Nope, it's not more nutritious. Sometimes we recommend it for different reasons, like adding some water or moisture to the diet, but it can develop more plaque and tartar on their teeth faster than dry food. So I like to recommend at least a combination of both, if not just straight dry food.

We don’t recommend that your cat lives solely on a vegetarian diet. Compared to dogs, cats are the more carnivorous species of the two, whereas dogs still need protein. These guys need it a bit more strongly, so I wouldn't recommend a vegetarian or vegan diet for cats.

A good physical exam. Again, if you had an ear infection, it would be painful. We also know that if a dog has an ear infection or an eye infection, those would be signs of pain. We’re trained to determine the causes of pain or to determine if your pet is in pain. And it’s our job to alleviate pain and suffering, so we take a good history. For example, if you tell us every time the dog walks, like halfway into their walk, they can hardly use their back leg, but when they first start, they're fine—this helps us determine the source of pain. Along with getting the dog’s history, we may take x-rays. We're going to do a physical exam and get to the root of the problem.

Every dog and cat should be examined at a minimum once a year. And once pets get to about six or seven years old, they should be coming in twice a year. Again, dental pain is the most common pain that we do see that pets are living with. And if you've ever had a sore tooth yourself, you know that is no fun. And there are things we can do to help with that. If they're abscessed, we want to remove that because that's a chronic source of infection and pain. Your dog may have chronic arthritic changes, back pain, neck pain, and even skin infections, earaches, and ear infections can be painful.

Regular wellness exams help us determine pain, but if things are just not quite right in between those appointments and the dog is showing some odd symptoms, then bring them in, and we will help you determine the best course of treatment and care for them.

Many things can cause pain in dogs, such as if they have a sore paw, they cut themselves, or if another dog has bitten them. They could also have chronically changing arthritis in their hips or knees, which can cause pain. A dog’s nervous system is very similar to ours, so whatever could cause us pain can cause them pain also. And certainly, dental pain is a huge one. We see many animals living with pretty severe pain in their mouths, and they will not tell you when they have a sore tooth. That’s upon us to help you figure that out.

Some of the most common signs for dogs would be hiding, shaking, and not behaving like they usually would. I always tell people that if your dog always comes to greet you at the door and they're not doing that right now, that's probably a good sign that they may have some discomfort or something is not right.