October has traditionally been designated National Pet Wellness Month, but at Brownsburg Animal Clinic, wellness is a year-round priority.
Many of our clients think their pets’ wellness begins and ends with the recommended yearly (or twice-yearly for older pets) exam and the vaccines that may come with it.
But there is so much more to pet wellness than wellness exams!
In fact, your pet’s wellness depends not only on regular, capable veterinary care, but on the care you provide between clinic appointments, every day, at home.
Preventive Care
As part of our Pet Care Costs collection of posts and pages to help you manage the costs of pet ownership more effectively, we published “Preventive Care for Better Health and Lower Costs.” In that blog post, we talked about how preventive care—another name for wellness care—can benefit not only your pet’s health but your budget, too.
The topics we covered:
- Wellness Exams
- Vaccinations
- Deworming
- Heartworm and Flea and Tick Preventives
- Spaying and Neutering
- Nutrition
- Exercise
- Dental Care
We encourage you to review the post on preventive care for an overview of the basic, year-round responsibilities of keeping your pet well.
Overweight and Obesity
Earlier this year, we dedicated an entire blog post to the very serious problem of overweight and obesity in pets.
Unfortunately, we are seeing more and more pets whose wellness is jeopardized by excess weight. In fact, these days more than half of pet dogs and cats are overweight.
We are also seeing many owners who deny their pet’s weight problem and may even get angry with us for bringing it up.
We understand! Nobody wants to hear, “Your dog really needs to lose some weight,” or “Your cat is dangerously obese.” It’s only natural to feel at least a little embarrassed, defensive and insulted when one of our veterinarians says something like that to you.
Just keep in mind—our first priority is your pet’s health, and we would be negligent if we didn’t call out overweight and obesity for the serious health problems they are.
If we see it, we have to say it.
Rather than wait for us to evaluate your pet’s body condition, you can judge for yourself if your pet is overweight or obese using resources linked to in our blog post.
Once we mutually recognize, acknowledge and evaluate the problem, we can make a plan and work together to help your pet achieve a healthier weight.
Safety Concerns
We often publish posts on our blog about pet safety, too.
Keeping your pet safe from potential hazards is another critically important aspect of wellness that needs attending year-round.
We hope you’ll browse the “Safety” category on our blog to gain an even broader perspective on how your taking safety precautions can contribute to your pet’s year-round wellness.
We’re in This Together!
Your pet’s wellness is a year-round concern the veterinarians and staff of Brownsburg Animal Clinic take very seriously!
We see our patients’ wellness as a collaborative effort between our team and our clients.
With you, we’re in your pet’s wellness together, and we feel honored you’ve chosen us to work with you to provide your pet with the healthiest, happiest possible life.
What’s next? Call us now at (317) 852-3323 to see when your pet’s next wellness exam is due.