Understanding Pet Vaccines: A Quick Overview
Vaccination is one of the most important steps in keeping your pet healthy and safe from potentially life-threatening diseases. Whether you have a puppy, kitten, or adult pet, understanding which vaccines are essential can be a bit overwhelming. Here’s a simple guide to help you understand what vaccines your pet needs and why they are important, provided by the team at Companion Animal Veterinary Clinic in Norfolk, Nebraska.
What Are Pet Vaccines and Why Are They Important? Vaccines help protect your pet from harmful diseases by stimulating their immune system to fight off infections. Just like in humans, vaccines are essential in preventing diseases that can spread and lead to serious health problems, such as distemper, rabies, and parvovirus in dogs or feline leukemia and rabies in cats. Regular vaccinations are part of responsible pet care and keep both pets and Norfolk residents safe.
Core Vaccines for DogsFor dogs, core vaccines include:

• Rabies: Required by law in many areas, including Norfolk, and protects against the deadly rabies virus.
• DHPP Combination: 
  • Distemper: A serious viral disease that affects the respiratory, gastrointestinal, and nervous systems.
  • Parvovirus: A highly contagious disease that primarily affects puppies, causing severe gastrointestinal illness.
  • Adenovirus: Prevents diseases like hepatitis and respiratory issues
    
• Leptospirosis: A bacterial disease spread through the urine of infected wildlife — including deer, raccoons, and rodents — that can contaminate water sources and soil. Leptospirosis can also be transmitted to humans, making vaccination an important part of protecting your whole family. 

These vaccines start as an initial series as a puppy, and are boostered annually thereafter. Depending on your pet’s specific health condition and vaccination schedules, adult pets may be able to receive vaccinations on an every-three-year schedule as well. 
Vaccine titer tests are also an option to ensure your pet has appropriate levels of protection against disease without having to repeat vaccinations. This is a blood test that will detect the amount of antibodies your pet may have from previous vaccinations. Our doctors are happy to discuss these options with you. 
Core Vaccines for CatsCats also require core vaccines, which include:

• Rabies: Like dogs, cats need rabies vaccinations to prevent this fatal disease.
• FVRCP (Feline Viral Rhinotracheitis, Calicivirus, Panleukopenia, and Chlamydia): A combination vaccine that protects against several common respiratory and viral diseases.
• Feline Leukemia (FeLV): Important for cats who go outdoors or have exposure to other cats.

These vaccines start as an initial series for kittens, and are boostered annually thereafter. Depending on your cat’s vaccine history and lifestyle, they may only need vaccines every three years. 
Vaccine titer tests are also available for cats, and can be discussed at your cat’s next visit if interested!
Why Do Vaccination Protocols Change? You might have noticed changes in vaccination protocols over the years. As veterinary medicine advances, we learn more about the diseases we vaccinate against and how long the immunity lasts. For example, some vaccines that were once given annually are now given every three years due to improved research on vaccine efficacy. Additionally, some vaccines, such as feline leukemia, are now recommended based on the pet’s lifestyle (e.g., indoor vs. outdoor cats).
Vaccination protocols can vary based on factors such as geography, your pet’s health conditions, and the available vaccines, which is why regular check-ups and discussions with your veterinarian are essential to ensure your pet’s vaccination plan is tailored to their specific needs. Drs. Tramp, Larson, Miller and Palmer recently did a thorough evaluation of the latest recommendations, data and available vaccines in order to update Companion Animal Veterinary Clinic’s protocols. 
Learn MoreFor a more in-depth understanding of vaccination protocols, Companion Animal Veterinary Clinic follows the AAHA Canine Vaccination Guidelines and the AAHA/AAFP Feline Vaccination Guidelines. These guidelines provide detailed information on the vaccines your pet needs, and why certain protocols may change.

• AAHA Canine Vaccination Guidelines
• AAHA/AAFP Feline Vaccination Guidelines

Conclusion: Keeping Your Pet ProtectedVaccination is one of the best ways to keep your pet healthy and protected from serious diseases. Regular check-ups and vaccinations are an essential part of a lifetime of care for your pets. Always consult with your veterinarian, like the compassionate team at Companion Animal Veterinary Clinic in Norfolk, Nebraska, to determine the best vaccination schedule for your furry friend.

Spring and summer are one of our favorite times of year in Northeast Nebraska — the snow melts, the kids head outside, and pets finally get to stretch their legs after a long winter. But warmer weather also means something else is waking up: fleas, ticks, and the mosquitoes that carry heartworm disease.
At Companion Animal Veterinary Clinic, we want every pet in our community to head into the warmer months protected. So let's break down what you actually need to know — no fluff, no scare tactics, just straight talk from your locally owned veterinary team right here in Norfolk.

