Each exam will be tailored to your pet’s individual needs. We’ll perform core services such as a physical, weight check, fecal exam, and blood work with every pet, but other services may only be necessary if we have a concern. Here are some services to expect at a pet exam:

• Nose-to-tail physical (ears, eyes, nose, mouth, skin and coat, heart and lungs)
• Body condition score and weight check
• Fecal exam
• Vaccines, if due
• Age-appropriate blood work
• Heartworm and tick-borne illness testing, if needed
• Urinalysis, if needed
• Parasite prevention
• Nutritional counseling, if needed
• Behavioral counseling, if needed

In veterinary medicine, our patients can’t tell us what’s wrong. In fact, many pets, especially cats, will try to hide symptoms of illness in order to avoid looking vulnerable. This would have helped them survive in the wild, but now, it makes addressing their problems more difficult! With annual blood work, we’re able to give your pet a voice. Complete blood counts, blood chemistry panels, and testing for parasites and vector-borne illnesses all help us detect disease, sometimes before any symptoms are present. Without blood work, many diseases can go unnoticed and will develop to advanced stages that take a greater toll on your pet’s health and are difficult to treat. Routine blood work changes all that — we’re able to pinpoint the problem more readily and form a treatment plan during the same visit.

Parasites are a growing problem in New Glarus and greater Wisconsin. Ticks are becoming more prevalent, as well as heartworms, which are transmitted by mosquitoes. These critters can transmit dangerous diseases to our pets and some, like tick-borne illnesses, can threaten our human family, too. With year-round flea, tick, and heartworm prevention, many of these dangers can be entirely avoided.

We recommend the following preventative measures:

• ProHeart 12 for dogs – ProHeart is an injectable heartworm preventative that protects dogs for 12 months.
• Year-round flea and tick preventatives – many cat and dog parasite preventatives are applied topically or orally and often require a monthly application. Ask your veterinarian about the best option for you and your pet at your next visit.
• Lyme disease vaccine for dogs – In addition to tick prevention, we also offer the Lyme disease vaccine to dogs who have a greater risk of encountering ticks.