
SERVICES
Generally Speaking
Here at PAZ, we do our very best to offer a vast variety of solutions for all your needs. We are a full-service veterinary practice that incorporates all styles and modes of medicine, and we research and implement whatever it takes to get your pet healthy, happy, and hanging out with you again.
While we offer a great variety of services, what is more important is the style and grace in which we practice. Does your pet always need every diagnostic and every treatment? Do you have to do it all right now? At PAZ, we spend time and work hard to understand you and your loved one. This way, we can recommend the best course of action for you and your pet. The difference? You’ll never feel pressured, intimidated, confused, or guilty. We’re on your team, and you’ll feel it.
Vaccines & Preventatives
Vaccines are a hot button topic in many medical circles. You can find a handful of doctors from either camp: vaccinate for everything or don’t vaccinate at all. As with most things in life, there is a happy medium between these two camps, and with proper risk assessment we can find exactly what fits your pet’s needs best.
All of our Rabies vaccines are Thimeserol free, which means they are free of any hard metals added to the vaccine. The core vaccines we choose for dogs are for Distemper and Parvo, without additional flu types that are typically not effective. We do this to target the issues that most dogs face and leave the antigens out that are not necessary in all cases. If your furry friend needs additional protection, we have separate vaccines which can supplement the core vaccines.
Our feline vaccines are of the “PureVax” brand. These are longer lasting, safer, and cause fewer reactions. What to vaccinate for is a more complicated conversation than you might have thought, but by thoroughly explaining and educating you, we empower you to make easy, educated and safe decisions for your pet’s health.
In order to prevent illness or catch it early on, we recommend annual wellness visits for dogs and cats of all ages and breeds. There are numerous diagnostics and preventatives that we’ll discuss at your annual exams, and we’ll make sure they make sense for you and your pet. We want to ensure your beloved pets live the healthiest and longest lives possible!
Internal medicine
PAZ approaches each pet as an individual as opposed to a sub-category mentioned in a scientific paper. Two pets with the identical disease come with different health histories, genetics, and environments. No two pets heal the same way, and we acknowledge this.
Comprehensive exams and evaluations are priority and they are complemented with the best diagnostic tests and procedures. Whether it’s an endocrine disease (like diabetes, thyroid imbalance, Cushing’s, or Addison’s) or a mysterious infectious disease, it is our mission to help you find the answers and work to provide you and your pet with the appropriate treatment.
Herbals & Acupuncture
Herbals
Have you ever wondered where drugs come from in the first place? Most pharmaceuticals were developed based on “natural” treatments already in place (and in some cases, around for thousands of years!). If an herbal approach is likely to be effective and reduce the risk of potential side-effects, we will work to help you identify the best time to initiate this form of therapy. As with any “drug” (defined as a “medicine” or other substance which has a physiologic effect when ingested or otherwise introduced into the body) you must always understand the risks and side effects, although they are generally minimal with herbals.
Acupuncture
Acupuncture stimulates the body’s own pain relieving and anti-inflammatory response. It relaxes muscles, helping to relieve both local and generalized pain. It also improves blood flow and oxygenation, and even helps remove metabolic toxins. Unlike medications, acupuncture doesn’t put your pet’s internal organs at risk of adverse side effects. If your pet needs medications or supplements, feel at ease knowing acupuncture won’t interfere with them or create adverse effects.
Please contact our East and South locations to schedule with our staff TCVM DVMs. There are many benefits of acupuncture and we can help you decide if it’s right for your pet.
Animal Well-Being & Psychology
Most clients have never had an opportunity to be educated on animal wellness and how maintaining good mental happiness translates to a happy and more fit pet. Whether it’s an indoor Maine Coon or an Aussie Shepherd that has no Cattle to corral, understanding your pet’s needs is vital in helping your pet thrive and be happy in your home.
Does Sparky sing the song of his people the entire time you aren’t home? Does Snickers pee on your bed sometimes? What if Fluffy is a bit too wound up about seeing other dogs? If your pet needs more assistance with their mental health, we offer specialized behavior services with a residency-trained doctor. Dr. Sirois uses a holistic approach to manage and treat emotional concerns of all kinds and in all pets.
Head on over to our Behavior FAQs to learn more and see if this is a good fit for your pet!
Dermatology
Austin is the bomb, but we are known for more than one allergen in these parts. Whether its flea allergies, pemphigus foliaceus, or a nasty skin infection picked up from the greenbelt, we will be here to spot it, treat it, and have your baby ready to head back out to Zilker without the embarrassing itch.
Radiology & Ultrasound
We have the latest technology in digital X-ray, making the procedure faster, more accurate, and easy to share for consultation with other radiologists world-wide. We also offer dental radiology so we can provide the most thorough dental care. All our doctors are also trained on body scanning and tumor detection with ultrasonography. This is an added benefit to our senior pet screens in an effort to detect anything irregular, both inside and out!
Dentals & Surgery
All our doctors are skilled and confident surgeons, capable of performing all common procedures in general practice. We can help with tumor removal, laceration repair, spay and neuter, as well as dental cleanings and extractions. For very complicated surgical cases, rest assured that Dr. Tim Julien, our very own Chief Medical Officer, or our partnered mobile surgeons, will take great care of your pet.
Health Certificates & Pet Travel
If you are looking to travel with your pet, we need to be sure you get the most current, accurate information out there to ensure a smooth trip. We recommend Pet Relocation to assist you in this process.
