Pet Wellness Care: A Comprehensive Guide to Keeping Pets Healthy
Katrina Vastag |Preventive care is often the best way to promote pet health and longevity, which is why many veterinarians recommend pet wellness care so strongly. However, pet owners face a few challenges in providing consistent, quality care for their furry friends. For example, they might be unable to afford routine wellness exams, high-quality foods, and necessary medications.
With the right planning and education, pet parents can take the best care of their dogs and cats and prevent a range of common health problems. Pet insurance and wellness plans reduce the costs of preventive care and help pets live long, happy lives.
What Is Pet Wellness Care?
Pet wellness care involves taking a proactive approach to a pet’s health and well-being. It includes practices such as:
- Regular vet visits
- Recommended screenings
- Vaccinations
These practices help pet parents and veterinarians detect health issues early, before they become irreversible. The ultimate goal is to increase a pet’s life expectancy and keep them happy and comfortable for as long as possible.
The Benefits of Pet Wellness Care
Prioritizing pet wellness care is an important step in promoting overall health. It’s beneficial for a few reasons.
Preventive Health
The early detection of health conditions allows pet owners to treat them before they become serious or expensive to manage. Wellness exams provide preventive care, helping to identify and treat potential health issues sooner rather than later.
Cost Savings
Routine wellness exams are much more affordable than emergency vet visits and illness treatments. With parasite prevention, heartworm prevention, and other preventative care, pet parents may completely bypass expensive treatments.
Long-Term Health
Pet wellness preventive care benefits a pet’s overall well-being, helping them live a longer, happier, and healthier life. Their family will get to enjoy more time with them and prevent uncomfortable illnesses that impact their quality of life.
Pet Wellness Plans: What You Need To Know
One of the best ways to invest in pet wellness care is through pet wellness plans. Pet owners can purchase wellness plans that reduce the costs associated with routine care, exams, vaccinations, and preventive care.
For one monthly cost, pet owners may receive a wide range of wellness services for their furry friends, such as:
- Annual wellness visits
- Physical exams
- Flea and tick prevention
- Heartworm prevention
- Routine blood work
- Professional dental cleanings
- Routine testing for chronic conditions
- Parasite control and prevention
The covered services vary by plan. Some plans expand their services for senior dogs and cats, as they are at a higher risk for kidney disease and other illnesses.
Pet wellness plans help spread out the cost of veterinary care. Instead of paying one lump-sum payment after a routine check-up, which often costs hundreds of dollars with these tests included, pet owners can pay a low monthly cost. This makes routine care costs more affordable and predictable.
Pet Insurance Wellness Plans: A Financial Safety Net for Pets
While pet wellness plans are often available through veterinarians, they are also sometimes available as add-ons to pet insurance policies. Pet insurance often includes wellness coverage for both routine care and emergency visits. It offers pet owners peace of mind that they will be able to afford their pet’s care without facing any surprise vet bills.
The main difference between pet wellness plans and insurance coverage is the services included. Wellness plans might only cover regular check-ups and specific diagnostic testing. Meanwhile, pet insurance offers more comprehensive coverage and flexible premiums.
Pet owners choose exactly what their pet insurance covers, whether just emergency visits or routine care as well. The greater the coverage, the higher the premiums.
Wellness plans are often more affordable than full-scale pet insurance coverage for this reason, but insurance offers greater financial protection overall. Both types of coverage provide pet parents with peace of mind that their furry friends will receive the care they need.
How To Choose the Right Pet Wellness Plans for Pets
Pet wellness plans offer a wide range of coverage options. Many allow pet parents to pick and choose what wellness coverage they want to include. Selecting a plan that is adjustable to the pet’s needs allows pet owners to gain the most value from it and avoid paying for unnecessary treatments.
As a result, pet parents should consider a few factors before choosing the right plan for pet wellness care.
Pet’s Age
Senior pets may need more comprehensive coverage to account for their elevated risk of certain illnesses. However, insurance coverage is often cheaper for younger cats and dogs.
Pet’s Breed
Certain breeds are prone to specific illnesses. Pet parents may want to choose wellness plans that cover diagnostic testing for those conditions.
Pet’s Health Status
Pre-existing conditions may raise the cost of pet insurance, but they also necessitate more comprehensive care. Pet owners may want to purchase full-coverage insurance for pets with significant health concerns.
Desired Coverage
Pet owners can choose the covered services in their plans, such as preventative treatments, routine exams, vaccinations, teeth cleaning, etc. The more services included, the greater the total cost of the plan.
Enhancing Pet Wellness Care With Technology
Veterinary practices should inform clients about the benefits of pet wellness care and the types of plans available to them. They can also take other steps to enhance pet well-being and client satisfaction.
With Weave’s patient automation features, veterinarians make providing preventive care seamless for their clients. For example, online scheduling features enable pet owners to schedule check-ups, professional dental cleaning, and other appointments at their convenience. Then, automated appointment reminders help clients remember their appointments and prevent no-shows.
Meanwhile, Weave phones allow veterinary clinics to conduct telehealth appointments for patients. Pet parents can call in with questions or seek guidance on minor issues between routine check-ups.
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Why Pet Wellness Care Should Be Part of Every Pet Owner’s Routine
Are pet wellness plans worth it? For many reasons, yes. Pet wellness care isn’t just a good idea; it should be an integral part of every pet owner’s routine.
- Proactive and preventive care is more humane than reactive care when problems arise. Vaccinations, dental care, heartworm tests, and similar preventive measures help pets live happy lives free from major illnesses.
- Pet wellness care boosts the quality of life for both pets and their owners. It reduces the stress and expense that come with treating serious health conditions and allows dogs and cats to continue participating in their favorite activities for as long as possible.
- Wellness care for pets offers immense peace of mind, as pet owners do not need to worry about their pets developing severe health conditions without them noticing. It also reduces veterinary bills and makes regular vet care more affordable.
Wellness Care: Crucial to a Pet’s Health
By promoting pet wellness care, veterinarians help their pet patients live healthier lives and save pet owners a significant amount of money. Weave is another tool that allows veterinarians to deliver the best care to their patients.
Weave’s online scheduling, appointment reminders, and phones give pet parents more effective control over managing their furry friends’ wellness care. Are you interested in trying Weave in your vet practice?
Get a demo to see how Weave can support your veterinary practice with cutting-edge tools that streamline patient management, including wellness care tracking.
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