Wellness Exams
The Importance of Wellness Exams
A wellness exam, which may also be called a "check-up" or "physical exam" is a routine medical examination of a pet that is apparently healthy, as opposed to and exam of a pet that is ill or injured. Wellness exams are a critical component of preventive medicine. The goal is to find and treat diseases BEFORE they become serious.
How often should my pet have a wellness exam?
This can vary depending on your pet's age, breed, lifestyle and illness history. Generally, younger animals (less than 8 years of age) need annual exams. Older pets (over 8 year of age) may benefit from exams every 6 months. Pets with potentially serious diseases may need more frequent exams and lab testing. It is important to remember that pets age at a faster rate than humans. Large breed dogs age relatively more quickly than slmall breed dogs. The following chart provides an analogy between "human" years and "cat/dog" years:
So even though you may only be bringing your pet in once a year for an exam, t;he pet will have aged anywhere from 4 to 7 equivalent human years during that time!
What to expect during your pet's wellness exam.
First, and perhaps foremost, a wellness exam gives us the opportunity to talk with you concerning your pet's unique lifestyle. By understanding your pet's day to day routines and interactions, we can better tailor his/her health care to address those needs. For example, a dog that competes in agility, pulls sleds, jogs with its owner, or performs some other athletic function will have different health needs than more sedentary animals. By getting to know what your pet eats, where it travels , what its "job" is, what other pets it lives with, and the like, we can make recommendations designed to help your pet live a long and healthy life. The wellness exam is also a great time to make a list of questions you may want to discuss with the vet.
We will take your pet's temperatiure, pulse, respiration rate, and body weight. If your pet has gained weight since his last exam, we can work with you to deveolop anappropriate dieat and exercise plan to return your pet to a healthier weight. If your pet has lost weight since his last physical exam, he may be experiencing the early stages of metabolic disease, such as kidney disease or diabetes, and we may suggest further tests to help diagnose such diseases.
We will closely examine your pet's ears to make sure they are healthy. Your pet's ear canals protect his inner ear, but can also become a home for bacterial/yeast overgrowth, parasites, or foreign objects. The importance of regular ear cleaning and effective ear clieaning techniques will be discussed.
Observation of the inner structures and outward appearances of the eyes will be included in an eye examination. Eye examinations can reveal many health issues, including anemia, infections, glaucoma, catarats, high blood pressure, liver issues, kidney problems, and allergies, in addition to eye injuries and ulcers.
We will inspect your pet's gums, teeth, tongue and palate for tartar buildup, dental abnormalities, fratues, loose teeth, tumors, infection and other problems. Bad breat NOT NORMAL in dogs and cats! Maintaining dental health is a critical component of your pet's overall well beign, and through a wellness exam we can determine if a thorough dental cleaning is warranted, as well as provide guidance on maintaining health teeth and gums in your pet.
By listening to your pet's heart and lungs, we can assess for early signs of heart and respiratory disease.
It is vitally important that intact pets (those that have not been spayed or neutered) be checked regularly for health issues that can affect the reporductive organs. By checking your pet's reproductive system for swellings, discharges, and breast lumps, we can monitor the potential for issues such as brest caner, testicular cancer, and pyometra (infection of the uterus).
Your pet's skin is his largest organ and a good gauge ofhis/her health. WE will check the skin for parasite, growths, wounds, infection, allergic reactions, warts, abnormal hair loss, or any other abnormalities that can be indicative of not only skin conditions, but metabolic issues as well.
We will feel your pet's abdomen for abnormalities, including enlarged organs, masses or painful areas, to detect problems with the stomach, intestines, kidneys, liver and other organs. WE also examine your pet's legs and feet and the condition of your pet's joints, muscles, lymph nodes and nose.
Vaccinations are one of the most important preventive measures you can take for the health of you pet. We will make vaccination recommendations by looking at your pet's history and combining this with the latest scientific information on pt vaccination protocols.
Routine blood testing, urinalysis (urine testing) and other tests are recommended for all pets in the "senior years" - generally 8 years or older. These tests not only allow us to estgablish baselines for your pet (your pe's unique normal values) but can also serve to alert us to changes that may signal poetential problems prior to actually seeing clinical signs of problems in your pet. Problems that are caught early are often easier and less expensive to treat than when the pet is already ill.
http://www.idexx.com/pubwebresources/pdf/en_us/smallanimal/diagnosticedge/blood-work-and-your-pet.pdf
In younger pets, we may recommend blood testing to establish a "healthy" baseline that can be used a s comparison as pets age. And certainly every pet should have pre-anesthetic blood screening before any general anesthesia procedure.
Fecal parasites - round worms, whipworms, tapeworms, giardia, etc. - can infect dogs and cats of any age, not just puppies. It is recommended that a fecal test be run on your pet at least once a year. Testing for fecal parasites can be done best with a fresh fecal sample - preferably one that has been collected the same day you are bringin your pet in for his exam. Not only are parasites significant to your pet but there are some that can infest humans as well.
As part of the wellness exam, we will want to know a complete health history of your pet since we last saw him/her. Be sure to mention if you've seen any of the following in your pet:
A wellness exam, which may also be called a "check-up" or "physical exam" is a routine medical examination of a pet that is apparently healthy, as opposed to and exam of a pet that is ill or injured. Wellness exams are a critical component of preventive medicine. The goal is to find and treat diseases BEFORE they become serious.
How often should my pet have a wellness exam?
