# Wellness Check Up



## Ruthanne (Jan 3, 2020)

I'm going to get a wellness exam for my dog.  I have a few concerns plus I want her to get a good examination.  I'm going to ask to see the Vet I like the most; the one who explains things and offers solutions and this one also has a good sense of humor.  That's a real plus!  

She hasn't had one in a few years so it's about time!

Do you get wellness exams for your pet?


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## Keesha (Jan 3, 2020)

Yes but being the suspicious and untrusting person that I am of conventional medicine, I last took my dogs to a holistic veterinarian who suggested my girls eat a diet of 50% meat and 50% vegetables and they’ve been thriving ever since. It’s all cooked food .

The only downside is that their beards get really dirty/ greasy due to the meat and they wipe their faces on anything in our house to clean themselves. They look so darn cute I can’t get upset with them.

Im quite happy about having a holistic vet.
My older dog had acupuncture and it did her a world of good.


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## Ruthanne (Jan 3, 2020)

Keesha said:


> Yes but being the suspicious and untrusting person that I am of conventional medicine, I last took my dogs to a holistic veterinarian who suggested my girls eat a diet of 50% meat and 50% vegetables and they’ve been thriving ever since. It’s all cooked food .
> 
> The only downside is that their beards get really dirty/ greasy due to the meat and they wipe their faces on anything in our house to clean themselves. They look so darn cute I can’t get upset with them.
> 
> ...


The Vet I am going to see is a bit on the holistic side too with the things he has recommended to me before so I wholeheartedly believe in that.


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## Butterfly (Jan 3, 2020)

I have always taken my dogs to the vet once a year for a checkup and to update vaccinations if necessary.  It's a heck of a lot easier to deal with a problem if you catch it early.

My vet likes dogs to come in every six months  if they are over 10.  I think that's a good idea.


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## Lc jones (Jan 3, 2020)

We take her in to get her vaccinations and if she is ill we take her in.


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## SeaBreeze (Jan 3, 2020)

I take my dog in at least once a year, maybe for shots, heartworm testing and meds, or if anything is wrong with him.  Lucky so far he's pretty healthy.


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## Ronni (Jan 6, 2020)

Yeah, I make sure my dogs get wellness checks every year just like I do.


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## Ruthanne (Jan 6, 2020)

My dog always gets her vaccinations-I had forgot about that, she got her Rabies 3 year vaccination in Oct. and they did a check up, too.


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## win231 (Jan 6, 2020)

To each his own, but I don't get "wellness exams" for my pets.
When my Lab was 15 years old (3 years older than their average life span) & I took him to the Vet for a minor paw infection, she suggested a wellness exam - blood, urine, all kinds of tests.  I asked, "What for?"
She said, "Because he's old."
I said, "If you can guarantee that the tests will turn his clock back so I can have another 10 years with him, I'll go for it.  Will the tests do that?"
She said, "Uh....no."


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## Ronni (Jan 6, 2020)

win231 said:


> To each his own, but I don't get "wellness exams" for my pets.
> When my Lab was 15 years old (3 years older than their average life span) & I took him to the Vet for a minor paw infection, she suggested a wellness exam - blood, urine, all kinds of tests.  I asked, "What for?"
> She said, "Because he's old."
> I said, "If you can guarantee that the tests will turn his clock back so I can have another 10 years with him, I'll go for it.  Will the tests do that?"
> She said, "Uh....no."


So....you don’t get wellness checks for yourself either then? 

I mean your doc can’t guarantee that your tests won’t turn your clock back and give  you another 10 years either. So why bother with your own yearly either, right?


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## win231 (Jan 7, 2020)

Ronni said:


> So....you don’t get wellness checks for yourself either then?
> 
> I mean your doc can’t guarantee that your tests won’t turn your clock back and give  you another 10 years either. So why bother with your own yearly either, right?


Nope.  I don't get wellness checks for myself, either.  Never had a colonoscopy, pneumonia, shingles, or flu shot.
Last actual "Physical" was 38 years ago - only because it was required by employer.
The only time I was sick enough to require hospitalization was when a dentist did an incompetent root canal & caused sepsis.
Interesting thing about people who live the longest & are the healthiest:  Most will say they rarely see a doctor.
Oh....and my Black Lab?  I took him to the Vet - to be put down when he couldn't stand or breathe & the Vet recommended it.  He was 17 - Five years past a Lab's average life span.
I later adopted a Yellow Lab.  He also never had a wellness check.  He was 16 when he died - also way past his average life span.  His only "treatment" was a required rabies shot.
Newsflash:  We aren't designed to live forever; neither are our pets.
If wellness checks give you confidence, go for it.

In this economy, veterinarians, dentists & doctors will recommend all kinds of tests, checks & treatments because they're not making what they want to make.  I get all kinds of advertising from dentists to come in for cleanings, exams, x-rays.


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## Ronni (Jan 7, 2020)

win231 said:


> In this economy, veterinarians, dentists & doctors will recommend all kinds of tests, checks & treatments because they're not making what they want to make.  I get all kinds of advertising from dentists to come in for cleanings, exams, x-rays.



I'm very glad you and your pets are so healthy.

I am self-aware enough to acknowledge my need for control.  Many of my decisions are a result of that.  A wellness check for myself and my animals establishes a baseline of health information and informs me as to potential or actual problems early enough to actually do something about them. 



win231 said:


> Newsflash: We aren't designed to live forever; neither are our pets.



I don't want to live forever.  But I DO want my time here to be the highest quality of life possible. I thoroughly enjoy life, and I want to continue to enjoy it as long as I can.  To that end, the earlier I can spot a problem and get out ahead of it, the better my chances of not being debilitated by some health condition that gets too bad to do anything about by the time the symptoms become apparent.

I feel similarly about my pets.  Far easier and less expensive to solve any problems they're having in the initial stages, not to mention less suffering for them, than to wait till they're so debilitated from the pain and symptoms of some unknown illness that the only solution is to put them down. 

I'm not arguing with you @win231.  Your approach obviously works for you, as mine does for me.  Doesn't make yours wrong and mine right, or vice versa.  Just two different approaches. Sorry for being snide earlier.  It was uncalled for.

Peace.


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## JustBonee (Jan 7, 2020)

My dog and I have our yearly check-ups in sync these days  ...     we're both getting elderly,  but manage to get everything taken care of in one yearly visit  ... so far!


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