Werntz Memorial Animal Hospital

Routine Care

Routine health care is important to the physical well-being of your pet. In general, preventive medicine is substantially less expensive than treating a problem once it has occurred.

We can help you plan the best health care plan for your pet, including recommended vaccination schedules, internal and external parasite control, heartworm prevention, spaying or neutering, dental care and nutrition.

Heartworm Prevention

Since heartworms are carried by mosquitoes, which are a concern in southwestern Pennsylvania, it is very important to make sure your dog or cat is on heartworm prevention medication from March through November.

However, as these medications also prevent against several common intestinal parasites, we feel it is advisable to use heartworm preventive year-round.

The Centers for Disease Control also recommend year-round heartworm prevention treatment, because the larva of roundworms and hookworms can migrate in humans and have been known to cause medical problems.

We currently recommend either IVERHART^® Plus or INTERCEPTOR^® for your canine friend. The latter product also prevents against infection with a less common albeit problematic intestinal parasite, the whipworm.

Feline Diabetes

Dealing with diabetes in cats has always been a challenge. However, it has recently been discovered that a high-protein prescription diet can be a great help in reducing the insulin requirement for these patients. In fact, reports show that some cats on this diet may be able to forego insulin injections entirely. If your cat is diabetic, ask us about this diet.

An additional problem in dealing with a feline diabetic is that the best type of insulin for most of these patients is no longer available through human suppliers. However, it has become available as a veterinary prescription medication. It requires different syringes than are used for human insulin, so these also must be provided by us.

Flea and Tick Control -- For Cats

We recommend our patients receive one of the following two top-spot treatments:

Revolution^®, which not only protects against fleas but also heartworms, ear mites, roundworms and hookworms.

FRONTLINE^® Plus which protects against fleas and ticks.

Flea and Tick Control -- For Dogs

For a number of years, we have been seeing an increase in the local population of ticks. Currently, our preferred product for flea and tick control in dogs is a top-spot treatment called K9 Advantix^®. The treatment also repels mosquitoes, which is important because dogs can be infected with the West Nile Virus. It's also important to protect your pet against fleas, ticks and mosquitoes because he or she may develop allergies to the insect bites.

Canine Influenza Virus (Canine Flu)

Researchers report that outbreaks of canine influenza virus, which causes an acute respiratory infection, have been identified in dogs in shelters, humane societies, boarding facilities and veterinary clinics. First identified in Florida, it has now spread to other parts of the country including the Pittsburgh area, resulting in fatalities in some cases. It is a highly contagious virus that causes a clinical syndrome that mimics "kennel cough."

Because this is a newly emerging pathogen, all dogs, regardless of breed or age, are susceptible to infection and have no naturally acquired or vaccine-induced immunity. Virtually 100 percent of exposed dogs become infected. Nearly 80 percent have clinical signs. There are two general clinical syndromes: the milder syndrome and a more severe pneumonia syndrome.

The milder disease syndrome occurs in most dogs. In the milder disease, the most common clinical sign is a cough that persists for 10 to 21 days, despite therapy with antibiotics and cough suppressants. Most dogs have a soft, moist cough, while others have a dry cough. Many dogs have nasal discharge and a low-grade fever. The nasal discharge likely represents a secondary bacterial infection that quickly resolves with broad-spectrum, bactericidal antibiotic treatment.

It takes two to five days after exposure before clinical signs appear. Infected dogs may shed virus for seven to 10 days from the initial day of clinical signs.

Nearly 20 percent of infected dogs will not display clinical signs and will become silent shedders and spreaders of the infection.

This virus is spread by respiratory secretions, contaminated objects, and even by people moving back and forth between infected and uninfected dogs.

Because there is no vaccine for canine influenza virus at this time, and there is no way to differentiate it from "kennel cough," we can now recommend routine vaccination for "kennel cough" for all of our canine patients. That way we will be able to differentiate cases of canine influenza in patients protected with this vaccine. We are using a vaccine against canine kennel cough that has been demonstrated to provide at least a year's protection, although some boarding kennels may require it more frequently.

Your New Pet

The First Visit
Puppies and kittens should make their first visit to the veterinarian as soon as possible to make sure they are healthy and free of intestinal parasites.

Puppies and kittens may start on heartworm prevention medication at the time of initial examination.

Vaccinations
Puppies and kittens should receive their first vaccinations between six and eight weeks of age.

Initial immunizations also require boosters that should be received between three and four months of age.

They also should be vaccinated against rabies at 12 weeks of age.

Your Geriatric Pet

Great strides have been made in prolonging and improving the quality of pets' lives. Although many geriatric conditions are not curable, they can be controlled through medications and/or dietary supplements or modifications.

In addition, we now have the capability to detect many conditions before they are symptomatic. Therefore, we suggest that all pets greater than six years of age receive annual blood chemistry evaluations.

Many older animals also have moderate to severe dental disease. This causes them unnecessary pain and discomfort. Additionally, it can lead to other more serious conditions such as heart, kidney and liver disease. We can provide dental care that makes your pet's life longer, happier and healthier.

We're here for you during all stages of your pet's life. When the end is near, we can assist you in making the important decisions that are right for your family.

Surgery Admissions

The evening before admission, surgical patients should not eat after 6:00 P.M. and should not drink after midnight.

We request that you present your pet for admission between 9:15 and 9:30 A.M. the day of surgery.

Please call us around 3:00 P.M. the afternoon of surgery for a report on your pet's progress and an estimate of release time.

Note: Normally we do not hospitalize patients overnight, as we are unable to provide 24-hour monitoring. Patients requiring extended hospitalization are referred to Allegheny Veterinary Emergency Trauma Specialists (AVETS) in Monroeville.