Spay and Neuter
One of the major aspects of pet wellness is the prevention of health problems, many of which can be solved by having your pet spayed or neutered so they don't impregnate or become pregnant.
Spaying and neutering are among the many standard surgeries performed by Black Dog Animal Hospital, which is a new clinic for veterinary care serving Red Wing, MN and the surrounding communities of Welch, Vasa, Hay Creek and Hager City.
Improving Pet Longevity
Spaying and neutering helps improve your pet’s longevity. For example, female pets are less likely to suffer from life shortening breast cancer if spayed and male neutering sidesteps painful conditions such as testicular cancer. Our Black Dog Animal Hospital veterinarians want to ensure that your pet stays a part of your family as long as possible!
Eliminating the urge to procreate also decreases difficult pet behaviors, such as wandering away from home and fighting with other companion animals.
Pet owners extend concern and kindness to all companion animals when preventing pet overpopulation through spaying and neutering. Due to lack of forever homes, many healthy companion animals are euthanized. The ASPCA estimates that 2.7 million cats and dogs are put to sleep annually.
You can help save pet lives when you make this compassionate choice for your own.
Our Spay and Neuter Process in Red Wing
Most spaying and neutering is surgical, although research about nonsurgical procedures is ongoing. Surgical spaying typically involves removal of the ovaries, fallopian tubes and uterus of a female pet thru a small surgical incision. Recovery is generally quick compared to the same procedure in humans and is usually well tolerated by most pets.
Surgical neutering typically removes a male pet's testicles. Again, this is generally well tolerated and oftentimes our biggest challenge is keeping these guys quiet during their recommended recovery time.
Spaying and neutering involve anesthesia, which keeps pets comfortable and pain-free during surgery. Anesthesia improves control of surgical procedures. One of our Red Wing veterinarians at Black Dog Animal Hospital, one of our veterinarians will meet with you before surgery to explain the process and discuss what you can do to aid a successful surgery and recovery.
Before any kind of surgery takes place, we decide on the anesthesia dosage level by carefully screening your pet for concerns such as body weight and function of liver and kidneys. Monitoring of vital signs is ongoing during and following surgery. We also monitor your pet with EKG and blood pressure monitors similar to technology that we would also experience in a human hospital setting
Following surgery, your pet rests in a quiet, dimly lit kennel where we monitor awakening from anesthesia.
Vaccines and Wellness
Black Dog Animal Hospital Pet Vaccinations
Seeking regular vaccinations for your pet, including rabies vaccinations, is an important aspect of being a good pet owner. Vaccinations build your pet's immunity against infections and viruses.
Black Dog Animal Hospital provides vaccination services for pets in Red Wing, MN and surrounding communities of Welch, Vasa, Wacouta, Hay Creek and Hager City.
The American Veterinary Medical Association reports that vaccination has saved the lives of "millions of animals" in the past 100 years. Some immunizations are standard or even mandated by law, as in the case of rabies vaccinations.
Core and Non-Core Pet Vaccinations in Red Wing
Rabies vaccinations are necessary for both cats and dogs, because the disease is highly contagious and often fatal for both animals and their owners.
Along with other regularly scheduled vaccinations, which are called "core vaccines," canine vaccinations at Black Dog Animal Hospital include ones for distemper, parvovirus infection and hepatitis. Core vaccinations for cats include vaccinations preventing panleukopenia (an intestinal problem), viral rhinotracheitis (upper respiratory infection) calicivirus (a respiratory virus) and distemper.
During a wellness exam, one of our veterinarians will also give some pet’s non-core vaccinations dependent on individual lifestyles and needs. For example, dogs that board at kennels or regularly visit groomers need vaccinations for kennel cough (infectious tracheobronchitis) and Bordetella illness, which is caused by bacteria and gives your pet nasal discharge as well as a bad cough.
Duration and Side Effects
Some vaccines may be given every year whereas others may be needed after a number of months or more than one year. Our staff at Black Dog Animal Hospital works with you to set up an appropriate schedule for your pet's vaccinations. Some may occur during annual checkups.
Before performing vaccination, one of our veterinarians will inform you about any possible side effects, a common occurrence. Fatigue and a bit of soreness are the most common.
Emergency Services
Emergency Animal Services: We have a vet and personnel on staff and ready to offer help to you five days a week. These professionals are trained for emergency medical care for pets. This will usually include a veterinarian and several technicians who work together to take every step possible to save a pet's life.
