featuredimage_WellnessCare

Wellness Care and Disease Prevention

The best health care, for both pets and owners, is wellness and preventative care – trying to stay as healthy as possible as well as diagnosing changes early when supportive and therapeutic care can have the most impact. Regular examinations, vaccinations, screening diagnostics and preventative medications are all part of wellness care.

Regular thorough physical examinations – at least annually and more frequently as our pets get older – are essential. We tailor our wellness health care program to your pet’s species, breed, age and health risks. It always helps to remember that a one-year old pet is approximately 18 to 22 human years old – their physiology is going to be aging faster than their number of years old. This becomes important when you look at the age of onset for particular diseases; the chart below gives average ages for particular health issues.

Age of Onset for Various Diseases
Disorder Canine Feline Disorder Canine Feline
Intestinal Parasites All Ages All Ages Liver Disease 6 years 6 years
External Parasites All Ages All Ages Splenic Disease/Cancer 6 years Rare
Urinary Tract Infection/Bladder Stones All Ages All Ages Pancreatic Disease 7 years 7 years
Diabetes 4 years 1 year Valvular Heart Disease 7 years 7 years
Adrenal Gland Disease (Cushings) 2 years Very Rare Kidney Disease 7 years 8 years
Thyroid Disease 4 years 4 years Lung Disease/Cancer 10 years Rare
Glaucoma 4 years 4 years Other Cancers All Ages All Ages

To help monitor for changes that may indicate a change in your pet’s health, particularly since animals are more likely to hide when they are feeling “off,” we recommend screening diagnostics based on life stage/age annually. Your veterinary nurse or veterinarian can explain in more details these evaluation and diagnostic recommendations.

Ask the Doctor

Got a question? Want more information? » Ask the doctor