It might seem impossible to find the most perfect vet clinic and vet dentist Houston has. However, with the help of these tips below, you can be sure to find the best vet clinic to be able to provide a full continuum of care for your pet. Whether your pet is a brand new puppy, or a family friend that has been with you throughout the years, here are some tips to help you find the best vet clinic and vet dentist Houston has!
1. Get a Vet that Provides Dental Care
Just like humans need the best orthodontic services, the best vet clinic will also offer the best vet dentist Houston has. It’s crucial your pet has good dental hygiene, as not taking care of their dental health can lead to various problems. Some problems your pet can have due to lack of proper dental care include:
- Periodontal disease
- Plaque
- Gingivitis
- Periodontitis
- Loss of teeth
Sadly, many of these issues can be avoided if your pet gets the best vet dentist Houston has to offer. A vet dentist can help determine if your pet needs additional dental care, and what the best course of action will be for your cat or dog. It’s important you take your vet as soon as you notice signs and symptoms of periodontal disease or gingivitis. These include:
- Bleeding gums
- Blood on chew toys
- Blood on food bowls
- Bloody water
- Chewing with only one side of the mouth
- Bad breath
- Wimpering or crying
- Agitation or any changes in their attitude
- Increased fatigue
To treat dental issues, your veterinarian might recommend a range of options, including professional dental cleanings, dental wipes, and lifestyle changes such as brushing your dogs teeth regularly. If you’re having issues with your dog letting you brush their teeth, the best vet dentist Houston has will be able to provide additional care and treatment to keep your pet’s teeth shiny and healthy.
2. Get a vet that Provides Geriatric Care
As our pets age, it’s important to seek help from the best vet clinic and vet dentist Houston has to be able to give them the comfort they need. Just like your older loved ones will need special care and treatment options as they age, such as senior apartment living or senior medical care, geriatric pets will need extra care from a veterinarian as they get older. Geriatric pets can be in immense pain due to issues that plague them in older age, such as:
- Cancer
- Heart disease
- Arthritis
- Osteoperosis
- Weakness
- Diabetes
- Liver Disease
Your pet will usually need to start getting evaluated and treated for geriatric conditions around the age of 7 years old. Even if your pet is still relatively ‘young’ in pet years, genetic issues and certain breeds can suffer from geriatric issues earlier than usual. These breeds can include thoroughbred dogs or cats, larger dogs, dogs with short legs, or even pets that have other medical issues such as obesity.
The best vet clinic and vet dentist Houston has can not only provide medical and dental care for your pet, but general geriatric services to help them be as comfortable and pain-free as possible. Care for older pets might include:
- Diet changes
- Physical exercises or therapy to help relieve pain
- Muscle massages
- Pain medications such as NSAID’s like ibuprofen or antibiotics to treat infections
- Lifestyle changes
- Surgery
- Routine lab workups to monitor progress of medical conditions
The best vet clinic and vet dentist Houston has will provide these and other treatments to make the final years of your pets life as amazing as any others!
3. Look at Online Reviews
You’ll want to make sure the veterinarian you are visiting has stellar reviews, be it on Google or any other review site. It’s important to visit the best vet clinic and vet dentist Houston has by looking at these reviews, since they can tell you a lot about a practice! You want to make sure reviews mention the services offered by the veterinarian, costs, and also what other people’s customer service experience was.
The best vet clinic and vet dentist Houston has should have a clean, commercial property that’s easy to access, not just for your pet but also for you. Going to the vet isn’t just a service to your pet, but also for you! Every business is different, from veteran owned small business clinics to bigger animal hospitals around the country, your vet should provide you and your pet personalized care.
If you or your loved one speak English as a second language, it’s also a good idea to look for a vet clinic or vet dentist Houston has that can accommodate your language preference. This helps you determine what exactly is wrong with your pet, and what you can do to help them according to your veterinarian’s advice. Other factors to look out for in reviews include:
- Wait times
- If they have flexible financing options
- Location
- If they provide emergency care
- If they treat only cats, dogs, or reptiles
- Ease with which you can speak to your veterinarian after-hours
4. Provides Emergency Care
Have you ever missed the deadline for open enrollment insurance and had to remain uninsured for several months? It can be a scary feeling, especially knowing that emergency medical care could lead to high medical bills. The same can be said about visiting a vet clinic that doesn’t offer emergency care and might turn your pet away due to inability to pay. Fortunately, many vet clinics now offer emergency 24/7 care for your pet, regardless of whether or not you pay.
