The Complete Guide to Preventive Care for Pets

As a veterinarian or vet practice manager, you already see the incredible value in preventive care for pets. It is hard to overstate the benefits of preventative pet health to the pet parents your practice supports, but don’t healthy pets enjoy a much higher quality of life for longer?

Preventive medicine in animals catches disease in the early stages. That might look like being able to treat kennel cough before it progresses, ward off parasites like ticks and fleas, or prevent obesity in spoiled and beloved pets. However, proactive health measures have other benefits, too, like lowering veterinarian costs for many pet owners.

Weave’s advanced veterinary practice management and communication platform also helps you offer more proactive care with streamlined connections and various ways to lighten your veterinary staff’s administrative burden. Here are our top strategies for helping your practice make proactive pet care a thing in the community you’re serving.

Understanding Pet Preventive Care

What preventative meds should my dog be on? When your practice prioritizes proactive pet care, answering questions like this from concerned owners comes easily.

Preventive medicine in animals includes regular veterinary checkups, vaccinations, parasite control, dental care, proper nutrition, and weight management. The goal of proactive care is to identify and address potential pet health issues early. Preventive pet care not only enhances the quality of life for the pets you treat but also reduces each animal’s long-term healthcare costs, which any owner will appreciate.

Of course, a preventative approach to veterinary medicine also offers numerous benefits, such as: 

• Illness prevention.
• Early detection and treatment of higher-risk concerns.
• Enhanced quality of life for companion animals that people depend on.

Key Components of Preventive Animal Care

So, how does “proactive care” differ from basic animal health insurance? Insurance can help pet owners cover the costs of medical problems and physical examinations. Proactive care measures reduce the risk factors before these expensive veterinarian bills ever surface! 

Based on guidelines from the American Animal Hospital Association and American Veterinary Medical Association, these key components underpin proactive pet care:

Regular Veterinary Checkups

As expected, routine vet visits are at the core of proactive animal care. These standard checkup appointments allow veterinarians to do the following and more:

• Conduct a full wellness exam.
• Complete blood work.
• Test for diseases. 
• Keep animals up-to-date on vaccination requirements.
• Prescribe medications.
• Treat parasites.

Even healthy dogs and cats should visit a veterinarian once or twice a year for routine blood tests and an exam to prevent infections and diseases. Thorough physical examinations will usually include the following:

• Listen to the heart to check for murmurs or unusual patterns.
• Physically examine the pet for tumors, signs of cancer, or enlarged lymph nodes.
• Check the kidney, liver, spleen, and intestines for swelling.
• Examine the eyes to check the animal’s visual capacity.
• Evaluate the animal’s skin and coat to determine flea and tick control needs.
• Measure the pet’s weight.
• Speak with the pet owner about the animal’s behavior or any concerns.

With thorough pet preventive care, any diligent veterinarian can protect pets from common diseases and treat anything that pops up quickly.

Vaccinations (Dogs and Cats)

Just as in humans, vaccination prevents diseases in everyone, from puppies and kittens to adult dogs and other full-grown animals of all kinds. So, what are the different preventatives for dogs or cats? 

Core vaccinations for dogs include:

• Rabies.
• Canine parvovirus.
• Hepatitis.
• Distemper.
• Kennel cough.
• Lyme disease.
• Leptospirosis.
• Canine influenza.

Core vaccines for cats include:

• Feline panleukopenia virus.
• Feline caliciviruses.
• Feline viral rhinotracheitis.
• Rabies.
• Feline leukemia virus.

Parasite Control

Parasites like ticks can increase the risks of illness and disease in animals (and in humans). Without parasite prevention, the dogs your practice sees will contract intestinal parasites, heartworm, Lyme disease, and more. 

As part of your parasite prevention advice for healthy dogs and other animals, it’s a good idea to include fleas, ticks, and heartworm medicine to reduce the risk of intestinal parasites and illness. Is your veterinary team regularly recommending parasite control medications just like vaccines, based on the pet’s age and other health factors? For example, Ivermectin is a common preventative medication that dogs take against heartworm, roundworm, and hookworm.

Dental Care

Your practice already knows that dogs and other animals require routine dental health checkups. With proper dental health, dogs can avoid periodontal disease, cavities, broken teeth, abscesses, and infections. If your vet clinic would like to share some tips with owners about maintaining healthy oral hygiene in their animals, try the following:

• Dog and cat owners must complete daily teeth cleanings at home.
• A dog might cooperate better with teeth-cleaning treats.

X-rays at the vet visit might give a more comprehensive view of the pet’s jaw if problems are evident.

Nutrition and Weight Management

Every pet benefits from maintaining a healthy weight. Think of when a dog gains too much and can’t stay active. The risks of hypertension, diabetes, and bladder stones are only the start.

A veterinarian who encourages routine visits does so much for the animals they see. Owners can receive balanced diet recommendations to prevent obesity (or malnutrition) and support for so many other problems along the way.

Benefits of Preventive Care for Pet Health and the Pet Owner

Pet preventive care offers numerous benefits for the animal’s owner and the dog or cat themselves.

Early Disease Detection

As the adage goes, “Prevention is better than cure.” Preventative pet care identifies health issues early so that you can provide prompt treatment for the dog or cat. Animals will see better health outcomes.

Cost-Effective Health Management

Do your services include preventative exams or vaccines? These measures cost less than emergency visits, major surgeries, or expensive complications from untreated diseases! Owners will see long-term cost savings.

Improved Quality of Life

Caring for a dog or cat’s nutritional and dental needs while preventing diseases and parasites lets your practice see meaningful results in the animal’s well-being and longevity. Isn’t that what veterinarians live for?

Implementing Proactive Care in Your Veterinary Practice

So, how can you implement preventative care at your practice?

Educating Pet Owners

Are owners bringing their pets to you proactively or retroactively? Try the following ideas:

• Dish out AVMA flyers.
• Share email campaigns on topics like proactive animal care.
• Send out appointment reminders.

Utilizing Technology

Automated communication solutions greatly streamline preventive care for vet practices. For example, Weave’s features include automated appointment reminders, online scheduling, payments, and digital forms to make proactive care visits a priority.

Keep Each Pet’s Health in Check With Weave

Pet preventive care keeps animals thriving and saves their owners money. Get a demo of Weave to see how we can help your vet practice communicate the value of proactive care to your clients.

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