Annual Exam
One calendar year is equivalent to five to seven years in a pet’s life. An annual exam is often the one opportunity we have all year to ensure that they continue to live a healthy life. Annual physical exams help us build a medical history of your pet which can be life saving should an emergency or sudden illness occur. These annual exams also help us identify and catch any changes to your pet’s overall general health early enough to make a difference in controlling any illness or condition. As part of an annual physical exam, we examine your pet from the tip of their nose to the tip of their tail. Some of the things we do include:
- Checking for significant weight loss or gain, which can be an early warning sign of disease. We will also evaluate your pet’s diet and nutritional needs.
- Performing a rectal exam to check for abnormalities and analyze a stool sample.
- Assessing the condition of legs, hips, joints and spine.
- Assessing the hair and coat to ensure that it appears healthy and well groomed. Dull, dry, brittle hair or hair loss may indicate an underlying illness. Checking skin for infection or signs of external parasites.
- Palpating the abdomen for abnormal masses or pain.
- Listening to the chest for heart murmurs, irregular heartbeat and abnormal lung sounds.
- Examining eyes for cataracts, glaucoma or inflammation
- Examining ears for ear mites, infection or inflammation
- Evaluating nose and nasal passages for signs of upper respiratory disease.
- Evaluating your pet’s teeth and check color and condition of the gums, checking for periodontal disease.
- Palpating lymph nodes to check for inflammation or tumors.
- Checking for heartworm and other parasites.
This is also our client’s opportunity to ask questions about their pet’s overall well being, behavior and quality of life without needing to pick up the phone.
During this visit we will ensure that your pet is appropriately immunized, and we will test for and treat any intestinal parasites such as tapeworms and roundworms or external parasites such as fleas and ticks.