GENERAL DOG CARE
Your new dog will receive
a physical exam making sure all systems are healthy/normal
when you first visit the doctor. Each visit will include this complete
assessment of eyes, ears, teeth/bite, skin, heart, lungs, conformation
and reproductive tract.
We discuss nutrition. Dogs should eat appropriate,
good quality, easy to find dog food. Feeding from the table does not
meet their nutritional needs, and may cause vomiting or diarrhea resulting
in hospitalization.
We recommend Proplan food made by Purina.
VACCINATIONS
Young dogs are currently vaccinated annually against distemper, hepatitis,
parainfulenza, parvo virus, corona virus. The vaccine schedule changes
to a 3 year program once we feel that our patients immunity is established.
We do have a 3 year vaccine available now. We discuss the need for additional
vaccines which may be given on a different schedule. The other diseases
we might vaccinate against are corona virus, kennel cough, leptospirosis,
or giardia.
INTERNAL PARASITES
All of our canine patients should receive a prescribed monthly
heartworm preventative to protect them from this infection. Dogs will
get heart worms from mosquitoes if we fail to do this. Most of our heart
worm preventatives protect against intestinal parasites on a monthly
basis.
EXTERNAL PARASITES
It is a lucky dog that escapes the need for protection from fleas and
ticks, or even mosquitoes and biting flies. For this reason we usually
recommend the use of a monthly topical product that is safe, easy to
apply, and water resistant. We currently use Advantix because
of its comprehensive coverage and effectiveness. Bathing does kill the
fleas but will not prevent re-infestation.
Feel free to ask a doctor or staff member about any of our
recommendations
It is impossible to include the answers to all your questions in a
simple brochure. If a friend or relative gives you advice about any of
these issues and it seems in conflict with our ideas, please allow us
a chance to go into more detail about our experiences.
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