Your veterinarian in Bowie can help your pet as they advance into their senior years. Pets’ age approximately seven years for each human year but any individual pet’s aging is determined by many factors, like, breed, size and nutrition. With advancement in the veterinary medicine, pets are enjoying longer lives but a long life also means the ailments that come with the old age. It becomes critical for you as a pet owner to work with your veterinarian and formulate a health plan for your senior pet.
Understand aging in pets with your veterinarian in Bowie
You will observe general slowing down in your pet during their senior years. The sensory responses with sight, hearing, touch, taste and smell slows down as well. It is also possible that memory gets affected as well as it does for humans. Most of the age related sensory changes are subtle and not easy to spot. Regular check-ups with the veterinarian in Bowie can catch and treat most of the problems. Physical changes are easier to spot with physical slowness, frequent infections and longer healing process. A kidney wearing out is one of the most common effects of aging resulting in improper elimination. This gets very frustrating for the pets as they are unable to hold the urine.
Ask your veterinarian in Bowie how nutrition and exercise can help
Nutrition and exercise can help your pets in their senior age. Specially formulated food can benefit older pets especially with weight control. Regular exercise and balanced diet helps the pets with their obesity problem and reduce risk factors such as heart diseases. If your pets are cooped up inside and have reduced exercise and activity their bodies will age faster. However, be careful with over activity in case of an arthritic pet. In case a surgery is required, the veterinarian will take special considerations to ensure the safety of your senior pet. AAHA recommends laboratory testing for all senior cats and dogs. These lab tests and screenings will enable you and your veterinarian to formulate a health care plan for your pet.
Laboratory Testing done by veterinarian in Bowie
Veterinarians depend on testing and screening to understand the health and status of your pets. A routine lab test for a healthy pet will provide the baseline value that can be compared with the test results of your sick pet to gauge the changes and detect any health issues. A semi-annual lab test is recommended for senior pets.
The following tests are done at a minimum:
Complete Blood Count: To measure the number of red blood, white blood cells and platelets.
Urinalysis: It helps in determining urinary tract infections, diabetes and kidney problems.
Parasite Evaluation: Fecal testing to check for parasites that can cause digestion problems, internal bleeding, and disorders of the pancreas.
