Wellness exams are performed to prevent disease or sickness and help to ensure your pets continue to stay healthy. These services include vaccinations, parasite control, wellness exams, and even weight management support.
Our doctors will assess your pet’s health with a complete physical exam, medical history and lifestyle report to help create a plan for disease prevention. This also allows us to catch any potential issues as early as possible, and plan the best treatment course for your pet.
An essential part in disease prevention is vaccinations. Vaccinations protect your pet from common infectious diseases, and help reduce the incidence of serious transmissible disease in the pet population as a whole.
A Wellness Exam will not only help flag any potential problems with your pet's health, but they are also important in creating an overall medical history for your pet. By meeting regularly with your pet, your veterinarian is able to become better acquainted with their personal history, and is able to offer more personalized care. For pets who are 7 years and younger, Wellness Exams are recommended annually. Pets age much quicker than humans so for pets over 7 years of age, Wellness Exams are recommended at least twice a year, to screen for any sign of illness or diseases.
A Wellness Exam will include the following:
- A consultation with your veterinarian during which you will discuss your pet's day-to-day routine as well as any health concerns or questions you may have. You might be asked questions about his or her activity level, personality and nutrition.
- A hands-on examination performed by your veterinarian, which will assess your pet's overall health from nose to tail. Areas examined will include the abdomen, head and neck, eyes, ears, mouth and skin. In addition, the doctor will also evaluate your pet’s musculoskeletal system, as well as listen to their heart and lungs.
Other, additional annual preventive care is typically performed at the time of a Wellness Exam include:
- Vaccines ̶ your veterinarian will update any necessary vaccines.
- Intestinal Parasite Exam ̶ a stool sample will be sent off to the lab to check for any worms or other intestinal parasites
- Additional Diagnostic Testing ̶ any additional diagnostic testing pertinent to your pet's life stage. This could include blood tests, urinalysis, or radiographs as needed.
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Flea and Tick Control
Fleas and ticks are capable of transmitting infection and disease to pets through a bite. Many pets also suffer from severe allergic reactions to the bites of fleas and ticks. It is imperative that owners prevent these parasites by using one of the many commercially available products that protect pets from fleas and ticks.
Our staff and veterinarians will help you choose the correct product based on your pets risk factors and health status. We carry topical flea prevention for cats and dogs, topical tick repellent/prevention for dogs, as well as oral flea prevention for dogs. Many of our flea and tick prevention products provide additional benefits, as well, including internal parasite control and even heartworm preventative.
Parasite Control
Our hospital offers guidance on a number of Parasite Control Programs.
The most common parasites that afflict pets are fleas and ticks. Fleas and ticks are capable of transmitting infection and disease to pets through a bite. Many pets also suffer from severe allergic reaction to the bites of fleas and ticks.
Internal parasites such as worms are also capable of causing severe illness in pets. It is imperative that owners use one of the many commercially available products that protect pets from these parasites in order to maintain their pet’s health. Our staff and veterinarians can help you choose the correct product based on your pet’s risk factors and health status.
In addition, because of the damages posed by intestinal parasites to both pets and people, all dogs and cats should have at least one fecal examination per year to test for intestinal parasites (e.g., roundworms, hookworms, Giardia). In some parts of the country where intestinal parasites are known to be more common, several fecal exams per year are recommended. There are specific treatments available for pets with GI (gastrointestinal) parasites.
Weight Management Program
At VCA Canada Animal Hospitals, we want to work with you to help your pets maintain a healthy weight so they can live a long and happy life with you. Being overweight can be very dangerous for our pets – even a few extra pounds can potentially shorten their lifespan.
Pet obesity has become a national epidemic for our cats and dogs, and we’ve decided to help do something about it. Visit our hospital for an evaluation, and if it looks like your pet might need to lose a few pounds, we’ll discuss the steps you can take and provide the tools you need for successful pet weight loss. We will be there every step of the way offering support and encouragement!
Adult and Senior Wellness
Because our pets age at a quicker pace than we humans do, it is important that they receive appropriate preventative care, along with early detection screenings to identify any health concerns or diseases in their earliest stages.
