Questions You Should Ask Your Dog's Vet

By: Debra Primovic

Read By:39,180 Pet Lovers

To get the most out of your visit with your veterinarian, ask questions. The answers and advice you receive will help you to provide the best possible care for your pet. Here is a list of questions to consider:

1. How much does he weigh? Find out what your puppy weights and make note of it. Keep track of the weight and notice any study change.

2. What is his body condition score? What this really means is... if he is too fat or too thin. The body condition score looks at the amount of fat on a dog's frame relative to his overall size. If he is too fat, ask your vet what you can do to help him loose weight. They may recommend that you cut back on his portions or table scraps, change his diet, or increase his activity by going on more walks. If he is too thin, ask for recommendations to address this issue.

3. What should he be eating? Ask your veterinarian their opinion on the best food to feed your pet. Most vets recommend a good quality premium pet food that offers good quality control and has AAFCO approval formulated to meet the needs of your dogs life stage. For example, if you have a puppy, a common recommendation would be AAFCO approved food to meet the growing demands of puppies. Additionally, it can be further segmented into growing large or small breed dogs. Depending on your dogs' sex, age, weight and overall health, your veterinarian may recommend a formula for less active dogs or a prescription formula that may be beneficial in the presence of an underlying medical condition.

4. Was his physical examination normal? This may be the most important part of your pets visit to the veterinarian. The examination can help to identify problems early when conditions may be more treatable. Ask if his heart and lungs sounded normal, if his abdomen felt normal on examination and if he overall appears healthy. If not, what is wrong? What can be done?

5. How do his teeth and nails look? Should you be brushing his teeth? Trimming his nails? If so, will they show you how if you don't already know?

6. Is he getting the vaccines he needs? Make sure your pet is getting what needs but not more than what he needs. Depending on where your dog lives, his age, and his lifestyle, vaccine recommendations may vary. There are some vaccinations he may not need or he may be at risk for Lyme disease and some other diseases that may be prevented with a vaccine. If your pet boards at a kennel, additional vaccines may be recommended. Rabies is required by law.

7. Does he need heartworm prevention? Dogs that live in warm climates are at risk for heartworm disease. This can be prevented by a monthly medication. Find out what he should take and when he should take it. Some vets recommend a seasonal approach and others a year around medication.

               

8. Does he need tick prevention medication? Depending on where your dog lives and his level of risk, he may benefit from tick control medications. Ticks can carry diseases that can cause severe illness.

9. Does he have worms or need a dewormer? A fecal examination can help determine if your pet has gastrointestinal worms. Some pets may be routinely dewormed. Some of the heartworm preventative medications also treat gastrointestinal parasites.

10. Should he have any "routine testing"? Are there any routine tests that should be done to monitor his health for his age? Dogs age differently depending on their breed, size and weight. Some large breed dogs, such as Great Danes, are considered "senior" at 6 or 7 years. Some smaller breed dogs, such as Dachshunds, are not considered senior until 8 or 9 years of age. Many veterinarians recommend routine blood work to assess your pet's organ function on a periodic basis.

11. How do you handle emergencies? It is always easiest to ask this when you don't have an emergency. Find out what number to call if they handle their own emergencies and if not, find out the number and location for their emergency clinic of choice. Hopefully you won't need it, but if you do, you will be glad you have it.

12. What is the best way to communicate? Do they accept and answer emails? Can you renew prescriptions or order food in this manner? If so, which address should you use? Or is all their business handled over the phone?

13. How about microchips? Should your pet have a microchip and if he already has one, can they test it to make sure it is working properly? Microchips are small devices implanted under a dog's skin that helps to identify them if they are lost. Make sure you document the number and the microchip company and number. Ask if the chip is registered to their practice or to you. It is far better to have it registered directly to you.

14. Is there anything you can do to make your pet more comfortable? This applies most often to senior pets. Does your veterinarian think your pet is in pain? If so, is there something they recommend? There are many new arthritis medications that work well in dogs. Some additional comfort measures may include a special bed for arthritic pets or a ramp to aid arthritic pets to get in and out of the car.

15. Is your pet at risk? Is your pet at risk for anything that you can prevent or any disease that you should know about? For example, unsprayed dogs are at risk for life-threatening uterine infections that can be prevented by spaying. Some dog breeds are at risk for arthritis and certain types of cancer. Ask what problems your pet might be at risk for and symptoms you should watch for.

Tips on Getting the Most Out of Your Visit

To get the most out of your vet visits, make sure you have information about your pet to help the vet better understand your pet and your dogs problems. If you are visiting your veterinarian for any type of ailment, make sure you know details about the ailment. Your veterinarian will want to know when the problem started, how often it is a problem, and if there are associated symptoms. For example, if your pet is vomiting, they will want to know when it started, how frequent it occurs, if there is blood or other abnormalities, and associated symptoms such as if there diarrhea, if your pet is not eating, or if your pet is acting lethargic?

