Pet Wellness Care Keeps Pets Healthy

When was the last time you took your cat or dog to visit the veterinarian? Was it because your pet was ill or do you make a point of visiting the animal hospital for regular wellness visits? Our veterinarians want pet owners to know that wellness care is the cornerstone to keeping your pet happy and healthy.

Benefits of Wellness Pet Care

It may not seem necessary to take your pet to the vet once a year for a check-up when he or she seems perfectly healthy. However, such preventative care visits can detect potentially serious health problems early when they are easier--and less expensive--to treat. Regular vaccines also help your pet fight off serious diseases that can strike even indoors pets or even infect your family members. Even if your dog or cat stays inside, he or she can come into contact with another dog, cat, or disease carrying rodent. The most effective way to combat disease and infection is through preventative care and routine vaccinations.

Wellness Care at Acres Mill Veterinary Clinic

At Acres Mill Veterinary Clinic in Canton, Georgia, we stress to all of our pet owners the importance of wellness visits. Such visits allow us to offer preventative vet services, such as vaccines and professional dental cleanings. Our annual exams include an array of pet services, including a full physical exam, diagnostic blood work and a fecal sample to test for disease. Our experienced and caring veterinarians treat animals from puppies and kittens to senior dogs and cats.

Our state-of-the-art vet clinic serves patients in Canton, Cherokee and throughout north-central Georgia. In addition to wellness pet services, we offer dog and cat boarding as well as emergency care. We are open six days a week and keep early morning and early evening hours to help fit into your busy schedule.

How do you keep up on regular wellness vet visits for your pets? What other steps do you take at home to ensure your pet’s health?

Pet Dental Tips from Acres Mill Veterinary Clinic

Maintaining good pet dental health is an important part of your pet's overall health — from brushing to offering appropriate chewing toys. Caring for your pet's teeth can help prevent some conditions, and alert you to the existence of others. At Acres Mill Veterinary Clinic, we're here to help you maintain your pet’s oral health, both through home dental care and through professional oral care from our pet dentist.

Why Pet Dental Care is Important

According to the ASPCA, 85% of dogs and cats suffer from some form of periodontal disease. Keeping up with your pet's dental care with regular visits to a veterinary clinic for routine dental pet services can make your dog or cat one of the lucky 15 percent who remain trouble-free.

Our veterinarians recommend you brush your pet's teeth on a regular basis for best results, and use animal-friendly products including pet specific toothpaste and toothbrushes. That staff at our cat and dog hospital are able to provide suggestions for good quality dental products. Check with our pet dentist for details and tips for how to brush your pet's teeth. Regular brushing can quickly become part of your grooming routine and be an enjoyable activity for your pet.

Offering the right kind of chew toys can help clean your pet's teeth while he chews. Select toys that are veterinarian-approved for dental care for helping maintain your pet’s oral health. A good chew toy can help satisfy your pet's natural urge to chew while maintaining dental health at the same time.

If you suspect your pet is developing an oral problem, make an appointment to bring him to our vet hospital today. Waiting until your annual exam may cause the problem to worsen over time, and result in complications and more costly vet hospital care.

We'd love to know: What tips can you share with other pet owners about home pet dental care?

Why Have a Veterinary Hospital Groom Your Pet?

Many pets love to roam free and roll in the grass, but you may not love the sight or smell of them after a few such ventures. And nothing can make your heart sink quite like the sight of toenail marks on a new wood floor. Grooming can definitely help save your sanity as a pet owner -- and at Acres Mills Veterinary Clinic, we consider it among the essential vet services for maintaining an animal's health and wellness. Here are some of the ways your pet can benefit from regular professional grooming:

Skin health – A pet’s skin can suffer greatly from mites, fleas, ticks and other pests. These pests grab onto the fur and make a home on your animal’s skin, causing pets to scratch and bite at the skin, which can expose the skin to infections. The pests can also transfer Lyme and other diseases directly through their bite. Matted hair can also trap skin oil, attracting bacteria. A groomer can check for these unwanted guests while giving the veterinarian a close-up look at the ears and skin, if needed.

Toenail health - Animals’ toenails grow rapidly because they were originally developed for rough terrain, not for civilized indoor environments. Overgrown nails can cause pain for your pets and damage to your floors. A groomer will trim the nails to the proper length and help pets avoid ingrown nails.

Climate control - A shaggy animal can also become an overheated animal, especially if he or she spends time outdoors in the summer months. Some breeds of dogs and cats are more prone than others to heat stroke, but a nice lion cut or shave can allow air to cool the skin and prevent an emergency trip to the veterinary hospital.

Our Animal Clinic Provides Experienced Grooming

We groom pets as part of our full range of vet services. Our animal clinic can check eyes, ears, skin and nails, give baths, perform trims and address any health issues we find along the way.

Ever give your Canton or Cherokee pet a super-stylish cut or shave? Tell us about it -- or show us!

Welcome to Acres Mill Veterinary Clinic

At Acres Mill Veterinary Clinic in Canton, Georgia, the health of your pet comes first. We offer services that keep your pet healthy, such as primary care and vaccinations as well as pet grooming and dentistry. In addition to providing experienced veterinary care, we have started this blog as a way to further educate pet owners about pet health issues and pet care.

Primary Care at Our Veterinary Hospital
Our veterinary hospital offers a range of primary care services to keep your pet in top shape. If your pet needs vaccinations, we can put together a vaccination package for him that is appropriate for their lifestyle. We also offer spay and neuter services as well as dentistry services to keep your pet's teeth in good shape. Our Canton veterinarians care for a range of animals, from cats and dogs to rabbits and small farm animals.

In addition to standard pet services, we also offer pet acupuncture, which is used for pain management in pets. Acupuncture also helps treat liver and kidney disease in your pets. If you are interested in exploring acupuncture for your pets, talk to one of our veterinarians about the procedure.

Surgery and Urgent Care at Our Animal Hospital

Acre Mill Veterinary Clinic and animal hospital also performs surgery as needed on pets. Our full time vet, Dr. Michele Stewart, has a special interest in performing orthopedic surgery. We also offer declawing surgery. Should your pet experience an emergency, such as eating chocolate or other dangerous foods, our staff is on call 6 days a week to treat him. We'll also attempt to see pets who need medical attention but aren't experiencing an emergency between scheduled appointments.

Boarding and Grooming

If you need someone to care for your pet while you are away, our clinic offers pet boarding. We have a staff of trained individuals who will make sure your pet is well fed and well cared for during his stay. Our clinic also has trained groomers on staff who will bathe your pet and trim his hair and nails as needed.

Do you have a question about our services or pet care in general? Is there a particular topic you would like us to discuss? Let us know.