Pet Wellness Services
As a comprehensive care veterinary hospital, Wilmington Animal Hospital provides an inclusive blend of traditional and holistic medical modalities to the care of pets. Our integral approach is designed to meet the discerning needs of those pet owners who truly believe their dog or cat is a beloved member of their family.
By interweaving traditional and holistic practices of veterinary medicine, Wilmington Animal Hospital is able to offer our clients the best that modern veterinary medicine has to offer within a practice dedicated to treating the whole pet. This means that we will look at not just the physical causes of illness, but also your pet's mind, spirit, environment, and diet.
The result is a level of preventive care that provides your pet with the best chance of living a long, healthy and happy life.
For example, we have found that many pets thrive on what is known as a raw diet and often require far fewer vaccines than most practices recommend. We also believe that behavioral counseling is an important component of strengthening the human/animal bond and therefore have integrated it into our routine wellness exams.
We also are able to blend comprehensive, modern laboratory testing with homeopathy, acupuncture and chiropractic care to create an even more robust model of preventive care. These services are invaluable for helping treat injury and disease by providing noninvasive mechanisms for healing and reducing pain.
In all, our integration of traditional and holistic medical modalities means we are able to provide your pet with an unmatched level of care, and pet owners with an abundant range of options for sustaining their pets' health and well-being.
We offer this and the following pages as an educational resource to our clients as well as to make them aware of the many important veterinary health services that can be found at Wilmington Animal Hospital.
Wilmington Animal Hospital believes that prevention is the key to your pet's long term health and minimizes the lifetime cost of care. This means our doctors highly recommend routine wellness exams, a highly individualized vaccination protocol (see our Vaccine page) , regular lab work, including fecal checks, behavioral and nutritional counseling, and, when indicated, the use of preventives for heartworm, fleas and ticks.
Most tests can be done during your dog or cat's regular wellness exam. This exam is a chance to assess your pet's overall health, discuss any changes we see, educate and update you on advancements in veterinary care, and for you to discuss any concerns or questions you may have.
The yearly wellness care we recommend includes:
Physical Exam
During your pet's regular wellness exam your veterinarian will:
- Examine the heart and lungs
- Check the teeth and oral cavity
- Assess vision, eyes, and ears
- Palpate the lymph nodes, abdomen and skin
- Palpate the joints and muscles
Deworming and Fecal Check
Though Wilmington, Delaware, does not suffer from an epidemic-like level of parasitic diseases, dangerous parasites are present in the environment. Importantly, if brought into your house or yard, these parasites can be passed from your pet to you and your family. For example, we normally associate parasites, such as roundworms, tapeworms, and hookworms with cats and dogs, but people can also be infected with the same parasites. Regular fecal checks and deworming are the best way to prevent parasitic disease and the transmission of intestinal parasites from pets to people. It also prevents the shedding of parasite eggs, which contaminate yards or any place a pet defecates.
Routine Blood Work
A complete physical includes a heartworm test, parasite screening, and should include a full blood workup. Not only can a full chemistry panel and complete blood count identify the presence of underlying disease processes, but these tests help create a baseline should your pet become ill between routine examinations. Additionally, blood work is necessary if your veterinarian recommends a dental cleaning, or any other procedure that requires anesthesia.
We also recommend comprehensive blood work annually for all pets over the age of seven.
Heartworm and Tick-Borne Diseases
The incidence of heartworm disease has greatly fallen, thanks to highly-effective heartworm preventives. If your dog takes heartworm prevention regularly, we recommend testing every three years. If you opt not to use heartworm prevention, or you've lapsed in giving it to your dog, we recommend testing annually.
Preventive Medications
Since heartworm, fleas, and ticks are prevalent in our area of the country, Wilmington Animal Hospital will discuss the risks of these pests as well as the risks and benefits of preventive medications for your pet. The intent is to allow you to make the best and most informed choice for your pet while minimizing the number of medications he or she receives. We sell a variety of preventives, including natural flea and tick products, and would be happy to help you determine which is best for your companion.
Behavior Counseling
The number one reason why pet owners give up an animal is because of behavior issues. There is probably no greater factor that can determine the strength of the bond you share with your pet than how he or she integrates with your family, home and other pets. Wilmington Animal Hospital incorporates behavior counseling into our wellness exams in order to resolve or head off any potential behavior-related issues.
Nutritional Counseling
At Wilmington Animal Hospital, we place strong emphasis on your pet's diet. Many medical and orthopedic problems can be ameliorated or even reversed with diet modifications. For this reason, we spend time with you at each visit to determine which diet(s) might be best for your pet, and practical for you to feed. Our recommendations vary from a simple upgrade of a commercial diet, to home-cooked or raw options.
In all, these services offer the best means to protect your pet's health and wellbeing through prevention and early detection of disease.