In a time when many of us are financially struggling, investing more in your pet’s veterinary care may seem like a bad move. However, ensuring your pet visits the veterinarian annually for wellness and preventive care can stave off many costly illnesses, and catch others in their early stages before they become bigger—and more expensive—problems. The Smithtown Animal Hospital team believes strongly in a proactive approach to pet health, and we want pet owners to understand why.

What are pet wellness and preventive care services?

The goal of wellness and preventive care services for pets is to keep your pet healthy by maintaining a proactive approach to their care. We do not recommend bringing your pet to us only when they are sick—rather, all pets should visit us at least yearly for a routine checkup. Senior pets older than 10 should visit us twice per year, because they are more likely to develop new health problems than younger pets.

A wellness visit typically consists of a full physical examination, vaccine boosters, parasite testing, treatment, and prevention, wellness diagnostic tests, and a consultation regarding your pet’s overall physical, mental, and emotional health. Vaccines and parasite control help to prevent many common illnesses, while physical examination and wellness diagnostics help us diagnose new problems in their early stages when they are more amenable to treatment and before they snowball into larger problems.

What are pet wellness diagnostics?

Wellness diagnostics are tests that we recommend for your pet each year or every six months based on their age, species, breed, lifestyle, and health history. Recommended tests may include:

  • Fecal parasite examination — We recommend these tests for all pets to detect the presence of intestinal parasites.
  • Blood heartworm and tick-borne disease screening — These tests are recommended for all dogs to detect the presence of deadly adult heartworms or tick-borne diseases, such as Lyme disease.
  • Blood chemistry and complete blood count (CBC) — A basic blood panel that includes these components is recommended annually for all pets to track basic organ function and overall internal health.
  • Urinalysis — We use urinalysis alongside chemistry and CBC to evaluate kidney function and overall health.
  • Blood pressure testing — We recommend blood pressure screening for aging pets or those with health problems that could lead to high blood pressure (i.e., hypertension).
  • Chest X-ray, EKG, and/or echocardiogram — Heart function screening tests are recommended for high-risk breeds, such as boxers, Doberman pinschers, dachshunds, Cavalier King Charles spaniels, and aging pets.

What are the benefits of annual pet wellness diagnostics?

Wellness diagnostic tests benefit your pet’s health in several ways, including:

  • Establishing a baseline — We send routine blood work and urine testing to our veterinary reference laboratory, which returns the test results with an established normal range for each value. Some healthy pets have values that fall outside the normal range but are still considered normal for the individual pet. By running blood and urine tests when pets are young, we can establish their individual baseline and have a basis for comparison in the future.
  • Early disease detection — Most diseases in pets are best dealt with in their early stages, and routine wellness diagnostics help us detect them sooner. Blood and urine tests can detect minute changes in your pet’s body before outward clinical signs appear, which allows our medical team to intervene before the problem becomes more severe. Common conditions we detect during routine wellness checks include early chronic kidney disease, thyroid conditions, liver changes, and urinary tract health problems.
  • Trend tracking — Running the same tests year after year allows us to examine trends over time. Sometimes we can detect a problem if a value is tracking up or down consistently, regardless of whether that value remains in or out of the normal range. 
  • Peace of mind — Knowing that your pet is as healthy on the inside as they appear on the outside can provide you and your family with valuable peace of mind, and provides feedback that your pet’s lifestyle, diet, and exercise routine are working well. Conversely, finding a problem with wellness diagnostics can motivate your family to implement change.

Your pet’s health is in your hands, and while annual wellness diagnostics may add a little to your yearly veterinary visit bill, they likely will save you in treatment costs down the line. Plus, your pet will stay happy, healthy, and by your side for many more years. Contact the Smithtown Animal Hospital team to learn more about our wellness offerings, or to schedule your pet’s next wellness visit and diagnostic screening tests.