Dental care is a very important aspect of your pet’s overall health, and advances in veterinary dentistry over the past decade or so now allow us to perform many of the same procedures on animals that are already used in human dentistry. Good oral health is of vital importance to our pets if they are to remain healthy throughout their body. When there is infection or disease in the mouth, it can be spread easily to other areas of the body. For this reason, good dental health is critical and ongoing oral health should begin when your pet is very young. In veterinary medicine, it is often said that “the mouth is the window into the body.” Brushing Your Pet’s Teeth Believe it or not, it is possible to teach your pet to accept and even enjoy having their teeth brushed and cleaned on a regular basis. We encourage pet owners to regularly use products that enhance a healthy oral environment and decrease plaque and tartar buildup. While professional cleanings will remove buildup, it is important to provide on-going home care so that permanent bone damage does not occur. The best way to prevent this damage is to maintain your pet’s oral health on a regular basis. Professional Pet Dental Care No matter how well your pet’s oral health is maintained, eventually most dogs and cats will need a professional dental cleaning to restore their mouths to a more healthier state. Signs of needed dental care will often include:
Exceptional Tools for Pet Dentistry At Boggy Creek Animal Hospital, we have a state-of-the-art digital x-ray unit which allows us to take full-mouth radiographs and determine if oral health issues exist below the gum line in areas where we can’t see. Our high-speed dental drill allows us to perform extractions and other procedures more quickly and safely than was previously possible. To ensure that your pet’s mouth remains healthy, we recommend having their mouth checked at least annually. We also recommend that you establish an at-home hygiene regimen for your pet, which can include the use of dental chews. We are pleased to now offer OraVet® Dental Hygiene Chews, the delicious tablets that protect against bad breath, plaque, and calculus. Since plaque and calculus can eventually lead to bad breath and gum disease, these chews can—based on clinical studies—help prevent gum disease. Please contact us with dental care questions, and we’ll be happy to help!
- Bad breath
- Difficulty chewing or reluctance to eat
- Loose teeth
- Oral bleeding
- Red gums
- Swollen gums
Vaccination is a critical means of keeping your pet safe and healthy for life. Our pets are exposed to numerous diseases throughout the course of their life and vaccination is the best means of establishing protection. The Boggy Creek Animal Hospital team does not operate on a one-size-fits-all basis when it comes to prevention, but rather we analyze each pet’s lifestyle, with your help, to choose the best vaccine schedule for your pet’s needs. Boggy Creek Animal Hospital takes great pride is offering Merial vaccines, the highest quality vaccines available in the veterinary industry.
New Puppies and Kittens
When your new puppy or kitten first comes home to live with you, we recommend that they come in for a complete checkup within their first week of life with you, so we can identify any health problems early. We also perform a series of vaccine boosters for new pets, helping them to face the world on the right paw! We do require a specific set of booster shots for puppies in order to help them establish a baseline of protection.
Your pet reaches adulthood after their first year or so of life and this is longest life stage of all. During this period of your pet’s life, vaccinations and preventive care will be an important part of their ongoing health as our goal is to prevent disease and parasites and ensure that your pet stays healthy for years to come! Other concerns during your pet’s adult years will be diet, exercise, and ongoing physical examinations, so that we can catch potential health problems early and begin treatment promptly.
Senior Pet Care
When your pet has reached their senior years, their care requirements will begin to change. Because your senior pet’s physical changes may be subtle, it is so important that they come in on a regular basis for physical health checks. By the time a pet owner has noticed a change in a pet’s behavior, a significant health problem may have already developed! For this reason, we recommend that senior pets, or pets over the approximate age of 7 years, be brought in for checkups at least twice a year. This helps our team stay ahead of the game when it comes to diagnosing your pet’s health concerns. What Happens During A Senior Wellness Check? When your pet comes in for a senior wellness examination, we will perform a nose-to-tail physical just like we would do with a younger pet. We will still talk with you about preventive care and vaccinations as these aspects of pet care never lose their importance. However, when your pet is a senior, they will have additional needs as well. We will often recommend advanced diagnostics, such as blood work or urinalysis tests, to help us ensure that your pet’s organs are functioning as they should be. Because our pets age faster than we do, biannual visits are the best way for us to stay on top of their ever-changing conditions. Quality of life becomes another concern for senior pets. We will examine your pet to determine if there are any signs of pain or discomfort, which often come as a result of arthritis, and we will work closely with you to help ensure that your pet is happy, comfortable, and enjoying life. If you have questions about your pet’s needs, please contact us today and we’ll be happy to help you.
Many exotic animals kept as pets are considered prey species in the wild. Prey species often hide their signs of illness as a means of survival. Exotic animals showing symptoms at home are often already very sick. Regular wellness examinations are important to help identify early signs of disease that could otherwise be missed. During wellness visits, your pet will receive a thorough physical examination, routine blood work, and preventive medicine. Our staff will also discuss the specific husbandry requirements, including caging, care, and diet, of your pet. We strongly recommend annual wellness examinations for exotic pets should be evaluated twice yearly.