Comprehensive Wellness Care for Your Pet
What is wellness care? It’s an essential component of your pet’s health routine, focused on preventing health problems before they become serious. Regular check-ups allow us to catch potential issues early, which is why we recommend wellness exams every 6 months for all pets. Since pets age faster than humans, health concerns can develop quickly. As your pet grows older or if specific health issues arise, we may recommend more frequent monitoring to ensure they stay healthy, happy, and comfortable. At Paumanok Veterinary Hospital, wellness care includes much more than just exams!
Examinations
Just as a physician recommends regular wellness exams for their patients, veterinarians recommend regular check-ups for your pets. Identifying potential health issues early increases the chances of successful treatment while minimizing both cost and difficulty. Treating an existing condition can be financially challenging, but prevention is much more affordable! We’ll create a personalized wellness plan for your pet, taking into account factors like their breed, age, lifestyle, and overall health.
Wellness exams typically include:
- A thorough nose-to-tail physical exam to assess major bodily systems and create a comprehensive health profile
- Review your pet’s behavior, diet, exercise routine, and daily activities
- Recommend any necessary vaccinations and diagnostic tests
- Identify changes in health, such as weight fluctuations, to detect potential issues before they develop further
- Answer any questions or concerns you may have about your pet's health
Vaccinations
With over 50 million pets living in the United States, it's inevitable that your companion may encounter an infectious condition. At Paumanok Veterinary Hospital, we assess your pet’s lifestyle and individual risk factors to administer only the most relevant vaccines and recommend the most appropriate preventive care. Our goal is to minimize over-vaccination, which is why our veterinarians use current, tailored vaccine protocols, including multi-year vaccines when possible, customized to suit each pet's environment and lifestyle.
Parasite Protection: Keeping Your Pet and Family Safe
At Paumanok Veterinary Hospital, we understand that parasites aren’t just a nuisance – they pose serious health risks to both pets and their human families! Whether it’s fleas, ticks, heartworms, or intestinal parasites, these unwelcome invaders can easily enter your home via shoes, clothing, or even open windows.
If left untreated, parasites can stunt growth, aggravate existing health issues, and lead to life-threatening infections. Many parasites, like roundworms and hookworms, are also zoonotic, meaning they can be transmitted from pets to humans, putting your family’s health at risk.
The great news? Prevention is easy, effective, and far more affordable than treating problems later on.
Routine Testing and Prevention: the Key to Your Pet’s Health
Regular exams and lab tests help us:
- Identify parasites such as roundworms, hookworms, Giardia, and Coccidia, which can lead to intestinal issues in pets.
- Develop a personalized treatment plan if parasites are detected, tailored specifically to your pet’s needs.
- Prevent the spread of parasites to other pets or human family members – because we care about the health and well-being of everyone!
Recommendations for Every Life Stage
- Puppies & Kittens: These curious little ones are particularly vulnerable to intestinal worms. We recommend multiple fecal exams during their first year, as not all parasites are covered by standard dewormers.
- Adult Pets: Even if your pet is on year-round preventatives, we recommend fecal testing every 6-12 months to detect any unusual parasites early on.
Year-Round Protection
Parasites don’t take holidays, and neither should your pet’s preventatives! While parasites are more common during warmer months, it only takes one warm day for them to thrive in the environment, making year-round protection crucial. Set a reminder for monthly treatments – whether chewable tablets or convenient topical options – to ensure your pet stays protected without interruption, no matter the season.
Have questions about the best options? Call us at 631-475-1312 for a personalized plan tailored to your pet’s needs or visit our online store for trusted products that keep parasites away!
Let’s work together to keep your furry friends (and your family) healthy, happy, and parasite-free!
Fleas and Ticks
We can help you choose the best treatment options based on your environment and discuss effective ways to control fleas in your home, yard, and on your pet.
- Fleas and ticks are external parasites that irritate the skin and can transmit diseases to your pet.
- Ticks can transmit several diseases, including Lyme disease.
- Fleas can spread various diseases, such as tapeworms and Bartonella.
- Fleas can also cause skin allergies, which are common in both cats and dogs.
- Ticks latch onto the skin and feed on your pet’s blood.
- Once-a-month products are available to prevent fleas and ticks.
- It’s important to regularly check your pet for signs of fleas during grooming and inspect for ticks after exposure to high-risk areas, such as wooded or grassy environments.
Intestinal Parasites
Depending on your pet’s lifestyle, fecal testing is recommended either annually or semi-annually. Dogs and cats are often infected with internal parasites that can also be transmitted to humans. This not only threatens your pet’s health but can also pose a risk to the general public. Parasites are widespread throughout the U.S., leading to a higher infection rate in puppies and kittens. Roundworms, in particular, are a significant cause of blindness in children. Regular testing helps protect both your pet and your family.
Heartworm
Heartworms are dangerous, but they are also preventable! We recommend annual testing and year-round monthly preventatives to keep your pet safe. Conveniently, these preventatives can be shipped directly to you through our Shop our Online Store.
- Mosquitoes are responsible for spreading heartworms!
- Adult heartworms live in the right side of the heart.
- Heartworms can grow 6-14 inches long, and hundreds may be present in a single dog!
- Heartworms interfere with blood circulation, causing damage to the heart, lungs, liver, and kidneys.
- Significant damage (possibly leading to death) can occur before any visible symptoms appear.
- Advanced symptoms include difficulty breathing, coughing, fatigue, low energy, weight loss, fainting, and potentially death.
- We recommend heartworm prevention for cats as well, since they can also be affected – in fact, 5% of heartworm-positive cases are indoor-only cats.
- Heartworms have been found in all U.S. states and Canada.
Microchipping
Microchip implantation is a quick and virtually painless procedure that offers lifelong protection and identification for your pet. Similar to a routine vaccination, the microchip is implanted between the shoulder blades, an area with more fatty tissue and fewer nerves and blood vessels. Unlike a collar, a microchip can’t fall off, be lost, altered, or intentionally removed, providing reliable, permanent identification for your pet.
Nutrition & Weight Management
An estimated 52.7% of dogs and 57.9% of cats in the United States are overweight or obese.
Remember, more food doesn’t equal more love! While it can be hard to resist sharing human food with your pet, it’s important to keep in mind that their nutritional needs are different from ours. At Paumanok Veterinary Hospital, we focus on “feeding the patient, not their bowl.” Factors such as age, health condition, gender, weight, and breed all play a role in determining the right nutrition for your pet, whether that involves a specialized diet or a balanced one.
If your pet is facing nutritional challenges like liver disease, renal failure, bladder and kidney stones, food allergies, or obesity, we’re here to provide guidance and tailored solutions.
Behavior Counseling
Health issues can often start with or be influenced by behavioral problems. Even healthy pets may require behavioral training to avoid disruptions at home and in family life. At Paumanok Veterinary Hospital, we’re trained and experienced in understanding pet behavior, preventing behavioral issues, and addressing unwanted behaviors. We’re happy to offer training tips and recommendations to help guide the behavioral modification process.
