As pet parents, we all want a long, happy, and healthy life for our furry babies. Good food, exercise, and love all play an important role in keeping them healthy. However, you can’t overlook the fact that preventive veterinary care is equally important, if not more. Routine wellness visits are one of the most effective ways to dodge potential health problems.
Many pet owners think that these routine checkups include only vaccines and weight monitoring. But this isn’t true. These exams help diagnose issues early and allow vets to recommend vaccinations, dog microchipping, and deworming to keep your pet safe.
This guide walks you through what pet wellness exams include, why they matter, and how they support your pet’s overall well-being.
What Are Pet Wellness Exams?
Pet wellness exams are routine checkups to monitor the overall health of your pet. The checkup includes checking their eyes, ears, teeth, skin, joints, heart, lungs & weight. These visits help establish what’s normal for your pet, making it easier to notice small changes over time that might otherwise be missed at home.
Why Are They Important?
It’s because they detect any health conditions early. Dental disease, arthritis, parasites, or weight-related issues often creep in silently. Regular wellness exams allow vets to catch and address these problems before they become serious.
Essential Preventive Care Covered During Wellness Exams
Vaccines
Vaccines are one of the most common and important parts of preventive checkups. They protect pets from dangerous (sometimes life-threatening) diseases.
Your vet will recommend vaccines based on your pet’s age, lifestyle, health history, and risk factors. Core vaccines protect against widespread diseases. Non-core vaccines are better for pets who travel, socialize frequently, or spend more time outdoors.
Wellness exams let you remain on-time with vaccination schedules and boosters. Vaccinating your pets not only protects them against diseases but also helps prevent the spread of disease to other animals in the area.
Dog Microchipping
While collars and ID tags are helpful, they can break or fall off. A microchip provides a permanent form of identification that stays with your pet for life. It’s especially recommended for puppies, newly adopted dogs, and pets who travel or spend time outdoors.
A microchip is a tiny device placed just under the skin, usually between the shoulders. It contains a unique ID number that links to your contact information in a secure database.
If your dog is ever lost and brought to a shelter or veterinary clinic, a quick scan can help reunite you with your furball.
That’s why many pet owners choose to microchip their dogs because it’s quick, safe, and convenient.
Deworming for Pets
Parasites aren’t always easy to spot, but they can cause serious health problems if left untreated. That’s why deworming for pets is essential and is often addressed during wellness exams.
Common intestinal parasites, such as roundworms, hookworms, and tapeworms, can affect pets of all ages. Even indoor pets can be exposed through contaminated soil, food, or contact with other animals.
During a wellness exam, your vet may recommend routine fecal testing or preventive deworming based on your pet’s lifestyle and risk level. Regular deworming for pets helps maintain healthy digestion, supports proper nutrient absorption, and protects both pets and their human families from zoonotic parasites.
How Often Should Pets Have Wellness Exams?
The frequency depends on your pet’s age and overall health:
- Puppies and kittens: Multiple visits in their first year for exams, vaccines, and parasite prevention
- Adult pets: 1 wellness exam per year
- Senior pets: 1 wellness exam every six months to monitor age-related changes more closely.
These visits are also an opportunity to review vaccination schedules, confirm microchip details, and adjust parasite prevention plans according to your pet’s needs.
What Happens During a Typical Pet Wellness Exam?
Many pet owners wonder what to expect during a wellness visit. Since every pet is different, each exam is different. However, there are a few common things that are included in almost every pet wellness exam. These are:
- A full physical examination
- Weight and body condition assessment
- Dental and oral health check
- Heart and lung evaluation
- Skin, coat, and joint assessment
- Vaccine review and administration if needed
- Discussion about dog microchipping, if applicable
- Parasite screening and deworming for pets recommendations
Your vet may also ask about changes in behavior, appetite, energy levels, or bathroom habits. These conversations are just as important as the physical exam and help provide a complete picture of your pet’s health.
Long-Term Benefits of Pet Wellness Exams
Regular wellness care offers benefits that go far beyond a single visit. Pets who are regularly taken for routine checkups often enjoy:
- Earlier detection of health issues
- Fewer emergency visits
- Lower long-term medical costs
- Better quality of life as they age
When combined with timely vaccinations, dog microchipping, and routine pet deworming, wellness exams create a strong preventive care plan that supports your pet at every life stage.
Frequently Asked Questions
Should my healthy-looking pet also take a wellness exam?
Yes, because even healthy-looking pets may hide early signs of illness. Most vets recommend pet wellness exams once a year for adult pets and twice a year for seniors.
Is microchipping still necessary if my dog wears a collar and ID tag?
It is not needed, but it is far more reliable. Collars can break, slip off, or be removed, but a microchip acts as a permanent identification number that stays with your pet for life. In case your dog gets lost and taken to a shelter/clinic, dog microchipping will be a safe means of proving that the dog belongs to you, even in the event that the external ID is lost.
Can puppies and kittens be microchipped during routine vet visits?
Absolutely. Dog/cat microchipping is often done during a routine visit, sometimes alongside vaccinations or spay/neuter procedures. It is fast, painless, and does not hurt more than any injections do.
Why does my indoor pet still need deworming?
Even pets that live indoors can be exposed to parasites through shoes, other pets, insects, or contaminated surfaces. Periodic pet deworming helps prevent intestinal parasites that do not necessarily manifest themselves immediately but may have an impact on long-term health.
Are wellness exams different for senior pets?
Yes, senior pets benefit from more detailed pet wellness exams. Such visits can be accompanied by extra blood tests, joint tests, or organ tests in order to track how age affects them and provide older pets with comfort as long as possible.
Do wellness exams help reduce emergency vet visits?
In many cases, yes. Routine checkups allow vets to identify early warning signs before they escalate into emergencies. Preventive care often saves pet parents stress, time, and unexpected medical costs.
Final Thoughts
Proactiveness is another term for care in the pet world. Therefore, booking pet wellness exams for your fur babies is important. This gives the vets the chance to protect your pet before problems arise and help pet owners make informed decisions about their companion’s health.
You can call Atlas Pet Hospital to book an appointment today. We have experienced staff and offer the most suitable solutions to keep your pets protected against diseases.
From vaccines that prevent disease, to dog microchipping that brings peace of mind and deworming for pets that keeps hidden parasites at bay, we offer everything. These routine visits play a vital role in keeping pets healthy, safe, and thriving.
If it’s been a while since your pet’s last wellness exam, now is the perfect time to schedule one with Atlas Pet Hospital.
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