Dogs age five to seven times faster than we do, so an annual exam is comparable to a person seeing a doctor every several years. That's why we examine every system at every wellness visit: eyes, ears, mouth, heart, lungs, abdomen, skin, joints, and lymph nodes.
Wellness visits are also where we update vaccines, review parasite prevention, track weight trends, and talk through anything you've noticed at home. Puppies and seniors benefit from twice-yearly visits; healthy adults should come at least annually.
Every exam includes
- Full nose-to-tail physical examination
- Dental health assessment
- Weight and body condition scoring
- Vaccination review and updates
- Parasite prevention check
- Unhurried time for your questions
What to expect
A thorough, unhurried physical: eyes, ears, mouth, heart, lungs, abdomen, skin, joints, and lymph nodes, with weight trends tracked visit to visit. We update vaccines and prevention, flag anything worth watching, and always leave time for your questions.
Frequently asked questions
How often does my dog really need an exam?
Yearly for healthy adults — which, at dog-aging speed, is like a person seeing a doctor every five to seven years. Puppies need a visit series, and seniors do best at every six months, when age-related disease moves fastest.
What should I bring or mention at the visit?
Current foods and doses of anything you give (including supplements and OTC products), plus any changes: appetite, water intake, energy, behavior, lumps, limping. Videos of intermittent problems — a cough, a weird gait — are genuinely diagnostic gold.
Why did the vet find something I never noticed?
Hands and training: heart murmurs, dental disease under the gumline, small masses in the abdomen, and early arthritis don't announce themselves at home. That's the point of the exam — finding problems while they're still cheap and treatable.
Ready to schedule?
Request an appointment at our Glendale clinic or call our team — we serve pets and their people across the surrounding communities.