Please call our offices immediately for:
- Poisoning
- Animals hit by a car
- Chocolate ingestion
- Animal bite wounds
- Rattlesnake bite
- Any life threatening emergency or concern for your pet
It's best to call our offices if possible prior to arriving so that we can have the right team available for you. Our urgent care facility is also available and used for non-life threatening medical needs. We'll do our best to accommodate your pet.
End of Life Care
When the time comes to say goodbye, we have the ability to schedule in clinic euthanasia services. We have a dedicated comfort room in our hospital to make that difficult process as comfortable as possible for you and your pet. We also provide private cremation services (4 urns to choose from, that is included-see picture for reference), you can also choose a different urn for an additional price or group cremation, if desired.
Dentistry & Surgery
Dentistry
Dental care is vital to the overall health of any pet. Dental disease can lead to health issues with the heart, liver, and kidneys, and can affect the entire body through the bloodstream. In fact, 80 percent of dogs and 70 percent of cats over three years of age suffer from some form of dental disease, making it the most common pet health issue among our pet population.
Surgery
We are proud to have state of the art surgical capabilities. Our surgical team is highly trained and experienced, and are able to provide the highest standard of medical care for your pet.
Our surgical suite is equipped with cutting edge technology, and we provide a broad range of surgical procedures.
Advanced Digital X-rays
At Black Dog Animal Hospital in Red Wing, MN , we are proud to be on the cutting edge of medical technology. Radiology is a technique and diagnostic tool that we use to look inside the body in an entirely non-invasive way. X-rays allow us to create images of all the body's organs.
In other words, the use of radiology gives us a view of the internal organs in your pets' body that we otherwise could not see. It is a valuable diagnostic tool that helps veterinarians detect and prevent illness.
Wellness Exams
At Black Dog Animal Hospital in Red Wing, MN , we believe that regular checkups and wellness exams are critical to your pets' well-being. These wellness exams give us a chance to evaluate the overall health of your pet while also giving us a baseline for their unique bodies and tendencies.
Not only do these exams keep us up-to-date with your pets' health, but they also allow us to detect potential problems before they become serious. This thorough checkup gives us vital information to help keep your pet healthy!
Ultrasound
Ultrasounding is a quick and painless procedure. It uses sound waves to allow us to see inside your pets, without using the harmful radiation produced when we take x-rays.
We are pleased to be able to offer ultrasounds, along with all of our other diagnostic tools, to help your sick pets start to feel better soon. The quicker we can find the problem, the sooner your pets will be back to their normal selves.
In House Laboratory
We are very proud of our laboratory. We are able to perform many diagnostic tests quickly and efficiently in it. We can do many simple tests but are also able to offer some more complex ones, too! We are able to run heartworm tests, leukemia and FIV tests, and full blood work for those who are interested in it. There are also many other tests we offer our patients.
The best part of being able to run laboratory tests in our hospital is that we can diagnose your pets much sooner than if we had to send the blood work out to another laboratory. Whenever your pets are not feeling well, we can offer you results and a diagnosis in minutes instead of making you wait a day (or more) for the results.
Knowing what is wrong with your pets quickly allows us to start treatment sooner so they can get back to normal as soon as possible. We will do everything we can to make your pets as comfortable as possible. We pride ourselves on helping pets as fast as possible!
Allergy Testing
Dogs and cats can be allergic to almost anything, similar to allergies in people. Pets can be allergic to allergens in their household environment, outside environment, or even their food. Symptoms can range from itchiness and ear or eye infections to constant licking, and even vomiting or diarrhea. Many pets suffer from allergies which can directly affect their quality of life, as well as their owner’s.
Ask your pets' veterinarian about the simple ways you can find out if your pet has allergies and how we can help.
- Common household allergens: flea dirt, other pet dander, dust mites, cleaning products, cigarettes, perfumes.
- Common outdoor allergens: regional plants and pollens, molds, grasses.
- Common food allergies: chicken, beef, corn, soy.
Pain Assessments
Pets that are in pain are miserable. For this reason, we will do whatever we can to keep your pets comfortable.
We have many different choices when it comes to treating apets' pain. There are non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs which are very helpful with mild pain. We also prescribe steroids which can offer a lot of relief. We also have stronger pain medications if the non-steroidal medications are not enough. We also offer glucosamine in tablets and injections to help with arthritis.
It is important to run blood work before starting any medications to make sure your pets can handle it. Pets on some medications need to be monitored by doing regular blood work to ensure there are no bad side effects.