Bringing your pet in for an annual diagnostic and 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.
During your pet’s wellness exam, we will perform a physical assessment, checking your dog or cat from nose to tail. We will also make sure your pet receives appropriate vaccinations and preventives. We will perform a diagnostic workup, which may include blood, faecal, and urine tests to check for parasites and underlying diseases. We may also recommend that your pet receive dental care.
When your pet is nearing his or her senior years, we will recommend a baseline exam and 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.
Whatever the reason for your visit, we will always strive to create a low-stress, safe environment for your pet. We use fear-free practices for both dogs and cats everyday to make your pet less anxious to visit with us. We encourage our clients to bring anything their pet may require to help make them more comfortable with us. This can include their favourite treats, their favourite toy or even giving us some tips on what Fluffy and Fido like.
We also recommend bringing your pet hungry to their appointments so that they are more responsive to treat giving, which will help your pet trust us faster.
In-clinic we love to use essential oils, toys, treats like peanut butter or cheese (please let us know if there are allergies to made aware of), use of towels for kitties and catnip, too! We may ask if it’s alright to use a Thundershirt for your pet while they are here with us for their appointment.
Call us today to schedule your pet’s exam! If you have any questions about our adult wellness program, please let us know.
