Dog Wellness Info
*Don't forget ALL dogs (indoor or outdoor) need Heartworm prevention monthly YEAR ROUND here in North Carolina. (We do have the 6 months or 12 month heartworm shot too!)
​Flea/Tick prevention is also needed year round 

​We do not always recommend ALL vaccines for ALL pets. For our canine companions we do look at the following risks and recommend getting them the vaccines if they meet those risks in their lives.

Rabies  |  
Required by law for all of our canine companions. We understand sometimes getting vaccines can be scary. We do offer the Thimersol free Rabies vaccines for all of our patients. (This does not mean it is necessarily bad, but is often a preferred type of vaccine)

**Core Vaccine** Required by Law

DAP  | Will need to be boostered if it has not been boostered appropriately previously (within 2-6 weeks of first vaccine)

DISTEMPER/PARVOVIRUS/ADENOVIRUS
**Core Vaccine. Required for all dogs for boarding, surgery, etc***

Life Style Vaccine Options

Bordetella Vaccine  |  
**Core** For any boarding, surgery, socialization, etc. 

RISK: This is a much more common group of upper respiratory diseases that affect dogs. If your dog is going to be going to a groomer, dog parks, or ever get boarded we strongly recommend it and it is often required then. It does not need a booster when given with another vaccine, as long as your pet is over 8 weeks of age. 

Leptospirosis Vaccine  |  (Will need a booster if you've never gotten it before)
​
RISK: Zoonotic disease, meaning people can get this. They can get it from their pets. Risks are exposure to standing water. Puddles in grass, driveways, etc. Urine from wildlife is where the bacteria can be transmitted. People can also get this but are less likely to be drinking from these puddles. This vaccine does need a booster in 3-4 weeks if they have not had it. 

Lyme Vaccine  |  (Will need a booster if your pet had never had it before)

RISK: Lyme disease is unfortunately becoming MUCH more common here than it used to be. We do recommend it for high tick disease exposure. No tick control is 100%, so if your pet has high tick exposure we do recommend getting this done. It does NOT replace tick control as ticks can transmit other diseases instead of just Lyme disease. We really push people who see ticks getting through their tick control to get this vaccine. 

Canine Influenza  |  (Will need a booster if you haven't had it before)

RISK: If your pet is going to be going to dog shows, field trials, do lots of traveling with you, we recommend also doing the Canine Influenza vaccine. At this time this has not morphed into being transmittable to humans as the flu. It is only a risk to your dog. It is a very uncommon disease with more severe outcomes if untreated. This will need to be boostered in 3-4 weeks after the first vaccine. 

Parasite and Bloodwork Screens

Fecal Internal Parasite Screen  |                           Approximately $24
You CAN see some roundworms and tapeworms in your pet's stool. BUT you cannot see other types of parasites (like whipworms, hookworms and giardia); which can be much more sinister to you and your pet. These are often ZOONOTIC, which means YOU can get them from your pet. 

We STRONGLY recommend annual Fecal screenings for ALL pets to protect their humans. 

HEARTWORM TESTING  
Heartworm test only                 Approximately $50
Minimum recommended to start heartworm treatments and be sure patient doesn’t have heartworms. There CAN be (although it is rare) allergic reactions to killing off the baby heartworms. The preventions we give kill the babies but cannot kill the adults. There are much more toxic substances used to kill the adults heartworms. 
This CAN be refused, but it is up to the doctor whether or not the patient can get heartworm prevention then. Some patients are at too high of a risk to do it. 


Heartworm and tick born testing                    Approximately $60
Tests for heartworms, exposure to Anaplasma, Lyme disease, Ehrlichia. Exposure doesn’t always mean an active infection but it can help us track exposure to ticks. Benefits of knowing this would be if the owner buys 12 months of tick preventions from us they get a guarantee that the company that we get our tick preventions from will pay for treatment if they get ill from any of the tick diseases. 
Sometimes we recommend getting another test done to see if its a true infection or just exposure, but the doctor and client can discuss that if something comes up positive. 

Heartworm and Wellness Panel                             Approximately $80
Heartworm test and liver/kidney panel with red and white blood cell check. Reasons to do this are to catch issues early. If the client is someone who wants to know and will do something about it if we find a problem. It can be as simple as changing the diet if there are liver or kidney problems or as complex as having a workup if we catch a problem with one of the blood enzymes. Another benefit would be if the client knows they want to get a dental, spay, neuter or another surgery done it is a good, cheap way to get the bloodwork done ahead of time. 


Heartworm and Wellness Panel + ticks:                   Approximately $90
Benefits above of the tick testing and the Wellness panel.


Senior Wellness, Heartworm Testing and Urinalysis                         Approximately $180
Benefits of all of the above and screens for pancreatic issues, tests electrolytes. Early screen for cancer cells in bladder and other hormonal markers in the blood. You don't have to be a senior to get this comprehensive screen, but is recommended for all pets over 6 years of age.