Our veterinarians at Village Park Animal Hospital in La Quinta are strong advocates for parasite prevention and control.
The Coachella Valley is an area with a large population of visitors. This exposes the environment, your pet, and family to potential diseases that are uncommon to our area. By protecting your pet you are also protecting yourself and your family. Discuss prevention with your veterinarian.
We recommend:
- Yearly fecal testing on all pets.
- This test checks for any intestinal parasites including worms and protozoa. It is very easy for a pet to become infected, and they are often symptomatic.
- Monthly administration of Heartgard and annual Heartworm testing.
- Heartworm is a parasitic worm that is transmitted by mosquitoes and eventually travels and lives in the heart of their host. Heartgard is a chewable monthly prevention as well as a mild dewormer (to help prevent most intestinal parasites). The heartworm test is a small blood sample that allows us early detection and to ensure our prevention program is working.
- Monthly flea and tick prevention.
- Fleas and ticks are carriers of various diseases that can be transmitted to your pet and you. We are not an area where fleas are prevalent, but we can get infestations during certain humid months. If you travel outside our desert area or frequent dog parks, we recommend monthly flea and tick prevention.