As pets get older (between 7-10 depending on breed) they should visit their veterinarian twice a year for wellness exams. These exams are the key to detecting any health problems that could endanger your pet.
Our pets are susceptible to some of the ailments that aging humans face, such as cancer, diabetes, kidney complications, liver and intestinal disorders, arthritis, dental disease and vision impairment.
You can be your pet’s best advocate when it comes to their health. Keep a watchful eye for anything unusual or out of character for your dog or cat.
Some warning signs to watch out for include:
- Unexplained weight loss
- Excessive drinking or urination
- Loss of appetite
- Lethargy
- Behavioral changes
- Diarrhea or vomiting
- Skin lumps, growths or irritation
- Bad breath, plaque on teeth or bleeding gums
- Ear odors, ear redness, or scratching at the ears
- Lameness or sensitivity
Preventive Medicine
Our hospital offers and encourages Preventive Medicine Services through the use of special “Early Disease Detection/Wellness” programs for adult and senior pets. Because cats and dogs are living longer, they are experiencing increased problems with chronic illnesses and cancer. The earlier a problem is diagnosed and a treatment plan started, the better the outcome.
These programs recommend twice yearly exams by a veterinarian in order to detect any changes or illness in pets as they age. In addition to a physical examination, other diagnostic tests (laboratory work, urinalysis, fecal exam, x-rays, etc) are often recommended if a problem is detected. Ask your veterinarian which tests are appropriate for your pets.
Wellness Testing
Wellness tests are important to assist the veterinarians in creating an overall portfolio of your pet’s health. By including blood tests in your pet’s routine exams, it is possible to create a wellness baseline against which future testing can be compared. This can help to make any potential abnormalities or concerns be more easily detected.
Blood tests can be used to check for a number of problems, including organ function, blood sugar monitoring and heartworm disease.
Other wellness tests may also include urinalysis and intestinal parasite screening.
Microchipping
Does your pet have a microchip?
Each year, millions of pets go missing and many don’t make it back home. Microchipping your pet is a simple, effective way to prevent this sort of tragic loss. About the size and shape of a grain of rice, identification microchips are encoded with your pet’s vital information and then implanted beneath your pet’s skin, usually between the shoulder blades. Animal hospitals and shelters across the country are equipped with special scanners capable of reading these microchips. If your pet is lost, the microchip can be scanned and the information retrieved to assist in reuniting you and your pet.
Vaccinations
Our hospital offers vaccination examinations because vaccinations are critical to the well-being of your pets. Vaccines protect against potentially deadly viral diseases like Distemper, Parvovirus, Leptospirosis and Rabies in dogs, and Panleukopenia, Feline Leukemia Virus and Rabies in cats.
Dogs
- Annual Rabies Vaccination – Rabies is always fatal (in both animals and humans). Since there is no cure, prevention by vaccination is the only solution
- Lifestyle Vaccination Plan – Your dog’s lifestyle determines his risk levels for various diseases. Our doctors will individualize a vaccination plan for your dog based on his health and these risk factors. The recommended vaccinations may include Canine Distemper, Adenovirus/Hepatitis, Leptospirosis, Parainfluenza, Parvovirus, and Bordetella and/or Lyme.
Cats
- Annual Rabies Vaccination – Rabies is always fatal (in both animals and humans). Since there is no cure, prevention by vaccination is the only solution.
- FVRCP Vaccination – (Feline Viral Rhinotracheitis, Calicivirus, Panleukopenia) This yearly vaccine protects and maintains your cat’s antibody levels to protect them from these common viral diseases
- Feline Leukemia Vaccination – While it is more common in outdoor cats, Feline Leukemia it is often seen in indoor cats as well. Your cat is considered “at risk” for leukemia if he spends ANY time outdoors, supervised or not. We recommend vaccinating indoor cats as well to maintain high enough antibody levels to protect them in case they get outside, have to stay in the hospital or kennel, or you decide to adopt another cat.
