Quality Veterinary Care for Senior Pets in Frederick County, MD

Winner of Frederick’s Best Vet—2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, and 2011!

Regular veterinary examinations are essential to the health and longevity of your pet. However, as your pet enters his or her senior years, these health examinations are more important than ever. Early detection of age-related problems, such as arthritis or chronic disease, is necessary to delay the onset or slow the progress of such health concerns.

At Buckeystown Veterinary Hospital, we recommend healthy senior dogs and cats visit the veterinarian every 6 months for a complete exam and laboratory testing. This makes sense when you understand that pets age more rapidly than humans, and every year for a dog or cat is equivalent to 5–7 human years. Twice-a-year visits help us to identify and address developing problems in their primary stages. Early detection of veterinary diseases and conditions combined with prompt medical intervention significantly improves your pet’s quality of life and lifespan.

Senior Pet Exams

During the senior wellness exam, your veterinarian will ask you to complete our Senior Wellness Checklist regarding any changes in your pet’s activity and behavior such as:

• Changes in energy or activity level
• Difficulty eating
• Changes in weight or appetite
• Elimination accidents
• Episodes of confusion or disorientation
• Bad breath
• Decreased responsiveness to you
• Difficulty with stairs, jumping, or getting up

View other age-related changes on our Senior Wellness Checklist.

At every senior pet exam, our veterinarian will conduct a complete and thorough examination of all of your pet’s body systems and recommend basic laboratory testing. Buckeystown Veterinary Hospital offers a free blood pressure screening for every senior pet, providing baseline results. Should your pet require ongoing treatment and monitoring, we will create a plan to meet those needs and evaluate progress at every wellness visit.

With the goal of reducing stress to your companion animal, age-related issues such as chronic arthritis and degenerative diseases are treated with the least-invasive methods available—a custom pain management program, lifestyle accommodations, and rehabilitation services. Visit our Veterinary Rehabilitation page for more about this effective program to increase comfort, agility, and quality of life for your aging pet.

Client education is a key component of the senior pet exam. Your Buckeystown veterinarian takes the time to discuss your concerns and provide the information and resources you need to make quality, educated decisions regarding your pet’s care. Visit our Pet Health pages for a wide variety of Pet Care Handouts, and Pet Care Videos.

Your aging animal companion deserves the best treatment possible to make those golden years comfortable and enjoyable. Contact us today to schedule an appointment for your senior pet—it is your way of saying “Thank you!” to your best friend.

Read this article about including veterinary rehabilitation into your senior pet’s treatment plan from the Journal of American Veterinary Medical Association (JAVMA).