5 Things You Should Be Able to Answer About Your Pet

I see a ton of clients that cannot answer the questions that would be helpful to figure out if their pet is healthy or help me figure out what is making their pet feel sick. It is important for you to observe your dog's daily habits closely so you can tell when they are not feeling 100%.

Here are 5 things you should be able to answer about your pet:

1. Are they coughing or sneezing? Coughing and sneezing can be signs of lung, tracheal, or nasal issues. If your dog has a heart murmur, coughing will give us a clue that your dog may be in heart failure.
   

2. Are they having any diarrhea or vomiting? Both of these issue give us clues to the status of their gastrointestinal tract. If your dog intermittently vomits or has poor stool quality is could mean that they have chronic gastrointestinal disease. If they are acutely vomiting and having diarrhea, it will give us a list of different differentials such as foreign bodies or pancreatitis.
   

3. Are they eating and drinking? If your dog does not want to eat it means that they are not feeling well. If they miss one meal then it is ok to wait it out and see if they eat with just more time. If they go more than 24 hours without eating then you should see a veterinarian. One exception to this rule would be if you have a puppy under 6 months of age, if they miss a meal then you should contact a veterinarian right away.
   

4. Are they drinking and urinating excessively? See my past blog Excessive Drinking, it can be more than Diabetes. If your dog is excessively drinking then they will also be excessively urinating. Increase in urinations can also be a sign of a urinary tract infection, bladder stones, or bladder tumors.
   

5. Are they on any medications? There are a lot of medications that can interact with one another. If you know exactly what your dog is taking then we can make sure that they do not get any medications that could interfere or make them sick when combined. It also will allow us to figure out what prior medical conditions they have been diagnosed with, in case you forget (but you should know what medical conditions they have).