Just like you get a regular check up with your doctor or routine physical (you do do that right?) your pets benefit from regular, routine checkups. This time on the Acoma Animal Clinic blog, we’re outlining what happens in a standard checkup!
Routine, Regular Wellness Exams
Checkups with your vet, also known as routine wellness exams, are the surest way to give your pet a long, healthy, and happy life. We’ve said it once, we’ve said it a million times – an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. That ounce of prevention is regular checkups that can catch problems before they get worse and health deteriorates. But what happens at a checkup that does this? What about a routine visit is so dang important?
What Happens in a Routine Wellness Exam
When you bring your pet into the clinic, your vet will review your pet’s history, any specific current needs, and then provide a physical exam which will cover the following:
- Checking your dogs vitals including heart, lungs, stance, weight, and gait
- Examining eyes for any discharge, redness, tearing or eyelid complications
- Examine ears for signs of ear mites, polyps, wax build-up or infections
- Examine their coat, the condition of the hair, any abnormal hair loss, dandruff, etc.
- Look at their skin for any lumps, bumps, parasites or other conditions
- Feel along the body for any physical evidence of an illness such as signs of pain, swelling, or lameness
- Feel their torso and examine for any signs of trouble with the internal organs
- Check the nails and beds of their paws for any excess damage, or injury
- Check their teeth for any decay, damage, or disease
Each of these examinations looks for any early sign of health problems your pet may be having. This is incredibly important, to have an experienced, knowledgable vet or vet tech performing the check up. Our pet’s can tell us what’s wrong, we can only go off the physical signs and behaviors that suggest such to us.
What Else Can I Do To Keep My Pet Healthy?
Stay On Top of Vaccinations
There are a number of different vaccines that your pet should always have up to date. These protect against particularly common, contagious, and deadly diseases. There are vaccines that should be given to all pets, called ‘core’ vaccines, and there others that are optional based on a few factors. Follow your vet’s recommendations! They know what vaccines are going to be needed based off where you live, and the necessities of you and your pet’s lifestyle.
Preventative Parasite Maintenance
One of the most common health problems posing pets are parasties. From heartword, ticks, mosquitos, you name it. They cause a number of different diseases and the best way to prevent these is to keep your pet defended in the first place. We’re talking about monthly heartworm medicine, staying on top of yard upkeep to prevent tick and mosquitos from having footholds on your property to then infect your pet and make them ill.
Something else terrible about parasites? They frequently can transmit from pets to people easier than you’d believe! So, instead of worrying about that, stay on top of your pets meds and parasite control!
With regular, preventative maintenance you can give your pet the longest, happiest life.
