Services | Preventative Care
The relationship we have with our pets can be fun and rewarding. Pets provide us with companionship and overall happiness, along with many other benefits to human health and healing. We continue to gain knowledge about the many ways in which animals enrich our lives. Valuable veterinary diagnostics have also become more readily available, improving the quality of health care for your pet and making it more accessible for your family. Our goal at Canyon Pet Hospital is to educate each and every one of our clients about the care available to their pet and how that care can improve and extend their pet's life. Investing in a preventative care plan for your pet can help give both of you a long and happy life together.
Examinations
Routine examinations by your pet's veterinarian are the best way to discover preventable problems early on. Routine visits are an opportunity to discuss behavioral issues, nutritional recommendations, or any other conditions or changes that you may notice as you spend time with your pet. Addressing these issues early can result in less medication and decreased treatment times, which usually means less expense for you and a better overall outcome for your pet. Please help us achieve our goal of providing the best quality medicine by bringing your pet in for routine examinations and allowing us to see your furry family member at the first sign of a problem.
Examination of your pet will include:
Listening to your pet's heart: This will help to find early signs of congenital heart disease such as heart murmurs and abnormal heart beat patterns (arrhythmias). Your pet's lifespan can be increased and his or her quality of life improved if these problems are found early.
Listening to your pet's lungs: Listening to the lungs helps find signs of infection, obstructive diseases, and other problems.
Checking your pet's teeth and oral cavity: Evaluating whether or not your puppy or kitten is developing an appropriate "bite" and making sure they are losing their baby teeth is important in their first four to eight months of growth. Learning how to perform routine home dental care can prevent problems with your pet's teeth later in life. Dental disease is the number one disease in pets today, but it is also the most preventable and treatable disease pets face.
Evaluating your pet's vision: Many ocular conditions are easily treated if found early, but are much more difficult to manage and cure if found late in the disease process.
Looking into your pet's ears: Ear disease is second to dental disease as being the most common ailment that we see at Canyon Pet Hospital. Low-grade allergies, swimming/bathing, food reactions, etc., can all contribute to ear disease. Regular evaluation and early detection can decrease scarring and prevent hearing loss in your pet. Many infections are low grade or mild and are not detected by owners. Therefore, veterinary evaluation is very important and learning to maintain your pet's ears early on can help prevent or decrease long-term problems.
Palpating (feeling) your pet's lymph nodes, abdomen and skin: We are looking for any unusual "lumps" or swellings and evaluating skin colorations, lesions or patterns of hair loss or thinning. These can be early indicators of more systemic problems, especially metabolic disease, which most commonly occurs in "middle aged" animals. For younger pets, this could indicate infections or diseases such as mites, yeast infection or congenital problems.
Palpating joints and muscles: We evaluate for swelling of joints, decreasing muscle tone or variations in muscle size between legs. In younger pets, we also observe your pet's gait and try to determine whether or not your pet is having developmental problems. In puppies, we will look for early signs of hip or elbow development issues, possibly using radiographs, to determine if surgical intervention is necessary. For older pets, we will look for signs of arthritis. Arthritis is best treated when found early. Your veterinarian can determine the best combination of nutritional, nutriceutical, holistic and pharmaceutical intervention for your pet. Intervening when a problem starts can allow for a safer, more effective intervention.
Vaccinations
Many common canine and feline diseases can be prevented through the use of vaccinations. For information about our vaccination programs, please click on the following links:
For our canine vaccine program, click here.
For our feline vaccine program, click here.