Learning More About Dog Wellness Exams at Bay City Veterinary Clinic & Equine Hospital
Dr. Shield, what is a dog wellness exam and why is it important?
A wellness exam is basically a physical exam. We're going to check your pet, your dog from head to toe, and try to find any abnormalities or anything wrong with your animal.
What does a dog wellness exam consist of and what will a veterinarian do to my dog during a wellness exam?
During a wellness exam, usually depending on the size of the dog, we'll set a small dog up on the table, and a larger dog will be examined on the ground. We check everything from nose to tail. We look at their eyes, teeth, ears, and skin. We use a stethoscope to listen to their heart and lungs to ensure we don't hear anything abnormal. We'll check all their muscles. Usually, we'll feel their skin and check for any bumps or lumps to see if we can find anything that's not supposed to be there.
How often should my dog have a wellness exam?
Good question. We typically recommend doing a wellness exam every year. These exams are usually done during their yearly vaccinations, so at least once a year.
What should I expect during a routine wellness exam for my dog?
You can expect us to conduct the physical exam we discussed, but if we find anything abnormal, we'll talk about it. A very common finding with dogs is really dirty teeth. They may have periodontal disease or possibly just calculus buildup on the teeth. We'll discuss what we need to do for that. If it's really advanced tartar disease, we might consider dental procedures or possibly extracting teeth. If it's mild, we might suggest brushing the teeth, using dental chews, or something similar to help with the tartar buildup. That's just a small example.
Other findings might include lumps on the skin. We may perform an aspirate, look under a microscope to determine if it's cancer or just a cyst. We can discuss different treatment options, whether that's surgery or just monitoring for now.
What happens if the veterinarian finds something abnormal during a dog wellness exam?
We just talked about that. We would discuss the abnormality and the plan of action to treat it. As mentioned, with dental issues, we may consider a dental procedure if the teeth are in poor condition. If we find a growth, we may discuss surgical removal or histopathology of that growth to determine what it is. It depends on what we find. We usually talk to the client and make a decision on the best course of action to address those abnormalities.
If you have questions, we would love to answer them for you. Please give us a call at the office at (979) 245-6364, or you can email us at [email protected]. Our staff would love to talk with you!
Don't forget to follow us on social media Facebook, Instagram.