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Dog Owner Essentials

Dog Owner Essentials and Veterinary Resources

Getting Your Dog to the Vet:

Is it stressful for you and your dog when getting ready to go to the vet? Here are some dog owner essentials and tips on getting your dog prepared for a trip to the veterinarian. Get Your Vet Visit Checklist

Safety Tips:

Check out these links for seasonal and holiday pet safety tips!

Canine Tick-Born Disease:

High Risk Tick Area:
tick mapWe live in an area where ticks are prevalent. These parasites can transmit many diseases including Ehrlichia, Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever and Lyme Disease. Symptoms of these diseases can include lameness, fever, anorexia, swollen joints and possible kidney impairment. As you see in the map, our region has one of the highest incidences of Lyme disease in the country. Year-round flea and tick preventatives are dog owner essentials. There are topical, oral, and collars to choose from, and your veterinarian can help you select the best choice for your pet and family.

Another line of defense against Lyme disease is the Lyme vaccine. The veterinarians at Longwood Veterinary Center recommend the annual vaccine for all dogs. It is also recommended that our canine patients perform an annual blood test to detect for exposure to Lyme, Ehrlichia, and Anaplasma. Diagnostics and treatment vary and will be discussed with you upon results.

Canine Heartworm Disease:

Mosquitoes transmit heartworm larvae. If pets are not given preventatives, those larvae can develop into adult worms. This can lead to heart failure, lung disease, and sudden death if left untreated. Signs include cough, exercise reluctance, reduced appetite, etc. Treatment is available but is costly and uncomfortable for the pet. Talk to your veterinarian about heartworm prevention options to include in your dog owner essentials toolkit.

Recommended Yearly Preventatives:

  • Heartgard (chew) — Heartworms and some Intestinal Parasites
  • ProHeart 12 (injection) — Heartworms
  • ProHeart 6 (injection) — Heartworms
  • Simparica (chew) — Fleas, Ticks, and Intestinal Parasites
  • Simparica Trio (chew) Fleas, Ticks, Intestinal Parasites, and Heartworm Prevention
  • Nexgard (chew) — Fleas, Ticks, and Intestinal Parasites
  • Advantix (topical) — Fleas and Ticks
  • Seresto Collar — Fleas and Ticks
  • Drontal (tablet) — Intestinal Parasites

What To Feed Your Dog:

There are so many choices in dog food available to us, the task of finding a healthy and safe diet may seem daunting. Our recommendations for choosing a food are actually quite simple; we recommend you choose a label that has validated its nutritional adequacy claims using feeding trials. This is well explained in the statement below:

Click here to learn more

From www.Hillspet.com:

 

“Nutritional Adequacy Statement or “AAFCO Statement:Every pet food label must contain a statement and validation of nutritional adequacy. AAFCO regulations allow two basic methods for pet food manufacturers to substantiate claims. Formulation Method — Requires the manufacturer to formulate the food to meet the AAFCO nutrient profiles for dogs and cats. This method is less time consuming and less expensive because feeding trials with pets are not required, only a calculation of the nutrient levels. An example of an AAFCO statement using the formulation method would be: “Brand ABC Cat Food is formulated to meet the nutritional levels established by AAFCO Cat Food Profiles for maintenance of adult cats.”

Feeding Trial Method — Requires the manufacturer perform an AAFCO-protocol feeding trial using the food as the sole source of nutrition. Gold Standard or preferred method. Documents the pets’ performance when fed the food. An example of an AAFCO statement using the feeding trial method would be: “Animal feeding tests using AAFCO procedures substantiate that Brand X Dog Food provides complete and balanced nutrition for maintenance of adult dogs.”

Companies that validate nutrition information via feeding trials include Royal Canin, Science Diet, and Purina.”

Generally speaking, we also recommend you feed a diet formulated for puppies until your dog is approximately 10 months of age. After this time you may slowly transition to an adult formula over a 4-6 week period. Dogs over 7 years of age may benefit from a senior formulated diet that contains supplements like glucosamine and omega-three fatty acids.

