While it is always important to visit your Chicago vet periodically to get a good bill of health about your pet, there are many preventative health care options you have for your dog, that vets, yourself and others can help with so your pet is healthy for many years to come.
Annual Checkups
Preventing disease and health problems are two things that vets are available for, but this requires you to bring in your dog to have an annual checkup. While you may think that a year is nothing, animals age faster than humans and many things can change within one year. In fact, many veterinarians prefer six-month checkups for adult animals as they get older to ensure that everything is still fine.
Vaccinations
Puppies and kittens need to be vaccinated, just like young human babies. This is ultimately the best weapon against horrible diseases, such as rabies, distemper and kennel cough, to name a few. In fact, rabies vaccines are so important that almost every state in the US requires pets to have them. Your veterinarian will discuss with you how often a vaccine is needed to be effective.
Grooming
While it may be difficult to wash and brush your dog’s fur, grooming is essential to your dog’s health. This includes trimming the nails, brushing their coat and cleaning their ears. In fact, many vets will offer grooming as part of their services to ensure that your pet always puts his best paw forward, though you can elect to do the grooming yourself if you prefer.
Parasites
Fleas, ticks, heartworms and other parasites can be prevented easily with specific in-home products. These parasites can cause major health problems in your dog, so it is important to purchase the right products and use them accordingly. Even if your dog is an inside dog, they’ll go outside to relieve themselves and could be bitten by mosquitoes or have ticks or fleas.
Training
With babies, you nurture them and love them unconditionally, and as they grow older, they are met with more responsibilities and taught the proper way to behave. The same is usually necessary with dogs in the form of proper training. This will allow your dog to bond with the family and act appropriately in almost every situation. Browse the site website for more information.
