Preventative Care

Examinations

An annual wellness exam is an essential element of your pet’s overall healthcare. During these visits, your veterinarian will conduct a nose-to-tail exam of your pet to look for warning signs of illness, injury, or disease and assess their overall health. For young or senior pets, even more frequent wellness exams may be recommended because pets in these age groups tend to have health changes develop quickly, making early detection essential.

During the wellness exam, your vet will conduct a nose-to-tail physical exam that will include the following services:

• Look inside the mouth at the gums and teeth
• Listen to the heartbeat and lungs
• Inspect the coat and skin
• Feel the joints and muscles
• Use a thermometer to take a temperature reading
• Weigh the pet
• Palpate the stomach and abdomen to feel for abnormalities
• Checking for any unusual lumps, bumps, or other physical changes

You can also take this time to ask your vet any questions about your pet’s health and receive expert answers so that you can be a better, more informed pet owner.

Vaccinations

Vaccinations are an important part of your pet’s preventative health. From required vaccines to recommended options based on your pet’s lifestyle, these vaccinations can protect your pet from dangerous and even deadly viruses - while also helping stop their spread from your pet to others.

Dogs are required to receive core vaccinations that include rabies and DHPP, while cats must receive rabies and FVRCP. We also frequently recommend vaccinations for bordetella, lyme disease, canine influenza, and leptospirosis in dogs and feline leukemia in cats.

We offer PureVax vaccines for our cats at Harvester Veterinary Hospital of Burr Ridge. PureVax is the safest vaccine available to cats.

We’ll be sure to clearly outline your pet’s recommended vaccination schedule so that it’s clear and easy to follow.

Parasite Control

Your pet’s active, outdoor lifestyle leaves them exposed to a wide variety of parasites. Picking up one of these parasites can cause symptoms ranging from mild discomfort to severe illness, so it’s best to take a preventative approach when it comes to parasites and your pet.

Thanks to modern advances, there are a whole host of preventative tools to help keep your pet safe from parasites. At your pet’s regular wellness exam, we’ll recommend some of the best options for your specific pet and discuss their benefits.

Microchipping

Microchipping is a great way to help ensure that your pet can be safely returned to you in the event that they are lost or run away. If your pet is lost, a microchip embedded painlessly beneath their skin can be used to instantly and easily identify them as yours and be used to contact you.

The procedure for embedding this chip is short, straightforward, and relatively painless - think of it as a routine vaccination in terms of its impact on your pet. After a few seconds, you can rest assured that any animal shelter that picks up your pet will be able to scan the chip and return them safely to your home.

Nutrition & Weight Management

Pets rely on food for fuel just like we do, so the food they take in matters a great deal. Combined with their lifestyle, food can help determine whether your pet is active, healthy, and happy or sluggish, uncomfortable, and dangerously overweight.

Obesity in pets is a pandemic that causes severe health issues, early death, and poor quality of life overall.

But don’t worry - we’re here to help. We’ll work with you to suggest the best pet foods to keep your pet healthy or return them to a healthy weight while also suggesting lifestyle and dietary changes that can help.