Hospital Hours: Monday-Friday: 8am-6pm | Saturday: 8am-4pm
(519) 896-0532
Annual checkups look at things that you can't see at home. We review your pet's full health picture at Kingsdale Animal Hospital and make sure their vaccinations are current and right for their lifestyle.
A lot can change in a year, and pets age much faster than we do. An annual wellness exam is how we catch developing problems early, before they become serious. It's also the visit where we review your pet's vaccination history and make sure their protection is current.
We make every exam and vaccine plan for your individual pet based on their age, lifestyle, and health history.
We review your pet's full health picture at Kingsdale Animal Hospital and make sure their vaccinations are current and right for their lifestyle. Not every dog or cat needs the same vaccines, we assess each pet individually.
The wellness exam is a head-to-tail physical assessment. We're checking everything, not just the obvious.
Not every dog needs the same vaccines. We look at your dog's lifestyle and local risk factors before recommending anything beyond the core protocol.
DA2PPDistemper combo
Protects against distemper, adenovirus (hepatitis), parvovirus, and parainfluenza. Given as a puppy series, boostered at one year, then every two to three years.
FrequencyEvery 2–3 years
Rabies
Required by law in Ontario. Given at the 16 week puppy visit, boostered at one year, then every one to three years depending on the specific vaccine used.
FrequencyEvery 3 years
Leptospirosis
Spread through water and soil contaminated by wildlife urine. We recommend this for most Kitchener dogs, especially those near the Grand River, the Huron Natural Area, or any standing water. At Kingsdale, we vaccine our dog patients yearly for this.
WhenWater & soil exposure
BordetellaKennel Cough
Required for dogs who board, attend daycare, visit dog parks, or go to grooming. Spreads quickly in group settings.
WhenBoarding & daycare
Lyme Disease
Tick activity in Waterloo Region has increased significantly in recent years. If your dog spends time on trails, in wooded areas, or in tall grass, Lyme vaccination is a reasonable layer of protection on top of tick prevention.
WhenTick exposure
A strictly indoor life doesn't eliminate exposure. Rabies is legally required in Ontario for all cats. The respiratory viruses covered by FVRCP are hardy enough to travel in on your shoes or clothing without your cat ever stepping outside.
FVRCPFeline combo
Protects against feline viral rhinotracheitis, calicivirus, and panleukopenia. Given as a kitten series, boostered at one year, then every two to three years.
FrequencyEvery 2–3 years
Rabies
Recommended for all cats in Ontario, including indoor-only cats. Given once, boostered at one year, then every one to three years.
FrequencyEvery 1–3 years
Feline Leukemia VirusFeLV
Recommended for cats who go outdoors or have contact with cats of unknown vaccination status. FeLV is spread through close contact and is preventable with vaccination. We recommend it for all kittens and reassess annually based on lifestyle.
WhenOutdoor or contact with outdoor cats
Young animals need a series of vaccines, not just one visit. Maternal antibodies from their mother can block vaccine effectiveness early on, so we space them out to make sure your puppy and kitten are actually protected.
If you've just adopted a puppy or kitten in Kitchener, we'd love to see them as soon as possible to get them started on the right track. Visit our puppy and kitten care page for more details on what those first visits look like.
Puppy Schedule
Starting at 8 weeks, with boosters every 3 to 4 weeks until 16 weeks of age, then again at one year.
Kitten Schedule
Starting at 8 weeks, with boosters at 12 and 16 weeks, then again at one year.
It depends on the vaccine and your pet's age. Most core vaccines shift to a three-year cycle after the first adult booster. Lifestyle vaccines like Bordetella and Leptospirosis are typically given annually.
We track your pet's history and let you know exactly what's due at each visit. Nothing gets over-vaccinated, and nothing gets missed.
If your pet can't receive a vaccine due to a health condition, or if you prefer to assess immunity before automatically re-vaccinating, titer testing is an option. A titer is a blood test that measures your pet's current antibody levels against specific diseases.
Titer results help us decide whether a booster is actually needed or whether immunity is still strong. It won't replace every vaccine requirement (rabies is legally mandated in Ontario regardless of titers), but it's a useful tool in the right situations.
Once dogs and cats reach their senior years (generally age 8 and older for most breeds), annual exams aren't always enough. To stay on top of their health, we typically recommend semi-annual wellness visits for older pets.
More frequent checkups give us a better baseline and a better chance of catching organ changes, dental disease, arthritis, or early metabolic disease before they progress. We can run bloodwork to make sure everything is ok.
For a full overview of what senior monitoring involves, visit our preventative pet care page.
Most breeds enter their senior years around age 8. From this point we typically recommend semi-annual wellness visits to give us the best chance of catching changes early.
Easy online booking available. We'd love to see your pet for their next wellness exam and vaccination review.
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