We recommend having most puppies spayed or neutered right around six months. For some of the larger breeds of dogs, we recommend that we wait until later on because of their bone development, so with the large breed dogs, we'll discuss whether to wait. There are even a few breeds that we find that there may be a reduction in cancers say if we wait a little bit longer, such as with golden retrievers. That being said, some large breed dogs do have some behavioral issues that come up, and we want to stay on top of that. We don't want to see any signs of aggression in an eight-month-old dog. We may want to consider neutering them earlier in those cases. It’s essential that you stay in close contact, and that six-month visit is so crucial for this reason.

It's critical when you get a puppy to come in right away, and then every three weeks until they're four months. We’ll also recommend that they come in for a six-month visit. Between four and six months, many things go on, and we hate to miss that six-month visit because we have behavioral and diet changes, and exercise recommendations. Most importantl is the behavioral aspect of things. We want to make sure that your dog is meeting the right guidelines. We're going to make certain behavior is correct, or we're going to help you to find the best way to redirect that behavior.

I think it's important for you not to have to ask questions for your veterinarian, as it’s on us to provide you with a lot of information. Then, we’re going to ask specific questions about how your puppy is doing. It’s our responsibility to make sure that you're well-educated and have all the information that you need.

At the first visit, we're going to ask you many questions. We're going to check on what the vaccine schedule has been so far. Well have you bring a fecal sample, and we're going to do a thorough physical and spend a lot of time talking to you about important things like preventative care, when the next visit is due, and what sort of training you should get started at that time.

Definitely not. I have had many cats that we've cured of cancer and have gone on to live a quality life. Quality of life is hugely important in pets. We're not trying to extend the life of a cat that's going to be suffering. Quality of life's vital to this discussion. That, and, if we can get a good quality of life and extend it, that's just great if we can do both those things.

The way we diagnose cancer depends on where it starts or what the symptoms are. If your cat came to see me and they were vomiting a bunch, I may start with an abdominal ultrasound and some lab work, and likely some x-rays. Those would be the three things that would start, and I may get a diagnosis just from that, or I may have to do a biopsy in addition. It depends on the type of cancer. I may find something on your cat's skin. I may stick a tiny needle in it and get some cells and determine what the cancer type is from that. Again, it depends on the type and location as to how we're going to collect information and get a diagnosis.

Yeah, we use medicine all the time for cancers, and we use surgery all the time, too. Again, it just depends on the type of cancer.