Fleas and Ticks in Nebraska: It's Not "If," It's "When"Nebraska's climate is prime territory for fleas and ticks. Ticks in particular have been expanding their range across the Midwest, and we see them on pets throughout the warmer months — sometimes even on mild winter days.
Common ticks in our area include:

• American Dog Tick — the most common in Nebraska, can transmit Rocky Mountain spotted fever
• Deer Tick (Black-legged Tick) — the primary carrier of Lyme disease
• Lone Star Tick — increasingly found in eastern Nebraska

Fleas aren't just an itchy nuisance. A flea infestation can cause anemia in small pets, trigger allergic skin reactions (flea allergy dermatitis is one of the most common skin conditions we treat), and even transmit tapeworms. And here's the part that surprises a lot of people: once fleas are in your home, the adults on your pet are only about 5% of the problem. The other 95% — eggs, larvae, and pupae — are in your carpet, bedding, and furniture.

The best strategy is prevention before the problem starts.
Heartworm Disease: Why This One Really MattersHeartworm is a serious, potentially life-threatening disease caused by parasitic worms that live in the heart, lungs, and blood vessels of infected animals. It's transmitted through the bite of an infected mosquito — and mosquitoes are everywhere in Nebraska from spring through fall.
What pets are at risk?

• Dogs are the primary host and are highly susceptible
• Cats can get heartworm too, though it presents differently — and there is no approved treatment for cats, which makes prevention even more critical
• Ferrets are also at risk

Why prevention is so much better than treatmentTreating heartworm disease in dogs is expensive, time-consuming, and hard on your pet. It involves multiple injections, strict exercise restriction for weeks, and close monitoring. Prevention, on the other hand, costs a fraction of treatment and takes about 30 seconds once a month.

We cannot stress this enough: a monthly preventive is one of the single best investments you can make in your pet's health.
When Should You Start Prevention?Now. If your pet isn't already on year-round flea, tick, and heartworm prevention, April is the time to start — or restart. In Nebraska, we typically recommend:

• Heartworm prevention: Year-round for dogs and cats
• Flea and tick prevention: At minimum April through November, though year-round is ideal​

Before starting or restarting heartworm prevention, dogs need a heartworm test. This is important because giving a preventive to a dog that already has heartworms can cause a serious reaction. Annual testing also catches any gaps in protection.
What Prevention Options Are Available?There are a lot of products on the market, and it can be overwhelming. Here's the honest truth: not all preventives are created equal, and what works best depends on your individual pet.

We carry and recommend products through our clinic and online pharmacy for a reason — we know what's safe, what's effective, and what works for the pets we see every day in Norfolk and Northeast Nebraska.
Some things to be aware of:

• Certain flea and tick products containing permethrin are toxic to cats — this is a common and dangerous mistake when households have both dogs and cats
• Over-the-counter products vary widely in quality and effectiveness
• Combination products that cover fleas, ticks, heartworm, and intestinal parasites in one dose are available and convenient for many families

Our team is happy to walk you through the options and help you find what makes sense for your pet's lifestyle, whether they're a hunting dog spending weekends in tall grass or a lap cat who occasionally sneaks onto the porch.

Want to Do More Research? We Love That.We're big believers in informed pet owners — the more you know, the better advocate you can be for your animal. Here are two of the most trusted resources we recommend:

🔗 American Heartworm Society — Pet Owner Resources The AHS sets the national guidelines that veterinarians follow for heartworm prevention, testing, and treatment. Their pet owner section breaks things down in plain language and is a great place to start. heartwormsociety.org/pet-owner-resources

🔗 Companion Animal Parasite Council — Pets & Parasites CAPC is an independent group of veterinary experts that tracks parasite trends across the U.S. — including right here in Nebraska. Their site has parasite prevalence maps, species guides, and easy-to-understand prevention info. petsandparasites.org
Of course, we're always happy to answer questions specific to your pet. Every animal is different, and that's what we're here for.

A Note From Our Clinic Since Dr. Tramp purchased Companion Animal Veterinary Clinic in 2022, we've made significant investments in equipment and care — but some things haven't changed. We're still the same independently owned, locally rooted clinic that has been serving Norfolk and Northeast Nebraska for over 55 years. We're your neighbors, and we genuinely care about your pets.
We know veterinary care feels expensive sometimes, and we want you to feel confident that the preventives we recommend are worth every penny. Treating a heartworm-positive dog can cost $1,000–$3,000 or more. A year of heartworm prevention typically costs a fraction of that.

Ready to Get Your Pet Protected? Here's what to do next:

1. Call us or book online to schedule a wellness visit or just a heartworm test
2. Ask about our online pharmacy — we can send prevention right to your door
3. Download the PetDesk app to manage appointments, reminders, and your pet's health records from your phone

📞 Call us: 402-379-1200
🌐 Book online: Book an Appointment
💊 Online pharmacy: Visit Our Pharmacy