We at Ark Animal Hospital believe that keeping our pets free from parasites keep us and our family safe from disease. We like to follow the guidelines put forth by The Companion Animal Parasite Council.
The Companion Animal Parasite Council is an independent counsel established to create guidelines for the optimal control of internal and external parasites that threaten the health of pets and people. It was formed in 2002 with the main purpose of changing the way veterinary professionals and pet owners approach parasite management, via best practices that better protect pets from parasitic infections while reducing the risk of zoonotic parasite transmission.
The general guidelines recommend:
Preventive physical examinations every 6-12 month.
Annual heartworm testing
Fecal examinations by centrifugation at least four times during the first year of life, and at least two times per year in adults depending on the patient health and lifestyle factors.
Control programs for local parasite prevalence and individual pet lifestyle factors.
Prevention recommendations to address emerging parasite threats.
Administer year-round broad-spectrum parasite control against heartworm, intestinal parasites, fleas, and ticks,
Administer anthelminitc treatment to puppies and kittens starting at 2 weeks of age and repeating every 2 weeks until regular broad-spectrum parasite control begins.
Maintain pregnant and nursing dams on broad-spectrum control products.
We just thought our clients would like to know we didn’t come up with these recommendations ourselves and they are meant to keep you, your pets and family, and the public safe.
Madison County is doing a great job with its parasite prevention. Thanks to annual heartworm prevention and deworming our puppies and kittens there are some amazing statistics indicating parasite prevention is working. Only 4 out of 204 dogs in Madison County tested positive for roundworms. 6 out of 204 dogs tested positive for hookworms, while 1 out of every 102 dogs in Madison County tested positive for whipworms. 1 out of 66 Dogs tested positive for heartworms. 2 out of 74 cats tested positive for roundworms while 1 out of 34 tested positive for hookworms.