Owings Mills Veterinary Center offers a program of vaccines tailored to your puppy or kitten’s needs, in order to ensure that your pet receives complete preventative care to protect him or her from disease. We provide thorough physical exams, intestinal parasite control, and all vaccines needed to maintain good health. Other important aspects of your puppy or kitten’s health that we will discuss with you are the nutrition your pet needs for optimal health, house and litter box training, socialization and behavioral concerns. We are, of course, happy to discuss any other questions you may have as well.
The Puppy and Kitten exams consist of:
According to the American Veterinary Dental Society, oral disease is the number one health problem diagnosed in dogs and cats. By the time they are 3 years old, 80 percent of dogs and 70 percent of cats have oral disease if they don’t receive proper dental care. Yet only 3 percent of dogs and 1 percent of cats get the treatment they need. Because all pets are at risk for developing dental problems, it is important to check your pet’s mouth and teeth for the following warning signs of dental disease:
Since your pet cannot take care of his or her own teeth, you as a pet owner can help prevent dental disease by getting professional care from your veterinarian as well as by providing dental care at home. At OMVC, we recommend that your pet have, at minimum, a yearly dental exam and cleaning, depending on the condition of his or her teeth.
At OMVC a proper dental cleaning begins with a thorough physical exam, pre-anaesthetic bloodwork and a thorough consult with the client so they understand what teeth may be extracted and what to expect after the procedure. Prior to induction of anesthesia the pet is placed on intravenous fluids and analgesic and antibiotic injections are given. The pet is then placed under general anesthesia. Throughout the procedure the veterinary technician is monitoring heart rate, blood pressure, body temperature and oxygenation of the blood. The teeth are thoroughly cleaned with an ultrasonic scaler, all teeth are examined for gingival pockets. Any teeth that need extraction are removed by the veterinarian. Local dental blocs are done to reduce pain. When needed absorbable sutures are placed at the site of tooth extraction. Teeth are then polished and a fluoride treatment is also performed on all remaining teeth to further prevent tartar buildup. Pets are supervised closely during recovery in order that they wake up smoothly and are alert and able to stand on their own. Pain medications and antibiotics are routinely sent home with the owner with written instructions on how to care for their pet after a good dental cleaning.
There are many oral cleaning products designed exclusively for pet use—talk to a staff member about which products would be appropriate for your pet. Daily brushing of your pets’ teeth will minimize plaque build-up. Antiseptic oral rinses will help protect against bacterial overgrowth in your pet’s mouth. Dental diets and specially formulated chew treats will also help to keep the teeth healthy in between visits to our hospital.
Proper dental care is critical to a pet’s overall health. Bacteria from periodontal disease, if left untreated, can travel through the bloodstream and damage internal organs including the heart, liver and kidney. Keeping your pet’s teeth healthy can greatly increase their quality of life and the number of years you have to spend with your pet.
The following prescription diets are available:
We carry a limited stock of prescription diets. A variety of diseases benefit from special diets such as patients who have been diagnosed with kidney disease, skin allergies, diabetes, inflammatory bowel disease. You can shop our prescription diets here.
Owings Mills Veterinary Center has a full-service pharmacy stocked with common medications prescribed by our veterinarians. We carry prescriptions for antibiotics, parasiticides, heart medications, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, medicated shampoos, topical ointments, ophthalmic drops, ear cleaners, anti-diarrheal and anti-tussive medications. If refills are needed for your pets you just need to call us and we will check with the doctor to get approval.
Owings Mills Veterinary Center offers an in-house pharmacy so you can enjoy these benefits:
Television commercials, pet supply catalogs, and Internet pharmacies that promise a “deal” on pet prescriptions may be misleading. The Florida Board of Pharmacy has disciplined Pet Med Express and Savemax Inc. for dispensing drugs not approved by the FDA and contracting of veterinarians to write prescriptions without examining the animal. The companies were fined more than $67,000, placed on probation for 3 years, must perform 2300 hours of community service, and must complete continuing-education courses. These are serious violations.
If you purchase prescriptions through such pharmacies, please be aware of these risks:
Owings Mills Veterinary Center contains an in-house laboratory, which enables us to provide immediate results for many laboratory tests instead of having to wait for results from an outside laboratory. Our diagnostic equipment can perform a wide range of in-house testing options.
When time is of the essence for a pet’s treatment, blood chemistry and hematology profiles can be completed within half an hour. Our instruments provide accurate results for the following tests:
Other common tests that are performed include:
Every year, thousands and thousands of pets get lost. Owners struggle with the devastation of not being able to find their beloved pets. They may look for them until they lose hope, which is an awful feeling. Unfortunately, this happens more often than it should.