The best vet clinic and vet dentist Houston has will be able to accommodate your pet for any emergencies, day or night. Some emergency situations that your pet might need care for include:
- Severe vomiting or diarrhea
- Seizures
- Accidents leading to trauma
- Bleeding
- High fevers
- Choking on an object
- Swallowing a foreign object such as battery
It’s important to try and find a vet clinic that will be able to provide emergency care for your pet, as this can mean the difference between life and death for them! Your vet will be able to provide emergency treatment including:
- Imaging services and diagnostic services like in-house labwork, x-rays, etc.
- Basic and advanced first aid
- Surgical services
Nowadays, modern veterinary science has advanced thanks to the help of academic physician compensation, which has helped fund research studies, new technology, and medical care. If you take your pet in for emergency services, make sure they are using the best technology to treat your pet also.
5. Offers Vaccines
Just like humans need the help of vaccines to protect us from certain diseases, such as flu, yellow fever, and now COVID-19, your cat and dog also needs the help of vaccines to stay healthy. This is especially true if you plan to treat your pet as a service animal, and need them to enter certain facilities such as hospitals, rehab centers, and more.
Vaccines for dogs and cats can include:
- Rabies
- Bordetella
- Canine Influenza
- Distemper
- Heartworm tests
- Feline distemper
- Feline leukemia
Depending on your geographical location, risk factors for your pet, and pre-existing conditions, the best vet clinic and vet dentist Houston has will be able to give your pet the vaccines it needs after doing a full work-up and history. If your pet was a former stray or feral, it’s even more important to get their vaccines done in a timely manner.
In addition to vaccines, your vet should also offer de-worming treatments that can help save your pet from premature death due to parasites. De-worming treatments are relatively easy to give in the form of a chewable treat. These treats can help treat roundworm, flukes and tapeworm that can make your pet extremely sick. Your vet will provide the best treatment depending on how advanced and invasive your pet’s worms are, and also monitor them for signs of adverse reactions to either de-worming treatments or vaccines. Usually, your vet will let you wait in their office seating area with your pet while the monitor them for signs of allergic reaction.
Because vaccines trigger an immune response in your pet, they might have a bad reaction that show the following signs and symptoms:
- Vomiting
- Fevers
- Diarrhea
- Weakness
- Seizures
- Poor appetite
- Rash
- Difficulty breathing
If you notice these signs, talk to your vet right away!
6. Offers Surgical Care
Just like humans, our pets will one day need surgical treatment for anything from neutering, to spaying, emergency services, and everything in between. Surgery can be used to treat orthopedic issues, or even during pregnancy of your cat or dog as a c-section. The best vet clinic and vet dentist Houston offers will have extensive experience performing surgical operations for your pet. They will be knowledgeable in not just the procedure itself, but also offer aftercare advice to keep your pet safe and make sure they heal well after surgery.
Some aftercare advice so your pet stays safe after surgery includes:
- Having them wear custom t shirts or a cone fitted over their head. This prevents them from licking or picking at their surgical stitches, which can lead to a ruptured suture, infections, and additional bleeding.
- Prescribing antibiotics should their wound site get infected, although this is rare.
- Recommending fencing services to make sure your pet doesn’t run out of your yard and into the street. This can lead to accidents, such as getting hit by a car after surgery or even before. As a general rule, your veterinarian will recommend you keep your pet indoors and safe from other environmental hazards, such as low-level heating units and fragile items that can break or fall on their head.
- Letting your pet rest as much as they can to help them heal faster from their surgery.
- Maintaining regular vet check-ups to monitor your pet’s wound or to remove any stitches.
7. Look for a Vet that Offers Grooming Services
Grooming your pet isn’t just about making them look pretty. Your pet needs to be groomed in order to avoid infections that can harm their skin, to treat skin conditions such as eczema or other irritations, and to help get rid of fleas and ticks that can cause your pet pain.
Fleas and ticks, on top of causing enormous itching and pain for your pet, can also carry diseases on them that can make your pet sick. Ticks can cause your dog to become sick with a host of diseases, including:
- Lyme disease
- Ehrlichiosis
- Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever
- Babesiosis
- Bartonellosis
- Hepatozoonosis
Fleas can also make your pet sick by causing your pet to get an allergic reaction, and can also cause your pet to start balding, especially in the back of your legs. The best vet clinic and vet dentist Houston has will be able to provide grooming services to your pet to get rid of ticks and fleas, or treat them with the proper medication such as flea treatments.
Without proper grooming, your pet can also have itchy skin, bleeding cracked skin, and matted fur that significantly lowers their quality of life. If your pet has allergies to certain grooming products, your vet can help you figure out which specific product to avoid.
After treating your pet for fleas and ticks and grooming them, a vet can also offer lifestyle advice, such as conducting AC repair in your home to keep your pet’s skin cool, using different grooming products, and also changing what cleaning products you use in your home in case any are causing your pet’s skin to react negatively.
On top of all this, grooming is a great way to keep your pets coat shiny and healthy, and keep them looking their best!
