It is crucial to help your pet maintain long-term physical health by taking it in for regular check-ups. When paired with regular feeding, vaccines, and parasite control, these check-ups ensure that your pet has the greatest possible chance of living a long and healthy life. If you take your dog or cat in for check-ups regularly, we can either avoid potential health issues or catch them while they are still easily treatable.
Physical Check-up
When you take Fido to the vet, they’ll look over his or her medical records and ask if there’s anything in particular that’s worrying you about your furry pal’s well-being.
A veterinarian will begin a full physical examination by assessing your pet’s body condition through weight, posture, and gait measurements. In addition, owners can check for indicators of lameness, such as decreased mobility and obvious pain, in their dog or cat.
All these check-ups are preventative measures against unforeseen health issues with your pet. Since our canine and feline friends cannot verbally express their discomfort, these examinations can help us understand how your companion feels and determine if they need an internal medicine specialist.
Vaccine Updates
Vaccinations safeguard your pet from contagious infections that could otherwise prove lethal. Your pet’s vaccination schedule will be determined by your vet during a dog or cat routine exam and will vary depending on where you live and the activities your cat or dog participates in.
While dogs and cats are recommended to get basic vaccinations, lifestyle vaccines are normally only given to pets with frequent contact with animals from other households. You can learn more about the immunizations they advise by reviewing their vaccination and parasite prevention programs.
Maintenance of disease resistance in adult pets will require monthly booster doses. Often, boosters need to be applied every year or every three years. When it is the moment to give your cat or dog a booster dose of vaccines, your vet will let you know.
Preventing Parasitic Diseases
Dogs are extremely susceptible to parasites, which can result in a broad range of symptoms and even death. Ticks and mosquitoes, for example, can carry bacteria or parasites that can cause serious infections; as a result, your vet may recommend measures to keep these pests from latching on to your furry friend. It’s also important to know that you and your loved ones have a link to contracting these parasites.
When a fecal exam is needed to check intestinal parasites, they may ask you to bring in a sample of your pet’s feces for testing. Parasites that can be hiding in your pet’s digestive tract can be easily identified with a fecal test.
The annual check-up for your pet could include a test for heartworms. Your veterinarian can check for the earliest signs of heartworm disease in your pet’s blood using this test. Pets infected with this fatal parasite should be tested for it as soon as possible, so that treatment may begin as soon as possible after the infection is discovered.
Fleas, heartworm, Lyme disease, ehrlichiosis, anaplasmosis, babesiosis, tapeworms, hookworms, roundworms, and whipworms are all preventable with parasite prevention for your dog or cat.
Conclusion
Thus, you now know what will be covered at your pet’s yearly check-up. If you have questions regarding your pet’s health, including what they should eat or how often they should have their teeth brushed, now is the time to consult your vet. Be bold about asking to see the same vet year after year, too. That expert will get to know you and your pet, and the two of you will form a close friendship. Again, this allows them to see yearly changes that can be the first sign of a problem that needs further investigation and treatment.
