Your Puppy's First Vet Visit: Vaccinations, Microchip and Worming
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Book your puppy in with a vet within the first few days of bringing it home, ideally before you have had it a week. In the UK, a puppy must already be microchipped by the time it is eight weeks old, so the microchip is one thing you should not need to arrange yourself, but everything else on this page is worth sorting out early. The vet will set the plan for vaccinations and parasite control, so treat what follows as background to help you ask better questions, not as a substitute for their advice.
Choosing and registering with a practice
Choose a practice you can reach easily, ask what their out-of-hours arrangements are, and check how they handle emergencies. Many practices run a puppy programme with a first check, vaccinations and follow-up nurse appointments. Ask what is included and how appointments are booked. If you bought your puppy from a breeder, look at what they have already done, because you may be starting part-way through a course.
What to bring
- Any paperwork from the breeder or rescue: vaccination records, worming dates, and microchip details
- A note of what the puppy is currently eating, and a photo of anything worrying, such as a loose stool
- A towel and a few treats, plus a carrier or a way of holding the puppy that keeps it secure
- A list of questions, because the appointment is short and easy to leave without asking the important ones
Carry a small puppy into the waiting room rather than letting it walk across the floor. Many vets ask owners to do this because the floor is a place where unvaccinated puppies can pick up illness.
The microchip
Under UK law, dogs must be microchipped and registered on an approved database, and puppies must be chipped by eight weeks of age. The breeder is responsible for implanting the chip and registering the first details, and when you take the puppy home, you become the keeper. You must make sure your name and address are recorded correctly, and update them if you move or change your phone number. Ask the vet to scan the puppy at the first visit to confirm that the chip reads and that the number matches the paperwork. A chip registered to the wrong person is a serious headache if the puppy ever goes missing; our guide on what to do if your dog goes missing explains why up-to-date records matter.
Vaccinations
Puppies are generally given a primary course of injections, with the timing and number of doses set by the vet, usually starting from around eight weeks and finishing some weeks later. Vaccines usually protect against serious infectious diseases, such as parvovirus, distemper and leptospirosis. Some vets also offer protection against kennel cough, which is sometimes given as a nasal drop. The right combination depends on the product the practice uses, your puppy's age and your local risks, so ask exactly which diseases are covered and what the schedule will be.
Immunity builds up over a period after the last injection, not instantly. Your vet will tell you when it is safe to let your puppy walk in public places and meet unfamiliar dogs. Until then, there is plenty you can do to prepare the puppy for the world, as set out in our puppy socialisation checklist. Booster vaccinations follow at intervals, and the practice will usually send reminders.
Worms and fleas
Most puppies are wormed by the breeder, but they need regular treatment afterwards. Ask the vet what product suits your puppy's age and weight, how often to give it, and how to give it. Do not guess at the amount, and do not use a product made for a different species or a different size of dog. Dosing is determined by weight, so check it against the vet's advice every time the puppy grows. Flea treatment works the same way, and some products suitable for dogs are dangerous for cats, which matters if you have both in the house. Ask the vet to explain and keep it written down.
Other things the vet may cover
- A general check, including weight, heart, ears, teeth, eyes and skin
- Diet, including how much to feed and how to change food. Our puppy feeding schedule covers the day-to-day pattern
- Neutering, where advice varies by breed, size and sex, and can be discussed later
- Behaviour, such as biting, toilet training or settling at night
What to watch for afterwards
It is common for a puppy to be a little quiet after vaccinations. Contact your vet if the puppy has swelling at the injection site that grows, repeated vomiting or diarrhoea, difficulty breathing, facial swelling or hives, or is very lethargic or will not eat. If any of these are severe, treat it as an emergency and call the practice or the out-of-hours service.
Easy errors to make
Leaving the first visit too late is the most common. The second is assuming that because a breeder gave a vaccination, no more are needed: the course is usually not complete yet. Another is skipping the follow-up. Keep a folder or phone note with the dates of each vaccine, worming and flea treatment, and the microchip number, and the next steps will be much easier to manage.