Routine Care

We are here for you when things go wrong, but more importantly we are here to help you keep your pet healthy everyday!

By starting a routine of regular parasite control and blood testing to complement your pets annual vaccinations, you can ensure your pet (and family!) are in top shape and any diseases are caught early for intervention.

  • Heartworm is a worm that lives within the dog's heart and is spread by the bite of a mosquito. Although prevalence of heartworm has declined within the dog population in Victoria, it is still very common within the fox population. Melbourne and surrounds still has a very large fox population, so prevention is very important. Additionally, with changing weather and increasing humidity in Victoria cases are expected to increase. Heartworm vaccinations can be administered to your pet on a yearly basis, at the time of annual vaccination. Tablets and all-wormers do exist that protect against Heartworm, but must be given every month to be effective. f heartworm preventative dose has lapsed for more than 2 months, your dog should visit the clinic for a quick spot blood test to check for presence of heartworm larvae prior to treatment.

  • Keeping your pet up to date with parasite control is important for their health, but also the health of your family. Some parasites, including tapeworms and mites, are transmissible from pets to humans, therefore regular treatment can help to keep you all parasite-free! At HAH we recommend regular, and year round, treatment for fleas, intestinal worms, heartworm and ticks. We reccomend monthly Nexgard Spectra chewables for Dogs, or Spot-on for Cats for complete coverage. Alternatively, injectable 12 month flea and tick coverage “Bravecto Quantum” can be paired with your pets yearly heartworm injection and 3-monthly worm tablet to cover all your bases with maximum convenience.

  • Blood tests are used regularly at HAH as they play a crucial role in diagnosing and monitoring many conditions. They enable us to detect diseases early, whilst they are still treatable. We use blood testing in many situations:

    • To check the effects of long-term medication use

    • To monitor progress of lifelong disease

    • Prior to anaesthesia, to reduce any surgical risks

    • Senior pets (yearly blood tests can diagnose old age diseases)

    • To investigate increased thirst or appetite

    • When there is unexplained weight loss or gain

    • In cases of sudden illness

    • Heartworm testing

    • FIV (Feline Aids testing)

    • Genetic testing