Medical Intervention Policy

Just like humans experience stress when they take a trip, whether that’s excitement for a vacation or distress over the logistics of travel, our pets experience stressors when they are away from home as well. Being around new people, new sounds and new smells can be incredibly stimulating for some pets and can increase stress response within their body.

Stress in pets while boarding can express itself in changes in behavior and sometimes in systemic signs, such as decreased or absent appetite, loose stool, bloody stool, or even watery diarrhea. At Orchid Island Dog Spa, our veterinary training allows us to identify these changes in normal bodily function and perform low level interventions before they can develop into more serious illness.

Whenever one of the above signs are observed, our staff will call with an update and any recommendations. However, if we are unable to make positive contact prior to the next feeding, we will begin interventions to prevent worsening of condition while attempting to get in touch. Below are some of the interventions that we use:

Hills Science Diet I/D Low Fat
●  Highly palatable nutrition to replenish lost nutrients
●  Works quickly to promote healthy stool and help improve digestion
●  Helps restore energy level & promotes a healthy immune system
●  Highly digestible formula to support easy nutrient absorption
●  Made with Hill’s proprietary ActivBiome+ Technology to rapidly activate the gut microbiome
●  Unique prebiotic blend to fuel activity of beneficial gut bacteria
●  High in electrolytes & B vitamins
●  Clinically proven antioxidants
●  Has added Omega 3 & 6 fatty acids

Proviable Forte
●  Helps support healthy intestinal balance in dogs
●  Kaolin and pectin help firm loose stools by coating and soothing the GI tract
●  Tasty paste is administered by mouth and capsules can be easily sprinkled over food
●  Contains prebiotics to encourage the growth of beneficial Proviable® probiotics in the gut
●  Available Exclusively From Veterinarians

ProBioWrap
● Should your pet require medications but be unwilling to take them for our staff
● ProBioWrap will be used to entice them to take medications without forceful administration.
● A convenient peanut butter pill wrap paste to take the pain out of pilling pets. Contains a proprietary strain of probiotics: 100 million CFUs* per 2 gram dose that become activated only after oral administration. ProbioWrap is microencapsulated and can survive in an acidic gastric environment.

Elizabethan Collar (E-Collar)
●  Used in cases of illness or injury where the pet must be prevented from inflicting self-harm from scratching, licking, grooming etc.
●  Prevents introduction of bacteria to scratches and “hot spots” from licking at the area
●  Prevents reopening of small wounds or allows proper healing of surgical sites
●  Prevents self-mutilation due to itching/scratching

Chlorhexidine Flush
●  Powerful disinfectant flush that is safe to use on skin/fur
●  Same active ingredient that is used to sterilize surgical fields
●  Used on minor cuts, scrapes, or bites/scratches