Rocklin, Roseville & Lincoln CA Quality & Compassionate Pet Wellness Care
At Rocklin Ranch Veterinary Hospital, keeping your family pets healthy is our goal. Wellness examinations let us determine a pet’s health status and give us a baseline on which we can measure changes in your pet’s health. Because pets age 7 years to our 1 year, prevention is so important. Your pet’s annual wellness exam plays a crucial role in making sure that he or she lives a long, happy life.
Our Partnership of Care
We will talk with you about behavioral issues and nutrition strategies, especially if your pet is overweight. During your pet’s regular examinations, Rocklin Ranch Veterinary Hospital’s veterinarians will discuss signs of health problems to look for and we’ll listen carefully to your questions and observations.
From the ages of 1 to 4 years, we recommend an annual exam. We will examine the heart, abdomen, skin, ears, lungs, and eyes and check to make sure your pet is isn’t over- or underweight. We recommend dental cleanings from the age of 2. Vaccines will be checked and any required boosters are given.
As your pet matures between the ages of 4 and 6 years, we still want to see him or her once a year, but in addition to the exams we’ve done for the first few years, we will add a blood screening for thyroid problems.
Once your pet reaches the age of 6, he or she is considered a senior pet, and we add a series of blood tests designed just for seniors as well as screenings for joint problems. Dental concerns are addressed, vaccinations assessed, and parasite prevention is continued.
For all pets, an annual fecal exam is done to check for intestinal parasites, including:
- Giardia
- Coccidia
- Roundworms
- Tapeworms
- Hookworms
- Whipworms
In addition, we test dogs annually for heartworms, Lyme disease, Anaplasma, and Ehrlichia. After a negative heartworm test, we will prescribe heartworm prevention medication that contains a dewormer to help control some of the more common intestinal parasites. At ages 1 through 4, vaccinations will be updated with boosters as indicated by your pet’s current needs and lifestyle.
Pet Bathing and Grooming
Rocklin Ranch offers bathing to keep your pet’s skin and coat in good condition. Bathing and shaving can relieve cats that have matting problems, especially those with long hair. We can do a simple lion cut to make your feline friend more comfortable, especially in hot weather.
Dogs can benefit as well from bathing, anal gland expression, and nail trims. While we do not do any of the fancy show cuts for various breeds, we are glad to perform a simple shave down to keep your canine happy and content.
Everyday Pet Health Tips
To keep your pet healthy, we have great advice for you at each visit.
- Brush your pet’s teeth—You can perform this very important task at home. We’ll show you how! Brushing at home combined with regular teeth cleanings at Rocklin Ranch can help keep your pet healthy.
- Year-round prevention—Heartworm can be a danger to your pet all year round and fleas never take a holiday. We recommend keeping your pet on preventive medication throughout the year.
- Rattlesnakes—We know that construction can displace rattlesnakes and while rattlesnake vaccine cannot “cure” the effects of venom, it can slow them down, giving you more time to get your pet to the hospital for emergency treatment.
- Seasonal concerns—There are things to watch out for where your pet is concerned in each season. For example, the cold, wet weather in the winter can make joint problems more apparent, and in the fall, especially around Halloween, it’s important to keep the candy out of reach.
Because we see your pet for only a short time at appointments, we look forward to forming a partnership with you. The behaviors you see at home can be a key to better health for your pet.