Education and Counseling
Educating our clients in River North and surrounding neighborhoods with relevant and lasting knowledge is just as important to us as providing quality medicine for their pets. Therefore, owners that understand their pets’ health needs will be much more capable of fulfilling them. Healthy pets and informed owners make for happy families, which is why we do everything we can to offer pet education and counseling resources to our clients.
PUPPY AND KITTEN CARE SCHEDULES
Your pet will receive much of their veterinary care during their first year of life. Following your pet’s adoption, you will want to schedule their first health checkup right away. Puppies and kittens are usually vulnerable to illness due to their weaker immune systems, and are often born with intestinal parasites. Helping your pet have a healthy start in life and giving them the protection they need against disease is crucial at this stage.
INFORMATIONAL PUPPY AND KITTEN KITS
Every new puppy/kitten owner receives an information kit that includes valuable tips on:
- Wellness care
- Proper nutrition
- Socializing with people and other animals
- Managing and improving behavior
- Choosing the safest toys
- Finding the right pet insurance
- Handling sudden emergencies
- …and more
SENIOR PETS NEED ROUTINE CARE, TOO
When is your pet considered a “senior” pet? That depends. Dogs are considered seniors when they reach age 7. Cats and smaller dogs become seniors at 8-9 years old. Large dogs (including Great Danes and Newfoundlands) reach their senior stage by age 5.
As a senior, your pet becomes more susceptible to conditions like diabetes, heart failure, incontinence, and osteoarthritis. Therefore, annual wellness visits are essential for us to prevent or diagnose and treat health problems before they get worse. Additionally, your pet may have painful joints and difficulty getting around as a result. We can help reduce their pain and improve their quality of life with proper pain management.
KEEPING PETS ON THEIR BEST BEHAVIOR
As much as we know about our pets, their behaviors can still baffle us. Why do they do what they do? Sometimes pet behaviors can affect the relationship they have with their owners and lead to them being given up. To prevent this from happening, we offer owners our time and understanding to help them reduce or even eliminate their pets’ disruptive behaviors, which can include:
- Aggression in varying degrees
- Urine marking and/or spraying
- Urinating/defecating in the home
- Chewing on table/chair legs, doorways and other home furnishings due to separation anxiety
- Inappropriately mounting other animals or people
- Snatching food off of counters and tables
Before we can name a treatment, we need to examine your pet to see if a health problem is responsible for their behavior. If not, we can suggest behavior therapy or recommend a particular medication to help calm them. Never hesitate to come to us if your pet is behaving badly at home—we want you and your pet to enjoy a peaceful, happy life together.