5 Reasons Your Pet Should Have Regular Veterinary Checkups

Taking your pet to the vet once a year (or every 6 months), also known as a 'wellness visit,' can prevent your pet from getting sick and teach you more about your furry friend.

The smart thing is to see the vet before your pet feels bad or gets hurt, which is called preventive care. Let's look at 5 reasons why regular check-ups for your pet are a good idea.

1.    Pets Can’t Speak & Tell Problems

Cats and dogs are good at acting tough and hiding when they feel bad. By the time you see something's wrong, it's often because they're hurting, and they can't hide it anymore.

2.    Vets are Experts in Figuring Out Problems

Veterinarians are experts at noticing small signs that might show a problem or sickness. When your pet has regular check-ups, the vet can catch tiny clues like changes in breathing, heart rate, eyes, or small swellings.

These signs could mean anything from tummy problems or issues with the kidneys to pain, cancer, and other things.

What Veterinarians Look for During Physical Examination

-          Eyes

Checking the eyes can reveal problems like glaucoma, high blood pressure, certain cancers, fungal infections, and how well your pet's nervous system is doing.

-          Ears

Examining the ears helps catch and prevent infections and other problems before they become serious.

-          Mouth

Bad breath might mean your pet has dental issues, an oral tumor, a lung problem, or even undiagnosed diabetes.

-          Neck

By checking for swollen lymph nodes, you can rule out problems from infections to cancer.

-          Chest

Listening to heart murmurs and checking the rhythm can give important hints about circulatory health, as well as conditions related to blood, hormones, and more.

-          Abdomen

The vet can check the abdomen, which has many vital organs, for pain or swelling.

-          Overall Health

Your vet will also check if your pet's joints are working well if they're the right weight, and how their overall health is doing.

3.    Regular Check-Ups and Tests Can Prevent Your Pet from Pain, Suffering, and Disease

Your vet is setting a normal level for your pet during a wellness check-up. Seeing your pet often when they're healthy makes it easier to find out what's wrong when they're sick. Early detection through blood, urine, and stool tests can help find and treat issues before they get serious. Some common issues include:

-          Diabetes

Regular blood and urine tests, which might be part of your pet's wellness check-up, can catch diabetes and show if your pet might get it.

-          Hyperthyroidism

Making too much thyroid hormone can hurt your pet's heart, kidneys, and eyes. Blood tests can show high thyroid levels and trends that might mean a problem is coming.

-          Anemia

It's good to find a low red blood cell count early because it could mean a bunch of problems, like toxins, tumors, infections, or kidney issues.

-          Heartworms

Mosquitoes spread these parasites, and early detection through blood tests can help dogs feel better. Unfortunately, there's no safe treatment for heartworms in cats, so it's important to use a regular preventative for your pet from the beginning.

4.    Wellness Check-Ups Can Help You Save Money

Finding and treating illnesses or diseases early can save you lots of money on emergency and long-term medical bills.

For instance, catching diabetes early can stop an emergency like diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA), which can be expensive to treat. Many other conditions, such as Addison's disease, hyperthyroidism, gum disease, and even obesity are less costly to treat if found and treated early.

5.    Wellness Check-Ups Are Your Q&A Sessions

During wellness check-ups, you have the perfect chance to ask your vet and the vet tech any questions you have. Having a good relationship with your vet means you can get answers to questions that pop up between visits.

But if you only see the vet during emergencies, there's often not enough time (or a known medical history) to get answers to other questions you might have.

If you are from Regina or around, you can visit Northgate Animal Hospital for a professional checkup and treatment of your pet.


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