A typical series of the most common questions I often get is, “Doc, how often does my pet need to go for a checkup? Especially since my pet is mostly indoors or around the house; is not exposed to many other pets or diseases, and eats and acts totally normal. Because of these tough economic times I’m facing, I need to know if all of these checkups are essential. Can’t I just bring my pet into the local township that offers free rabies vaccinations and isn’t that enough?
| The answer to most of these questions will of course vary depending upon the individual animal, in terms of its age, lifestyle, and risk of exposure to other animals and/or infectious diseases. Animal guardians often don’t realize that many people can act as what are called “fomites,” which means that we can carry infectious diseases into our pets; even those strictly inside or that stay in the yard. The best example of this is canine parvovirus, which can live in the soil for years and can survive in oral or fecal secretions that we may carry in on our shoes or clothing, especially if we handle other pets or go where pets are typically walked or may roam. |  |
Proper but not over vaccination can help prevent such infectious diseases. The frequency and type of vaccinations your pet will need will again be determined by your pet’s age, life style, and general state of health. We’re starting to learn that immunity to many core viruses in dogs and cats lasts for several years, making annual vaccination for many diseases un-necessary and overkill. However, it’s important for us as veterinarians to re-educate clients away from the need to only see the veterinarian just for shots when that time comes, and to stress the importance of an annual or semiannual physical exam in older pets. These exams may include a complete oral and physical exam, as well as blood work, urine testing and/or x-rays to detect early diseases seen as pets age.
Conditions like periodontal disease are seen in the majority of pets past middle age, and early heart, kidney or liver problems can be detected by a thorough exam and bloodwork, urine analysis, x-rays and EKGs if needed. As with people, middle age and older pets suffer from hormonal conditions of the thyroid gland as well as diabetes, which when detected early on, can be more easily managed. Annual microscopic stool exams can detect microscopic parasitic eggs that sometimes pose risks to humans, as well as annual blood testing for the mosquito-transmitted heartworm disease. Both tests should be completed to insure both your dog and cat aren’t harboring potentially dangerous worms.
Various flea and tick preventative products including Frontline Plus, Advantix, Advantage Multi, Program, Comfortis, Proticall, Promeris, and others can help you and your veterinarian come up with the right product or group of products to help protect your pet against fleas, ticks and other external parasites. The selection of the appropriate heartworm and intestinal worm preventative is also important to stay current on, including such products like Heartgard Plus, Interceptor, or Iverheart Plus, so that your pet remains protected against both heartworms and intestinal parasites.
Over time more and more vets are stressing earlier preventative dental programs using great products like C.E.T. Enzymatic Toothpaste or C.E.T. Rinse to help prevent tartar buildup, premature tooth loss, gum inflammation, and oral pain, as well as secondary infections elsewhere in the body that begin in the mouth. Even with regular dental preventative care, many pets will still need their teeth cleaned periodically with ultrasonic scaling, which is another reason to see your vet once to twice yearly. And as a perfect example of early detection, if an older pet is diagnosed with clinical symptoms related to early heart disease, newer and revolutionary prescription drugs like Vetmedin, have been shown to actually enhance survivability of dogs when used early on in the course of this disease.
All of these reasons are why your pets should have at least an annual exam, and semiannual exams for older pets. Most veterinarians are aware of the current economic stresses of modern times and will work with pet owners on which tests and products are necessary for their individual pets, based on their lifestyle and physical exam findings.
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