At Fairfax Veterinary Clinic, our veterinary team provides a wide range of pet wellness services, including flea, tick, and parasite prevention for dogs and cats alike. If your pet is not currently on a parasite prevention medication, we highly recommend that you schedule an appointment with us so we can determine the best preventative for your pet’s needs and lifestyle.  We pride ourselves on custom tailoring your pet’s parasite preventive regimen with his or her lifestyle.  From indoor only cats to mostly outdoor cats that roam the neighborhood, from relative home-body or apartment dwelling dogs to dogs regularly exploring Marin’s beautiful open space running off leash, each of these pets has unique risks related to parasites.  Schedule a consultation with us so we can help evaluate your pet’s relative risks for parasites, and help you evaluate what is the safest way to prevent them.

How to Protect Your Pet From Common Parasites

Unfortunately, there is no parasite prevention medication that protects your pet from all of these things.  But fortunately, there are multiple safe and effective medications available.  Products on the market include dips, shampoos, collars, topical drops, and oral medications.  Some of these work quite will, and others not at all.  Certain topical medications for dogs are quite toxic for cats.  Some of the things that work the best in cats do not work all that well in dogs.

In order to effectively and safely protect your pet from parasites, it is imperative that you work with a healthcare professional who understands the life cycle of the various parasites, and the relative risks of each of them.  It is also important that your healthcare professional understand the relative safety and risks associated with any medications or pesticides, not only for the pet in question but for other animals in the house as well as you and your family.

So what are some of the parasite we need to think about?  They include external parasites, such as fleas, ticks, and mites.  Fleas are incredibly common in Marin, and we see them 12 months out of the year.  They are regularly brought into all parts of Marin thanks to our wildlife populations including raccoons and coyotes.  Ticks are also very prevalent, but much more common in “wild” areas, tall grass and open space especially.  Mites are the least prevalent of the three, but are still seen occasionally.

Internal parasites include intestinal worms like hookworms, roundworms, and tapeworms to name a few.  Other internal parasites of concern include heartworms.  Hookworms and roundworms can be picked up outside on the ground, tapeworms come from fleas, while heartworms come from infected mosquitoes.

Some of the parasites mentioned above have human health implications, and others do not.  Some of them are a nuisance if your pet gets them, while others can carry significant infectious disease and carry the risk of potentially serious complications.

By getting your pet on a prevention medication, you can not only avoid the hassle that comes with having to deworm or otherwise treat your pet, you will also be protecting your pet’s and your family’s health and wellness. And of course, you’ll be protecting your pet’s health and wellness.

Schedule a Pet Wellness Appointment With Our Veterinarian Today

If you’d like to find out more about parasite prevention medications offered by our veterinarian or to schedule a consultation with our team, give Fairfax Veterinary Clinic a call today at (415) 454-8204.

Is your pet currently on any type of parasite prevention medication?  We’ll help make sure you and your pet are protected, and we’ll help choose the right product for you and your family.