Packerland Veterinary Center Packerland Veterinary Center Packerland Veterinary Center

SERVICES

Canine Wellness Care

Canine Wellness Care

Nothing is more important to us than keeping our patients healthy. Preventative wellness care focuses on avoiding disease and monitoring for subtle changes before they become bigger problems.

There are many facets to preventative care -

Examination

Our veterinarians perform a full nose to tail exam at each wellness visit. They look for things such as body condition, dental health, lumps, bumps and changes from previous exams. This thorough physical allows them to catch and address problem areas to keep their patients healthy.

Vaccinations

Vaccinations help the body's immune system recognize and fight disease. There are "core" vaccines which are recommended for each patient, and "noncore" vaccines which are lifestyle based. Our staff recommends a customized vaccine protocol based upon your pet's overall risk to various diseases. Click the vaccination below to learn more.

Distemper

Considered a core vaccine, this is a combination vaccine that covers for 5 potentially deadly diseases that are found in the environment that all dogs are at risk for.

Rabies

Required by law, the Rabies vaccine is important for all pets to prevent contraction of the virus and to protect public health.

Leptospirosis

Considered a core vaccine in our region. Leptospirosis causes severe liver and kidney damage and can be spread from dogs to humans, therefore posing a public health hazard.

Bordetella

Considered noncore, this vaccine helps prevent "kennel cough", one of many respiratory viruses that dogs are exposed to. It should be used in patients with exposure to other dogs via boarding, grooming or dog park/daycare situations.

Lyme

Also considered noncore, this vaccine is appropriate for all pets who live in Wisconsin as they have regular exposure to ticks whether in their own yards or via camping, hunting or visiting a family cabin.

Influenza

Also considered noncore unless dogs have exposure to other dogs via boarding, grooming or dog park/daycare type situations. Influenza vaccines help prevent or lessen the symptoms of a life-threatening infection to the various known strains of canine influenza H3N8 and H3N2. 

With the exception of the Rabies vaccine, the first time a pet is exposed to a vaccine, the body does not fully know what to do with the information. Pets, like people, need to have their initial vaccinations boostered within a 3-6 week time period. The body then identifies the vaccine and forms the appropriate protection. If a vaccine booster is missed, or goes beyond the recommended time window, the body may forget about the previous information and the vaccine series will need to be restarted to ensure full protection.

The benefits of easily preventing deadly diseases via vaccination far outweigh the potential risks. Reactions, while rare, can occur, but are typically fairly mild. Our veterinarians customize vaccine recommendations and utilize the most up to date protocols to avoid unnecessary over-vaccination and keep the process as safe as possible for our patients.

Parasite Prevention

Parasites are organisms that live on or in another organism (your pet!), obtaining nourishment and protection with no benefit to the host. Parasites are very common, but also easily preventable. Many of these parasites are zoonotic, meaning they can be transmitted to human family members as well. For this reason our veterinarians follow CDC recommendations and promote preventatives not just for the health of our patients, but for their families as well. Click the parasite below to learn more.

Heartworm

Carried by mosquitoes, heartworms infect the blood system of pets. As heartworms grow, they mature in the heart and lungs and are life-threatening. Heartworm disease is prevented via a year-round monthly chewable or every 6 month injection.

Flea/Tick

Fleas and ticks are not just nuisances, they carry and cause disease as well. Flea allergy skin conditions, tapeworms, Cat Scratch Disease (among others) and tick borne diseases are easily preventable via a variety of methods that are recommended year-round.

Internal Parasites

There are a number of intestinal parasites that pets are prone to getting due to their lifestyle and eating habits. Often there are no symptoms of internal parasites, but that doesn't stop them from transmitting these infections to other pets and human family members. We recommend broad-range deworming a minimum of twice yearly, regular stool sample checks and continued heartworm preventatives which also offer protection against certain intestinal parasites.

Labwork Monitoring

There are a variety of parameters that we recommend monitoring regularly in our patients. These tests give us information about exposure to diseases and changes in overall body systems that allow us to appropriately manage and treat the pets we see. Click the lab below to learn more.

Heartworm/Tick Testing

Our "4dx" test looks for exposure to not only Heartworm disease, but also the three most common tick diseases to our area; Lyme, Anaplasmosis and Ehrlichiosis. 

Internal Parasite Testing

Most often, parasites will go unnoticed by pet owners as they do not like to leave the body. Typically pets are asymptomatic and parasites rarely present themselves with the exception of immunocompromised patients or when there is such a high worm burden the body can no longer keep them in. Because of this, we recommend regular stool sample checks which allow us to look for parasite eggs under a microscope. This allows us to not only identify parasites, but also recommend treatment for specific parasites that standard broad-range deworming may not cover.

Blood Work Screening

Annual bloodwork screening checks various parameters of red and white blood cells as well as organ function values. This screening not only establishes a useful baseline for your pet, but also helps us identify subtle changes and abnormalities before they present symptomatically.

Cancer Screening

With advances in veterinary medicine over the years, dogs are leading happier, healthier and longer lives than ever. Some of these advancements have included improved cancer treatment for dogs, but unfortunately cancer often goes undiscovered until it’s already in the more difficult-to-treat advance stages. Now we are pleased to say that we are taking part in making strides to detect cancer BEFORE any clinical signs arise.

Nu. Q Canine Cancer Screening

Nu Q is a nucleosome based multi-cancer early detection screening test which is able to detect 7 different common systemic canine cancer types. The test is used to determine how likely it is that a dog may have cancer and whether or not further diagnostics to investigate should be pursued.

Idexx recommends Nu. Q as a general screening test for all dogs 7 years of age and older, or at 4 years and older for breeds at a higher risk of cancer. This test requires a fasted blood sample and patients with chronic immune or inflammatory disease should delay screening if the pet is experiencing a flare of symptoms.