Consistent preventative care, including examinations and vaccines, can go a long way toward ensuring your pet enjoys a long and healthy life. The objective is to identify health issues in their earliest stages, when they may be more manageable. Therefore, regular checkups at the vet are recommended. Being proactive can help you avoid developing certain ailments or diseases in the first place.
When should you take your pet in for a checkup?
Acquiring a pet means being accountable for its well-being throughout its expected lifespan. Also necessary to pet ownership is ensuring regular visits to the animal hospital or vet clinic for examinations and treatment. However, when is the right time to take your pet to the veterinarian? In this article, we’ll examine the various age thresholds at which taking a pet to the vet is required.
Newborn
If you want to ensure your kitten or puppy is well-protected by immunizations, they need to see the veterinarian regularly when they are young. This initial set of pet vaccination is given every three to four weeks beginning at six to eight weeks of age and continuing until the pet is sixteen to twenty weeks old.
For the same reasons, veterinarians will recommend frequent examinations for your pet throughout its first year to ensure its organs are regularly developing, it is gaining weight properly, and its teeth and bones are growing normally. This is also the time when your veterinarian will administer the spay or neuter treatment and deworm your pet to remove any worms in the digestive system.
Adult years
When pets get to adult years, your veterinarian will highly recommend yearly checkups at the minimum. The goals of these consultations are to:
- Examine your pet’s physical condition carefully
- Give your pet booster shots to ensure it stays protected against dangerous diseases
- Provide suggestions for affordable pet vaccinations that can help protect your pet against health conditions to which it is distinctively at risk due to its environment, way of living, or other factors
- Keep your pet free of internal parasites, heartworms, and external parasites such as fleas and ticks
- Examine your pet’s oral cavity and tooth structure, and recommend any essential oral care
- Do an evaluation of your pet’s diet to ensure it’s appropriate for your pet’s breed, age, health, and lifestyle
- Raise any questions or concerns you have concerning your pet’s behavior
If you have an adult pet and want more information on the diagnostic tests they need to be healthy, you can visit this page.
Senior years
Animals, like people, have a greater need for medical attention as they age. This is why vets encourage exams for senior pets every six months instead of yearly. In addition to physical and any required vaccinations, senior pets may need additional health evaluations throughout their visit. The pet may have a series of diagnostic procedures, including an evaluation of its medical history and a physical examination, as well as a complete blood count and urine analysis to analyze its internal organ function.
When taking your senior pet in for a checkup, discuss any changes in your pet’s health or habits, so they may get the best treatment possible. On the other hand, if your senior pet is in dire need of surgery due to a serious health problem, it is crucial that you seek the expertise of a vet surgeon to ensure your pet’s safety.
Conclusion
No matter how old your precious pet is, you need to ensure they get regular health care to know they’re in good shape. Like our health, the best way to ensure your pet lives a long and healthy life is to keep them from getting ill. You can help your pet by consistently taking it to the vet for checkups. Because, after all, we intend to spend as much time as possible together appreciating life’s pleasures.