Getting a new pet is very exciting. But, regardless of your pet’s age and health status, one of the first things you should do once collecting them is to book a visit to the local vets. Because of the recent, rapid increase in the number of pets within the United Kingdom, this may be more of a challenge than you’d think. So being proactive in the process is useful.
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Make sure you’re on the vets’ books!
First of all, you will need to register your personal details with the practice, as well as your pet’s details. These will include your name, address, telephone number, email address, as well as your pet’s name, age, breed and previous health records. You will need to call your local practice in order to register, rather than just walking in. Choose a veterinary practice close to your home that you trust. A place you could take your pet to easily in the case of an emergency.
The vet will do a full health check
A thorough health check will be performed by your veterinary surgeon. This will involve looking at your pet’s eyes, ears, skin, teeth, mucous membranes and body condition. Their heart and respiratory rate will be checked, and a thorough full body palpation will be performed. This allows your veterinary surgeon to feel for any obvious inflammation, asymmetry, lumps and bumps. Your vet will also look for any congenital abnormalities, especially if your pet is young. These are defects that your pet may be born with, such as umbilical hernias.
Checking your pet’s current health status is very important for two reasons. Firstly, legal. Because pets are purchased as products, if you have been mis-sold a pet as healthy, when it has underlying health conditions, you have certain protections in law. It is better to find this out before you become too emotionally attached to your pet. Underlying health conditions will also make it more difficult for your pet to be insured; and are likely to lead to more expensive vet bills as the pet gets older.
Secondly, because it is important to know sooner rather than later. Many of these conditions don’t cause problems immediately, but can do later. So knowing about it and being able to arrange treatment often means that it can be “fixed” before ever causing issues.
Everything your veterinary surgeon finds within their clinical exam will be recorded and stored; so the practice will always have a clinical history to look back over.
This is also a great time to talk about preventative health.
Your vet will assess your pet’s current vaccination status and when their vaccination is next due. We will discuss the different vaccines and decide upon the best vaccination protocol suited to your pet in order to provide the best immunity.
Flea and worming products will be prescribed, or at least discussed. You will need to think about whether you buy your parasitic control drugs from the vets or elsewhere. In order to get prescription products from the vets, your pet must have received a health check from the vets in the past 6-12 months, depending on the practice policy. The dosage is based on weight; meaning your pet will need to have an accurate, up to date weight reading in order for this medication to be administered.
If you choose to go elsewhere, that’s fine, but still talk to your vet. They are the experts in what parasites your pet is at risk from, and what the risk in your local area is. So they will be able to advise what are the priorities to control.
The neuter status of your pet will commonly be discussed. Different species of pets, even different breeds, are recommended to be neutered at different ages and times based on their hormones and growth. Neutering involves removing your pet’s reproductive organs, preventing them from producing unwanted offspring. Neutering has other benefits, such as preventing many diseases, although there are some downsides too. Fortunately, there is now lots of research regarding this topic which your vet will happily discuss with you, should you wish.
Is your dog little or large… compared to their ideal size?!
A weight check will be performed regardless of whether or not you are wanting flea and worming medication. Obesity is now one of the commonest canine and feline health problems seen in the UK, and is actually a form of malnutrition. However, we still see underweight animals as well, for a range of reasons. Moreover, a fluctuating body weight can be vital information that flags a pet becoming ill. This is because many diseases have weight change as a clinical sign. We can also assess the rate of weight change to ensure young pets are growing at the correct rate allowing healthy bones and soft tissues to form correctly; preventing musculoskeletal diseases later on in life.
Discussing diet commonly occurs at first pet health checks. We want to ensure your pet is getting the correct number of calories as well as micronutrients including vitamins and minerals. We will discuss the different types of diet, how to safely change diet if you wish so and what age you should look to swap diets in order to optimise your pet’s health. Different pets will require different nutrients based on their breed, age and current health status… nutrition needs to be specific to the individual.
Your vet will also usually check the microchip status of your pet
It is now a legal requirement for all dogs of a specific age to have a microchip. This will be extended to cats in 2022 or early 2023. The microchip will confirm the legal owner of the pet. So, if your pet has already been microchipped, be sure to change the address and name details registered to their chip. If you don’t update your details, should your pet go missing and their chip is scanned, any previous owners will be contacted rather than yourselves. Or if no owner details are registered, no one can be contacted.
Before you arrive for your consult, think about whether or not you have any questions to ask. Get the most out of your time with the vet, as the start of your pet’s life with you will be the start of something special! Every consult is different but your pet’s health will always be the main focus!
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