If you prefer to tackle this process on your own, below are the websites that you will need to visit in order to get current information on both interstate and international pet travel.
- Interstate travel: https://www.aphis.usda.gov/aphis/pet-travel/interstate-pet-travel
- International travel: https://www.aphis.usda.gov/aphis/pet-travel
Puppy Classes
To help you and your puppy enjoy a better quality of life together, Paz is offering two types of puppy classes, socialization and kindergarten, with Kate Bannon!
Interested? Fill out this form. Kate will call or email you to discuss enrolling.
Puppy Socialization Classes
Class is open to all healthy puppies under 5 months old and less than 35 lbs who have received at least their first round of vaccines.
Did you know that the puppy socialization window ends as early as 12 weeks of age? Doctors and dog behaviorists agree; early socialization is key for a confident and well behaved dog in any situation. Don’t worry if your puppy hasn’t completed their vaccines just yet—we completely disinfect the space prior to class to make it safe. When it comes to socialization, the earlier the better and what better place to start than with the vet you already know and trust.
Classes take place at PAZ North with our staff members supervising as your little ones mingle. In addition to getting the opportunity to learn social cues from other puppies, they will be kindly introduced to potentially scary objects such as umbrellas, scooters, and vacuums. Each puppy will also be lovingly handled by our staff—as if they were being handled by a groomer, vet, or an adoring fan—and all with tons of positive reinforcement!
Command training is difficult in this environment, but we will discuss a few basics and answer any puppy training questions. We’ll even send you home with a report card and a bandana!
Over the pandemic, we’ve found puppies do better at socializing without their paw-rents, so this party is only open to the pups but we are live on Zoom so you can watch and engage. Whether you are a first time dog owner desperate for guidance or you just want an evening of peace and quiet after tiring your puppy out, we’ve got you covered.
For the current class schedule and to sign up, please email pups@pazvet.com.
Puppy Kindergarten Classes
These group classes take place on Sunday afternoons in the backyard of PAZ South. This series will be a 6 week course, with a different lesson each week. These one hour classes will be focused on positive reinforcement training and some short periods for a mental break/ socialization. For this reason, your puppy must be dog friendly. There will be a class for smaller pups (up to 30 lbs) and then one for larger pups (30 +). You and your pup must attend all 6 classes in order to become an official Paz Puppy Graduate and receive their certificate of completion and other goodies. Depending on demand, we may accept “drop in classes” if you prefer to purchase just one class instead of the whole series.
LESSONS:
- Sit / down – Even if your puppy knows these commands, we will challenge them to follow these commands on verbal command, hand signal, with distractions and maybe even from a distance.
- Stay – learning to stay or wait in position. Working on building a stay with distractions, distance and duration. Great for setting boundaries, impulse control and of course, taking great pictures!
- Recall – Learn a few different ways to get your dog to come when called + polite greetings, emergency recall, rules of recall and practice games.
- Leave It/ Drop it – learning to resist the temptation to pick up bad things, working towards backing away from dangerous items and learning to “drop it” on command.
- Loose Leash Walking – Introduction to politely walking on leash.
- Go to Bed/ Place – Practicing this useful calming behavior– learning to follow a point, lay down and stay in place.
GOALS:
- Practice Makes Perfect – Although your pup may already know some of these “basic” behaviors, it takes practicing in an array of different environments to perfect. Take advantage of this time to challenge your furry friend and be able to show off later.
- Confidence – Not just for your pup but for you! Benefit from the guidance of a trainer to help perfect the basics. When you feel confident, your pup will too!
- Support – Puppies are a lot of work! Not only are we here to support you throughout parenthood but you’ll also meet other like-minded puppy parents dealing with the same puppy problems.
- Tips & Tricks – Besides the lessons, we are happy to give advice for any other issues your pup may be having at home.
- Improving Relationships – Better communication with your canine pal creates a mutual understanding of expectations and boundaries resulting in stronger relationships.
- Fun – Our goal is to make training fun! We aim for these classes to be something to look forward to instead of another chore.
Email pups@pazvet.com for the current schedule, pricing or other questions.
Interested in enrolling? Fill out this form.
TCVM Consent, Pet Personality Assessment, & Clinical Signs
Traditional Chinese Veterinary Medicine (TCVM) treats the patient using herbal medicine, acupuncture, and food therapy by targeting what is out of balance and can often involve treating the “branches” until the “roots” of the problem are exposed.
Pet parents can help by making daily observations of their pet and reporting any subtle changes.
The following assessment form can help us better understand your pet’s medical history, behaviors, and clinical signs.
Click here for the Paz TCVM Assessment Form
Other Services
We offer additional in-house diagnostics. Whether it’s a blood test, urinalysis, cytology (looking at cells through a microscope), eye evaluations, neurologic testing, or behavioral awareness, we have the technology and know-how to uncover and resolve some of the most unusual cases.
We proudly use Antech diagnostic labs, allowing us to test for a broad range of diseases. Antech specializes in diagnostics and invests heavily in cutting edge innovative equipment that gives us more options, complete answers, and a second or third opinion when it comes to solving mysterious disease. We don’t keep you waiting, either – in-house test results take no longer than 30 minutes, and outbound test results typically arrive within 24 hours.
Payment Options
Payment is due at time of service at any Paz clinic. We accept cash, check, major credit cards like American Express, Discover, Mastercard, and Visa.
We are proud to offer payment plan options with Scratchpay! This option does not affect your credit, is a simple and quick application process, and offers many payment options.