Why does my pet need an annual physical exam?

After your pet's first year of age has passed, he or she is already the human equivalent of a 24 year old! Each subsequent calendar year that passes is on average, about four years physiologically for your pet. That's why there can be significant physical changes in your pet's health from year to year.

We believe as your pet's doctors, a thorough annual physical exam is central to the preventive health care we can provide for your pets as they move from youth to maturity. It is important to take time to examine your pet's heart, lungs, eyes, ears, nose, throat, skin, coat, musculoskeletal, gastrointestinal, urogenital systems. During the exam the veterinarian may also address your concerns about nutrition, behavior or other pet health care issues.

Early recognition of potential health problems can go a long ways towards improving and extending the quality of life your pet will enjoy. The past few years have brought significant advances in diagnostic and treatment procedures along with new medicines and improved nutrition to better address the changing health needs of your pets.

As your pet's doctors, we do recommend appropriate vaccinations to immunize and protect your pet from serious, contagious diseases but, they are only a part of the complete preventive health care your pet deserves. Prior to administering any vaccination, we want to establish that your pet is healthy. A sick animal will be further stressed when exposed to a vaccination (an injection which is intended to generate an immune response). This increased stress often makes the animal more sick, causing discomfort and sometimes life-threatening complications. Animals that are not healthy may not mount effective immune responses to the vaccinations, diminishing the value of the vaccines. This is especially important for rabies vaccination, as the first vaccination is typically not followed by a booster shot for one year. Additionally, when using rabies vaccinations that are licensed for three years, declining immunity over time can render your pet (and your family, since unvaccinated pets can expose people to rabies) unprotected near the end of the vaccination period. Often, a thorough physical exam allows us to detect health problems before they become threatening to the health and comfort of your pet. We can find (and treat) disease such as: dental disease, including tooth decay, gingivitis, and tarter buildup, benign and malignant cancers, including mammary tumors, skin masses, and abdominal tumors, ear infections and heart disease. Early detection is the key to successfully treating and/or curing many of these ailments.