The best way to keep your pets healthy is by a taking advantage of all the advancements in preventative veterinary medicine. This is the branch of veterinary medicine that specializes in preventing illness. That has a wonderful sound to it - preventing illnesses in our pets. What a relief to know that many of the ailments, disorders, and diseases can be stopped before they even develop. There are many ways preventative veterinary medicine can help our pets avoid illness as well as simple steps pet owners can take on their own to keeps their pets healthy.
Vaccinations are an important part of preventative veterinary medicine. Having your pets vaccinated is one of the easiest ways to help you keep you pet healthy. Animals of all species - dogs, cats, horses, rodents - all benefit from being vaccinated. For exotic pets - hedgehogs, reptiles, sugar gliders, etc. - vaccinations are also advantageous for them. Always ask your veterinarian what vaccinations your pets need and be sure they all have all them.
Preventative veterinary medicine also includes keeping your pets free from parasites. Parasites include worms (hook, round, ring, heart, etc), fleas, ticks and mosquitoes. With the exception of mosquitoes, the parasites listed above all live on or in our pets. All of the parasites can call illness and death. Simple treatments can not only kill the parasites, but keep them from coming back. There are mosquito repellents made for pets. My veterinarian suggested that I give my dog a garlic tablet every day to help keep the mosquitoes (as well as fleas and ticks) from biting her. It works well. Of course, speak with your veterinarian before giving you pets any medications!
Proper dental care is essential for preventing illness. Follow your veterinarian's advice on how to care for your pets teeth. Without proper care, a pet can loose it's teeth and develop gum disease. Abscesses and infections can cause serious problems. All of these things can cause your pet extreme pain (think of your last tooth ache) and that can lead to your pet not eating. Infection from the abscessed tooth can get into the pet's bloodstream. This can lead to death.
Another part of preventative veterinary medicine is regular check-ups with your veterinarian. By having your pets seen on a regular basis, your are given a heads-up to potential problems. Blood work, fecal tests, other lab work as well as a good "once over" by a veterinarian can stop many problems from getting out of hand. A thorough exam can find all sorts of things that can cause problems later. It is well worth it the time, money and effort to get your pets to the veterinarian for regular check-ups.
As a pet owner, you must be careful not to allow your pet to get into any substances and items that could cause harm, illness and injury. These would include anti-freeze, cleaning solutions and solvents, fishing hooks, string/twine/yarn and personal hygiene items such as lotions, shampoos and razors. Be careful of what you feed you pet as well. Bones, especially the bones of any type of bird, the popular "pig ears" and other chew toys (especially if they are soft plastic and/or have a "squeaker"), chocolate, and some fruits, vegetables and seeds (depending upon species and breed) can be fatal.
Having your pet altered (females spayed; males neutered) is a wonderful part of preventative veterinary medicine. By having your pets altered, it reduces the chances of your pets developing many different kinds of cancers. Uterine and ovarian cancer is stopped for female pets. Male pets can not develop cancer of the testes. The chance of breast cancer is also greatly reduced for both female and male animals. Yes, male animals can get breast cancer. By altering your pets, you are helping to control the over-population problem plaguing society. Less animals means strays and unwanted animals. Less strays means fewer chances of your pets coming in contact with a sick or infectious animal. Let's never forget that loneliness and neglect are also diseases that can be prevented!
Preventative veterinary medicine will never alleviate all the health issues our pets face. It is, however, a great step in the right direction. The keys to keeping our pets healthy is to have them vaccinated as the veterinarian suggests, and keeping our pets parasite-free. Proper dental care, regular check-ups, keeping harmful substances and items away from your pets and having your pets altered are also ways to keep you pets well.