Wellness Exams and Care for Your Dog at All Creatures Animal Hospital in Granbury.
What does a veterinarian look for during a dog wellness exam?
Our dog wellness exams, similar to our human wellness exams when we go to the doctor, are generally about checking for any changes since the last time we saw the animal. One of the most important things we ask for is the history from the owner. Observations about what the dog's doing and how they're behaving at home really help us identify changes. In the exam room, we look at the dog: Are they bright, alert, moving appropriately? Do they look sick or underweight? Owners fill us in on their eating habits and behavior at home, and then we proceed to the exam. We examine everything from the nose to the tail, including the skin, ears, mouth, and any lumps or bumps. We check for arthritis and perform a complete, comprehensive exam. We use our hands to feel everything and a stethoscope to listen for changes in the heart, murmurs, or arrhythmias. We feel their pulses and lymph nodes and discuss these findings with the owner. Sometimes, our findings prompt the owner to recall additional details that might help us explore potential causes and options.
What do I need to bring to my wellness exam?
For our wellness exams, aside from the physical exam and history, which help us determine what's happening externally, it's also crucial to know what's going on internally with your pet. We recommend annual lab work, including a urinalysis and a fecal analysis. It's very helpful if an owner can bring urine and fecal samples. This is appreciated not only by us but by your dog as well because acquiring these samples ourselves can be invasive for them.
Are wellness exams optional for dogs?
Yes, wellness exams are optional. Of course, everything is optional, but we believe they are in the best interest of maintaining a happy, healthy dog. Extensive literature explains how preventative medicine and wellness exams help us identify issues earlier. Early identification and treatment of underlying diseases can significantly contribute to a dog's longer, happier life.
How long do dog wellness exams usually take?
At All Creatures, we like to spend ample time with both the owners and the pets. Generally, we allocate a 30-minute appointment slot for wellness exams, which usually last between 30 to 40 minutes. It typically takes about 15 minutes to discuss the dog's history with the owner and another 15 minutes for the physical exam and to discuss the findings. We may spend additional time addressing any issues that arise during the exam.
How do the baseline diagnostic tests help my dog?
we recommend a wellness lab panel, including a complete blood count (CBC) that examines red and white blood cells for our wellness exams. We also conduct a chemistry panel, usually an abbreviated wellness panel, to assess internal organs for any enzyme irregularities, indicating issues with the liver or kidneys. In our area, we also recommend annual heartworm tests, fecal analysis for gastrointestinal parasites, and urine analysis. These tests are generally suggested every year.
Do you have anything else to add about wellness exams?
In general, our wellness exams, along with preventative medicine such as heartworm prevention, are crucial for providing quality care and enhancing the longevity of our pets. An ounce of prevention contributes to a better quality of life. Although there is a cost upfront, early detection often saves owners money in the long run by catching issues sooner.
What You Need To Know About Dog Wellness
How does dog wellness impact the longevity of my pet?
Preventative care for our pets is similar to preventative care for ourselves, and ultimately, we hope and have been achieving a better quality of life for our dogs and cats, as well as increasing their longevity. Several studies show that our pets are living longer today than they were just a couple of decades ago. Back in the 50s and 60s, our dogs were only living five to eight years on average across the globe. Today, our dogs on average, are living closer to 11 or 12 years, so it's a significant longevity increase. The bigger and better picture of that is that this extra time we have with them is a better quality of time, as well.
How soon should I bring my pet in to see a veterinarian for a wellness exam?
Our dogs and cats have several stages throughout their life. You should get involved with a veterinarian as soon as possible. As soon as you bring that little furry friend home, we should figure out a veterinarian, bring them in to get their first wellness exam, and go over the recommendations. There are several recommendations from puppy and kittenhood that can get them started on the right paw, and then we can move forward. In general, after that, we should be doing at least once a year annual exam for them.
What are some of those recommendations that my vet is likely to make?
For preventative medicine and wellness care for our pets, as long as they're not sick, generally looking good, and acting normal, we generally want them to be on heartworm preventatives and flea and tick preventions. We do want to protect them from things that we can prevent, and that would be our vaccinations. Some of our vaccinations most people have heard of, like rabies, also has public health consequence to it. If our pets get rabies, we can also get it. Other vaccines help our pets avoid getting sick, such as distemper, parvo, and influenza virus. Even our dogs can get influenza. There are several things out there that we can help with.
Will my veterinarian recommend regular dental screenings?
