Preventive check-ups / preventive care
If your pet is already a senior citizen, regular check-ups are important. It is best if you visit every 6 - 12 months for an examination. This will enable your pet to be diagnosed at an early stage with any complaints associated with old age, such as heart, metabolic or orthopaedic diseases.
Only early therapy leads to optimal success.
Dogs in old age
Dogs are considered senior citizens from around the age of nine, giant breeds even earlier. Dogs usually become calmer with age. From this point onwards, you should feed your dog senior food and adjust the amount of food accordingly. This is because being overweight can lead to orthopaedic problems in your dog or exacerbate existing health problems.
The HD examination for dogs is a preventive measure
Hip dysplasia (HD) is a congenital malformation of the hip joint in which the socket of the pelvis and the head of the femur do not fit together perfectly. This causes instability and lameness in dogs. Depending on the severity, the symptoms develop either in adolescence or in adulthood.
The HD examination is an X-ray examination for which the dogs are usually given a light anaesthetic, as the X-ray can not only be a little unpleasant, but above all because only complete muscle relaxation of the animal provides an assessable X-ray image.
Which dogs should be examined?
The examination of breeding animals of many breeds is now mandatory. However, the examination is also recommended for all other dogs, as it is a hereditary disease. The examination is recommended for dogs whose parents have a history of the disease, as well as for working and sporting dogs, as their joints are subject to a great deal of strain.
Time of the HD examination
Dogs should be fully grown for the HD X-ray. The examination is usually carried out on dogs from the age of 12 months - in giant breeds even from the age of 18 months. However, if your dog is already showing typical symptoms at a young age, we prefer to carry out the examination first.
HD X-ray procedure
Please make an appointment for the examination and make sure that your dog has fasted approx. 12 hours before the X-ray, i.e. he is not allowed to eat anything beforehand and only drinks a little. After a clinical examination, the dog will be given a short anaesthetic and the X-ray image will be taken. We then either discuss the results with you and decide on an individual basis whether treatment is necessary. Or we send the images to the expert responsible for the respective breeding organisation.
Patellar luxation in dogs - Painful misalignment of the knee
The Patellar luxation medial (inwards) or lateral (outwards) is a congenital malformation of the knee joint. It is particularly common in small dog breeds. With this malposition, the kneecap jumps out of the guide between the two rolling ridges of the thigh - the dog can no longer bend the knee joint. Just as suddenly, the kneecap can „slip in“ again and the dog walks on all four paws again.
When should you take your dog to the doctor?
If your dog does not put any weight on one hind leg for a few steps while running and only then continues to run normally, this may be a sign of patellar luxation. If you observe this behaviour in your dog, please contact us as soon as possible!
Consequences of a patellar dislocation
Due to the pain, your dog constantly performs unphysiological movements. This leads to arthrosis (signs of wear and tear) in the joint and later to lameness. It is therefore advisable to have your dog examined as soon as the symptoms first appear. This allows us to determine the severity of the patellar luxation and decide whether an operation is advisable. Many breeding clubs already require an examination of the knee joints as part of the breeding programme. As part of a bpt advanced training seminar, Mrs Arndt demonstrated her knowledge in theoretical and practical exercises. Qualification for screening for patellar luxation in dogs acquired.
Cats in old age
Cats are categorised as senior citizens from the age of 7-9 years. There are a number of typical „old-age diseases“ in cats, e.g. renal insufficiency or hyperthyroidism. These complaints are often only discovered when the cat is so clinically unwell that treatment becomes very difficult or secondary diseases have already developed. Therefore, please come for regular check-ups so that we can recognise and treat illnesses at an early stage.
The preventive medical check-up in detail - what exactly do we do?
- Clinical examination
- Orthopaedic examination (with X-ray if required)
- Blood sample, urinalysis
- Weight control: Being overweight or underweight can be both a cause and a symptom of various diseases.
Once all the findings are available, we will discuss them with you in detail and, if necessary, create an optimal, individualised therapy.
Important: For some examinations, your pet should be fasting or morning urine is required. Please clarify this when you book your appointment.
