Bringing your pet in for an annual wellness checkup can help reassure you that your dog or cat is healthy or help us detect hidden diseases or conditions early. Early detection can improve the prognosis of many diseases, keep medical costs down, and help your pet live longer. Many dogs and cats are good at hiding signs that something is wrong, so subtle changes in their health or behaviour might be easy to overlook. And, depending on the disease, some pets don’t show any symptoms.
Dogs and cats age quicker than humans, so it is even more crucial for our companion animals to receive regular exams. In addition, the risks of arthritis, cancer, diabetes, heart disease, hormone disorders, and kidney and liver problems all increase with age.
We will start each wellness exam by asking questions about how your pet is doing at home (for example, if there are changes to his or her routines). We will also check their weight, assess their body condition and perform a physical assessment, checking your dog or cat from nose to tail. Following your pet’s assessment, we will share our findings with you and discuss recommendations to keep them healthy. As needed, and with your consent, we may recommend performing a diagnostic workup, which might include blood, fecal, and urine tests to check for parasites and underlying diseases.
If we identify the need for dental care, we will raise this with you and discuss treatment options.
When your pet is nearing his or her senior years, we will recommend a baseline diagnostic workup so we’ll know what’s normal for your pet. This will enable us to keep track of any changes.
Please let us know if you’ve noticed any physical or behavioural changes in your pet, as well as any other concerns you might have. If you have any questions about care for your adult pet, please let us know.
