Pet Wellness

At Norton Road Veterinary Hospital, we are committed to not only treating your pet when they are sick, but keeping them healthy by providing the highest quality preventive medicine program. This starts with a comprehensive physical exam at least once yearly for most pets. At this time, the doctor will customize a vaccination program to meet the individual risk factors for your pet and keep them free of infectious diseases. Did you know that dogs >8 years of age and cats >10 years are considered senior citizens? We recommend full exams for these golden oldies every six months in order to pick up on age related changes as early as possible, hopefully before your pet is showing symptoms of illness. It’s amazing what we can do for older pets to keep them healthy and active just by seeing them more often.

During a wellness visit, a veterinary assistant will weigh your pet and take their temperature. Then, they will ask a series of detailed history questions regarding your pets’ heath and behavior at home. They will explain what we recommend for your pet and discuss the cost of these services upon request. Next, the doctor will come in and perform a head to toe examination of your pet. We do request that the veterinary assistants restrain your pet for the examination in order to keep everyone safe. The doctors’ exam will include looking in the eyes and ears for any sign of infection or abnormality. A dental exam will be performed to look for tartar build-up, broken teeth, oral growths etc. After listening to your pets’ heart and lungs, they will feel the abdomen for organ enlargement or discomfort. Next, they will feel all over your pets body evaluating for lumps, bumps, lymph node size as well as look for any sign of skin problems. Your pet’s joint health will be evaluated as well as looking for any signs of pain. We pride ourselves on helping you manage any behavior problems that your pet may be experiencing such as anxiety, soiling in the house and other annoying habits. Sometimes, these are addressed as a separate visit denoted to behavior only due to the time involved with managing these cases. Feel free to share any concerns you have regarding your pets health or behavior.

Once the doctor has fully evaluated your pet and performed any necessary services, we will answer any other questions or concerns that you might have. This includes helping with nutrition questions, weight loss programs etc. We would be more than happy to demonstrate how to medicate your pet, clean their ears or trim their nails upon request. Our goal is to help you keep your pet healthy for as long as possible, no matter how long it takes!