At Northwest Animal Hospital we believe that preventative medicine is the mainstay of keeping your pet healthy. Preventative medicine includes routine health exams, health certificates, parasite prevention/control, nutrition, behavior and training, tailored pet vaccination protocol, dental cleaning, and blood testing.
All pets should be seen at least once a year for an exam to help prevent and identify any medical concerns. As your pet ages and enters the senior years of life exams are needed every 6 months to ensure your pet is in the best health possible.
Routine parasite prevention is a very important aspect of preventative medicine that is consistently overlooked. Intestinal parasites are spread through contact with infected animal feces and the transmission to adults and children is possible. Prevention of intestinal parasites is as easy as giving a monthly deworming medication that will also prevent heartworm infection. Heartworms cause a very serious and possibly fatal infection in dogs and cats in which worms occupy vessels around and in the heart. The disease is transmitted by mosquito bites and becoming more prevalent in the Treasure Valley each year.
Yearly pet vaccinations is one of the mainstays of preventative veterinary medicine. During your pets yearly exam the appropriate vaccines will be administered. Routine pet vaccinations will help reduce the prevalence of certain conditions while providing protection for you pet leading to a longer happier life.
Routine dental cleanings are essential to a happy and healthy life for you pet. These cleanings keep your pets teeth clean and reduces the risk of heart, kidney and liver disease. In dogs and cats the most common cause of heart, liver and kidney disease is dental disease.
Blood testing is recommended once a year to ensure your pet is healthy and to obtain base line values if your pet does get sick. Senior pets should have their blood tested every 6 months to ensure they are in the best health possible and to catch any possible problems early.