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Wellness Care
Animal Doctor provides wellness care for dogs and cats of all ages. We accept referrals and provide second opinions.
Description: Our Animal Doctor team defines wellness as an annual to biannual full physical exam with screenings for organ function, internal and external parasites through blood, urine and fecal testing. Year around flea, tick and heartworm prevention is also important to your pet’s wellness.
Symptoms & What to look for: Through the history, examination and testing we try to isolate whether your pet has any underlying health concerns that need addressed.
- New masses on or under the skin
- Itching or scratching their bodies, legs, head or ears
- Changes in their energy level
- Limping or walking differently
- Urinating inappropriately or excessively
- Defecating inappropriately, or abnormal looking stools (soft, hard, bloody)
- Drinking more or less water than usual
- Change in eating habits
- Skin lesions or hair loss
- Vomiting or diarrhea
- Halitosis (bad breath)
- Abnormal breathing, coughing, sneezing
- Changes in body shape or weight
Animal Doctor Wellness Care
History: A thorough history can help identify any concerns you may have about your pet.
Exam: By performing a thorough exam, we can identify problems that should be addressed such as; lameness, dental disease, parasites (internal, external), or skin infections, etc. We can then formulate a treatment plan individualized for your pet.
Parasite Screening: There are many internal and external parasites that can impact your pet, and you. Some parasites we check for include:
- Fleas and ticks
- Heartworms and tick bourn diseases
- Hookworms, roundworms and whipworms
- Giardia
- Coccidia
- Earmites
Blood Screening: We recommend annual to biannual blood testing to identify underlying diseases for which your pet may not be symptomatic. Diseases such as; kidney disease, liver disease, thyroid disease, anemias, and infections can be identified on screening tests.
Preventions: Administering preventative medications (either topically or orally) year round can help your pets live longer, healthier lives.
- Heartworm Preventative
- Dogs – Nexgard Plus (oral monthly), Heartgard Plus (oral monthly), Interceptor Plus (oral monthly), ProHeart12 (injection lasting 12 months)
- Cats – Nexgard Combo (topical monthly)
- Flea and Tick Preventative
- Dogs – Nexgard Plus (oral monthly), Nexgard (oral monthly), Bravecto (oral every 3 months), Seresto collar (topical every 8 months), Frontline Plus (topical monthly)
- Cats – Nexgard Combo (topical monthly), Seresto collar (topical every 8 months), Frontline Plus (topical monthly),
What are the risks if Wellness Care is not maintained?
By not maintaining wellness care and vaccinating your pet(s) appropriately, they are susceptible to multiple, painful, often deadly, diseases that can decrease their quality of life and their lifespan. You are also exposing yourself and others to potentially deadly zoonotic diseases (those transmitted from pets to people), including Rabies and Leptospirosis.
Animal Doctor Provider
Dr. Jennifer Arneson