Wellness
Regular wellness exams and wellness testing are the most important things you do to insure your pet lives a long, healthy & pain free life.
Detecting problems early, before pain or advanced disease makes treatment difficult are the key benefits.
Comprehensive wellness exams/consultations by age & breed specific wellness testing are the backbone of Westside Family Pet Clinic’s existence.
Drs. Lambrecht, McCluskey, Grawe, Kalstrup & Karls and our certified veterinary nursing staff have drawn from the best experts by attending the most advanced continuing education in the areas of dentistry, evidence based nutrition & supplements, weight management, vaccinations and preventing parasitism and flea & tick carried diseases.
There is strong scientific evidence that paying attention to these areas will improve the quality & quantity of your pets life, something all pet lovers want.
These are the wellness scores we perform as part of every 14 step physical exam.
1) Pets age group ( Puppy, Junior, Adult, Senior, Geriatric)
2) Pain Score 0 to 10
3) Body Condition Score 1 to 9
4) Muscle Condition Score mild to severe
5) Dental Grade 0 to 4
Of course our physical exam/consultation covers all other organ systems and preventative steps but focusing on these 5 helps direct our efforts so we can have the greatest positive impact!
Wellness Testing
After the 14 step physical exam no area has been more helpful to insure wellness than laboratory testing
It is our challenge to pick up hidden problems that our physical exam cannot identify.
This would include urinary infections, kidney disease, liver problems, pancreas and digestive disorders and many others.
Our in house technology (over $25,000 in state of the art equipment) and expertly trained staff insures quick, accurate diagnoses.
We also rely heavily on our great local resources of Marshfield Labs, the UW Veterinary School, Michigan State University and Texas A & M veterinary colleges for biopsies and advanced diagnostic testing laboratories.
Wellness testing should begin with baseline testing in the first year or two of adulthood then be done yearly after age 5 to 7 depending upon breed.
With over 254 breeds with at least one inherited disorder routine wellness testing can help identify the presence and help prevent problems. Increasingly we now have laboratories that can actually predict diseases based on DNA
As well as constant continuing education (both in house and travel based) we follow the guidelines set by the American Animal Hospital Association (AAHA) for vaccinations & senior wellness, the American Association of Feline Practitioners (AAFP) for Feline Lifestage Guidelines, the American Heartworm Society (AHWS) for heartworm prevention and the Companion Animal Parasite Council (CAPC) for parasite prevention and the Center for Disease Control (CDC) for animal to human disease risks.
The AVMA & AAHA have just released their wellness guidelines for cats & dogs. See more.
Related to his longterm interest in pet wellness Dr Lambrecht was recently named to the AAHA Canine Guidelines TaskFroce which will begin its work in April 2011 to develop a comprehensive document outlining optimal lifestage wellness guidelines for dogs. That paper is due to be published in late 2011 or early 2012.
On October 23, 2010 we held our first ever Pet Wellness Fair celebrating Senior Wellness as the most important thing we do and pet one of the most important groups we serve! Over 200 people and 86 pets attended this fair.
It was at this Pet Fair that Neutricks a locally produced supplement for the treatment of Cognitive Dysfunction Syndrome CDS had its national launch. We try to celebrate pet wellness everyday at our clinic!
With such a great turnout we will hold it again on October 29th from 1 to 3 PM.
Please come to our fair and stay tuned in the exciting area of pet wellness.
Your pet will benefit, we promise!
