vaccination matters, what can influence your pet’s vaccination plan and how to prepare for an appointment.
Vaccination is not
one-size-fits-all.
Your pet’s vaccination plan can depend on several factors, including age, previous vaccination history, health, lifestyle and travel. Your veterinarian can review these factors and recommend an appropriate plan for your individual pet.
Why vaccinate?
Vaccines are used as part of preventive care to help prepare the immune system to respond to particular infectious diseases.
Preventive Care
Vaccination forms part of a broader preventive-care plan for your pet.
Immune Response
Vaccines are designed to stimulate an immune response against specific diseases.
Individual Planning
Your veterinarian considers your pet’s individual circumstances when planning appropriate vaccination.
Different pets.
Different plans.
Dogs and cats have different preventive-care considerations. Select your pet to learn what information is useful to discuss with your vet.
Your dog’s plan
Bring any previous vaccination records and tell your veterinarian about your dog’s age, health history, lifestyle and travel plans. This information helps the veterinary team assess what may be appropriate.
Your cat’s plan
Bring any previous vaccination records and discuss your cat’s age, health history, lifestyle and environment with your veterinarian. These details can influence vaccination planning.
What can affect
vaccination planning?
Tap each factor to see why your veterinarian may ask about it during an appointment.
Age
Age and life stage are important parts of vaccination planning. Your veterinarian can assess what is appropriate based on your pet’s current stage of life.
Their history
matters.
Keep your pet’s vaccination documentation somewhere accessible and bring it to veterinary appointments. It can also be important when preparing for travel, boarding or other situations where vaccination history may be requested.
Before. During.
After.
A little preparation can make it easier to discuss your pet’s vaccination history and preventive-care needs with your veterinarian.
Before
Bring previous vaccination and veterinary records if available, and make a note of any questions or concerns.
During
Your veterinarian can review your pet’s history, health and individual circumstances before discussing an appropriate plan.
After
Follow the instructions provided by your veterinary team and ask when your pet should next be reviewed.
Before you
ask Google.
These answers provide general information. Your veterinarian can answer questions based on your individual pet.
About this guide
This page provides general educational information and is not a vaccination schedule or a substitute for veterinary assessment. Vaccination recommendations can vary according to your pet’s species, age, vaccination history, health, lifestyle, travel plans and other individual factors. Speak with your veterinarian about the appropriate vaccination plan for your pet.
Not sure what your
pet needs next?
Bring their vaccination history and speak with the First Pet veterinary team about an appropriate preventive-care plan for your pet.