This can vary depending on your pet's age, breed, lifestyle and illness history. Generally, younger animals (less than 8 years of age) need annual exams. Older pets (over 8 year of age) may benefit from exams every 6 months. Pets with potentially serious diseases may need more frequent exams and lab testing. It is important to remember that pets age at a faster rate than humans. Large breed dogs age relatively more quickly than slmall breed dogs. The following chart provides an analogy between "human" years and "cat/dog" years:
So even though you may only be bringing your pet in once a year for an exam, t;he pet will have aged anywhere from 4 to 7 equivalent human years during that time!
What to expect during your pet's wellness exam.
First, and perhaps foremost, a wellness exam gives us the opportunity to talk with you concerning your pet's unique lifestyle. By understanding your pet's day to day routines and interactions, we can better tailor his/her health care to address those needs. For example, a dog that competes in agility, pulls sleds, jogs with its owner, or performs some other athletic function will have different health needs than more sedentary animals. By getting to know what your pet eats, where it travels , what its "job" is, what other pets it lives with, and the like, we can make recommendations designed to help your pet live a long and healthy life. The wellness exam is also a great time to make a list of questions you may want to discuss with the vet.
We will take your pet's temperatiure, pulse, respiration rate, and body weight. If your pet has gained weight since his last exam, we can work with you to deveolop anappropriate dieat and exercise plan to return your pet to a healthier weight. If your pet has lost weight since his last physical exam, he may be experiencing the early stages of metabolic disease, such as kidney disease or diabetes, and we may suggest further tests to help diagnose such diseases.
We will closely examine your pet's ears to make sure they are healthy. Your pet's ear canals protect his inner ear, but can also become a home for bacterial/yeast overgrowth, parasites, or foreign objects. The importance of regular ear cleaning and effective ear clieaning techniques will be discussed.
Observation of the inner structures and outward appearances of the eyes will be included in an eye examination. Eye examinations can reveal many health issues, including anemia, infections, glaucoma, catarats, high blood pressure, liver issues, kidney problems, and allergies, in addition to eye injuries and ulcers.
We will inspect your pet's gums, teeth, tongue and palate for tartar buildup, dental abnormalities, fratues, loose teeth, tumors, infection and other problems. Bad breat NOT NORMAL in dogs and cats! Maintaining dental health is a critical component of your pet's overall well beign, and through a wellness exam we can determine if a thorough dental cleaning is warranted, as well as provide guidance on maintaining health teeth and gums in your pet.
By listening to your pet's heart and lungs, we can assess for early signs of heart and respiratory disease.
It is vitally important that intact pets (those that have not been spayed or neutered) be checked regularly for health issues that can affect the reporductive organs. By checking your pet's reproductive system for swellings, discharges, and breast lumps, we can monitor the potential for issues such as brest caner, testicular cancer, and pyometra (infection of the uterus).
Your pet's skin is his largest organ and a good gauge ofhis/her health. WE will check the skin for parasite, growths, wounds, infection, allergic reactions, warts, abnormal hair loss, or any other abnormalities that can be indicative of not only skin conditions, but metabolic issues as well.
We will feel your pet's abdomen for abnormalities, including enlarged organs, masses or painful areas, to detect problems with the stomach, intestines, kidneys, liver and other organs. WE also examine your pet's legs and feet and the condition of your pet's joints, muscles, lymph nodes and nose.
Vaccinations are one of the most important preventive measures you can take for the health of you pet. We will make vaccination recommendations by looking at your pet's history and combining this with the latest scientific information on pt vaccination protocols.
Routine blood testing, urinalysis (urine testing) and other tests are recommended for all pets in the "senior years" - generally 8 years or older. These tests not only allow us to estgablish baselines for your pet (your pe's unique normal values) but can also serve to alert us to changes that may signal poetential problems prior to actually seeing clinical signs of problems in your pet. Problems that are caught early are often easier and less expensive to treat than when the pet is already ill.
http://www.idexx.com/pubwebresources/pdf/en_us/smallanimal/diagnosticedge/blood-work-and-your-pet.pdf
In younger pets, we may recommend blood testing to establish a "healthy" baseline that can be used a s comparison as pets age. And certainly every pet should have pre-anesthetic blood screening before any general anesthesia procedure.
Fecal parasites - round worms, whipworms, tapeworms, giardia, etc. - can infect dogs and cats of any age, not just puppies. It is recommended that a fecal test be run on your pet at least once a year. Testing for fecal parasites can be done best with a fresh fecal sample - preferably one that has been collected the same day you are bringin your pet in for his exam. Not only are parasites significant to your pet but there are some that can infest humans as well.
As part of the wellness exam, we will want to know a complete health history of your pet since we last saw him/her. Be sure to mention if you've seen any of the following in your pet:
- Coughing, sneezing
- Diarrhea
- Vomiting
- Eating more or less than usual
- Excessive drinking of water, panting, scratching or urination
- Weight gain or weight loss
- Trouble getting up in the morning, soreness after exercise, an unusual gait
- Any trouble urinatin or defecatn
- Any signs of weakness or unbalance
- An unwillingness to exercise or a noticeable decrease in activity level.
- What type of food does your pet eat, how much, and how often?
- What type of snacks does your pet get, how much, and ho often/
- Is your pet currently getting any medication or supplements?
- Does your pet ever travel out of state? Go hunting/swimming?
- Does your pet interact with other pets, go to daycare or boarding?