Preventative Health Care
I have heard a lot about "over-vaccinating." How often do you recommend vaccinations be given?
We follow the guidelines issued by the American Animal Hospital Association's Canine Vaccine Task Force and the American Association of Feline Practitioners Feline Vaccine Advisory Panel. This means that once a puppy or kitten has been through its initial series of boosters the first year, rabies and the canine DA2PP (distemper, adenovirus 2, parvovirus, and parainfluenza combination) and feline FVRCP (feline viral rhinotracheitis, calicivirus, and panleukopenia combination) vaccinations are done only every three years.
Do you think we should run titers before vaccinating?
No, experts in immunology do not recommend this be done routinely or that titers be used to decide whether vaccines are to be administered. Simply going by a titer is misleading; an antibody titer is only a portion of the immune system's response that a patient can mount in the face of exposure or infection. There are a few special instances where a titer may be done, but not routinely to determine vaccination status.
Is my dog or cat overweight?
Your pet should have an abdominal tuck, meaning a concavity on each side just behind the ribs. Additionally, you should be able to feel the ribs without pushing through excessive fat covering, but not see the ribs sticking out. Purina has a great body condition scoring system with posters and handouts illustrating pet's weights on a scale of 1 through 9, with 1 being underweight, 4 & 5 being ideal, and 9 being obese. It does not cost you anything to come in and weigh your pet and have a member of the staff assign a "body condition score." We will also track your pet's weight in the computer medical record any time you drop by for a weigh-in.
How do I get my pet to lose weight?
Your pet will lose weight through diet and exercise, just like with people. We would be happy to do a weight loss consultation with you and help you choose a diet and an appropriate amount to feed. We also have an affordable weight loss program for dogs available through our physical rehab center. There is also a weight loss drug called Slentrol that is approved for use in dogs. We like to try diet and exercise first, but adding medication to diet and exercise is an option in selected cases.
If there are no mosquitoes in the winter, why should I keep giving heartworm preventative?
Heartworm preventative not only prevents heartworm disease, it also deworms pets on a monthly basis for intestinal parasites that pose human health risk. It is the recommendation of the Companion Animal Parasite Council to keep pets on a broad-spectrum heartworm preventative year-round for this reason and more. See all their recommendations at www.capcvet.org/. Everything you need to know about heartworm disease can be found on the American Heartworm Society's website: www.heartwormsociety.org/.
Can cats get heartworms?
Yes. Cats are not as susceptible to developing heartworm disease as a dog, but because of their small heart size, it does not take very many heartworms to make a cat ill or cause death. Cats can be placed on monthly heartworm preventatives like dogs. Ask for recommendations. More can be found out about heartworm disease in both dogs and cats from the American Heartworm Society's website: www.heartwormsociety.org. |
