Preventive Care

• Dental Care
  Provide “tooth-friendly” toys and treats. Chewing for 10 minutes a day is great for a dog’s teeth, but it does not replace daily brushing. See vohc.org for a list of Veterinary Oral Health Council approved, “tooth-friendly” products.
• Vaccination
  As with people, vaccinations help keep our pet dogs and cats safe from a wide variety of infectious diseases. The specific vaccinations your pet might need will depend on its age and lifestyle and will be determined after consultation with one of our veterinarians.
• Veterinary Ophthalmology
  Glaucoma is a leading cause of blindness in dogs and is caused by increased fluid pressure in the eye (intraocular pressure or IOP). Our Tono-Pen Avia Vet measures IOP quickly, accurately and painlessly. We recommend checking the IOP in all pets with red eyes, eye or head trauma, in all senior pets and annually in those breeds (and their crosses) that are predisposed to primary or inherited glaucoma. For a list of breeds predisposed to primary glaucoma, click here.
• Behavioral Counseling
  In addition to the handouts listed below, we have information available on a number of other topics including other medical conditions, behavioral problems, prescription diets, medications and nutritional supplements. Please contact us for additional information.
• Nutritional Counseling
  A common question we hear from our clients is “What food should I feed my pet?” To help answer this question, our veterinarians and technicians are prepared to discuss your pet’s individual nutritional needs with you in order to determine the best food for them. We also have a client handout – Pet Nutrition 101 – to help our clients understand pet food labels. Click here to go to our Client Handouts page.
• Comprehensive Examination
  Additional diagnostics may be recommended depending on the specifics of each case and the results of the pet’s history, physical examination and preliminary test results. Some of the other diagnostics available include...

Illness Treatment

• Parasites Treatment and Control
  Our pet dogs and cats are vulnerable to infection by a wide variety of intestinal parasites, including roundworms (pictured at right), hookworms, tapeworms, whipworms, Giardia and Coccidia. Unfortunately, some of these parasites can be transmitted to people. In order to keep your pet and your family as healthy as possible, our animal clinic recommends annual testing of pet feces for intestinal parasites as well as the monthly administration of medication to prevent infection. The specific recommendations for your pet will depend on their lifestyle and will be discussed with you directly by our veterinary technicians and veterinarians.
• Pain Management
  Areas of veterinary interest for Dr. Dalton include pain management, dentistry, behavior, practice management, client education and community outreach.
• Vomiting Treatment
• Diarrhea Treatment
• Skin Condition and Allergy Treatment
  More serious but rare side effects, such as severe allergic reactions, may occur within minutes to hours after vaccination. Signs include vomiting, diarrhea, itchy skin, difficulty breathing and collapse. These allergic reactions can be life-threatening and are medical emergencies. Contact us or the Animal Emergency and Referral Center in Oakdale (651-501-3766) immediately, as your pet may require medical treatment.
• Upper Respiratory Illness Treatment
  Canine influenza (dog flu) is a newly emerging respiratory disease of dogs. It has been diagnosed in several states with recent outbreaks in Detroit Lakes, MN, Chicago, IL and Madison, WI. No confirmed cases of canine influenza have been reported in the Twin Cities to date. For more information from the University of Minnesota, click here. For even more information from the American Veterinary Medical Association, click here.
• Intestinal Foreign Object Removal
  Routine surgeries performed by WBAH veterinarians include: dog/cat spay/neuter, cat declaw, dental cleanings and extractions, tumor removal (internal/external), gastric/intestinal foreign body removal, bladder stone removal

Infection Treatment

• Parvovirus Infection Treatment
  Our veterinary hospital recommends that pet vaccinations be considered on an individual basis according to your specific pet and advice from a licensed veterinarian. We do not recommend all vaccines for all pets. However, we strongly encourage all pets to be vaccinated for the “core” diseases. Optional vaccinations should be considered based on your pet’s lifestyle. The core vaccines include Distemper, Adenovirus Type 2, Coronavirus, Parvovirus, Parainfluenza, Leptospira, and Rabies for dogs, as well as Distemper, Rhinotracheitis, Calicivirus, and Rabies for cats. Many of these diseases can be passed from infected animals to your pet indirectly through contaminated shoes, clothing, water or food bowl, your hands, or the air.
• Bacterial and Viral Infection Treatment
  This dog's lungs are diffusely affected by countless, nodular tumors. The primary rule out is primary or secondary neoplasia or cancer of the lungs although a fungal infection is possible
• Urinary Tract Infection Treatment
  There are a number of commercial products available as well as home recipes that are intended to aid in the prevention of brown spots in the lawn. The ingredients vary widely. The problems with these products and concoctions are that they likely won’t work and that they may change the pet’s urine in unexpected ways and cause a medical problem where one does not currently exist. Dog and cat urine is what it is for very specific reasons. By subtly altering the pH, mineral content, or other factors you may be predisposing your pet to urinary tract infections, crystals, or stones.