Dietary recommendations will be discussed at each health visit while we assess your pet’s weight and assign a body condition score. Our hospital believes in the benefit of nutritional management of disease and we carry prescription diets as part of a multi-pronged approach to disease management.

Risks of Grain Free Diets:

Read our blog post written by Tufts University Veterinarian Lisa M. Freeman, DVM, PhD, DACVN about the risks of grain free food.
Read Blog Post

Dog License:

Chester County, PA
Delaware County, PA
Newcastle County, DE

House Training:

Humane Society of the United States
Teach Your Dog to Ring a Bell

Crate Training:

Humane Society of the United States

Medicating Your Pet:

Your veterinarian may prescribe oral medication for your dog or puppy. Do you know how to successfully medicate your pet? Here are some helpful hints from Vet Med and Vet Street.

Brushing Your Dog’s Teeth:

Veterinarian Approved Instructions

Collecting a Urine Sample:

How To Guide

Senior Care Recommendations:

Regular health care is especially important for older pets. Diseases caught early are often more easily managed and may have better outcomes.
Special Considerations for Senior Dogs
Understanding Your Pet’s Test Results

Pet Bereavement: Coping with the Loss of Your Pet

How to take care of yourself, your family, and other pets when you’ve had to say goodbye.
Samhsa
Penn Vet
Lap of love

Boarding Kennels:

Wyeth Meadows Doggy Inn
Best Friends Pet Care
Wagsworth Manor Pet Resort
Vixen Hall Kennels
Dogtopia of Elsmere
Rebel Ridge

Pet Sitting Services:

Pet’s Best Friends
Safe at Home
For the Love of Dogs LLC

Groomers:

Best Friends Pet Care
Muddy Paws
Dashing Dogs Grooming Studio
Red Paws Mobile Pet Spa
Lee Ann Pierce (610-932-8490)

Recommended Trainers:

How to Hire a Dog Trainer

Dog Training Club of Chester County

Academy of Dog Training
Greenwood Dog
Positive Results Dog Training

Recommended Behaviorists:

Dr. Carlo Siracusa, VHUP: [email protected]215-898-6681

Dr. Hagar Hause and Dr. Jacqueline Wilhelmy, Metropolitan Veterinary Associates
[email protected] | 610-666-1199

Dr. Laurie Bergman, Hickory Veterinary and Specialty Hospital
610-828-3054

Dr. Gilbery-Gregory,Mt. Laurel Animal Hospital
mlahvet.com | 856-234-7626

Veterinary Behavioral Trainers:

All of these trainers like to have a behavioral diagnosis and plan by the veterinary behaviorist in order for treatment to be successful. However, it is not required.

Kathryn W. Tedesco, IACP-CDT, In Us They Trust, LLC | inustheytrust@[email protected] | 610-613-7227 (LVC Client)

Sandy Issler, Ph. D, KPA-CTP, Pawsitively Golden Dog Training
[email protected] | 302-528-9490 (LVC Client)

Kelly Keskett, KPA-CTP Certidfication and Fear Free Certification
[email protected] | 484-402-4454

Nancy Fitzgerald, CPDT-KA CBCC-KA, Positive Results Dog Training LLC
[email protected] | 302-761-9125

Angie Hersher, KPA-CTP
443-553-5027

Dog Walking:


For the Love of Dogs LLC

Local Retail Shops:

Giggy Bites

Community Service Organizations:

The mission of Canine Partners for Life is to increase the independence and quality of life of individuals with medical, physical, developmental, and cognitive disabilities by pairing them with a professional, trained service and companion dog. We are proud to support Canine Partners for Life by annually donating preventative health care or any surgical or medical care that some of their special dogs may need while in training. Learn more about the important roles these special dogs play in people’s lives. 

Fear Free Happy Homes:

Fear Free Happy Homes is an online community offering education, tips, and deals to brighten your pet’s lives. Environmental enrichment and strengthening the human-animal bond, along with ways to reduce stress and anxiety are topics commonly addressed. Sign-up here.

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