{"id":4036,"date":"2018-09-04T12:12:43","date_gmt":"2018-09-04T17:12:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dev.diamondpet.wearewoodruff.xyz\/?p=4036"},"modified":"2026-02-17T10:08:15","modified_gmt":"2026-02-17T16:08:15","slug":"pets-cant-skip-their-annual-exams","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.diamondpet.com\/blog\/culture\/myths\/pets-cant-skip-their-annual-exams\/","title":{"rendered":"Debarking Pet Myths: Can Pets Skip Their Annual Exams?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Welcome to \u201cDebarking Pet Myths,\u201d a monthly series dedicated to addressing common myths, misconceptions and old wives\u2019 tales about dogs and cats.<\/em><\/p>\n

Some pet owners agree with the saying \u201cIf it ain\u2019t broke, don\u2019t fix it\u201d when it comes to preventive veterinary care and regular checkups. But for those owners who want their pets to be healthy and happy well into their golden years, \u201cAn ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure\u201d is the more appropriate adage. In fact, routine veterinary checkups are the best way to keep pets \u2014 including indoor-only cats \u2014 as healthy as possible.<\/p>\n

Here are four reasons why your furry friends should be examined by their veterinarian at least annually \u2014 and more frequently as they age or depending on their health.<\/p>\n

No. 1 \u2014 Pets age faster than we do.<\/h2>\n

Most, if not all, pet owners have heard this rule of thumb for calculating their dogs\u2019 \u201chuman\u201d age: \u201cOne human year equals seven dog years.\u201d While the math isn\u2019t quite that simple, the underlying premise \u2014 pets age faster than people \u2014 is true. That makes annual physical exams extremely important for our pets. Think about it this way: A dog\u2019s yearly checkup would be the same as a person having a physical exam only once every five to seven years. Since a lot can change in 12 months, or every six months for older pets, routine exams are smart investments in our pets\u2019 health.<\/p>\n

No. 2 \u2014 Pets don\u2019t talk and can\u2019t tell us when they feel sick.<\/h3>\n

Although pets may appear healthy, they could still have a medical condition that\u2019s underway but hasn\u2019t triggered symptoms yet. Or there could be disease present but its signs have been attributed to aging. Many chronic health problems, such as chronic kidney disease, arthritis, diabetes, heart disease or thyroid disease, start gradually and progress slowly. A thorough checkup that includes blood work, urine testing and X-rays can uncover these conditions in their early stages when treatment may be more successful or disease progression may be slowed.<\/p>\n

Remember, too, that pets instinctively hide pain, discomfort and other signs of illness, even from their owners. They don\u2019t want to become another animal\u2019s \u201cprey\u201d by appearing weak.<\/p>\n

Exposure to some infectious diseases are inadvertently discovered and diagnosed through screening tests during regular checkups. Lyme disease and several other tick-transmitted infections, heartworm disease, feline leukemia and feline immunodeficiency virus exposure are common examples of medical conditions that may be found by routine testing during an annual exam.<\/p>\n

No. 3 \u2014 Your pet\u2019s lifestyle and risk factors may change over time.<\/h3>\n

Routine exams give you an important opportunity to discuss your pet\u2019s lifestyle, risk factors and overall wellness with your veterinarian. Vaccinations, food, exercise and parasite control are typically based on a pet\u2019s lifestyle. But maybe you\u2019ve started taking your dog camping with you, you\u2019ve moved from one area of the country to another, or you\u2019re now letting your previously indoor-only cat out into a fenced yard. These types of lifestyle changes often require adjustments to a pet\u2019s healthcare to help ensure long-term health.<\/p>\n

As pets age, incidence and severity of disease increase. That\u2019s why many veterinarians recommend more frequent exams and laboratory tests for aging pets. The benefit of this increased healthcare is that you and your veterinarian can monitor key indicators of potential medical conditions \u2014 which brings us to the fourth reason for not skipping pet annual exams\u2026<\/p>\n

No. 4 \u2014 History is important for baseline comparisons and trend monitoring.<\/h3>\n

Regular, thorough checkups help establish a \u201cnormal\u201d baseline for pets, making changes more obvious if illness develops. And over time, with multiple test results, your veterinarian may spot trends in the health and function of key organ systems. This can be very important as pets age. For example, older cats are at greater risk for chronic kidney disease and hyperthyroidism (an overactive thyroid gland). Using blood and urine tests, you and your veterinarian can track key blood and urine values that signal disease development and progression. Monitoring also lets you and your veterinarian develop a management plan so you can take the appropriate treatment steps in the early stages of the disease.<\/p>\n

Ready? Set? Call today to schedule your pet\u2019s appointment!<\/h3>\n

Your pet may appear healthy but that doesn\u2019t mean there\u2019s nothing abnormal underway. The only way to know if something\u2019s afoot is to have the exam and lab testing done to uncover important health issues before they become serious. If your favorite furry friend hasn\u2019t been to their \u201cdoctor\u201d during the past year, it\u2019s time to call your veterinary clinic for an appointment. You and your pet will be glad that you did.<\/p>\n

\"False:<\/p>\n

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Welcome to \u201cDebarking Pet Myths,\u201d a monthly series dedicated to addressing common myths, misconceptions and old wives\u2019 tales about dogs and cats. Some pet owners agree with the saying \u201cIf it ain\u2019t broke, don\u2019t fix it\u201d when it comes to preventive veterinary care and regular checkups. But for those owners who want their pets to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5530,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"none","_seopress_titles_title":"Pets Can't Skip Their Annual Exams | Diamond Pet Foods","_seopress_titles_desc":"Read further to learn four reasons why your furry friends should be examined by their veterinarian at least annually \u2014 and more frequently as they age or depending on their health.","_seopress_robots_index":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_searchwp_excluded":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[158,275],"tags":[100,69,10,70],"class_list":["post-4036","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-culture","category-myths","tag-cat","tag-cat-health","tag-dog","tag-dog-health"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.diamondpet.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4036","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.diamondpet.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.diamondpet.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.diamondpet.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.diamondpet.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4036"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.diamondpet.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4036\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.diamondpet.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5530"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.diamondpet.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4036"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.diamondpet.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4036"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.diamondpet.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4036"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}