Comprehensive Health Evaluation

Comprehensive annual health evaluations are critical to the long-term health and well-being of your dog. They can help us find small problems before they adversely affect your pet’s health. This evaluation will also include a nutritional and weight assessment, discussion of any behavior issues, and a dental health evaluation.

Vaccinations

Vaccinations protect against preventable infectious diseases and help your pet live a long, healthy life. Your puppy will need a series of vaccinations in order to boost their immune system and develop a full year of immunity. After the initial puppy series, these vaccines should be boosted one year later. After that, some vaccines can provide protection for up to 3 years. We take your dog’s lifestyle and risk into consideration when developing a vaccination schedule so that your dog does not receive any vaccinations that he or she doesn’t need. Once your dog has received the initial series of puppy vaccines, and boosters 1 year later, we prefer to schedule vaccine boosters on a rotating schedule for most patients, providing a lighter burden on the immune system with each annual exam.

DA2-P: This vaccine protects against life-threatening distemper, adenovirus, and parvovirus. This is a core vaccine recommended for all dogs. Once your dog has received appropriate puppy boosters, and a DA2-P vaccine 1 year later, then we recommendation vaccination every 3 years.
Rabies: This vaccine protects against a fatal disease that can be transmitted to humans. Rabies has been detected in foxes, coyotes, and bats in Oregon, and all counties in the state require that dogs be current on their rabies vaccination. The first rabies vaccine protects dogs for 1 year, and subsequent vaccines provide protection for 3 years.
Leptospirosis: This vaccine protects against a life-threatening bacterial infection that is transmitted by the urine of many species of wildlife (squirrels, opossum, raccoons, rats and mice, and sea lions). It can be transmitted by ingestion or through small abrasions in the skin, and can be transmitted to humans. Oregon and Washington have experienced increasing numbers of cases in recent years, including cases in city dogs who were presumably infected by urban rats and mice. This bacteria can also infect people, and can cause kidney or liver damage in both people and dogs. We follow the recommendation of the State Veterinarian of Oregon and recommend this vaccine for all dogs. Two initial booster vaccines are required, then annual vaccination thereafter.
Bordetella: This vaccine protects against kennel cough and is recommended for all dogs who go to doggie day care, dog parks, groomers or boarding facilities. The oral vaccine provides immunity for 1 year after a single administration. We also carry the injectable vaccine, but it needs to be boosted in 3-4 weeks when administered for the first time.

Canine Influenza Virus: This is a newer vaccine to protect against canine influenza. We carry the vaccine against both strains that have caused flu outbreaks in the US. Canine influenza can cause upper respiratory infections, sometimes leading to life-threatening pneumonia. We recommend this vaccine for dogs who lead a social lifestyle (grooming, boarding, doggie day care, and/or dog parks) or that socialize with dogs who do. A 2-dose booster series is needed, plus 7-10 days after the second booster for full immunity. As with the human flu, vaccination does not completely eliminate risk of disease, but greatly lessens its severity. 

Annual Deworming

We follow the Center for Disease Control (CDC) recommendations for at least annual deworming of all dogs, both to protect dogs, and also their owners from internal parasites that can cause severe disease, including blindness in children and adults. We use an oral medication called Drontal Plus which treats roundworms, hookworms, whipworms, and tapeworms. Many monthly heartworm preventatives treat most of these internal parasites, except tapeworms. Your veterinarian may recommend annual deworming even if your dog is on a monthly heartworm preventive, based on his lifestyle or if he has a history of having fleas (which are part of the tapeworm lifecycle).

Annual Intestinal Parasite Screening

We recommend annual internal parasite screening for all dogs. We test for hookworm, whipworm, roundworm, plus protozoa coccidia and giardia, which commonly infect standing water in our wet weather (and which our routine dewormers don’t treat). When we also recommend annual deworming, we wait two weeks to have you submit a fecal sample for analysis, so we can ensure the effectiveness of deworming. Dogs with heavy loads of internal parasites may test positive for hookworms, roundworms, or whipworms, even after receiving a broad-spectrum dewormer. Learn more about internal parasites in dogs at PetsandParasites.org.

Annual Heartworm Testing

Heartworms are spread by infected mosquitoes, and the number of cases in the Portland metro area is on the rise. Dogs traveling to Southern Oregon, California, and Hawaii (or elsewhere in the US) have an even greater chance of becoming infected. Heartworm disease is fatal if left untreated, and treatment can be both painful and expensive. We follow the American Heartworm Association recommendation for monthly prevention and annual testing of all dogs, which involves an inexpensive blood test. The manufacturers of heartworm prevention will guarantee the effectiveness of their product if it is purchased through a veterinarian, given once monthly, and annual heartworm tests are performed.

Screening Labwork

Just as our physical exam is used to evaluate your pet’s health, blood and urine testing provide an exam of your pet’s internal organs, and can help uncover underlying medical problems that may not be obvious from the physical exam. Depending on your dog’s health status and use of prescription medications, your veterinarian may recommend annual or semi-annual screening labwork to monitor your pet’s organ function.

Monthly Flea & Heartworm Prevention

We recommend monthly flea and heartworm prevention for all dogs year-round. We offer a variety of preventives, and can make a recommendation for a product that will best suit you and your pet based on lifestyle and preferences. We carry the following products:

Comfortis—oral prescription flea preventive that kills fleas very quickly (within 4 hours of administration), and the main ingredient is used in organic farming. It is a flavored pill that must be given orally with a full meal.
Frontline Gold—over-the-counter topical flea preventive that kills fleas within 12 hours of administration.
Heartgard Plus—oral prescription product that prevents heartworms and treats some internal parasites (roundworms and hookworms). It is a soft flavored chew, and does not need to be given with a meal. This product requires a negative heartworm test annually.
NexGard—oral prescription flea and tick preventive. It is a soft flavored chew, and does not need to be given with a meal.
Trifexis—combination oral prescription product that prevents both heartworms and fleas, and treats internal parasites (hookworms, whipworms, and roundworms). This product kills fleas very quickly (within 4 hours of administration) and its main ingredient is labeled for use in organic farming. It is a flavored pill that must be given orally with a full meal, and requires a negative heartworm test annually.