Have you ever gone to the doctor and realized after the visit that those healing hands never actually touched your body? C’mon now, that’s not okay! Nor is it okay for your veterinarian to skimp when it comes to examining your pet. In veterinary school, we are taught to perform a thorough physical examination on each and every patient. It would be a travesty to miss a new heart murmur or enlarged lymph node on a patient that presented for limping. The sooner abnormalities are detected the more likely we are to gain an upper hand.
Listed below are the elements of a thorough physical examination for your dog or cat. Bear in mind, it takes no more than a minute or two for a seasoned vet to competently complete the following (by the way, it helps if you are not talking when the stethoscope is being used!):
- Assessment of overall alertness and appearance
- Evaluation of gait
- Evaluation of the skin and haircoat
- Measurement of body weight, temperature, heart rate, respiratory rate, and capillary refill time (the time it takes for the gum line to become pink after it has been blanched by finger pressure)
- Examination of the eyes, ears, nose, and oral cavity
- Palpation of lymph nodes
- Palpation of the thyroid gland (specific for cats)
- Auscultation of the heart and lungs (listening with a stethoscope) on both sides of the chest
- Palpation of the abdomen
- Rectal examination (specific for dogs that are middle aged and older)
Vets perform physical exams differently in terms of order of events. No matter in the least as long as everything is included. And please remember, such thorough exams are not to be reserved for only the annual office visit. If your kitty is vomiting or your dog has an ear infection, you should expect the whole shebang (although your dog or cat would probably prefer a mini-exam).
Is your veterinarian “hands-on” and doing one heck of a thorough job when it comes to the physical exam? Please share your experiences.
Best wishes for good health,
Nancy Kay, DVM
Diplomate, American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine
Author of Speaking for Spot: Be the Advocate Your Dog Needs to Live a Happy, Healthy, Longer Life
Recipient, American Animal Hospital Association Animal Welfare and Humane Ethics Award
Recipient, Dog Writers Association of America Award for Best Blog
Recipient, Eukanuba Canine Health Award
Recipient, AKC Club Publication Excellence Award
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Please visit http://www.speakingforspot.com to read excerpts from Speaking for Spot. There you will also find “Advocacy Aids”- helpful health forms you can download and use for your own dog, and a collection of published articles on advocating for your pet’s health. Speaking for Spot is available at Amazon.com, local bookstores, and your favorite online book seller.
What prompted me to write about Rolling Dog Ranch Animal Sanctuary was a blog post I recently received from Steve describing a wonderfully innovative way he and Alayne are feeding their dogs and cats. Their concern for animals extends well beyond their own facility, so much so that for a period of time they tried feeding a vegetarian diet to their dogs who apparently responded with, “No thanks!” In the blog, Steve describes that they’ve opted to raise their own beef cattle as a self-sustaining food source for their dogs and kitties. Looking at the Rolling Dog Ranch website, I get the impression that these cows have a pretty darned perfect bovine life other than on their very last day. This beef project was started in 2008 and Steve described the process of taking Sebastian, their first steer to slaughter. As Steve describes it, “I was able to walk through the entire facility with the owner, stood on the kill floor, and examined their entire process for how they do the slaughtering. It was quiet, clean, and as stress-free as any facility like that could possibly be.” 
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