Preventative care includes both medicine and husbandry aimed at preventing illness, helping pets to live longer happier lives.
At All Pets Animal Hospital, Preventative Care is the cornerstone of our practice. Our recommendations are made with the hopes of helping your pet stay happy and healthy while catching illness early, when treatment is most effective.
Examinations
For young adult animals, we recommend a veterinary exam once a year. During the office call, the staff will evaluate your pet’s lifestyle, while the veterinarian does a thorough exam to evaluate your pet’s overall health. Based on this exam, the doctor will make recommendations for treatments and/or preventative care, being sure to carefully explain the benefits and reasons for each recommendation.
“Senior” Pets (>7years in dogs & cats) should have an exam every 6 months. Changes can occur more quickly as your pets age. More frequent exams gives us a chance to catch these changes early, while they are the most treatable.
Flea & Parasite Prevention (dogs and cats)
We recommend flea preventative all year as even in winter, warm snaps in the winter can bring on new crops of fleas.
Our primary flea product recommendations are those which also prevent against internal parasites (roundworms, hookworms and whipworms) and heartworm
disease. Luckily, there are simple preventatives available for both dogs and cats which prevent against fleas, heartworms and internal parasites.
more on parasites & prevention >>>
Vaccines
Vaccines are true preventative medicine. These simple injections train the pet’s immune system to fend off common deadly illnesses.
At All Pets Animal Hospital, we choose effective vaccines which are backed by good research and a history of safety. Our goal is to never “over vaccinate,” so our recommended vaccine
schedule is based on the latest research while taking your pet’s lifestyle into account.
Weight
Research shows that all animals benefit from maintaining a healthy weight. We strongly believe that this can lead to a longer, happier life for most animals. Part of our standard exam includes evaluating your pet’s “body condition” to make sure that they are not under or over weight. If weight does seem to be an issue, we will delve deeper to find the root of the problem, so that your pet can get back to a healthy weight!
Fecal Screening
Internal parasites can wreak havoc on your pet’s insides. Worse, some of these are considered zoonotic, meaning they can be transferred to humans (with children being especially susceptible). For most pets (many exotics included) we recommend a yearly fecal screening to check for these internal parasites. Luckily, this test is easy. Simply bring a fresh fecal sample with you to your yearly exam!
Bloodwork
A simple lab test can tell us a lot. Standard blood tests can give us a wealth of information including red/white blood cell status, electrolytes, thyroid status, blood sugar (for diabetes) and organ function. As a result, bloodwork is a standard yearly recommendation for senior pets. We also recommend blood testing prior to surgery and as a monitor for pets on chronic medications.
Special Considerations for Exotics
Many exotic pets are “prey” animals. As a defense mechanism, these animals hide signs of illness, making it hard for owners to know when their pets are sick. This makes it especially important that these pets be seen regularly. For exotics (especially birds) we may also recommend laboratory testing every 1-3 years to help us screen for common treatable illnesses, before the pet becomes very ill.
