Importance of Wellness Visits

Routine wellness visits for your pet encompass comprehensive wellness panels, assessing vital organs like kidneys, liver, pancreas, and thyroid. These evaluations, including blood cells, platelets, and urine analysis, proactively catch early signs of potential issues. Conducting wellness tests annually, especially before anesthesia, establishes a healthy baseline and identifies subtle changes before symptoms emerge. Senior pets, over seven years old, should undergo testing every 6-12 months due to increased susceptibility to chronic conditions. Regular wellness tests offer insights into underlying problems, allowing timely intervention. Consistent monitoring and prompt action for any changes or discomfort are key, as pet checkups complement vigilant home care.

What's Included In An Exam?

During your pet's 6-month or 12-month wellness checkup at Harmony Hill Animal Hospital, our comprehensive evaluation covers various key aspects:

• Nose: We examine the nose for potential issues like allergies, infections, or tumors, considering changes in appearance that might indicate underlying concerns.
• Eyes: Assessing the eyes and surroundings for discharge, cloudiness, or dullness helps identify infections, allergies, and more severe conditions like Dry Eye (KCS).
• Mouth: A thorough examination of the teeth, gums, and oral cavity reveals potential problems like tartar buildup, gingivitis, and oral infections, with treatment recommendations as needed.
• Ears: Ear examinations are crucial, especially for pets with ear history, as they help spot inflammation, infection, pain, and abnormalities.
• Coat/Skin: We analyze the coat, skin, and nails, detecting signs of allergies, infections, lumps, or parasites that impact immune health.
• Musculoskeletal: Muscle, bone, and joint assessment identifies pain, arthritis, stiffness, and related issues that affect your pet's well-being.
• Neurologic: We check the neck, spine, and tail for pain and inflammation, evaluating demeanor and gait for possible brain or spinal cord abnormalities.
• Lymph nodes: Swollen lymph nodes might indicate infection, inflammation, or cancer, prompting further investigation.
• Heart: Listening for murmurs, arrhythmias, and abnormal pulses aids in identifying potential heart problems and determining appropriate intervention.
• Lungs: Detecting wheezes, crackles, or fluid presence helps identify lung diseases such as asthma, pneumonia, or heart issues.
• Abdomen: We assess internal organs, masses, and abnormalities in the abdominal area, carefully considering potential cancer-related concerns.
• Overall Assessment: We evaluate your pet's weight, nutrition, and lifestyle for holistic well-being.

Should we detect any anomalies during the physical exam, our findings will be discussed with you, and additional tests like blood work, x-rays, or ultrasounds may be recommended to guide further treatment decisions.

Diagnostics

When people experience a health issue, their doctor will likely recommend diagnostics following their physical exam. This may include bloodwork, imaging, or more specific tests that will help determine the cause of the abnormal symptoms. When your pet is experiencing a health issue, we first perform a physical exam and then recommend similar tests to identify the cause and severity of your pet’s symptoms. Basic testing, such as general bloodwork, fecal testing, urinalysis, imaging, etc., can be performed at our clinic. More specialized testing is completed at our outside diagnostic laboratory. In this case, samples are collected at our clinic and then sent to this facility.

Blood Tests

One of the most common blood tests that we perform is a complete blood count (CBC). This test analyzes the amount and appearance of blood cells and is critical in diagnosing and monitoring infections and diseases. The three main components of the CBC provide information about red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets. All three are interrelated and tell us much about how your pet’s body is functioning.

A chemistry panel is often performed in addition to the CBC. A basic panel indicates if there are any underlying abnormalities involving the kidneys, liver, blood sugar, and electrolyte abnormalities. More advanced panels can also evaluate thyroid function, pancreas health, tick disease exposure, heartworms, and certain viruses in cats. More advanced tests are performed by our outside diagnostic lab. Samples are collected at our facility and then directly shipped out for testing. This enables a quick turn-around time for fast results.

Fecal Testing

Stool samples may be collected at home and brought to your pet’s appointment. If unable to do this, a sample can be collected by our veterinary staff. There are multiple tests utilized to check for the presence of abnormal bacteria and intestinal parasites. Most tests can be performed in-house, while more comprehensive panels will be sent to our outside diagnostic lab for processing.

Urine Testing

A urine test (urinalysis) is essential for detecting infections and diseases of the urinary tract. For maximum accuracy, urine samples should be tested immediately after collection or, if at home, refrigerated and brought to our clinic as soon as possible after collection. Urine samples left at room temperature or frozen will not yield accurate results.

Normal urine is yellow in color and clear in appearance. The presence of bacteria, crystals, red blood cells, etc., may change the color or clarity. Dog urine typically has a mild ammonia odor, while cats produce a much stronger odor. However, a change in odor can also occur when issues such as a bacterial infection are present.

Analysis of a urine sample includes determining its color, clarity, specific gravity, pH, protein, glucose, red blood cells, white blood cells, and more. Changes in any of these may indicate infection, disease, injury, or defects. Microscopic examination of urine sediment is also part of a routine urinalysis. Red blood cells in urine sediment usually indicate bleeding within the urinary tract. White blood cells typically indicate an infection is present. An increased number of casts may indicate kidney disease. Crystals may be present in low numbers but can also indicate bladder stones. Bacteria may be present in voided urine. However, large numbers often indicate an infection is present.

