Veterinary Appointment: Must-Knows

First of all, it’s important to know your pet’s normals, and non-normals. Every pet is different. 

If any other veterinarian has seen your pet, it’s important to gather all documents from those visits, so medical notes stay consistent! This makes your veterinarian’s job a lot easier, since they will what has/has not worked for your pet, improving better service for you and medical treatment for your pet.

Having the answer to these questions enables your veterinarian to have a clearer picture of your pet’s situation:

  •  When did he/she begin to show that something is wrong?

  • How quickly did the symptoms progress/gotten worse?

  • Any changes in your pet’s routine around the onset of signs?

  • Has his/her diet, living situation, or energy level changed?

  • Has this issue occurred before? Any past medical problems? - how were they treated, and how effective was the treatment?

  • Mostly indoor or outdoor?

  • Exposed to what kind of water?

  • Flea and tick prevention (yes/no, what kind/brand, and how often)

  • Where specifically does your pet sleep?

  • Recently moved?

 

Common behaviors signaling your pet is probably uncomfortable:

 

  •  More than frequent licking of any parts of the body

  •  More than frequent head shaking/pawing/scratching

  •  Scooting 

  •  More than frequent rubbing on furniture

Remember that an elizabethan collar enables buffer time get your pet examined by a veterinarian without him/her doing as much self-damage or any at all.

So That's What a Maintenance Groom Is.

The Pad has maintenance grooming option where it is meant to maintain your pet’s long coat style or to transform your pet into a fuller/longer style. Depending on your pet breed/physical traits and style desires, it should be routine to have this done every other month to 6 weeks after a full groom to keep him/her pet shiny, tangle free, and with a healthy coat. This option is essential for my brachycephalic/big eyes and/or long/curly hair, any lifestage dog audience.

 

What is a Maintenance Grooming?

Maintenance grooming is the general term for feet, face, and sanitary trim. It’s actually interchangeable with a “puppy trim” since this service is exactly the same with the difference being the pet is juvenile or puppy. Maintenance grooming is everything a full groom is with the exception of a body, neck, head, and tail clipper/scissor work. At The Pad it includes, nail trim, pad trim (if needed), ear cleaning, bath, blow-dry, brush out, sanitary trim, feet trim, and eye area clearing, and 5-minute walk pre-grooming. 

Improving QOL (quality of life) for long haired, especially bulgy eyed breeds/dogs with long hair:

I would also recommend this style to long hair pets with short muzzles, and relatively bulgy or big eyes (I’m talking to YOU, Shih Thursday, and Lhasa Apso, owners, and owners of these mixes!). Keeping the eye area hair free is   important for pets with this trait because innately they are more prone to the common medical issue - dry eye, aka keratoconjunctivitis sicca. Without sufficient lubrication to wash away debris and bacteria accumulation, it can cause irritation or in worse cases severe discomfort and blindness. Making sure that your pet is hair free in the eye-nose region, is one less problem you and your pet has to deal with, you and your vet have to rule out, and even drastically lessen dry eye progression rate - giving you buffer time to schedule an examination with your pet’s rDVM. 

 

Maintenance grooming is really great for our longhaired puppies/juveniles, and older pets because it lessens the time on the grooming table. Puppies/juveniles are able to adjust smoother to their new environment! Older pets, get antsier and can be uncomfortable from arthritis and undiagnosed but symptomatic problems. It’s always best to make a geriatric pet (over 8 years) grooming experience as fast as possible, which is why they take first priority here at The Pad. Example: Oh, you said Sammy (6 yr poodle) has ants in duh pants? No worries we’ll add walking/running to full groom, maintenance grooming or both, to significantly lessen the probability of him getting nicked on the table from too much movement.  At The Pad, maintenance grooming is no long than 1hr and 15 minutest to 1.5 hrs for a categorically small pet trim and can go home quickly!

 

Money Cruncher you said you were? Alternating Full Grooming and Maintenance every month and 6 weeks, every other grooming is only about $505/yr vs. Full Grooming every 2 months totaling $330/yr. The extra $175/yr grooming care could be the difference between a regular rDVM visit and a costly rDVM visit + follow-up visits (for certain breeds), and unexpected de-matting expenses. Plus who wouldn’t want extra, teeth brushing, ear cleaning, playtime and trail walking? I know, I know, humans currently are not included in our grooming packages…

 

for now. . .

 

Fur You Time: 

Of course spend that extra time loving yourself and jotting down goals that you and your pet can accomplish this year, and track progress! Did he/she take their monthly heartworm and flea/tick this month?! Yes. Regular and adequate socialization with other pets?! Yes. How many miles did you and your pet run/walk this month? Yearly rDVM visit scheduled? Yes. Think of those questions and add more to your list for your veterinarian right NOW. Tricks, competitions, basic training, play dates scheduling, new pet subscription service you wanted to look into? Curious about pet insurance and if you need it? Look it up! Spend this time to really understand what he/he deserves, and gain more knowledge so we can all better treat our pets. Now go head and schedule your pet’s maintenance and full grooming days well in advance, so you can dedicate time to check things off that list and better your relationship. You can rest easy knowing your furkid is having a great time.