6 Or 12 Monthly Check Ups

[Miranda]

Same here nothing past 1st year vac. and mine go to the vet when they need to.

Ditto.

[RL1]

I take my old girl in every 3 months for a check up.

Edited June 9, 2010 by RottyLover01

[Christina]

All of mine always have a yearly check up for life.

Patellas are always checked & results noted in writing.

Even though I groom my own dogs, clean/pluck ears & check teeth, feel for lumps etc I still prefer a vet check yearly. Heart, a look down the ears with the scope. Prevention is better then cure & we can miss things so just as I go for a yearly check for myself, blood tests, blood pressure, mammograms & the usual my dogs get the same.

[jesomil]

Puppy vaccinations and then never again unless necessary.

[B-Q]

I go every 6 - 12 months. Especially now that Buster is 7 I don't want something sneaking up on us. Especially since we lost Sophie I'm more paranoid, I took him in last week for blood tests because he's drinking more, eating more and the lightest he's been his entire life.

I feel bad about Sophie, she was fine right up until the night before she died. Happy, herself etc. She whinged a littl ebut we thought it was her athritis so we just gave her her painkillers. The night before she was restless, the next morning she was off her food and obvisouly in pain so we took her into the vet that mornign and she was gone before midday. Turns out she had a tumour the size of both my fists wrapped around her aorta artery. We didn't even know.

Edited June 9, 2010 by busterlove

[mumof3]

I don't even get a once a year checkup myself - let alone the dogs!

As I live in a remote area, if I am going near the vet, and can easily take a dog, I do, because if the vet has a relationship with us and our animals, they can more easily help us by sending medications to us rather than us having to travel an injured or very ill animal. Like when I pick up our new puppy in a few weeks, she will get to stop by and meet our vet on the way home, then the vet will feel comfortable about sending us out her next vaccinations, rather than us travelling to the vet for it. Living in the bush you become quite self reliant and capable of handling routine issues, especially with a vet who knows your animals on the other end of the phone for advice. Only once have I had an animal that needed emergency veterinary attention from a real vet and I flew her in a helicopter to a vet because the roads were cut.

[Bindii]

Thanks for the responses guys, it's interesting to see the differences between people

If you learn yourself how to do a basic exam and you know what is normal you can by pass the vet visit as long as if you do pick something up which is out of whack you take em off for a check up.

I don't vaccinate anything past its first year booster - which I give them myself.

While i agree with this to an extent, it is important to stress that you are very experienced. The average joe blow, perhaps not on this forum, or perhaps just passing by, should have yearly check ups.

No i dont see my own doctor once a year, but I see my dentist once, sometimes twice if i remember. And I do see my doctor to get I a papsmear every 2 years (goodie!) There are things that should be "maintained" things like teeth which i don't understand. And things that may not cause me any pain, but should be checked.

Dogs don't always make it obvious when they are ill and unless you are very experienced, or to some degree trained in the area perhaps a check up with a professional is good. A dogs life is much shorter than ours, so one year in their life is like seven passing in ours not just "doggy years" but literally, they of course to age faster than us.

[PRADA68]

No mine only go when they require a vet's attention. As for vaccinations they are still done annually for dog obedience clubs.

[westielover]

My 2 seniors go for annual check ups & bloods. As of last year the vet has the baseline for the blood profiles and can monitor any changes.

The 2 younger ones go in if there is something wrong. However, as they age, they will also go in for annual check ups and bloods.

[Rebanne]

mine only go if they need too, oldies included

[Staff'n'Toller]

12 monthly is good. Palpation of the abdomen and ascultation of the heart is something the Vet needs to do and lumps, abnormally feeling kidneys/liver/spleen can be felt this way. Dogs with heart murmurs can be asymptomatic for quite some time.

My Stafford girl is only alive today because of my concern and an 8 year blood screen. Two Vets both commented that she looked in very good health but bloods showed a slow regenerative anaemia due to a slowly bleeding small intestine tumour.

I also found an adenocarcinoma in my old Kelpie's anal gland just because she seemed a bit strange and was scooting- usually these things don't come up until they grow to the outside and ulcerate, luckily I caught it so early it was still confined to the gland.

