PREVENTATIVE CARE

Benjamin Franklin once said, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure and we could not agree more with this proverb. Preventative medicine including regular check-ups, vaccinations, parasiticides and wellness testing are highly recommended by the veterinarians at Dundas West Animal Hospital.

ANNUAL EXAMS

We recommend all pets be examined by a veterinarian at least once per year. Remember that pets age much quicker than we do so annual exams are extremely important. During the exam, the veterinarian will check your pet from nose-to-tail to ensure they are in a healthy state. At this time, the veterinarian may or may not recommend vaccines and/or diagnostics depending on their findings.

VACCINATIONS

Vaccines are recommended to help keep pets healthy and some, such as rabies, are actually required by city bylaws to be kept up-to-date. We cater our vaccine protocol for each individual pet in conjunction with their individual risk assessment. We can also offer titre testing in lieu of vaccines in certain situations and we are very conscious of not over-vaccinating pets.

PARASITICIDES

Parasiticides are medications that are prescribed to help prevent parasites such as fleas, ticks, intestinal worms, and heartworm which is transmitted by mosquitoes. We recommend using parasiticides in most outdoor pets (as well as our indoor cats who have outdoor dog siblings) throughout the year. 

WELLNESS TESTING

Pets can be very good at hiding their illnesses and will often not show clinical signs of disease until things have progressed. For this reason, we will often recommend wellness blood tests on seemingly healthy patients to help diagnose illnesses before they become too advanced. We also recommend monitoring for diseases transmitted by parasites such as heartworm and Lyme disease. 

To schedule an appointment for your pet, contact us at 416-535-8387.