Information - Oakwood Hills Animal Hospital

Helpful Pet Information & Resources

All the information and resources you need for your pet in one place. For more information, call Oakwood Hills Animal Hospital at (715) 835-0112 to find out how we can help you!

General Pet Care & Information

Below is a list of links to resources providing more information about pet care. We hope this list helps you locate the information you need. If you have suggestions about other sites to include, send email to info@oakwoodhillsanimalhospital.com.

American Animal Hospital Association
Your link for healthy pets. The American Animal Hospital Association, an organization of more than 24,000 veterinary care providers committed to giving you excellence in small animal care. You can count on AAHA for accurate, up-to-date, and entertaining information. They know your pet is an important member of your family. They will help you make the most of the relationship between you and your pet.

American Veterinary Medical Association
AVMA allows you to Explore Animated Journeys and discover how much fun it can be to learn about pets and the people who care for them! Paws For Pets offers valuable information for the new pet owner, including seasonal pet health tips to help keep your pet healthy all year long. Come share the adventure of pet ownership in Pet Stories where you can read the Story of the Month, or tell one of your own.

Wisconsin Veterinary Medical Association
The Wisconsin Veterinary Medical Association is committed to providing the highest quality information and services to its members and the general public.

Veterinary Partner
This is the place for pet lovers! This is an excellent educational site that is associated with Veterinary Information Network (VIN). Veterinarians from Oakwood Hills Animal Hospital have been affiliated with VIN almost since its inception 15 years ago.

Petfinder
On Petfinder you can search almost 60,000 adoptable pets and locate shelters and rescue groups currently caring for adoptable pets. Browse their resource library and learn more about how to care for your pet. Post classified ads for lost or found pets, pets wanted, and pets needing homes. Sign-up to be a volunteer to help your local shelter or rescue group.

Eau Claire County Humane Association
Eau Claire County Humane Association is a nonprofit organization that cares for unwanted and abandoned animals in Eau Claire and surrounding areas.

American Kennel Club
The American Kennel Club is a nonprofit organization devoted to the advancement of purebred dogs. AKC is a “club of clubs,” comprised of over 500 member clubs and almost 5000 affiliated clubs.

Additional Information

Choosing a New Puppy
This is a nice starter guide of things that you should consider when you are thinking about getting a puppy

Breeds of Dogs
A quick reference guide to many breeds of dogs, including photos and brief descriptions of each breed’s characteristics.

Heartworm Society
Everything you ever wanted to know about heartworm disease can be found here!

National Animal Poison Control Center
This is the website of the National Animal Poison Control Center. It includes a library, links to other sites, and phone numbers for the poison control center.

Plants Toxic to Animals, Introduction — Vet Med Library, UIUC
A lot of information about toxic plants can be found here. You can search under common name or scientific name of the plant.

The Cat Fanciers’ Association (CFA)
The Cat Fanciers’ Association website has lots of pictures, as well as information on cat breeds, cat care, upcoming cat shows, and much more.

Veterinary Schools in the US
This is a great link to all of the websites of veterinary schools in the United States.

West Nile Virus
This site is maintained by the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta, and has the latest information on the spread of West Nile Virus in the US, as well as information on disease transmission, symptoms, etc.

American Association of Feline Practitioners
The AAFP is like the American Medical Association for cat doctors, and has lots of good information regarding feline health

Veterinary Information Network
VIN is the world’s first and largest online veterinary community

Pet Nutrition Resources

Our goal in providing this page of information is to direct you to the best information for choosing food for your pet.

Information provided by Animal Emergency and Referral Center
Latest updates on the Grain-Free situation: Nutrition Articles Updated July 21 2019
The Savvy Cat Owner’s Guide: Nutrition on the Internet
The Savvy Dog Owner’s Guide: Nutrition on the Internet

Canine and Feline Diets Recommendations

The following considerations should be researched in choosing the best nutrition for your furry friend:

Manufacturer Contact Information

The American Animal Hospital Association (AAHA) and the World Small Animal Veterinary Association (WSAVA) lists these excellent questions to ask of manufacturers:

Does the company have a veterinary nutritionist or equivalent on staff and available to answer questions?
Who formulates the diets and what are their credentials?
Are diets tested using AAFCO feeding trials or formulation tests?
What is the caloric value (per can or cup)?
Will you provide nutrient analysis and digestibility of your products?
Describe your quality control measures to assure consistency and quality?
Have there been recalls of any of your products?
Where are your diets produced and manufactured?
What kinds of research have been conducted on your products? Where is it published?

Additional Nutrition Recommendations

Nutritional Adequacy
All pets foods should have a statement indicating if nutritional adequacy has been proven through feeding trials or formulation tests. Trials are preferable to formulation tests.

Life Stage Claim

Two profile standards are available from AAFCO: Maintenance and Growth/Reproduction.
If the label states it is appropriate for “all life stages” it must meet the standards for both standards.
In meeting these standards, excessive amounts of some nutrients may result in overfeeding.
No standards exist for the senior life stage.

Caloric Content Disclosure

Caloric disclosure in not required by law and remains optional.
Companies that report caloric content are preferred.
Suggested feeding volumes are usually overstated by about 25% because these values are based on sexually intact adult pets.
Most of our pets have been surgically altered.

Ingredients
Evaluation of ingredients is the most controversial aspect of interpreting pet food labels.