I don't ever doubt the usefullness of wellness blood tests now, from 7 years of age, if they are normal at 7 then that's awesome as you have baseline values to compare to.

Edited June 9, 2010 by Staff'n'Toller

[Erny]

I feel bad about Sophie ... she had a tumour the size of both my fists wrapped around her aorta artery. We didn't even know.

Try not to feel bad, Busterlove. Hindsight is a powerful thing. Even at an annual check up at the Vet's, it may have been something they themselves might not have been able to have been picked up if, at the time, it wasn't affecting her in any way.

Edited June 9, 2010 by Erny

[Staranais]

I don't, although my dog is at the vet way more than that anyway.

If you keep a good eye on your dog, take them to the vet whenever you notice something different, and learn to do a proper basic clinical exam yourself (palpate lymph nodes, auscultate heart sounds, abdominal palpation) then there is probably little reason to go to the vet for a clinical exam yearly.

Remember though, dogs age far faster than humans, do so a 1 yearly exam for a dog is more equivalent to a 5 yearly exam for a human. So it's not as much of an "overkill" as it may sound at first glance.

[megan_]

Thanks for the responses guys, it's interesting to see the differences between people

It is worth remembering that some people here are VERY experienced and so would notice tiny changes in their dogs. Most people wouldn't. I go for annual check-ups and get the CC vaccine at the same time 9they do go into kennels occasionally so need it). I am not an experienced dog person so I would take them in for a check-up annually regardless.

Also, if you have insurance you'd need to check if it is impacted by not getting an annual check-up.

Edited June 9, 2010 by megan_

[macka]

Mine are on the 3-yearly vaccinations for parvo etc, but the kennel cough vaccination still needs to be given annually. So we have to go at least once a year for that.

I end up going more than that anyway with Leia's allergies.

Archer so far has only been to the vet for puppy vaccs and desexing. Touch wood I have no reason to take him in more than once a year.

If I didn't already have to go once a year I'd have no problem doing so anyway for an annual check-up. Dogs don't always communicate when they are in pain or don't feel quite right, so it may well save their lives.

[WreckitWhippet]

That's a no from me too.

I examine teeth, ears and eyes on an almost daily basis and always have my hands on my dogs. Any changes that concern me , I would go to the vet.

My dogs are fed an all raw diet, are exercised daily and attend a chiro every month of so. I've found since they have been living this way, we see the vet only in emergency situations.

[Pollywaffle]

annually - for both of mine. Just know that everything's ship shape.

[corvus]

Thanks for the responses guys, it's interesting to see the differences between people

If you learn yourself how to do a basic exam and you know what is normal you can by pass the vet visit as long as if you do pick something up which is out of whack you take em off for a check up.

I don't vaccinate anything past its first year booster - which I give them myself.

This was the recomendation from my girls breeder, they don't vaccinate past the 12 month booster.

Sorry for the hijack, but am i right in assuming that after they get a vaccination at 1 year old, they don't need another vacc for the rest of their life? If so, how many people here does it?

Everybody that's well informed about vaccinations I would say.

Whoa, hold on, speak for yourself. Just because I don't follow the same vaccination schedule as you doesn't mean I'm not well informed about vaccinations. I've read all the info available and spoken to my vet about it and made my choice. It was an informed choice.

[W Sibs]

Before Charlie and Emmy. Nope. Took the other dogs to the vets when they were sick only.

Now, Charlie goes to the specialist every 6 weeks for check up and xrays.

Emmy is still a puppy, so she just goes in for the required puppy check up, vacs etc. Once she gets older, I will probably got for annual checks, due to the fact that I'm now paranoid with their health.

Edited June 10, 2010 by CW EW

[aussielover]

I don't think many people go 6 monthly. It is odd to see people come in with healthy dogs unless it is just for a vaccination. A nurse I work with used to work with Chris Brown and he had a lot of people (mainly women) come for "check ups" for perfectly healthy animals

Its good to see most people have such healthy dogs not requiring frequent vet attention! Goes to show that well-bred purebreds CAN be totally healthy!We see a lot of poodle crosses for skin and allergy problems.