What should a thorough veterinary exam for my dog really cover?

Hello, and thanks for your question. Each exam will be slightly tailored to the purpose of that day's visit, and sometimes I will slightly modify an exam based on what has or has not been recently checked. Furthermore, your vet is probably doing much of the exam while you're talking. I'm sure when I do my appointments, it may often look like I'm simply petting the dog - when I am feeling lymph nodes, palpating abdomen, looking at eyes/ears/teeth, etc. So, of course I wasn't there and cannot speak for your vets, but I would suspect that there was more of an exam happening than was perhaps made clear! In a perfect world, every visit would involve checking every body system in every way possible. But, with time limitations and specific concerns that may need to be discussed, some visits will likely involve going more into depth with one body system or another. Hope this helps!

Hello and welcome to Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. For a new puppy visit a vet will do a physical exam looking for any congenital abnormalities (heart murmurs, cleft palate, etc.). They will also look at body condition and if the abdomen seems bloated. At 6-8 weeks of age they will start the vaccine process. Your vet will also talk to you about deworming and diet. For a 3 year old dog the visit is similar, a physical exam and questions about history to make sure nothing is going wrong, as well as vaccines and deworming that is required. You should also discuss with your vet about desexing both April and your puppy. Around the age of 5 your vet might start talking to you about bloodwork to look for underlying disease. Best of luck with April and your new puppy.

A full exam would be possible during a vaccine visit, a health check is always done to ensure a pet is healthy enough to receive a vaccine. If he is overdue, the course may need to be restarted from the beginning

Yes, checking her regularly is a good idea. You will mainly be concerned with things that she could pick up or spread from her visits like ringworm and parasites. Basically, run your hands along her whole body checking for any lumps, bumps, rough patches or hair loss. Push her fur backwards so you can actually see her skin. Look particularly close around the base of her tail/lower back, groin, arm pits and in between her paw pads. Looks for any redness, flaky skin or waxy debris. Also be sure to look inside her ears for discharge, redness or sensitively. Lastly, keep her on flea (possibly tick as well) and a heartworm prevention to decrease the potential for parasites. Interceptor is a great heartworm prevention because it gets most of the intestinal worms as well. Trifexis is a great product that gets fleas, most of the intestinal worms and heartworm all in one pill. I hope this helps and please feel free to post any additional questions.

The annual vet visit is an important part of routine care for your pet. The vet will carefully examine him and establish if they are any health concerns. They will also ask you some general questions such as water consumption and toilet habits of the pet. Often at this visit the pet will receive any vaccinations that are overdue and routine flea and work treatment. It is also a good opportunity for you to discuss any concerns or ask for advice.

The cost for an exam/vet visit varies widely from vet clinic to vet clinic. Your best option is to call some vet clinics in your area and get prices from them. There is no way for us to know the costs in your area. Hope this helps. Best wishes.

After the initial pet veterinary visits as a puppy or a kitten (when the pet is seen every 4 weeks or so for vaccines), a dog or cat should have a veterinary check up at least once a year. For an older pet without many health issues, two checks a year are often recommended.