TAHLEQUAH — It’s relatively easy to keep your pet in good shape if you treat him the same as other members of the family – feed him well and make sure he gets proper preventive medical care.

If you don’t, it can cost you a lot more and endanger your animal’s health.

Dr. Kyle Rozell, who practices at The Pet Clinic on Main Street, offered tips for keeping your pet healthy to a group of dog and cat owners at Tahlequah Public Library Thursday.

“It doesn’t matter if it’s a dog or cat. You’ve got three big points to prevent problems, to make sure we as pet owners are doing the best we can to keep them as healthy as possible,” Rozell said.

His three tips are:

• Vaccinating the pet and keeping the vaccinations current.

• Feeding high quality pet food suitable to the animal’s needs.

• Taking care of their teeth.

Vaccinations are easy to perform and essential to the pet’s well-being, Rozell said. It’s best to get a puppy or kitten checked out by the veterinarian when you get it. That also applies to older animals.

“Parvovirus kills a lot of puppies and it is very easy to prevent with vaccination,” he said.

 That also applies to distemper and other canine diseases.

“They don’t just make them a little bit sick, they can kill them,” Rozell said. “Prevention is a lot easier than treatment. It will save you money and will keep your pet healthier in the long run.”

Heartworm is a big problem not only in dogs, but in cats, as well.

“One mosquito bite is all it takes,” Rozell said. “Within one and one-half or two years they are no longer with us. It is a slow, gruesome death.”

Heartworm treatment for dogs can cost $800 to $1,600, while it costs only $5 per month to prevent heartworm infection. One owner asked whether she could just come to Rozell’s office to buy heartworm drugs. Rozell said since it’s a prescription medication, he can’t dispense it without first seeing the dog.

Even if a dog tests positive for heartworm, he still puts it on the preventive medication. It won’t kill adult heartworms, but will destroy the larvae.

Veterinarians test cats for heartworms, feline leukemia virus and feline immunodeficiency virus (comparable to human AIDS).

Using Advantage Multi or Revolution, placing a dose between the cat’s shoulder blades monthly, will not only prevent fleas but take care of other parasites, Rozell said.

Feline leukemia is a heartbreaking disease, and cats should be tested before bringing them into your home if you already have other cats.

“They may not have any symptoms whatsoever,” but may be carrying the virus and can pass it to other cats, he said. Cats can be vaccinated to FLV.

Once the puppy or kitten is vaccinated and at home, the next step to good care is feeding high-quality pet food. Rozell listed Science Diet, Purina Pro Plan, Royal Canin, Iams or Eukanuba. All these brands are tested by nutritional experts, unlike the lower-priced types.

“My dog won’t eat it,” one owner complained of a recommended brand.

“Then they’re not very hungry,” Rozell replied. “If you put a Twinkie and a banana in front of a 5-year-old, they’ll take that Twinkie every time. If you’re going to give them an option to eat something else, there’s not a dog out there that will eat dry dog food over a pork chop.”

He said dogs frequently choose lower-quality food, but they’ll eat the better food, given the chance.

It’s important not to let them get overweight, he said.

“You do not want a dog or cat that is diabetic,” he said. “The way a lot of people show their love is they feed them, but it may be killing them.”

Rozell told about one client who had an overweight toy dog. He warned her the dog wouldn’t live much longer unless he lost some weight.

The woman said the dog was used to eating “people food” and wouldn’t want the recommended dog food.

Just let him get hungry enough, Rozell counseled her. She fed nothing but the dry food, calling Rozell each day to tell him how worried she was about her pet. After 10 days, the finicky dog relented and ate the desired food. The owner called again.

“She sounded like she had won the lottery,” Rozell said.

“Dogs will not starve themselves to death. I’ve never seen one,” he said.

“If you think dogs won’t play games with us, like our children do, you are wrong.”

The dog in question is thriving four years later, rather than going to an early grave, he said.

The final element of pet care – and perhaps the scariest for the average owner  – is tooth care.

“Take care of their teeth. They’ve just got one set,” Rozell said. “They don’t make doggie dentures yet.”

The smaller the dog, the higher the prevalence of dental diseases, he said.

Pet owners can brush their dog’s teeth, or use various oral preparations.

But eventually many pets need their teeth professionally cleaned. Cats, and many dogs, must be sedated for this procedure.

Rozell answered a variety of questions, ranging from allergies to a problem with a dog eating paper. He cautioned against buying cheap, bargain brand products, such as flea and tick medication. However, less expensive generic brands of some products, such as Frontline, are coming out as the patents on the original products expire.

Once again, he emphasized the three steps to keeping pets healthy  – vaccination, good feeding, and dental care.

“If you will do those three things it will save you money in the long run and it will keep your pet healthier,” he said.