Most likely they will. Dental health has become more of a prevalent education piece for us, for our pet owners. Over the last several years to decades, we've learned that dental health in our animals is actualily a more significant health concern and problem for them. Along with at-home care, such as regular dental brushing and giving dental chews, they should also have comprehensive oral exams and treatments to ensure that we don't have dental diseases that can then go affect other organs.
What is a geriatric dog screening?
For geriatric dogs, like all of us, we're more likely to get sick as we get older. Our geriatric screenings focus on the overall health of the dog, physical exam, and internal health. In general, our geriatric dogs need more comprehensive lab work to look at their internal organs a little closer and see if we're starting to have any issues with things like kidney or liver, thyroid, and similar concerns. Our goal is to catch it as soon as possible so we can intervene before it becomes a problem.
If there are any other questions, can people give us a call?
Yes! That would be fantastic. We're always happy to help. We're always here to educate and try to help people provide their pets with the best life possible. Quality of life and extension of life are super important to us. They're our family members. We also have several great blogs and helpful links on our website. You can visit our website and look at those as well. You can request an appointment online or call for an appointment. We're here to help and educate everybody.
How Can I Contribute to Dog Wellness At Home?
What can I do to provide my dog with the best nutrition possible?
So nutrition—some of this is a personal preference by the owners, some of it we can recommend. Ultimately, we want good quality food for our dogs. There are a lot of people out there who have a lot of thoughts about pet food versus cooking for our pets. There are many in-between products that are offered now by a lot of different companies. Ultimately, we want a pet food that agrees with your pet. We obviously don't want them having GI upset, no vomiting, no diarrhea. We shouldn't be seeing a lot of flatulence from them; we shouldn't be hearing their tummies rumble. And they should enjoy eating it as well. In general, a lot of the pet foods we see out there, whether it's dry food, kibble, wet food, or canned food, should have good quality protein. There shouldn't be a whole lot of fillers. And your dog should enjoy eating it. There are other products out there, things that are in the refrigerated section of many of our grocery stores. Those are becoming more common. One of the things that I would recommend staying away from unless we have a reason to feed it, are grain-free diets. Our grain-free diets have proven in recent years to exacerbate some cardiac diseases in our dogs. So unless we have a specific reason to use a grain-free diet, I recommend staying away. At home, you all know your dogs and cats better than us. You know your dog when they're acting like themselves, when they're happy when they're active. You know their activity level. You know how they act when they're happy. You know if they're just off a little bit. But in general, we look for a lack of interest in food when they're not feeling well. Most of our dogs and cats like to eat. So if all of a sudden they don't want to eat as much as usual, that may be a sign they don't feel well. Drinking water—if they're not drinking as much or they're drinking a lot more than usual, that could be a sign that we're having some problems. Other things could be hiding. If they're usually a social animal and they don't want to be with the family, maybe they don't feel good. Shivering, shaking could be things that look like they don't feel well. Certainly, if we're seeing vomiting or diarrhea, or if we see blood anywhere, or if they're very lethargic and just laying around, those could all be signs that we're having some issues that we need to look into.
How can I keep my dog from becoming overweight?
The recommendations are the same for them as it is for us: exercise and diet. Ultimately, the amount of calories they take in and the amount of calories they burn off are what keep their weight in check. If we've been feeding our dogs the same food and the same quantity of food, and they're not getting any new snacks or more snacks, and they're just as active as they always were, and they're gaining weight or losing weight, maybe something else is going on. We may need to look into that. Weight loss with no other changes could be a sign that they're not feeling well. Weight gain without any other changes might be a sign that something could be going on with them. So that is what we want to do: keep them active, feed them a normal amount of food, a caloric intake that maintains a proper weight for them.
Is there anything else you'd like to add about wellness at home?
You need to be aware of what's in the environment for them. Make sure that you don't have any toxins or medications that other people or animals in the household have. You want to make sure that they can't get into these things. There are several different plants out there, so be aware of the plants in and around the house that could be toxic to them. And if they are, remove them or make sure the animals can't get to them. And just in general, being aware. Be aware of your surroundings; be aware of your animals. Just enjoy them. And if something doesn't seem right, take a double look at them. And if they just don't seem right, get an appointment so they can be evaluated.
If you still have other questions and you'd like to reach out to us, you can call us directly at (817) 326-6262, or you can email us at [email protected]. But please do reach out, and we'll get back to you as fast as we can. Don't forget to follow us on social media Facebook, Instagram