CARING FOR YOUR PET "OVER 40"
We have adopted recommendations from veterinary internists and teaching hospitals regarding twice yearly physical exams for pets "over 40".
These recommendations include:
1.) Twice yearly physical exams for pets 7yrs old and older
-this is equivalent to being over 40 in human years
-pets age an equivalent of 3-4 human years every 6 months.
2.) Basline testing (recommendations may include blood, urine, imaging)
-many diseases can't be detected on physical exam alone
-1 in 5 apparently healthy dogs and cats harbor significant disease that require baseline testing to diagnose.
Early detection(before symptoms occur) results in early treatment.
Early treatment improves quality of life and longevity.
More frequent physical exams and appropriate screening tests are the two most effective methods of unmasking underlying diseases. |