New Patients $45 first Exam with Dr. Martin!
Complete Veterinary Care for Young Pets
Welcoming a new puppy or kitten into your home is an exciting and rewarding experience. As a pet owner, it is important to provide your new family member with the best possible care to ensure a long and healthy life. This includes proper veterinary care, nutrition, training, vaccinations, grooming, parasite protection, microchipping, and spaying or neutering. Our team at Middlesex Veterinary Center will be here to help every step of the way.
Puppies & Kittens Veterinary Care
The first step in caring for a new puppy or kitten is to schedule a visit with a veterinarian. This initial check-up is important for ensuring that your new pet is healthy and free of any underlying health issues. We will also be able to provide you with important information on vaccinations, nutrition, and training for your new pet.
Puppy & Kitten Pet Food Recommendations
- Hill’s Science Diet
- Purina Pro Plan or Purina One
- Royal Canin
* Feed puppy & kitten food until 10-12 months old, then slowly transition to adult food.
* Feed puppies 3 times a day until 3-4 months of age.
Where To Buy: Agway, Petco, “Hill’s to Home” program (we sign you up) or our online pharmacy.
Avoid Grain free dog food (no peas, lentils, potatoes or sweet potatoes) – many brands have been associated with heart disease (dilated cardiomyopathy). See Tufts Veterinary Nutritionist article.
Heartworm & Flea/Tick Preventatives
We recommend Heartworm preventative year round because they prevent intestinal worms as well as heartworm disease (from mosquitoes). Also, ticks are out year-round when it’s above freezing, even for 1-2 days. We have rebates for all our products – most are instant and applied directly to your invoice!
Heartworm/Intestinal Worm Preventatives:
- HeartGard Plus chews
- Interceptor Plus chews (both for dogs)
Flea / Tick Preventatives:
- NexGard chews (for dogs)
- Bravecto chews (for dogs)
- Seresto flea/tick collar (for cats and dogs)
Combination HW / Flea / Tick / Worm Preventatives:
- NexGard Plus chews (for dogs)
- Revolution Plus (topical for Cats)
- NexGard Combo (topical for cats)
- Bravecto Plus (topical for cats)
Training
In Home Trainers:
- Jill Keaton – The Social Canine – Westford
- K9 Kompanion – Stow
Training Facilities:
- Gemini Dogs – Littleton
- K9 Kompanion – Stow
- Hudson K9 Training Center – Nashua, NH
Training Videos:
Puppy Classes, Private Training Sessions and Behavior Teleconsult:
Grooming
Middlesex Veterinary Center recommends starting grooming after giving their Rabies, Distemper and Kennel Cough vaccines to get them used to their groomer and the grooming process!
Puppy & Kitten Microchipping
We prefer to do this when under anesthesia for their spay or neuter, but can implant it at any time. We’ll register your information with Petlink.
* Note: the microchip contains a 15 digit ID number, and is NOT a GPS locator!
AAHA Microchip Registry Lookup – Enter the ID number to see who manufactured the chip.
Spaying & Neutering
Dogs – 6-12 months old, will be discussed with your veterinarian.
Cats – 6-7 months.
Useful Links
Canine DNA Testing:
Useful Articles:
- Veterinary Partner – has many trustworthy articles written by veterinarians about medical & behavioral issues, as well as many other topics!
Pet Insurance:
There are about 15 companies that all offer accident/illness plans (a few offer wellness plans as well). We recommend 3 of them, and suggest that you consider an accident/illness plan that would cover part or most of any accident/illness – such as a chronic long-term disease, a mass removal surgery, or a few thousand dollar incident at the ER.
Your cost/benefit may even out over the lifetime of your pet, but insurance can reduce the financial stress of making decisions about your pet’s health. Also, the younger your pet is, the less it is per month! You can easily submit a claim to the insurance company, and they will reimburse you if the claim is covered and the deductible is met. Please get some sample quotes online or over the phone, and look at each policy to see if any are the right fit for you!
Emergency Veterinary Hospitals:
The following hospitals are open 24/7 for urgent issues and emergencies, especially when we are closed. They also have veterinary specialists. Please view the list here.
