WELCOME to Lynelle's Corner! I'm so glad to be hosting a blog over the next few months, whereby I can address issues that pet owners would like to hear more about, as well as focus on more general concerns that I have heard over the years.
I will be following up these blogs with interactive demonstrations at the clinic, so keep an eye out for the announced dates & times for those sessions.
Also, please let me know what topics you would like
to hear more about and I will do my best to make sure that information is
represented.
Let’s start with the home exam.
So many times I have been asked “What can we do at home for
our pet?” or “How can I tell if my pet is sick?”. Well, the first thing is to know what is
normal & what is abnormal for your pet.
There are, of course, variations to everything and we always start with
the standards. Normal temperature is
99.0 to 102.5 degrees F. Normal heart
rate is 70 for a large dog to 240 in a cat.
Normal respirations are from 12 to panting (panting can be normal after
exercise or when hot, but not when an
animal is at rest). So, finding these
numbers when your pet is healthy and resting will provide you with a baseline
of what is normal for your pet.
First, look at your pet.
Are they walking okay? Any
changes in behavior? Any changes in
eating or drinking? Any changes in
urinating or defecating?
Next, you can do a physical exam on your pet, starting with
the head and working your way back to the tail.
Is there any discharge from the eyes or the nose? Do the ears smell or have debris in
them? Is there any odor from the
mouth? Lift up the lips and check the
color of the gums (pink is normal but may be hard to tell if most of the gums
are black in color); press your finger against the gums quickly and release
your finger (does the color return to its normal pink in less than 2 seconds,
because this is normal, or is it delayed?).
How is your pet breathing? (quiet slow rise and fall of the
chest is normal; if the abdomen is
rising and falling, then your pet is having difficulty breathing and is using
abdominal muscles instead of chest muscles to breathe; sounds during breathing are also not
considered normal). Does your pet feel
unusually warm? You can take their
temperature using a regular human rectal thermometer with some Vaseline on the
end that is going into the rectum (the rectum just has to cover the metal end
of the thermometer). Does your pet’s coat and skin look okay and smell
okay?
Remember, if you have any questions at all, just call your
vet. If it is after hours, there are
emergency veterinary hospitals available to answer questions or see your pet if
necessary.