Fleas: the dog, the home & prevention
Break the flea life cycle with a coordinated household plan.
Lifetime health & preventative care
Parasites & Preventative Healthcare
Keep your dog healthy with an individual plan: vaccination, parasite protection, dental care, appropriate weight, body checks and veterinary review work together. Location, life stage, health, travel and lifestyle affect what is suitable.
Choose a topic
Ticks: checks, safe removal & prevention
Remove attached ticks promptly and match protection to location and lifestyle.
Intestinal worms: types, exposure & protection
Understand what a worming plan covers and why lifestyle matters.
Lungworm: UK & Irish risk and veterinary prevention
Understand Angiostrongylus vasorum without assuming every wormer covers it.
Parasite risks by country & travel route
Use regional guidance as a starting point for a veterinary plan.
Vaccinations throughout your dog’s life
Understand puppy courses, boosters and geography without a universal timetable.
Routine veterinary checks & medication reviews
Make a practical plan for early recognition and ongoing treatment.
Healthy weight, body condition & muscle
Use trends and body checks alongside an individual feeding plan.
Keeping my dog healthy
Work through the areas that apply to your dog and agree the details with your practice.
Use parasite medicines responsibly
Discuss current weight, health, medicines, other pets, travel, hunting, scavenging and swimming. Ask which parasites each product covers; do not add a collar, spot-on or tablet to another treatment without checking compatibility.
Follow product instructions and seek professional advice if treatment seems ineffective. For UK spot-on products, the VMD advises keeping dogs out of water for at least four days after application, limiting subsequent washing and swimming, and binning used pipettes without rinsing. Follow any stricter product instructions and ask your supplier about unused medicine. Do not put treated fur out for nesting birds.
A comfortable everyday check
Choose a relaxed moment and reward cooperation. Stop if your dog turns away, stiffens or seems sore; observe instead of restraining them. Compare with their own usual appearance and behaviour.
Look for new eye discharge or squinting, ear odour or head shaking, nasal discharge, and changes in chewing or breath. Only lift a lip if willingly tolerated; never force the mouth open or put anything into an ear. Familiar dark gum pigmentation can be normal.
Part the coat gently where comfortable to notice skin changes. Look at pads and claws without pulling the legs about. Note appetite, drinking, toileting, getting up and everyday movement. Use the linked grooming, dental, weight and symptom guides for the next step.
Record the date and change, with a photo if safe. Ask your practice about new or persistent concerns; do not wait for the next routine check when a dog seems unwell. Existing emergency signs take priority.
Evidence and review
General information, not diagnosis or an individual treatment plan. Sources include veterinary professional guidance, veterinary charities and relevant regional parasite organisations. Clinical recommendations need individual veterinary interpretation.
Owner resilience and home health
Puppy & Young Dog: practical next steps
Female dogs in season
Practical content enhancement: 11 October 2026. Evidence for this enhancement: PDSA: home health checks
About this guidanceReview details and sources
Evidence and review
Reviewed 2 October 2026 · Review sooner if advice, distribution or requirements change.
Everyday poo and wee observations
Understand normal poo and wee appearances alongside changes worth checking. One mild variation in an otherwise well adult is not automatically an emergency.
Poo colour and consistency: normal variation and useful observations · Wee colour and habits: normal variation and useful observations