PREVENTATIVE MEDICINE is everything you can do to keep your pet healthy and detect problems before they threaten his or her quality of life. Much of this area involves educating the client to give ideal daily care at home. Please do not hesitate to ask us questions you may have about keeping your pet free of disease. We would be happy to share what we do to keep our own pets healthy with our clients.
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Your pet should have a thorough physical examination at least annually and preferably every six months. This is especially important for the very young and the aging animals. Evaluation will include checking eyes, ears, nose, lymph nodes, nervous system, heart and lungs, palpation of the abdomen, skin and nail evaluation, body condition scoring and assessment of any pain that may be troubling the animal. Please bring any concerns to our attention at each visit.
Vaccinations are recommended based on risk of exposure for each animal in its environment, health condition, history, and activities. Here are some examples:
- Rabies, for example, can affect any warm blooded animal including humans and is deadly. Vaccination for rabies rarely causes any problems and it is required by law in our area for dogs, cats, and ferrets over 12 weeks of age.
- Rhinotracheitis virus in cats can be transmitted very easily and vaccination does not offer long lasting or complete immunity so boosters are usually recommended annually.
- Lyme disease is transmitted by ticks and is uncommon in this area. Dogs that travel to higher risk areas and spend a great deal of time camping or hiking may benefit from vaccination.
