Daily inspection of the pet is quite an important and necessary routine for every pet owner. You need to examine your pet on a daily basis and pay attention to its mood. Regular and timely checkups are the key to your dog’s health and well-being. Even though you try to keep a regular eye on your Ponytail ‘s health , remember that you should also visit your veterinarian annually, or better yet, once every six months to identify potential problems and prevent disease. These annual check-ups will help you learn about a certain problem in the early stages, and timely diagnosis and prevention will eliminate such a problem before it becomes serious.
Overall assessment of your dog’s “vitality”
Most owners usually arrive at the veterinary clinic with their dog and with a specific problem already in mind. When the tail is bad, the wound is bleeding, if a limb is broken or a high temperature, it is then and with such specific “requests” that we get to the clinic with our pet . It is good that the owner turns to the veterinarian in time, but let’s remember what a “preventive examination” is, whether it is necessary and what role it plays in the life of the animal.
A dog preventive exam is a set of examinations and procedures that provide an opportunity for the veterinarian to detect minor changes in your dog’s overall physical health and prevent disease. Regular visits to the doctor play an important role in your pet’s health, because prevention is always better than cure. Preventive examinations are necessary to listen to the heart and lungs, check the condition of the ears, eyes and teeth, check the condition of the skin and coat, examine the body for tumors, ultrasounds will show whether the internal organs are fully normal and working well, and tests will timely detect inflammation in the body, infections and possible diseases. You will have the opportunity to take rapid tests, laboratory tests, all necessary primary and secondary examinations and the obligatory annual primary examination of a cardiologist and annual primary examination of a dermatologist.
How to prevent stress during and after a veterinarian exam
Every dog has its own character, all perceive differently a new place, a new train, new people and circumstances. Some animals will take to such a “new” with joy, excitement, because they are communicative, will run and jump. Others will have aggression, anger, it will be necessary to put on a “muzzle” so that such a dog did not hurt people. And the third – stress, fear and increased heartbeat. It is important for owners to remember, to help such problems and stress you need to plan everything in advance. It is important to purchase and have in the household “muzzle”, a strong strap for walking and a spare, in case the animal will run away from aggression and tear the previous one, a cage for transportation, toys to entertain the animal and necessarily treats. Walking in the city you can go to a veterinary pharmacy or clinic for 5 minutes to familiarize the animal with the smell, you can try to communicate with the doctor or nurse. An animal, which is already familiar with a person in a “white coat”, will take this situation more calmly the second or third time.
Examination of dogs’ feet
Although the dog’s paws seem strong and tough to us, in fact it is quite a sensitive part of the body. Cuts, lesions, wounds, and injuries on the paws will all jeopardize your pet’s overall health. If you notice that the paw is bleeding, or perhaps there is a cut or swelling there, these are alarming symptoms, as is excessive licking or chewing of the paw by your dog. Ticks usually cause demodecosis, which means swelling, hair loss and flaking. Swelling can also be a sign of a bacterial infection or solid foreign body in the paw. Wounded and broken nails are a great danger for the pet, because the nails are considered part of the foot and such an injury is very painful for dogs. Claws that grow too much into the pads are too painful for the animal, such a problem requires immediate contact with a veterinarian and surgical intervention. After surgical intervention, the doctor prescribes antibiotics and painkillers. Damaged skin on the paws and cracks, arise due to the fact that the dog’s body produces too much keratin.
Excessive keratin leads to flaking of the skin on your pet’s paw and infection. It is worth using antibiotics and topical ointments to alleviate hyperkeratosis. In fact, paws can be examined and washed with disinfectant solutions at home, but remember that after we noticed swelling and damage it is better to take the animal to the doctor. The doctor will diagnose the problem in time and choose the best treatment.
Skin and hair of the dog
To prevent skin and coat diseases in dogs, you need to take care of them regularly. Regular grooming is actually daily hygiene. An owner working at a job will unfortunately not be able to allocate that much time daily, but once a week will be fine too. Regular home combing of the coat will help to remove dead hair and dandruff, and will also improve blood circulation and skin condition. Bathing with shampoos for Fluffy is also a must, but not too often, because it will break the natural protective layer of the skin. So remember that regular hygiene is the key to a healthy coat and skin of the animal.
Mouth cavity
Inspection of the oral cavity in animals is important in the timely detection and prevention of diseases. What you should pay attention to when examining at home:
- The condition and color of the mucous membrane, in the norm it is pale pink;
- the condition of the teeth, the presence of plaque and the presence of stone on the teeth;
- condition of the gums and tongue;
- asymmetries, swellings, neoplasms.
The color of the mucosa can tell us a lot, such as pallor indicates anemia, shock, as well as dehydration. Redness and “brick” color – a sign of fright, shock and great stress. Jaundice indicates liver and bile duct disease. Unexpected asymmetries and swelling can occur as a consequence of getting into the gum foreign body. In this case, it is important to carefully consider the “mouth” of the animal, a foreign body can get stuck both between the teeth and under the tongue, but most often on the “upper palate”. Self-treatment in such a case will only hinder, so if such symptoms are detected, it is best to consult a veterinarian.
Eyes – Ears – Nose
Inspection of the eyes, ears and nose of the dog should be done regularly. When an animal is in plain sight on a daily basis, it seems impossible to miss anything. But unfortunately, this is not true. Early diagnosis can speed up the healing process and prevent serious complications. It is worth worrying when you began to observe head wobbling or scratching ears in Tails, changes in eye color, redness and lacrimation, runny nose or on the contrary dryness, if you notice pain or discomfort when eating or swallowing. It is worth paying attention to sneezing, coughing or “flowing” nasal discharge, as well as swelling and lumps in the neck area. All of the above symptoms of eye, ear and nose disease are causes for concern, so it is worthwhile to make a diagnosis in time and begin treatment of the disease.
So, remember that daily inspection of the Tail is mandatory. Such regular examinations at home will help in time to diagnose the symptoms that arise and develop. And timely treatment and will save and extend the years of life of your animal. It is clear that the number of visits to the veterinarian depends on the health of the pet, but the annual check-up is a recommendation of specialists, so it is worth listening to it.
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