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West Frederick Veterinary Hospital

Wellness & Preventive Care

Annual wellness exams evaluate your pets overall health, detect problems before they become serious, and keep them on track to live a long, healthy life.

Preventative Medicine in Frederick

An Ounce of Prevention for a Lifetime of Health

At West Frederick Veterinary Hospital, we approach your pet’s health needs with an eye towards prevention. As an American Animal Hospital Association (AAHA) accredited animal hospital, we believe that preventative care is one of the best ways to protect your pet’s health and wellness.

Preventative medicine seeks to prevent the onset of diseases and illnesses with the idea that it’s much easier to prevent a disease from taking hold than it is to cure it. Regular checkups and vaccinations are two of the key ways that our Frederick veterinarians protect your pet’s health.

Overview

We follow your pet through the many phases of their lives. From specialized and preventative care during their younger years to regular wellness checks as they age, we seek to prevent and detect problems before they arise. We know your pet is important to you, that's why we work hard to ensure they are given only the best in care through all the years of their lives.

The American Animal Hospital Association recommends that your pet have a wellness exam at least once every year. As your pet ages, they recommend having even more. We believe strongly in preventive care and have developed wellness protocols for every stage of the life of your pet. Depending on your pet’s life stage, vaccines may be administered, as well as disease screenings.

Why are wellness exams important?

Wellness exams give us a chance to evaluate the overall health of your pet while also giving us a baseline for their own unique bodies and tendencies. They also allow us to detect potential problems before they become serious, and even make your pet more familiar with our veterinary hospital, making future visits easier on them and you.

When should my pet visit the vet?

We believe in preventative medicine as the best approach to keeping our patients healthy. This includes annual wellness examinations, vaccinations on a one- or three-year basis, external and internal parasite prevention, and dietary management. Our doctors will help determine what vaccinations are appropriate according to you and your pet’s needs. We will discuss in detail what your options are to help you make the best possible health decisions for your pet.

How do wellness exams work?

During a wellness exam, our veterinary team will start out by taking your pet's vital signs. Our veterinarian will perform a comprehensive examination of your pet from nose to tail and may also perform diagnostic tests such as blood work, urinalysis, or intestinal parasite tests. Depending on your pet’s life stage, vaccines may be administered, as well as disease screenings for heartworm, kidney, liver, blood disorders, and more.

Wellness examinations do not necessarily mean that your pet is going to be subjected to complicated or costly medical tests and treatments. This allows us to prevent major health issues from developing undetected and gives us the opportunity to analyze and record baseline values such as temperature, body condition, and lab work. We measure these when your pet is healthy in order to provide better care in the event of illness or emergency. A dental health exam and a weight check are always important parts of a wellness exam, and may indicate problems that can progress rapidly and have significant impact on your pet's overall health.

Early detection and correction of medical problems will help to ensure that your pet will live a long, healthy, and active life.

Preventative Care Tailored to Your Pet

Every pet that comes in to West Frederick Veterinary Hospital is unique. We understand that no two pets are the same – your pet will have a different set of medical needs than the needs of your neighbor’s pet. Our Frederick veterinarians take their time to get to know your pet from nose to tail. We ask you questions about their health and behavior too, since you know your pet better than anyone else.

We take several factors into consideration when developing a preventative care approach:

  • Breed

  • Age

  • Weight

  • Behavior

  • Lifestyle

  • Diet

  • Risk factors

All of the above characteristics – as well as others not mentioned above – are important factors in helping us determine the correct approach to your pet’s ongoing care. Our Frederick veterinary team will work hard to ensure that your pet is receiving the right care to live their life to the fullest.

Vaccinations

One of the most important aspects of preventive care for your pet is making sure they stay on top of their vaccinations. Vaccines are very effective and can help prevent your pet from contracting or spreading various dangerous diseases.

We recommend that your pet receives certain “core vaccinations,” which are considered to be universally beneficial for all pets. These vaccinations help prevent the spread of diseases that are considered to be severe or highly transmissible.

Core vaccinations for dogs include:

  • Rabies

  • Parvovirus

  • Distemper

  • Hepatitis

Core vaccinations for cats include:

  • Rabies

  • Calicivirus

  • Herpes virus type I

  • Panleukopenia

By vaccinating your pet, you are not only protecting them and your family, but you are helping protect the other pets of the Frederick community. Do your part to help lower the chances of spreading disease by making sure your pet is up to date with their vaccinations.