There is one way to stop the vicious cycle. Microchip your pets so you don’t have to worry about losing them and not being able to find them again.
Here at Combs Veterinary Clinic, we are proud to offer microchipping. We believe it is the best way to keep pets home and safe. The procedure is safe and relatively painless. It involves inserting a tiny chip under the pet’s skin. It is pretty quick.
Once a microchip is implanted, we urge all owners to register their information so, if their pet is lost, they can be found. Veterinarians and shelters scan all lost pets to try to match them back up with their owners.
Save yourself the heartache and stress of a lost pet. Microchips bring pets home.
If you have any questions about our services, please call or text us today at (812) 825-4464.
Owings Mills Veterinary Center provides a safe and caring environment for your pet’s spay or neuter procedure. Ideally, pets are spayed or neutered between the ages of 6 to 8 months. If your pet has not been spayed or neutered, and is older than 8 months, we recommend the procedure as soon as possible.
Behavior problems are a major cause of euthanasias in animal shelters all across the country. Most behavior issues can be solved through a combination of training, exercise and sometimes behavior modification drugs. However, it’s sometimes easier to prevent behavior problems than to treat them. Raising your puppy or kitten right with lots of socialization and training is critical.
Dogs and cats can suffer from anxiety, fear, aggression and obsessive-compulsive disorders. These may manifest as destruction of the house, litter box problems, trembling or hiding and stereotypical behaviors like circling.
When a behavior problem begins, it’s important to address it early. The longer the problem occurs, the harder it is to treat. First, we begin with a physical exam to see if any underlying medical reasons are to blame. If there is no medical cause, we begin behavior modification training. We can recommend a certified behaviorist for behavior problems. It is sometimes necessary to use behavior drug therapy.
Solving behavior problems takes time, patience and consistency. Even drug therapy is not a quick fix. For more information on pet behavior problems, ask your veterinarian.
When it’s your pet, you want to be certain they are in the best hands available.
We are proud to offer routine or emergency surgery. We utilize a laser in surgery. Laser surgery is more efficient, causes less bleeding and swelling.
Our veterinarians work with a wide area of skill levels in surgery, from spays and neuters to complicated orthopedics.
We have made the decision to become a Paw-friendly Practice and have discontinued declaw surgeries unless they are deemed medically necessary. We feel this is in the best interest of our feline patients. Please feel free to contact us if you have questions or need suggestions to help live in harmony with your cat’s claws.
If you have any questions about our services, please call or text us today at (812) 825-4464.
If an X-ray does not give the veterinarian the definitive answer to a problem, another imaging tool such as ultrasound can be important in evaluating the internal organs of your pet’s body. An ultrasound picture, or sonogram, is made by bouncing sound waves off of the object to be photographed. Most of us have seen an ultrasound of a baby. One of the most important qualities of an ultrasound is the ability to image organs and other parts of the body with no harmful side effects to the patient.
An ultrasound is now becoming a regular part of the diagnostic tools used in veterinary medicine as well as in human medicine.
Even though your puppy or kitten has gotten its initial round of vet-administered pet vaccines, their protection does not last forever. Just as people must get booster shots, so must your dog or cat. Ultimately, the key to a long and healthy life for your pet is to be a responsible pet owner, to be aware, and to keep up with yearly preventative vaccines.
Dogs and cats get a variety of vaccines for the prevention of different diseases. Some viruses are shared between the species, such as rabies, which both dogs and cats can contract. Preventing these diseases with annual is far cheaper in the long run than having to treat your pet when they are in critical condition and need extensive hospitalization and care. Below are some of the more common diseases that afflict pets and what they can do to your favorite companion. Remember that above all it is your responsibility as a good pet owner to keep your pet healthy and protected from infectious diseases.
Rabies is a serious neurological disease caused by a virus that is transmitted by a bite from a rabid animal through their infected saliva. It can be fatal to your pet if they are exposed. Rabies vaccinations are required by law. Therefore your pets must be vaccinated for rabies.
If you live in a wooded area or in a part of town with a high population of bats, foxes, raccoons, and skunks, your cat or dog can become exposed to rabid animals at a higher rate. Rabid animals will show signs of salivating excessively, have difficulty swallowing, behave erratically, will be overly sensitive to noise, will move and often strike out at anything moving in their path. There is no cure for rabies in cats or dogs. So please be a responsible pet owner, and make sure that your pets receive timely vaccinations.
Vaccinating your pet ensures that he or she is protected from the many infectious agents that are out in the environment. Speak with your veterinarian if you have questions. He or she can offer information on these regular rounds of vaccines. Being a responsible pet owner is a major part of maintaining your pet’s health. You owe it to your dog or cat to get them vaccinated.
