Pet Wellness Care

Veterinary Wellness Care for Every Age and Stage

Your pet's health care needs change as he or she ages. Puppies and kittens have health needs that are different from adult and senior pets.

Amador Valley Veterinary Hospital's special Puppy/Kitten Program includes vaccinations, fecal parasite testing, deworming, behavior counseling, and client education sessions - all of which help get your new family member off to a great start. These pre-paid discount packages include all of the vaccinations and tests your new pet needs.

Pets age faster than people. Your pet is considered a "senior" between the ages of four and seven. Preventive care is the key to keeping your senior pet healthy. Our Senior/Geriatric Program addresses the special needs of your older pet.

Wellness Exams for Cats and Dogs

Your pet benefits greatly from regular wellness examinations. We recommend that all pets receive an examination at least once a year, though more frequent exams are encouraged. During an examination, we look at your pet "from nose to tail," focusing on your pet's heart and lung functions; hearing and vision; joints and muscles; and many other areas. An exam helps us detect health problems before they can negatively impact your pet's health and quality of life.

Your pet's health can change rapidly. Regular exams allow us to establish a baseline level of your pet's health, information that assists us when your pet comes in for treatment. Because you are an important ally in your pet's health, we ask you questions about your pet's lifestyle, behavior and other characteristics during examinations. We encourage you to ask us questions and take an active role in your pet's health care.

Amador Valley Veterinary Hospital's Pet Pharmacy

Your pet's prescriptions are filled quickly and accurately at Amador Valley Veterinary Hospital's fully-stocked in-house pharmacy. We stock the latest medications for your pet and your pet's prescription often is ready at the end of his / her appointment. For special prescription orders, we partner with ProxyRx mail-order pharmacy.

Pet Parasite Prevention

Parasites can be a pain for your pet - and your family! External parasites (fleas and ticks) and internal parasites (heartworms, roundworms, and hookworms) are common in pets. Many parasites, including fleas, ticks, and hookworms, are zoonotic, which means they can affect you and your family as well as your pet.

Prevention is the key to stopping parasites before they harm your pet and your family. Amador Valley Veterinary Hospital provides your pet with the proper parasite prevention products. We work with you and determine which product is best-suited for your pet.

If your pet requires treatment for parasites, we can help. Our veterinarians use the latest medical techniques to get rid of heartworms, fleas, and ticks in your dog or cat.

Traveling with a Dog or Cat

If you are traveling to another country with your pet, you need an international health certificate. Amador Valley Veterinary Hospital is authorized to issue international health certificates. Click here for an overview of regulations regarding international travel with your pet. If you need an international health certificate, don't delay! Please call us immediately so that we can begin the process.

Pet DNA Testing

Do you often wonder about your mixed-breed dog's heritage? Amador Valley Veterinary Hospital offers DNA testing that can identify your dog's genetic make-up. DNA testing can provide valuable insight into your pet's behavior and potential breed-specific health issues. Amador Valley Veterinary Hospital also performs avian gender testing for your pet bird.

Behavioral Consultations

Persistent behavior problems can cause stress for you and your pet. Your pet receives complete behavioral counseling at Amador Valley Veterinary Hospital. Our veterinarians work with you to help curb unwanted behaviors in your pet. Because some behavior problems have a medical basis, your pet receives a complete physical examination and diagnostic work-up as part of his or her behavior consultation.

Allergy Management

Just like people, your pet can have allergies. Food allergies, environmental allergies, and other allergies all can affect your pet. Amador Valley Veterinary Hospital offers complete allergy management services. We thoroughly examine your pet and run a variety of tests in order to identify the allergens that cause the problems. Our veterinarians work with you to develop a treatment plan for your pet's allergies.

Nutritional Counseling

Whether your pet has special dietary needs or simply needs to lose a few extra pounds, the highly-skilled staff at Amador Valley Veterinary Hospital can help. Our veterinary hospital stocks a wide variety of therapeutic diets, including Hill's Prescription Diets, Royal Canin diets, and Iams/Eukanuba diets that correspond to your pet's health needs. You also receive complete nutritional counseling from our veterinarians and we help you develop weight loss and nutritional management plans for your pet.

Vaccinations

Vaccinations are an integral part of your pet's preventive health care plan. Your pet is unique; that's why we create vaccine protocols that are individualized for each pet. Vaccine protocols are based on your pet's lifestyle, risk factors (local disease exposure, etc.) and state and local travel regulations. We use non-adjuvanted vaccines for our patients whenever possible to reduce the likelihood of vaccine-associated fibrosarcomas and follow the vaccination guidelines of the American Animal Hospital Association and the American Veterinary Medical Association.

One year after completing the full puppy vaccine series, we recommend three-year vaccinations of rabies and DA2PP. We vaccinate with Leptospira, Bordetella (the most common cause of kennel cough), and Borellia (Lyme disease, which is carried by some ticks) as needed for dogs, depending on their personal risk assessment.

One year after completing the full kitten vaccine series, we recommend three-year vaccinations of FVRCP. Rabies is recommended annually. FeLV is recommended annually as needed for cats, depending on their personal risk assessment.

If you have further questions about what sort of vaccination protocol is right for your pet, please ask a staff member or veterinarian.

Pet Identification - Microchipping

Pet identification is a must! But a sturdy collar and ID tag may not be enough to ensure your pet returns home safely if he or she is lost. Microchipping your pet is a safe, effective way to help your pet make it home safe and sound.

A microchip is about the size and shape of a grain of rice. It is implanted underneath your pet's skin between the shoulder blades during a process similar to a vaccination. Each microchip is encoded with unique information about your pet. This information corresponds to data in a national database. Veterinary hospitals and animal shelters across the country are equipped with special scanners capable of detecting and reading microchips. If your pet is lost, his or her microchip is scanned and the information is used to reunite you and your best friend.

Amador Valley Veterinary Hospital uses the Bayer resQ microchip system. ResQ provides a lifetime free registration with its information database. It is an ISO microchip, which allows for easy travel into other countries. We offer a special discount when your pet receives his or her microchip during a spay or neuter procedure. Please ask our staff for more information about microchipping your pet.