bovine preventative health care

The Dawson Creek Veterinary Clinic strives to provide top quality herd health recommendations to our cattle clients to help them have optimal herd health, success and profitability. This starts with developing a veterinary-client-patient relationship where we meet on farm or in the clinic to discuss your specific herd and understand your operation. We can then tailor vaccination protocols to provide the best possible protection for your specific herd. We aim to review these strategies annually. Our veterinarians also work with our bovine clients to evaluate other health concerns and management practices to help our clients have productive and profitable businesses. We have annual herd health seminars and email newsletters to our clients to keep them up to date and current with new products, disease outbreaks, nutrition and management practices.

bovine FACILITY & surgical services

Our veterinary clinic is set up with a clean and safe handling facilities including a maternity pen and chute.  The clinic is also set up to drive thru with your trailer (eliminates the need to back up to a chute). Our veterinarians are confident in performing a variety of surgical procedures including calvings, caesarian sections, calf umbilical surgeries, urinary tract surgeries, eye enucleations, dehorning, claw amputations and castrations. We are also willing to travel to client farms to perform a variety of surgical services.

​Bovine  Reproductive Services

Our veterinarians are highly trained in bovine pregnancy diagnostics (both by ultrasound imaging and palpation) as well as breeding soundness evaluations (semen checking) in your bulls. We will also work with you to identify any problems in the reproductive performance in your herd such as poor conception rates and help you to resolve these issues.

Bovine Medical Services & Herd Investigations

​When herd outbreaks of disease occurs we often recommend having a veterinarian come to your farm for a herd visit and consultation to help diagnose, treat and prevent to resolve the issue. We use herd history, physical examinations, post mortem examinations and various testing (both in the clinic and at laboratories) to diagnose various diseases. Some of the tests we send out include fecal testing, scours testing, respiratory disease testing, Johnes testing, bovine viral diarrhea testing, blood and liver mineral testing. 

bovine bvd testing

BVD (Bovine Viral Diarrhea Virus) is an expensive disease to have in your cattle herd. Proper vaccination is important to keeping this disease at bay but you may already have infected animals in your herd. Dawson Creek Veterinary Clinic offers BVD herd screening to help you identify persistently infected (PI) animals in your herd that may be spreading the disease to others. Bring in an ear notch (or skin sample) 1-2 cm in size to the Dawson Creek Veterinary Clinic. This sample can be frozen until it is convenient for you to drop it off. We will send these samples off in group packages to get you the best possible testing price. This is a very inexpensive way to determine if you have BVD in your herd. We recommend sampling any sick or dead animals.
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bovine johnes disease

Johnes Disease is a disease that typically presents as chronic diarrhea and severe weight loss in adult cattle. It can also affect sheep and goats. Calves are usually infected with the bacteria (Mycobacterium paratuberculosis) through the ingestion of water or feed contaminated with manure from adult cattle that are carrying the bacteria or from milk or colostrum from infected animals. The bacteria then usually hang out in the intestines of the animal for years (anywhere from 1-10 years) before it becomes active and clinical signs are seen. Typically clinical signs are seen in cows three to six years of age. Cows will show signs of weight loss and watery diarrhea but still seem bright and have a good appetite. Signs can sometimes wax and wane. Unfortunately once the bacteria become active, they cause the intestinal wall to thicken, preventing absorption of nutrients and fluid. Cows typically lose weight until they waste away and can no longer function. Cows can shed the bacteria in the manure prior to showing clinical signs and in doing so infect calves. Unfortunately there is no effective or practical treatment or vaccine at this time. This is a disease we see in a lot of herds in the Peace Country (and all across Canada). It can be economically important to producers. It can be a difficult and often expensive disease to test for depending on the number of animals tested and the type of test performed. If a producer has a goal to eliminate this disease from their herd, annual testing and culling can be done along with management changes, but it can be a long process. Some simple management changes can help control the spread of this disease within your herd. Your veterinarian can do an on farm risk assessment, which will assess your herd's chance of getting or having various infectious diseases that can limit your production and profit. Your veterinarian can also help you implement any management changes that will help prevent or control the spread of disease in your herd.
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bovine exporting services

There are many steps that are to be taken in order to export your animals out of Canada. Ask our vets or receptionist for more details on how the process works. Our veterinarians are certified to perform export exams on a variety of animals including cattle, reindeer and horses.

bovine growth hormone free certification for export to the european union

Our veterinarians are certified to accredit growth hormone free status to farms that enroll in the program which can open up markets to sell cattle to the European Union. This process also involves many steps so please contact the clinic to gain more information.