FAQs

Crosby Veterinary Clinic recommends yearly visits for most pets and older pets coming in more frequently – at least every 6 months. Yearly exams include physical examinations by our veterinarians plus annual or booster vaccinations, parasite screening & prevention, and various lab tests performed.

For puppies and kittens, we need to see them on a more frequent schedule during their first year of life. For pets over age 7, we recommend exams and blood work every 6 months to help us detect diseases and issues before they become a problem.

Many people think that it is normal for a dog to have bad breath, but that is not the case. Bad breath is caused by bacteria in the mouth that create byproducts that contain sulfur. Regular home cleanings accompanied by scheduled professional cleanings will help to prevent bad breath and the bacteria that cause it.

Besides just bad breath, dental disease:

• Releases bacteria into the bloodstream
• Increases risk for heart, liver and kidney disease
• Can cause severe pain and problems for your pet

Pets need regular dental cleanings to increase quality and length of life and:

• Allows us to chart dental disease over time
• Means less time under anesthesia
• Reduces the need for more advanced and expensive treatment in the future such as teeth extractions and oral surgery

Dental disease is the most common disease in dogs. Recent studies show that 85% of cats and 92% of dogs over age 3 have periodontal disease.

A thorough dental cleaning can only be accomplished while the pet is under general anesthesia. The anesthesia we use is safe for all animals and your pet is constantly monitored during the dental procedure. Prior to anesthesia, blood tests are performed to help uncover any hidden illnesses.

A professional cleaning (called a dental prophylaxis) removes plaque and tartar from the teeth. Your pet's entire mouth health (teeth, tongue, gums, and lips) will be examined and assessed.

Pets cannot tell us how they feel and are able to hide their pain from us (especially cats). Changes in behavior such as appetite change, lethargy, energy level, aggressiveness, inappropriate elimination, and vocalization (barking/meowing) can be symptoms of behavior or health issues. Contact our vet hospital for an exam appointment right away.

Isolate your pet from other animals and small children to prevent the spread of the parasite to them. Bring your pet to our vet clinic for thorough testing for parasites. They can usually be easily treated, but parasite preventative measures are best for both your pet and your wallet. Ask about our available safe and effective parasite prevention products.

Crosby Veterinary Clinic recommends waiting until your pet is at least 6 months of age before seeking a spay or neuter procedure. Contact us to discuss specific details based on species, breed, and size. Spaying / neutering has health and behavioral benefits for your pet and of course, helps prevent over-population.

One infected mosquito is all it takes to infect your dog with the baby form (larval stage) of the heartworm parasite.

Heartworms are a serious and potentially fatal disease in pets. Twelve-inch-long worms (looks like spaghetti) live in the heart, lungs, and blood vessels of infected pets, causing lung disease, heart failure, organ damage, and can be fatal if untreated.

How does my pet get heartworms? Heartworms living in an infected dog, cat, or wildlife produce baby worms that circulate in the bloodstream. When a mosquito bites an infected animal, it picks up these worms and when it bites another animal, the worms enter through the bite wound. Heartworms can grow and live for 5 - 7 years in dogs and 3 years in cats.

What can I do to protect my pet? Heartworm disease is preventable! Dogs should be tested annually and before starting prevention. Prevention is the safest and most cost-effective option, but treatment is available for dogs (although costly and lengthy). Cats should be tested before starting prevention and re-tested as the veterinarian deems appropriate. There is NO treatment in cats, so prevention is critical and the only means of protection.

Crosby Veterinary Clinic has safe, effective products available that cater to your pet's lifestyle and your budget. Heartworm prevention should be provided 12 months of the year.

Our doctors recommend a simple blood draw as part of our patient’s routine wellness exam. We process the sample in-house, delivering quick and accurate results that tell us about your pet’s health. For older animals, a geriatric screening is recommended and allows us to identify potential issues and take action, when appropriate, to keep your pet healthy and functioning at a high level.

Our veterinarians take every precaution to make sure your pet comes out of any procedure, whether major or minor, on the way to a swift recovery. To ensure your pet’s safety, we provide round-the-clock care and monitoring for all surgical patients during business hours. We perform all pet surgeries under anesthesia and advocate the use of pre-anesthetic blood work to detect any underlying disease that may affect the response to anesthesia.

With your pet’s comfort and safety at the forefront, we utilize pain management protocols before, during, and after surgery until they are completely recovered. This includes monitoring vital signs, assessing your pet for pain indicators, and keeping them well-fed, warm and comfortable in their surroundings.

During your initial visit, we’ll conduct a thorough physical exam and check for any congenital defects as well as assessing your puppy or kitten’s overall health.

Early detection of intestinal parasites can be crucial for a young animal. We recommend an intestinal parasite screening as early as three weeks of age.

Our vaccination schedule for puppies begins at six weeks, with boosters given monthly up to sixteen weeks old. The puppy vaccines we offer protect against:

• Distemper
• Hepatitis
• Leptospirosis
• Parainfluenza
• Parvovirus
• Rabies (*once your puppy has reached 12 weeks of age)

Our vaccination schedule for kittens begins at six weeks, with a follow-up booster at 10 weeks for:

• Feline distemper
• Rhinotracheitis
• Calicivirus
• Feline Panleukopenia
• Feline leukemia virus (FeLV)
• Rabies (*once your kitten has reached 12 weeks of age)

After that, we recommend yearly wellness exams which include annual vaccinations, intestinal parasite screenings, and heartworm testing.

The rabies vaccination should last your pet three years, if you have followed a schedule where two vaccines have been administered within a 12-month time period.