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Hi,

How is your end of the year going so far?

For us, it’s that time of the year when we schedule the routine check-ups at the vet! This is one of the things I do as a dog mom. I do a full check-up for Sami, to make sure that he is healthy and that everything is functioning well. I usually do this in the beginning of the year because it’s more quiet, I have more free time and also the vet is not as fully booked as it is in the rest of the year.

Because as much fun as it is having a dog, sometimes you have to do things that aren’t so much about fun. Like everything related to your dog’s health. As you already know if you’re a dog parent, you can’t always tell if your dog is hurting or if something’s wrong with them, because… well, they can’t tell you. And that’s the case with small dogs in general, but especially with terriers, who are so full of energy even when they’re sick, which makes it hard to read the signs.

Sami’s health is super important for us. I’m terrified of any potential serious health problems when it comes to him, so I make appointments to the vet every year for the following exams: physical checkup, blood tests, urine and feces exam, echocardiography and an ultrasound or x-ray if needed.

Blood tests

They show us if the overall immune system is functioning properly, which is something that I’m concerned with because Sami’s immune system has never been great. Ever since he was a puppy he’s been somewhat sensitive and whenever his immune system is low, he catches a cold or his allergies flare up. It’s something we’re working on right now through diet and supplements. And it’s always good to check by having blood work done regularly.

Urine sample

This tells us if the kidneys are working properly, which is something Sami has struggled a little bit with in the past, he had struvite crystals in his urine more than once, so I’m always worried about his kidneys.

Poop sample (or to put it in medical terms, feces exam)

We do this to check for intestinal parasites. Thankfully, we’ve never had any surprises here, but it’s always good to do a yearly test for this and in case there’s any parasites, you want to find them and be able to treat it early.

Echocardiography

It’s where the vet examines the heart. This is not necessary, but in our case it is. A few years ago we learned that Sami has a “big heart”, which means that his heart is a little on the large side for his small frame. This could evolve with time, so the vet recommended we keep an eye on it with an annual heart scan. Thankfully, so far there were no changes, so our boy is doing well.

Ultrasound

We usually end up doing this maybe once a year, but always for a good reason. Like whenever Sami felt sick and we didn’t know why, the vet would recommend an ultrasound. One time he had a fever and was unwell, so the vet did an ultrasound to check if he swallowed something dangerous. And it turned out he had gastroenteritis, but in the process she also discovered a cyst on his prostate which we didn’t know about. So it’s always useful to do this every once in a while, to keep an eye on the organs and such.

Do you have any routine checkups that you do for your pup?

And that’s it from us this week!

Take care,

Miruna and Sami 💕