Chronic Condition Treatment

• Arthritis Treatment
  This radiograph is of the same dog as in the previous radiograph and was taken several years after surgical removal of the femoral head and neck from the left femur (Femoral Head and Neck Ostectomy or FHO, right side of image). The right hip (left side of image) shows severe degenerative joint disease or osteoarthritis.
• Hip Dysplasia Treatment
  Hip dysplasia is the malformation and degeneration of the coxofemoral or hip joint(s). The coxofemoral joint is a ball-and-socket type of connection between the head of the femur (ball) and the acetabulum (socket).
• Thyroid Disease Treatment
  About three years ago I started to get sick – I had spasms and was in a lot of pain. Fortunately, first Dr. Scanlan and now Dr. Dalton have diagnosed me to have hyperthyroidism and have been able to prescribe some medicine that is rubbed into my ear every day to balance my thyroid – so I have to get transdermal medicine which arrives monthly in the mail in a box addressed to me as CAT PATCHES! (I won’t swallow pills – I save them under my tongue and spit them out whenever no one is watching!) I have to be careful what I eat, also. I go for checkups on my blood and other levels regularly at White Bear Animal Hospital – but Dr. Dalton and the nurses and technicians are so gentle with me there that I am not too frightened to visit.Now I am about 12 years old, they think – and feeling pretty healthy! Mary says I am very soft, and we think we make a great pair as friends! Thanks to White Bear and Otter Lake Animal Hospital staffs for caring for us stray cats, and making us available to be adopted by loving owners! Mary says to thank all of you too for many years of outstanding veterinary care for all our family cats! And thanks to Dr. Dalton and the staff for making me Pet of the Month!
• Heart Disease Treatment
• Kidney Disease Treatment
• Periodontal Disease Treatment
  Did you know that 60 to 80% of pet periodontal disease occurs below the gum line? Our digital dental radiographs (x-rays) allow us to accurately and completely assess a dental patient’s oral health in order to provide to most the effective treatment and prevention.

Surgery

• Veterinary Surgery
  Our veterinary hospital is proud to offer comprehensive medical and surgical services for dogs and cats, as well as specific services for birds, ferrets, rabbits and rodents. For more information regarding our animal clinic and our available services simply click here. We look forward to serving you and your pets and invite you to contact us at any time for more information! Our animal clinic currently staffs four veterinarians, Dr. Stuart Dalton, Dr. Gwen Zupancich, Dr. Sarah Prochnow, and Dr. Mikayla Nicklay. We also employ relief veterinarians as needed. To read more about our veterinarians, click here.
• Spaying and Neutering
  Neutering (orchectomy) or castration of a male dog or cat is an operation which may be performed by a veterinarian at six months of age or older. After he has the operation your pet will make an even better companion. He will express his vitality in play, often quitting some of his male behavior traits found to be embarrassing or unwanted.

Lab and X-Rays

• Laboratory Services
  If you chose to have your pet’s prescriptions filled by an internet or mail order pharmacy you need to realize that you are interrupting the valid veterinarian-client-patient relationship (VCPR). This makes it more difficult to monitor for possible drug interactions or to recommend periodic blood tests (for example, heartworm tests and checking liver and kidney values).
• X-Ray
• Dental Radiology
• Microchipping
  Make sure your pet can be identified at all times. Collars with ID tags, Rabies tags, licenses and tattoos are good. Microchips are best because they are truly permanent – cannot be lost or easily removed. Visit our Links of Interest page for lists of various products.

General Pet Care

• Grooming
• Senior Pet Care
  Please contact us if you have any questions, would like to schedule a Senior Wellness testing appointment or if you would like to have an information folder mailed to you. We look forward to hearing from you and your senior pet will thank you!

Specialty

• Small Animal Vet
  24) I am interested in becoming a veterinarian. Can you tell me what veterinarians do, what career opportunities are available to veterinarians, what a typical day is like for a small animal veterinarian, the pros and cons of being a small animal veterinarian and what sort of salary veterinarians make?