Preventive Health Programs:

Puppies and Kittens
Wellness Consultations
Vaccinations
Holistic Immunization

Your pet has a mission in life: to be your companion and to have fun while s/he is at it. The fulfillment of that mission depends on being healthy. Pets have different needs according to their particular life stage.


Puppies and Kittens

Even before you adopt or purchase a pet, you may consult with us to resolve some of the questions you may have, for instance: what breed should you choose? male or female? pet shop, breeder or pound?

Whether your new pet came from a breeder, a pet store, an animal shelter or the street, you may bring your new pet for a free consultation. Here we will assess his health and tell you what you could do to bring him up as a healthy pet. For instance if you purchase a pet it is very important that you know if it has any congenital problems. If you adopted a cat from the street you should know whether is has feline leukemia or feline AIDS. At this consultation you will receive diet recommendations and schedule the puppy shots and deworming.

During the various visits that are required for vaccination of a puppy or kitten we establish a rapport with the animal, getting to know their individual physiology and most importantly, we establish an emotional link with them.

See also:
Shots and Deworming for puppies and kittens
Holistic protocols for puppies and kittens


Wellness consultations

We recommend two consultations a year, where we perform full physical exams and review your pet’s overall activities (e.g. diet, behaviour, performance, and so on). One of the consultations includes the recommended annual vaccination. The second annual consultation is complimentary. When your pet is vaccinated, you will automatically receive a call six months later, for the complimentary second examination. These consultations allow us to establish the health status of your pet, identify risks and detect early signs of disease. Our recommendations for prevention may include preventive parasite control programs (flea, internal parasites, heart worm), weight control (diet modification, exercise, pain control), and infectious diseases prevention.

Laboratory tests may be recommended in geriatric pets (six years of age and older), pets receiving chronic medication, or when the examination reveals potential problems with internal organs.


Vaccinations

Vaccinations are the standard essential tool for infectious disease prevention. We use a three year rotational vaccination protocol for dogs, which splits the core vaccines: rabies , parvovirus and distemper. This way we achieve prolonged protection while minimizing the impact on the immune system. Kennel cough (Bordetella) vaccine is given annually to maintain proper protection. Certain specific vaccines, such as those for Lyme disease and Leptospirosis, may be recommended if we establish at the wellness consultation that your pet is at risk of contacting those diseases.

Cats receive annual vaccinations for Feline Leukemia, Calicivirus, Rhinotracheitis and Panleukopenia.


Holistic Immunization

You may wish to minimize vaccinations for your pet due to personal preferences or because your pet has an immune-mediated disease. However, you still need to maintain a level of immunity that will protect your pet from infectious diseases. We can assess the level of defenses that your pet has against infectious disease by performing a titre test. With this test we can establish whether your pet needs to be given a booster vaccination. In addition we can recommend various holistic strategies that can be applied to increase non-specific resistance to disease. Homeopathic nosodes may be used in a targeted manner to protect the animal during periods of high risk of exposure.


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