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Preventive Care & Wellness

  • Lundehunds are very loving and playful; they form strong bonds, and prefer their own family to any other people. They are also curious and intelligent so they need plenty of engaging toys, and do well at agility training.

  • You wanna make something of it? The tiny Norwich Terrier does! This scrappy, feisty, but totally adorable little wire-haired terrier with the prick ears has courage ten times his size. At home, he is all play and mischief, with a great sense of humor and an independent streak that can make training a challenge, but terrier lovers cannot resist his classic terrier attitude.

  • The Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever, affectionately called a Toller by her fans, is a recent addition to American Kennel Club activities. A high-energy dog, the are affectionate and outgoing.

  • While sick birds can occasionally be treated by their owners at home, any bird showing signs of illness should be examined by a veterinarian. Birds that are gravely ill require hospitalization; those that are mildly ill may be treated by their owners under their veterinarian's direction. Medication must be administered as directed. Most pets recover faster when kept at the upper end of their normal environmental temperature and kept on a normal day/light cycle. Sick pets need extra calories to recover, and cage rest is often best while the bird is recuperating. A sick bird should be isolated from other pets, preferably in a separate room. While not often the case, some bird diseases can be transmitted to owners.

  • A nutraceutical is a food or food product that reportedly provides health and/or medical benefits. In addition to diet modifications, exercise, weight loss, and medications, joint support nutraceuticals are also helpful in an osteoarthritis management program. Nutraceuticals are not subjected to the same testing and regulation as pharmaceuticals. Your veterinarian can advise you on products that have been evaluated and have yielded positive effects.

  • A nutraceutical is a food or food product that reportedly provides health and medical benefits. Specific nutraceuticals are commonly used in the management of osteoarthritis in dogs. Because nutraceuticals are not subjected to the same testing and regulation as pharmaceuticals, it is always best to consult your veterinarian before giving any to your dog.

  • Dogs are omnivores meaning that, under normal circumstances, dogs can meet their nutritional needs by eating a combination of plant and animal foods. Selecting a dog food can be a challenging task. Feeding your dog a proper diet for their life stage is one of the most important aspects to help keep them at optimal health. Your veterinary health care team can help you make good-quality diet choices and determine the correct number of calories your dog needs in a day.

  • When the digestive tract is upset, vomiting and diarrhea may result. Since the causes of these symptoms are varied, it's best to consult a veterinarian. Often, a gastrointestinal (GI) diet is recommended to support the digestive tract and ensure the gut gets the nutrients it needs to recover. A bland diet of cooked chicken and rice might be recommended, but it has several limitations and is not appropriate for long-term feeding.

  • This handout discusses the risks and benefits of feeding a home-prepared versus commercial diet to your cat or dog. Topics highlighted include food safety, nutritional imbalances, and the need to ensure that any home-prepared diet has been well researched for nutritional safety and completeness.

  • Cats are obligate carnivores and cannot be vegetarian. Through evolution, cats have become dependent on the specific forms of nutrients found only in animal tissue. Feeding your cat a proper diet is one of the most important aspects to help keep them at optimal health. It is important to keep in mind that the nutritional requirements and dietary preferences change over the course of the cat's lifetime. Your veterinary health care team can help you make good-quality diet choices and determine the correct number of calories your cat needs in a day.