Finally, make sure you are honest. Don't underestimate what table scraps you feed or anything else about how you care for your pet. If you missed a dose of medication, don't be embarrassed, just tell them the facts. Your veterinarian is there to help you to provide the best care for your pet and they can only do that if they know the facts.  

Why Choose Life's Abundance? For the most part, your dog eats the same food every day. That is why carefully choosing a food is so important to your dog’s long-term health. For nearly a decade, tens of thousands of dogs have been eating and thriving on Life’s Abundance foods. We attribute this success to our painstaking attention to detail. Each ingredient in Life’s Abundance food is carefully chosen to work with all the others to provide your dog with a wholesome, highly-nutritious and perfectly-balanced meal every day, every year … over a long and loving lifetime. With Life’s Abundance, you can be confident that you are feeding your dog advanced nutrition.

Are poinsettia plants toxic?

Please pass this around to all your pet friends.

Every year around this season I start getting emails with the same question: Are poinsettia plants toxic? I wanted to discuss this with you now! Many people buy these festive, bright red plants as holiday gifts and to decorate their homes for the holidays. I’m glad people are asking me about this plant before they buy them. It is always a good idea to find out if a particular plant is toxic to pets before bringing one home.  The question of poinsettia safety is so common that we wrote a response to it on our website. For the complete answer to "Are Poinsettias Toxic?"  Poinsettias aren’t the only toxic plant out there this time of year, so I also want to share a list of fall and winter holiday toxic plants. Go to:  http://www.petplace.com/fall-and-winter-holiday-plant-toxicity-in-cats I hope that you and your dog/cat have a wonderful (and safe) holiday!  Merry Christmas to all!

10 Steps for a Dog Safe Holiday Tree

By: Dr. Debra Primovic

The day after Thanksgiving kicks off the Christmas holiday season, and millions of homes sport either real or faux trees – glittering towers of beauty that can pose a threat to your pets. Before you put the tree up, take a few moments to go over some safety precautions.

1. Choose the Right Spot. Pick an area where the tree can be enjoyed by the family but so much in the center activity that it can be easily knocked over. An area by the wall or in a corner is ideal and out of the traffic flow pattern of the house. Try to place the tree near an outlet so you don't have to run electrical cords long distances.

2. Prepare the Area. Lay down plastic sheeting or buy a "tree bag." This is an extra large trash bag used for live trees. Center the tree on the bag. When the season is over and you have removed the tree ornaments, pull the bag over the tree. This will catch the pine needles as they fall from the tree – and prevent them from being chewed or swallowed by your pet.

3. Secure the Tree. Many trees have been sent swaying by a rambunctious dog or puppy. Dogs can knock over a tree by rubbing against or playing under it. Pet can be injured if the trees or ornaments fall and break. You can place the tree in a corner and secure it from two sides to small hooks in the walls. Another trick is to place a small hook in the ceiling above the tree and use clear fishing line from the top of the tree to the hook. Apply gentle tension and tie. The clear line is invisible.

4. Hide the Cords. Electrical cords are a grave danger to pets – especially puppies and that tend to chew on anything. Cords can cause electrocution and serious injury or even death. Secure the cords by positioning them higher than the pet can reach or hiding them with special covers.

               

5. No Hooks. Check your ornaments and replace hooks with a loop of string tied in a knot. Ornaments often fall from the tree and pets may catch their mouths on or swallow the hooks.

6. Choose Safe Ornaments. There is no perfectly pet-safe bulb, as any ornament can be ingested and cause an intestinal obstruction. Pet "safer" bulbs would be plastic or wood. Glass bulbs on the lower limbs can be especially dangerous. If broken, pets can step on them and cut their feet or worse yet – treat the bulbs like a ball and chew on them causing them to break, resulting in mouth or throat trauma and bleeding. Many pet owners have learned the hard way not to place any ornaments on the lower limbs. Ornaments made of food may be especially attractive to pets.

7. Ribbons. Big red velvet ribbons are a lovely addition and may replace tinsel and garland that can be eaten dogs and caught in their intestine. Cats are especially attracted to the bright shiny tinsel and should really be avoided in households with cats. Ingestion of this material can cause intestinal obstruction that may require surgery.

8. Presents. Dogs love to investigate and most don't understand that the presents are not meant to be opened before Christmas Day. Decorative ribbons and string can be ingested, gifts can be destroyed by a playful pet. Consider storing the presents in a safe area until right before the holiday or make sure your pet is always supervised while investigating and searching for his special gift.

9. Sweep and Water. Sweep up the pine needles. Ingestion of needles can cause vomiting and gastric irritation. Keep the tree watered and only turn the lights on when you are at home. Risk of fire is always there with a live tree. Do not allow your pet access to the tree water to drink.

10. Supervise. The safest thing to do is to allow your pet access to the tree only when supervised. Pets that continue to want to bother the tree should be encouraged – using positive reinforcement – to leave it alone. Bitter apple can be sprayed on low branches for persistent chewers.   

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