Prevention is better than?
- a 1980s Goth band fond of eyeliner
- an expensive vet bill
- the cure
- all of the above
If you answered B to the question above then prevention requires a degree of foresight from you, the owner, in combination with sound evidence based advice from your vet. Common veterinary preventatives include; vaccinations, endoparasitics and ectoparasitics for fleas, paralysis ticks and heartworm and surgical desexing.
What about me?
It isn’t fair… but there are many things owners can do to directly prevent disease, injuries or other issues developing in their pets.
- Pet insurance is great idea for those who want peace of mind.
- A safe enclosed yard which, as well as being a legal obligation under the Companion Animals Act, will also prevent your loved one from being run over, eating rabbit or fox bait, fighting or biting that annoying kid next door.
- Maintaining an ideal body weight will help prevent diabetes mellitus, degenerative joint disease or arthritis, pancreatitis, cardiorespiratory and urinary tract issues and has been proven to increase pets’ life spans. Recent studies found that 25-40% of pet cats and dogs are overweight. Note, you cannot exercise your way out of obesity, it is all about the food.
- Common intoxicants used around the household, which can be deadly to dogs, include rodenticides, snail and slug baits, paracetamol/nurofen, chocolate, grapes/raisins and sorbitol. Other household foodstuffs that we routinely surgically pull out of dog’s intestines are mango seeds and corn cobs.
- Early exposure of pups and kittens to a range of stimuli, people, animals and places helps socialise and avoids behavioural problems later in life.