Our Outside Lab

Not all tests can be performed in the clinic, as many diagnostics require specialized equipment, training, or both. Our outside laboratory offers several panels that provide information regarding many general health problems. Having a laboratory perform these tests can help point to a diagnosis, particularly if the animal has a vague history and symptoms that make it difficult to determine the problem. These panels may be modified depending on the needs of the individual patient. Based on the results of this group of tests, other more specialized tests may be carried out to reach a definite diagnosis. Additional specialized testing, such as cytology, histopathology, PCR testing, culture and sensitivity testing, etc., can also be performed at our outside lab. 

Radiography

Radiography is the most common imaging procedure used in our hospital. Although this procedure is painless, pets are occasionally sedated to reduce stress that can occur while positioning them.

Radiographs create images of bones, foreign objects, and body cavities. They often help detect fractures, masses, injuries, and deformities. Although radiographs may not give enough information to determine the exact cause of a pet’s problem, they can help determine what other tests may be needed to make a definitive diagnosis.

Ultrasonography

Ultrasonography is the second most commonly used imaging procedure in our hospital. It uses ultrasonic sound waves to create images of body structures based on the pattern of echoes reflected from the tissues and organs. Ultrasound is much better than radiographs at showing the soft tissues within the body. This form of imaging is performed by internal medicine specialist Dr. Peace. She comes to our practice when needed to perform this procedure when more in-depth imaging is required.

Symptoms, Testing & Treatment

The list of symptoms caused by environmental allergies is a long one. Not every pet develops the same symptoms or the same severity of symptoms. Therefore, it makes diagnosing an environmental allergy very difficult.

Common symptoms of environmental allergies include:

• Frequent itching/scratching and no fleas/ticks present.
• Sneezing, reverse sneezing, wheezing, or coughing.
• Red, itchy, and watery eyes.
• Chewing, licking, or scratching certain parts of the body, especially the feet, face, ears, and abdomen.

Signs of a secondary medical issue include skin crusting, scabs, red bumps, pimples, and hotspots. These symptoms are caused by skin damage and the introduction of bacteria from constant chewing, licking, and scratching.

Common Diagnostic Testing:

When pinpointing the cause of Atopy, it's vital to exclude alternative allergies like food and flea-related issues. Additional assessments, such as skin testing, might be necessary to investigate potential secondary factors behind your pet's symptoms. These evaluations encompass scrutinizing the skin for ectoparasites, conducting skin scrapes for embedded parasites, and performing skin impressions to detect yeast and bacterial infections, while also appraising your pet's response to prior treatments. For persistent environmental allergies, managing symptoms can prove frustrating, prompting the consideration of allergy testing. Our clinic offers blood testing, which is proficient at identifying airborne allergens but less accurate with food or contact allergies. Alternatively, intradermal skin testing by a dermatologist presents high accuracy; a positive reaction entails skin redness or swelling where allergens were injected. This test evaluates common local allergens for precise outcomes, ideally conducted during symptom peaks after discontinuing all allergy medications. However, managing symptoms during this period sans medication can be challenging, often alleviated by medicated sprays and shampoos.

Treatments

Managing environmental allergies in pets requires comprehensive efforts to limit allergen exposure. While eliminating all allergens is challenging, regular pet bedding washing can reduce contact. Ceasing use of potential chemical triggers like flea collars or cleaning agents is crucial. Chronic damp areas should be checked for mold and mildew. Flea and tick prevention, even for indoor pets, is vital in the Midwest. Allergy management involves commitment and multi-faceted approaches. Systemic medications, topical sprays, and supplements are initial measures. Antihistamines help with mild symptoms, while steroids control moderate to severe cases, but their long-term use has drawbacks. Apoquel and Cytopoint are effective for moderate to severe allergies, posing fewer side effects than steroids. Secondary infections often accompany allergies, necessitating tailored treatments. Medicated shampoos soothe skin, treat infections, and reduce oral medication needs. Allergy testing guides immunotherapy, progressively reducing sensitivity to allergens over time. While results may take time, early consultation maximizes long-term control.

Microchipping

At Harmony Hill Animal Hospital, your pet's microchip is automatically registered upon insertion, even including a premium HomeAgain membership for the initial 12 months, featuring 24/7 Pet Recovery support, a Medical Hotline, and Pet Travel Assistance. Although microchips do not function as GPS trackers, they serve to identify pets and owners through a process involving scanning, identification, and manufacturer contact. It's critical to keep your pet's microchip updated to ensure prompt reunification in case of separation.Microchipping has enormously impacted reuniting lost pets with their families during natural disasters, including hurricanes, tornadoes, fires, etc. When such events occur, microchip identification is often the only way your pet can be reunited with your family. This is especially important with large natural disasters that can displace hundreds or thousands of animals. Microchipping is also helpful on a much smaller scale. Pets who have accidentally gotten out of the house or yard have a much higher chance of being reunited with their families when they have been proactively microchipped. Lastly, if there is a pet ownership dispute, microchip identification can determine who the rightful owner is. These are just a few examples of why microchipping can be so beneficial.

What's The Process of Chipping?

Microchips, about the size of a grain of rice, are inserted beneath your pet's skin between the shoulder blades. Ideally done during spaying/neutering, a large needle is used for insertion, ensuring a painless experience for your pet. For pets not undergoing surgery, the microchip can be administered while awake, often eased by a treat. Insertion takes seconds, with no residual pain or recovery time. HomeAgain offers memberships with extra benefits, including a pet recovery team, medical hotline access, and travel assistance for lost pets. An initial premium membership for the first 12 months is included with our HomeAgain microchips, extendable as optional. Costs vary but most are under $50, and free microchipping events are available. Universal microchip scanners have improved identification regardless of the chip's brand. Remember to keep your pet's identification tags on and monitor them closely to prevent loss.