Tips for pawfect routine check-up

Make your dog’s veterinary check-ups more comfortable As the importance of dogs as companions in human life increases, so does the emphasis on pet health care. Just like feeding, grooming, walking and caring, visiting the veterinarian becomes an important part of your pet’s health schedule, simply because prevention is better than cure, especially for this caring companion of yours.

Selecting the right veterinarian

A vet within close proximity of your house, so as to facilitate multiple visits for treatments or emergencies. A vet who makes most pet supplies, accessories and emergency medication available at hand. A vet with a good reputation for availability, ability and responsiveness, since it is rather frustrating to wait for a vet’s appointment when your pet is really sick and needs immediate attention.

When to visit the vet

Routine once-a-month health check-ups are a must for every household pet. If you have just acquired a new pet, you must take her to the vet immediately.

Tips for routine check up

Here are a few tips for pet owners about a routine visit to the vet?:

• Always seek a prior appointment and/or make sure the vet is in the clinic before leaving with your pet.
• Always make sure you are carrying along health card, vaccination card and other treatment record files of the pet.
• A vet’s clinic is often, visited by pets suffering from common viral or bacterial diseases that can be easily passed on to your pet, so for safety, keep your pet in the car/vehicle till it’s your turn to go in.
• Make it a habit to carry a well-fitting muzzle for your dog instead of using the one, which is at the vet’s clinic, since it has been obviously used on several other dogs and may be a carrier of bacteria or viruses.
• If your pet is an unvaccinated pup and is visiting the vet for the first time, do not let him sniff, snoop or lick around the vet’s clinic since it is easy for the unvaccinated pup to catch a fatal virus. Preferably, keep the unvaccinated pup in your arms and do not keep him down except on the clean table.
• One can never overlook the importance of history and evidence in vet’s practice. Simply because the patient cannot communicate and the vet has to rely on the history and clinical symptoms to reach a perfect diagnosis. As a pet owner, do not hesitate to give your vet the detailed history because sometimes even the silliest of the clues can provide the vet with a clue to arrive to a definitive diagnosis.
• The simplest of the routine check-ups should include recording of pulse, temperature, respiration pattern auscultation and palpation of all superficial lymph nodes. An eye, ear and oral mucus check for anaemia and/or dirt or infection.
• Routine check-ups will make your pet get used to handling by his vet. Pets who are brought to the clinic just once a year for the annual shots are more difficult to handle and uncomfortable even for performing simple routine operations like nail clippings or ear cleaning simply because they are not used to it. Therefore getting your pet used to this idea of grooming and being examined is a must.
• Since the first impression is always a lasting impression in the memory of pups, try to make his first visit to the clinic a pleasant one. Avoid any injection pricks or painful procedures on the very first day, if possible.

(Dr Achina Joglekar, B V Sc & A H (BOM) is a private practitioner in Goa and has two clinics at Miramar and Calangute respectively. She can be contacted at 9326020834 / 9890697636.)