What will my veterinarian check during a wellness examination?
During a routine wellness examination, your veterinarian will ask you questions about your dogs diet, exercise, thirst, breathing, behavior, habits, elimination patterns (i.e., bowel movements and urination), lifestyle, and general health. Your veterinarian will also perform a physical examination of your dog. Based on your pets history and physical examination, your veterinarian will then make recommendations for specific preventive medicine treatments such as vaccination, parasite control (including preventive treatments for fleas, ticks, intestinal parasites, and heartworm), nutrition, skin and coat care, joint health, weight management, or dental care. In addition, your veterinarian will discuss your dogs individual circumstances and decide whether any other life-stage or lifestyle recommendations would be appropriate.
What is a wellness examination?
A wellness examination is a routine medical examination of a dog who appears healthy, as opposed to an examination of a dog who is ill. A wellness examination may also be called a check-up or a physical examination. The focus of a wellness examination is the maintenance of optimal health.
Campbell also says a hydration check—where you test the skin on their neck for elasticity—is an important step as well as you work toward your dogs tail. Next, check your pups nails, tail, and rear end, feeling for lumps and any new bumps or sores along the way. Finally, while it may seem a little gross to pay such close attention to your pups number twos, Campbell says that checking your dogs, erm, deposits, is another part of the home checkup thats an important indicator of health. He says to look for “the three Cs” when examining your dogs poop: compact, color, and consistency.
Since our pets cant communicate in our language, board certified veterinary surgeon Courtney Campbell highly recommends conducting regular at-home health checkups for your pet. This helps you get to know your best pet friends body better—and more importantly, helps you have a baseline for comparison when you think something might be up. Overall, its always good to have the basics of pet care down—it can help your pet live his best life, while possibly saving you money in the long term!
At-home health checkups are best done on a monthly basis, but if your dog is on the older side, more frequently might be needed. And as always, if something seems out of the ordinary, consult with your vet for a professional diagnosis.
Campbell says pet parents should start the checkup with their dogs nose, and continue to the eyes, ears, mouth, and skin. Look for anything out of the ordinary, like cloudy spots on their eyes, or spots on their teeth or gums that appear injured. And if your pup is usually tolerant of something like looking into their mouth or feeling their teeth, and suddenly isnt—that may be an indicator that something is awry in your dogs mouth.
How do I examine my dogs eyes?
Since our pets cant communicate in our language, board certified veterinary surgeon Courtney Campbell highly recommends conducting regular at-home health checkups for your pet. This helps you get to know your best pet friends body better—and more importantly, helps you have a baseline for comparison when you think something might be up. Overall, its always good to have the basics of pet care down—it can help your pet live his best life, while possibly saving you money in the long term!
Campbell says pet parents should start the checkup with their dogs nose, and continue to the eyes, ears, mouth, and skin. Look for anything out of the ordinary, like cloudy spots on their eyes, or spots on their teeth or gums that appear injured. And if your pup is usually tolerant of something like looking into their mouth or feeling their teeth, and suddenly isnt—that may be an indicator that something is awry in your dogs mouth.
Campbell also says a hydration check—where you test the skin on their neck for elasticity—is an important step as well as you work toward your dogs tail. Next, check your pups nails, tail, and rear end, feeling for lumps and any new bumps or sores along the way. Finally, while it may seem a little gross to pay such close attention to your pups number twos, Campbell says that checking your dogs, erm, deposits, is another part of the home checkup thats an important indicator of health. He says to look for “the three Cs” when examining your dogs poop: compact, color, and consistency.
At-home health checkups are best done on a monthly basis, but if your dog is on the older side, more frequently might be needed. And as always, if something seems out of the ordinary, consult with your vet for a professional diagnosis.