Importance of Yearly Exams: Your Pet Can't Tell You What Hurts

Dont let your Pet suffer in silence...may owners dont notice simple problems that are very painful for pets.  So make sure your pet has been examined this year!

Each year more and more veterinarians are seeing a dramatic decrease in the number of clients who bring their pet in for yearly exams.  This has resulted in more pets being seen on emergency visit for preventable and curable diseases that could have been caught earlier if a yearly exam was done.  Every pet despite their age needs to have their eyes and ears examined,  their heart and lungs listened too, their teeth evaluated for disease, their abdomen checked, their skin looked over, their joints manipulated, their stool checked for parasites and overall bloodwork evaluated.  In total every pet needs to be looked over from nose to tail at least once a year and sometimes twice a year especially for elderly pets.  Without being examined simple problems become big issues that threaten the life of your pet. 

One of the big reasons owners have stopped visiting their veterinarian is because they are no longer buying the flea and tick products at their local veterinary clinic.  However, this is a minor concern for your pet that can become a big issue if the right product is not given.  By not visiting the veterinarian clients are missing out on the critical step of what products they should be buying and how it should be applied.  As a result the number of pets with fleas, ticks, as well as intestinal parasites has steadily increased in the last couple of years.  Only when an infestation of fleas has resulted in a complete baldness of a patient, with severe secondary skin infection, and a house overrun with fleas do owners then make an appointment.  Veterinarians are then forced to play defense instead of getting those patients protected from the beginning and eliminating the need for antibiotics, steroids and professional treatment of the home.  Therefore, by visiting your veterinarian yearly you can have that imperative discussion about how to protect your beloved pet and your household from preventable infestations.

One of the big reasons yearly exams are so important in middle age to elderly patients is because this is when more chronic diseases start to develop.  As our pets get older yearly bloodwork because an integral part of catching disease early.  By catching a disease like diabetes, renal disease, or hyperthyroidism when it first develops patients can be started on treatments earlier which will prolong their life.  This also saves owners from a larger financial burden and stress because it prevents the inevitable middle of the night crash from a very developed disease that will results in a large cost with a lower probability of survival.  Therefore, pets that are middle age or elderly must have yearly exams with bloodwork to monitor changes and catch disease early.

So next time you see a yearly reminder from your local veterinarian telling you it’s time for fluffy’s annual exam do not brush it off.  Your pet needs to be examined every year.  This will help to keep your pet healthy and save you money in the long run!