Wellness & Preventive Care

As pet owners, we want our furry family members to be happy and healthy for as long as possible. Therefore, it’s important to ensure you bring your pet into Newaukum Valley Veterinary Services for proper preventative care, such as routine wellness exams. By bringing your pet in for routine exams, allows our staff to prevent harmful diseases or risks to your pet’s overall health.

Wellness Exams

Wellness exams include a comprehensive physical exam from nose to tail. During the exam, our staff will discuss vaccines and diagnostics such as intestinal parasite screens, heartworm/tick disease tests, and blood work panels – all tailored to your pet’s lifestyle. Our veterinarians will work closely with you to assess your pet’s risk, and exposure, and discuss your pet’s medical history to determine what tests and vaccinations are needed.

Wellness & Annual Exams

Preventative care is an essential part of your pet’s veterinary care. Generally speaking, an annual wellness visit is recommended to keep your pet happy and healthy. This offers the opportunity to identify and address any health problems before they become too difficult to manage, and it can help bring peace of mind in knowing that your pet is receiving the best care. You can even save time and money by identifying health problems early on. +

Vaccinations

Veterinarians recommend regular vaccinations for pets as an essential aspect of veterinary care. Pet vaccinations are important for strengthening your pet’s immunity and preventing diseases. Having your pet vaccinated is a testament to your commitment to your pet’s healthcare. Vaccines protect your pet from various diseases and infections. Pets should receive their first round of vaccines at a very young age (6-8 weeks of age.) Like human infants, newborn pets still have weak immunity. As months go by, young pets require help from vaccines and booster shots to prevent and even fight diseases. Senior pets also need a boost in their immune system to keep healthy as they grow older. +

Parasite Control

Parasite prevention is an integral part of taking good care of your cat or dog. Parasites also pose a threat to human health, as some pet parasites cause zoonotic infections, which means they can be transferred from pets to people. +

Flea Control

Fleas are the most common external parasite to plague companion animals. They are wingless insects that feed on blood, can jump up to two feet high and are persistent in the environment.

Fleas really live up to their reputation as pests. They can cause your pet discomfort in the form of itching. If a pet scratches themselves to relieve the itch, they might end up losing hair. The skin can become red and irritated-looking. Since fleas can drink a lot of your pet’s blood, anemia is a common side effect of a flea infestation. Pets with fleas might develop pale gums as a result of low iron levels. +

Ticks Control

Ticks are parasites that feed on the blood of unlucky host animals, such as cats and dogs. Like mites and spiders, ticks are arachnids. Although their presence may not even be noticed by the host, ticks can transmit many diseases through their bite.

Ticks carry many, many diseases that can be transmitted to dogs and people. +

Heartworm Control

Heartworms are the only type of parasitic worm that is transmitted via a mosquito, as opposed to coming into contact with the feces of an infected animal (which is how most cases of intestinal worms are contracted). 

One of the main reasons why heartworm prevention is so important is because of how heartworms are detected. In the early stages of the disease, most animals show few or no symptoms whatsoever. This makes it incredibly hard to detect. Often, by the time symptoms begin to show and an owner seeks veterinary attention for their pet, the damage will have already occurred to their body systems and organs. It can also take around 6 months after infection for any symptoms to occur. This is because, during this time, the heartworms are immature and therefore not causing significant blockages to the blood vessels to trigger symptoms. +

Nutrition Counseling

No matter whether your pet has just been diagnosed with a condition that requires some dietary changes or you are just looking for healthier meal and treat alternatives, our Veterinary Doctors here at Newaukum Valley Veterinary Services, can help you find the right nutritional plan to keep your pet healthy and happy. We provide dietary counseling, as well as answer questions and address any concerns that  you as pet owners may have along the way.

Nutritional counseling is a great way to educate and inform pet owners about the importance of maintaining a healthy diet for their pet. We will tailor the counseling and nutritional plan to meet your pet’s lifestyle, needs, health problems, and age. As your pet gets older we may also need to adjust or alter their diet accordingly. +

Microchipping

A microchip is a small, electronic chip enclosed in a glass cylinder that is about the same size as a grain of rice. The microchip itself does not have a battery—it is activated by a scanner that is passed over the area, and the radiowaves put out by the scanner activate the chip. The chip transmits the identification number to the scanner, which displays the number on the screen. The microchip itself is also called a transponder.

The best reason to have your animals microchipped is the improved chance that you'll get your animal back if it becomes lost or stolen.

A microchip is injected under the skin using a hypodermic needle. It is no more painful than a typical injection, although the needle is slightly larger than those used for injection. No surgery or anesthesia is required—a microchip can be implanted during a routine veterinary office visit. If your pet is already under anesthesia for a procedure, such as neutering or spaying, the microchip can often be implanted while they're still under anesthesia. +