Our philosophy is that preventative health care is the key to the full and healthy life of your dog or cat.  We recommend an annual, or bi-annual, wellness exam, depending upon your pet’s physical health, age and medical needs, along with good client education. By educating our clientele on maintenance procedures, the life of your dog or cat can be enhanced.

The wellness exam provides an opportunity for you to discuss your pet’s health with one of our veterinarians.  Everything from dental care, arthritis, nutrition, immunizations and any lifestyle changes are encouraged discussions.  We will also discuss vaccinations, heartworm testing and prevention and parasite control with you during your pet’s wellness exam.

During your pet’s wellness exam, we will give your pet a full physical evaluation. We examine his or her vision, hearing, heart and lung functions, test the joints and muscles, palpate the abdomen and perform many other tests. The information we collect during an exam helps us establish a baseline level of your pet’s health and allows us to better treat your pet.

Our annual exam also includes a dental evaluation. Dental care is very important, especially to our older animals. We examine your pet’s teeth and gums for plaque and tartar, tooth weakness and decay. This screening often prevents mouth pain and infections that can affect your pet’s overall health. Click here to read more about the dental care offered at Smith Veterinary Hospital.

We monitor your animal’s weight so we can recommend modifications in diet or exercise if needed. During the annual wellness exam, we may discuss your pet’s nutritional needs and weight management guidelines with you. A healthy body weight is important for your dog or cat to have a long and healthy life.

For all adult dogs on an annual basis we recommend:

  • A Complete Physical Examination
  • Weight Assessment
  • Dental Evaluation
  • Blood test to detect Heartworm Disease
  • Fecal Analysis/Internal Parasite Test
  • Deworming
  • Vaccinations as needed
For all adult cats on an annual basis we recommend:

  • A Complete Physical Examination
  • Weight Assessment
  • Dental Evaluation
  • Fecal Analysis/Internal Parasite Test
  • Deworming
  • Vaccinations as needed

 

 

 

Parasite Control

Internal Parasites

Heartworm:

Mosquitoes can carry and transmit heartworm disease. Heartworm (Dirofilaria immitis) is a blood parasite that affects primarily dogs, but can also affect cats. The adult worms live in the heart and the major blood vessels. Left untreated, heartworm disease can be fatal.

We can test for heartworm disease using a simple blood test. We recommend testing dogs over 6 months of age once a year. We send these tests out to a reference lab, so you will have results in 1 to 2 days. We also offer an optional blood panel with the heartworm test that checks liver values, kidney values, glucose and protein.  The best way to prevent heartworm infection in dogs is to use a monthly preventative such as Heartgard Plus®. These medications also protect your dog against intestinal parasites including roundworms and hookworms.

Roundworms And Hookworms

Since both roundworms and hookworms can be transmitted to people, we recommend keeping your dog on year-round heartworm preventative. For cats, Revolution®is an excellent choice. It is a monthly topical that protects them against heartworm, fleas, ear mites, roundworms and hookworms. This is especially important for cats that go outdoors.

We also recommend checking a stool sample on adult dogs and cats at least once a year, and routine deworming and fecal checks on all puppies and kittens.

For more information on how roundworms and hookworms can affect people and how to protect your pet, please click on the links below:

National Center for Disease Control and Prevention
Companion Animal Parasite Council

External Parasites:

Fleas And Ticks

Ticks can carry diseases such as Lyme, Anaplasma, Ehrlichia, Babesia, and Rocky Mt. Spotted Fever (RMSF). These diseases can cause fever, lameness, joint pain/swelling, lethargy, anemia, bleeding and other signs. Using a tick preventative such as Frontline® Plus, Bravecto, Nexgard and Frontline Gold can help prevent tick-borne diseases. Although we have a very effective vaccine available for Lyme disease, there are currently no vaccines for Anaplasma,Ehrlichia, Babesia or RMSF in dogs. Frontline® Plus is a monthly topical that not only kills ticks, but also kills fleas and flea eggs. We recommend Frontline® Plus because it is very safe; it can even be used on pregnant and nursing dogs. Frontline® Plus is also safe to use around cats – most other tick preventatives contain permethrins which are very toxic to cats. The other way you can help prevent tick borne-diseases from affecting your dog is to carefully check him/her over after visiting tick areas. To remove a tick from your dog, use a tweezers and grasp the tick as close to the skin as possible, then pull. You can clean the area with warm soapy water. If your dog experiences any of the symptoms above or is exhibiting swelling/redness in the area of the tick bite, we recommend setting up an appointment.

If you have any questions about anything you have read here, or if you need to set up an appointment for you dog or cat, please call 952-736-8278.