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Routine Preventative Care Guidelines

Hi and welcome to Prestige Animal Clinic!

We are so happy you chose us to be your loved one’s vet. Our goal is to help you provide your pet with a long, healthy, happy life. Our efforts focus on providing you with the tools and information to make educated decisions about your preventative care, you would like your pet to receive. Preventative care is our number one focus. It is so much easier to prevent diseases than it is to treat them (Much cheaper too!).

AVMA (American Veterinary Medical Association) has given us a guideline of recommendations for what routine preventative care should include for your pet.

Canine

Vaccinations:

  • Distemper (DHPP)

  • Rabies

  • Leptospirosis

  • Bordetella (Optional depending on lifestyle)

  • K9 influenza (Optional depending on lifestyle)

Diagnostic Testing:

  • Heartworm

  • Lyme/Ehrlicha/Anaplasma

  • Fecal/Giardia

  • Wellness blood panel (CBC, baseline chemistry, and Urinalysis)

Parasite Prevention

  • Heartworm Prevention

  • Flea/Tick Prevention

  • Intestinal Deworming

Dental Care:

  • At home prevention

  • Yearly dental cleaning with xrays

Other:

  • Yearly physical exam

  • Balanced diet

Feline

Vaccinations:

  • Distemper (FVRCP)

  • Rabies

  • Leukemia (Age and lifestyle dependent)

Diagnostic Testing:

  • FIV/FeLV

  • Heartworm

  • Fecal/Giardia

  • Wellness blood panel (CBC,baseline chemistry, and Urinalysis)

Parasite Prevention

  • Heartworm Prevention

  • Flea/Tick Prevention

  • Intestinal Deworming

Dental Care:

  • At home prevention

  • Yearly dental cleaning with xrays

Other:

  • Yearly physical exam

  • Balanced diet

Additional Vaccination Information

Distemper, DHPP (For Dogs)

Protects against Distemper Virus, Adenovirus Type 1 (Hepatitis), Adenovirus Type 2 (Respiratory), Parainfluenza, and Parvovirus.

All of these viruses can be, and often are fatal in dogs and puppies. This vaccine is considered an absolute must for every dog.

Series 3-4 vaccines in puppies are given 2-3 weeks apart, initial series as an adult is 2 vaccines given 2-3 weeks apart.

Boostered annually first year and annually in some breeds.

After first annual may be given every 3 years depending on lifestyle and breed.

Rabies (For Dogs)

A must for every canine and feline by law. Legal issues can be brought on to a pet parent who do not have their pets vaccinated for this disease.

Initial vaccine is an annual, then every 3 years thereafter as long as vaccine is boostered on time.

Leptospirosis (For Dogs)

A potentially serious, even life-threatening bacterial disease found in the Eastern and parts of Western United States.

This bacterium is zoonotic, meaning your dog can pass it on to you.

The disease is spread by wildlife (raccoons, skunks, possums, squirrels, rats, etc.) into puddles, grass, and dirt. Once it enters the body the bacteria attack the liver and kidneys.

The Leptospirosis vaccine is a must for any pet that goes outdoors.

Initial is 2 vaccines given 2-3 weeks apart. Boostered annually.

Canine Influenza & Canine Bordetella

Does your pet have a social life? Does he/she enjoy going out with fellow companion canines for a day in the park, trip to the salon, or weekend getawayat a local doggy boarding resort?

Then these two vaccines should be considered as part of a normal preventative care routine.

Canine influenza and canine bordetella are two infections, primarily respiratory, that spread rapidly among dogs in boarding facilities and grooming salons, regardless of how many precautions are taken by the facility operators.

Initial series is 2 vaccines given 2-3 weeks apart.

Boostered annually or every 6 months depending on the lifestyle of the pet.

Distemper (FVRCP) (For Cats)

Protects against Feline Rhinotracheitis, Calici Virus, and Panleukopenia.

Rhino and Calici are responsible for chronic upper respiratory infections in cats that can sometimes be fatal.

Panleukopenia is a very contagious, dangerous disease that causes fever, loss of appetite, dehydration, vomiting, diarrhea, hypothermia, and all too often, death. Often referred to as distemper, it can affect cats and kittens, though mortality is higher in young cats.

This vaccine is considered an absolute for every cat.

Series of 3-4 vaccines in kittens are given 2-3 weeks apart. Initial series as adult is 2 vaccines given 2-3 weeks apart.

Boostered annually.

Rabies (For Cats)

A must for every canine and feline by law. Legal issues can be brought on to a pet parent who do not have their pets vaccinated for this disease.

Initial vaccine is an annual, then every 3 years thereafter as long as vaccine is boostered on time.

Leukemia (FeLV) (For Cats)

This virus is one of the most important causes of illness and death among cats, and is especially dangerous to young cats.

It causes cancer (lymphoma) in about 25% of infected cats, as well as contributing to other infectious diseases by suppressing the immune system and bone marrow production.

Otherwise referred to as FeLV, this condition should be tested for in all young cats and all cats new to a pet parent before being brought into a household and before vaccinating.

All kittens should be vaccinated with series of 2 vaccines, 2-3 weeks apart.

They should then be boostered annually the first year. Additional annual boosters are dependent on the lifestyle of the cat.

Additional Parasite Testing Information

4Dx Test (for Dogs)

Test is recommended yearly and tests the following:

Canine Heartworm:

Now, 1 in 5 pets not on prevention will come up positive for heartworm disease. Heartworm larva are introduced through the bite of the mosquito where they will go live and grow in the bloodstream. Once they reach maturity, they will live in the heart. Eventually leading to heart failure.

Heartworm disease is very expensive to treat, often averaging about $5,000 and some pets do not survive the treatment. Yearly testing combined with monthly prevention is recommended to keep your pet from getting this deadly parasite.

Lyme, Ehrlichia, Anaplasma:

Three diseases all carried and passed by the bite of a tick. Symptoms of all three can be very similar including loss of appetite, high fevers, stiffness and pain in the joints, general lethargy. They also infect the internal organs, especially the liver and kidneys.

Antibiotic treatment is needed early in infection to help prevent future problems and relapses of symptoms. Yearly testing is recommended as well as using tick prevention year-round.

FIV/FeLV/ Heartworm Testing (For Cats)

Test is recommended yearly and tests the following:

Feline Heartworm:

Heartworm larva are introduced through the bite of the mosquito where they will go live and grow in the blood stream. Once they reach maturity, they will live in the heart. Eventually leading to heart failure.

There is currently no treatment for feline heartworm disease. Yearly testing combined with monthly prevention is recommended to keep your pet from getting this deadly parasite.

FIV/FeLV:

Feline aids and Feline Leukemia are two viruses known to spread rapidly in wild cat colonies. Both diseases mimic the human diseases that are named after. They often lead to early death.

All kittens should be tested once they reach 9 weeks of age, then the test should be repeated in 6 months.

If the cat then remains indoors with the same owner and no new cats introduced to the household, then the test does not need to be repeated.

All new cats introduced to a household should be tested prior to entering and again in 6 months.

Fecal Testing (For Dogs & Cats)

Some common and easily treatable intestinal parasites that can pass from pets to people include:

  • Roundworms

  • Hookworms

  • Giardia

  • Tapeworms

  • Toxoplasma

  • Crytosporidia