Routine wellness care is a cornerstone of your pet’s lifelong health and can prevent many harmful diseases. Our team at Peak City Veterinary Hospital shares common pet diseases you can prevent or manage with regular veterinary wellness care and preventive measures. 

Protect your pet from heartworm and parasitic diseases

Parasites, such as fleas, ticks, and worms, are always a threat to pet health and comfort. External parasites, such as fleas, ticks, mosquitoes, and mites, prey on your pet’s skin and feed on their skin cells or blood. External parasite risks include:

  • Ticks — Ticks can transmit many serious—sometimes deadly—diseases, such as Lyme disease, ehrlichiosis, anaplasmosis, and Rocky Mountain spotted fever. 
  • Fleas — Fleas and their bites may cause itchy and irritated skin, and some pets have severe allergies to flea saliva, which cause extreme itching, skin sores, and hair loss.  Fleas can also transmit serious conditions such as cat scratch disease, murine typhus, plague, tapeworms, and mycoplasma. 
  • Heartworms — Heartworms live in their host’s heart, lungs, and blood vessels. These worms can become large, and dogs can host hundreds at one time. Heartworms cause permanent cardiovascular damage, which can eventually cause death. 
  • Intestinal parasites — Intestinal parasites, such as roundworms, hookworms, and whipworms, can cause vomiting, diarrhea, and weight loss. Many heartworm preventives work double duty to also protect your pet from these pesky parasites. 

Protect your pet from dental disease

Did you know that taking care of your pet’s dental health is equally as important as your own oral care? Without regular dental care, oral bacteria can leach into your pet’s bloodstream, causing systemic infection and heart, liver, and kidney damage. Unfortunately, many pets do not show dental disease signs until their condition is severe and causing significant pain. Also, pets are excellent at hiding early stage disease, which makes regular professional dental care and an at-home dental hygiene routine essential. To protect your pet from dental disease, pair regular oral exams and professional dental cleanings with a daily at-home care plan that includes the following:

  • Toothbrushing — Brushing your pet’s teeth daily removes plaque before the substance hardens into tartar. A quick scrub will reduce oral bacteria and minimize dental disease risk.
  • Appropriate chews and toys — Extremely hard chew toys can damage your pet’s teeth, so avoid bones, antlers, and hooves. Sticks and tennis balls can also be harmful to your pet’s oral health.
  • Approved dental health products — Dental health products included on the Veterinary Oral Health Council’s (VOHC’s) accepted product list are proven to reduce plaque and tartar accumulation, and effectively battle dental disease. Peak City Veterinary Hospital carries many dental care products that you can use at home, and you can also check our online pharmacy. 

Protect your pet from respiratory infections

Pets are susceptible to myriad infectious respiratory diseases, and routine wellness care plays a crucial role in preventing them. Cats’ common respiratory pathogens include feline herpesvirus, calicivirus, and chlamydia. Dogs commonly develop infections from exposure to Bordetella, canine influenza virus, and parainfluenza virus. Most canine and feline respiratory infections cause minor symptoms, although occasional cases can progress to pneumonia and become life-threatening. Vaccines protect pets from these contagious diseases by building their immunity against disease-causing bacteria and viruses. During your pet’s annual wellness exam, we will recommend vaccines based on their lifestyle and risk. To protect pets from common respiratory infections, we recommend vaccination for most pets.

Protect your pet from obesity

Pet obesity can lead to myriad serious health issues that can have lifelong effects. Overweight pets are at an increased risk for several serious health complications, including diabetes, arthritis, high blood pressure, respiratory compromise, skin conditions, cancer, and kidney, heart, and lung diseases. Pets who maintain a healthy weight experience fewer medical problems and live more than two years longer than pets who are obese. Regular veterinary checkups allow our team to monitor your pet’s weight and provide guidance on a healthy diet and exercise plan to help you maintain your pet’s ideal weight. Additional obesity prevention tips include:

  • Incorporating daily activity, such as short, frequent walks, into your pet’s routine
  • Taking your pet for yearly or more frequent veterinary visits to monitor their weight and overall health
  • Ensuring your pet’s treats equal no more than 10% of their total daily calories
  • Using a measuring cup to ensure you are feeding your pet the correct food amount
  • Regularly checking your pet’s body condition score with this chart to evaluate their weight between veterinary visits

Understanding how routine wellness care can prevent these serious conditions is the first step to ensuring your pet’s well-being. The next step is contacting our Peak City Veterinary Hospital team to schedule your pet’s wellness appointment. Together, we can keep your pet healthy, happy, and disease-free.