October is National Pet Wellness Month! Pet wellness includes a lot of things and a good relationship with a local veterinarian to support your efforts in keeping your pet happy and healthy is essential. Wellness means not only access to fresh water, a high quality diet, routine appropriate exercise, lots of love and affection, year-round heartworm & parasite prevention, but also routine veterinary visits. At these visits, not only should your pet get a comprehensive physical exam, lifestyle appropriate vaccinations, and if possible, preventive labwork but topics such as diet and weight management, parasite prevention, behavior concerns, and dental health can all be covered. We’ll break down each topic below.
The Physical Exam: Pets don’t talk, and actually, instinctually they try & hide when health issues do arise. This makes a physical exam by an experienced veterinarian an essential part of your pet’s wellness plan. The exam should cover not only your pet’s eyes, ears, mouth, skin, abdomen, chest auscultation, abdominal palpation, assessment of general cognition and mobility and more – basically a nose to tail evaluation! Puppies and kittens are typically seen more frequently (as often as every few weeks), then once your pet reaches adulthood routine visits decrease to once yearly, but then increase to every 6 months as your pet reaches its senior years, which is around 6-7 years of age.
Lifestyle Appropriate Vaccines: Vaccines can be broken into core (those all pets of that species should get) and non-core (only pets with a certain lifestyle who might be at risk of exposure) vaccines. In dogs, core vaccines are rabies, distemper, parvo, hepatitis, parainfluenza and leptospirosis. (Oftentimes, distemper, parvo, hepatitis, parainfluenza & possibly lepto are combined.) Lifestyle vaccinations include bordetella, influenza and lyme. In cats, core vaccines include rabies, feline viral rhinotracheitis, calicivirus & panleukopenia (oftentimes combined into an “fvrcp” vaccine). Ideally, kittens should be vaccinated against feline leukemia, but then this vaccine is considered a lifestyle vaccine.
Preventive Lab Work: We recommend, as does the Centers for Disease Control, that cats and dogs have a fecal sample analyzed routinely (at least once a year) to ensure the pet is free from parasites as some can be passed on to people. (This includes roundworms and hookworms, most commonly.) Puppies and kittens, both prone to intestinal parasites, should have a fecal sample checked more frequently to ensure the pet is not infected. Dogs, who are most susceptible to heartworms, should also have a heartworm test yearly, even if they are on a preventative as recommended by the American Heartworm Association. Why? No heartworm preventive is 100% effective. Not to mention, for dogs on an oral product, vomit happens! Who’s to say a dog doesn’t go outside & throw up the oral preventive they were given, or that we as owners aren’t a day or two (or more) late giving that monthly medication. Ideally, once a pet reaches adulthood, we can also look at some basic blood values to check for tick-borne diseases, kidney disease, liver disease and more. As the pet ages, more extensive labwork is often recommended. This lab work can establish a normal baseline for your pet, or be an early indicator of disease. The earlier disease is detected, the quicker it can be addressed.
Diet & Weight Management: 59% of dogs and 61% of cats are obese or overweight. What does this mean? It can mean a decreased lifespan or increased susceptibility to other diseases or debilitating conditions. Working with your vet to ensure your pet is at a healthy weight is important!
Parasite Prevention: Fleas and ticks are beyond nuisances! Besides the “yuck” factor, your poor pet’s blood is being eaten by these pesky bugs, during which they can transmit disease and cause itchiness or even allergies. Keeping your pet on a monthly preventative year-round, including a heartworm preventative, is highly recommended.
Dental Health: By the time a dog is 3 years old, 80-90% of them have signs of periodontal disease, and by the time cats are 2 years old, 70% of them have signs. Detecting dental disease early and hopefully addressing it makes it more likely that the pet will either be cured (with very low grade disease) or pain & inflammation addressed (as well as the bad breath!). Getting into the habit of brushing your pet’s teeth at least a few times a week from an early age will make a significant positive impact!
Behavior: If your pet is having behavior issues, discussing with your veterinarian is crucial. Not only can he or she rule out any medical concerns, but they can also recommend intervention (trainer, behaviorist) and/or provide prescription support if needed.
Of course, you’ll still want to give your pet all the love and affection you can, but as you can see, regular veterinary appointments are incredibly important for your pet’s overall wellness. Check out the following handouts which provide a framework for the routine wellness care your pet will need throughout its lifetime.
